Pioneer PL-518 or Dual 721??

[Sansui Louie]

but my in-laws bought us one of those USB turntables. Must set that up and give it a listen before buying another potential headache.

 

[redd6054]

Well I have a Dual 721 and like it an awfull lot. I think the mercedes/honda analogy is a good one. When the mercedes works properly, as my restored Dual does, it is very hard to beat in that price range, ( OM30 stylus ) when it comes to sound and detail, Thanks Ben.
The Honda is a solid, reliable, never dying JVC-QL5 ( AT440MLa ) that soldiers on, even when I forget to turn it off at night, its fully manual.
So For sound I think the dual is more detailed but I trust the JVC more to stay running. And my first TT in the late 60's was a Dual. Ive never been without one, or two, or three..........
cheers Wolfgang

 

[illinoisteve]

My theory on quality, You know how a mercedes(dual) car is built like a tank but when something breaks down it's gonna cost you , now on the other hand you have a HONDA(PIONEER) that will probably last forever with no problems. What are you going to buy a fancy headache or a decent symptom free table?I will not bring thorens in this because I hear nothing but good things about them.

Before I purchased my current Dual, I tried to trade in my Pioneer PL-518 at two high-end audio stores in my state. Neither of them even wanted to look at it.

I wonder if it was merely that they didn't want to have "a Honda on their lot" for their other customers see them fooling with. Or....did they know of something in particular that is bad about that machine or its close cousins in the Pioneer line.

If anyone here can answer those questions for me, it might help the original poster of this thread.

 

[imready]

Listen to both with your current system and keep the one that sounds the best! After all, it's all about synergy!

 

[hakaplan]

Before I purchased my current Dual, I tried to trade in my Pioneer PL-518 at two high-end audio stores in my state. Neither of them even wanted to look at it.

I wonder if it was merely that they didn't want to have "a Honda on their lot" for their other customers see them fooling with. Or....did they know of something in particular that is bad about that machine or its close cousins in the Pioneer line.

If anyone here can answer those questions for me, it might help the original poster of this thread.

Trust me, the answer is they didn't want a Honda. I can tell you that the PL-518 is an extremely popular tt here at AK. Just look in the archives here and read the comments. These dealers know NOTHING about Japanese turntables and assume they're all garbage. That's why you come here. We know what they don't know.

 

[illinoisteve]

Trust me, the answer is they didn't want a Honda. I can tell you that the PL-518 is an extremely popular tt here at AK. Just look in the archives here and read the comments. These dealers know NOTHING about Japanese turntables and assume they're all garbage. That's why you come here. We know what they don't know.

It might well be supernatural, since it healed its own auto-return after that had been broken for 3 or 4 years! I would have kept it if it had been three speed... though it needed a better cartridge than I had for it.

 

[digitalblues]

Well the USB turntable is back at Brookstone. What a piece of garbage. The tone arm was a cheap piece of plastic and the whole thing was noisy as all hell. The entire unit weighed less than my ipod (ok, thats an exaggeration). My Garrard, however, is working like a champ. The tone arm is not getting stuck anymore (halfway into the last song on each side), and its playing beautifully out of both channels with very little hum.

 

[SFP]

As a fan of the CS606 and 701....

I also own a Pioneer Pl518, Akai PC-26 and Lab 500/8500

I run higher end carts....

The Duals are worth it depending on what you are looking for....

I am currently trying to find the "extra weight" for the 1/2" adaptor.....

The Lab 8500.... Acrylic mat, Ortofon Super OM cart with am OM 20 stylus. The swap is a AT Vm740ML..... People miss the fact the Om Super cart is the same as the Bronze/Black cart. The regular Ortofon OM cart is Red/Blue equivileant.

as well as a couple of old school Shure witndiakond stylus...

The CS606 is Special.....

 

[KentTeffeteller]

I favor the Pioneer. Simpler maintenance. Also accepts standard headshells. The Dual is nice, but more complex mechanically. Maintained well, the Dual is excellent. The Pioneer feet are a known weakness with age.

 

[62caddy]

I believe the CS 721 has an auto-muting circuit when the tonearm is lowered in fully automatic mode which can become troublesome, resulting in channel loss. Otherwise, it's a beautifully made turntable. But the PL-518 is extremely reliable. I like it so much I bought a second.

 

[loudnoises]

This zombie has legs!

I've seen many broken or dead pioneers. I do not see dead duals. The pioneer may be good now, but i expect the duals will outlive humanity...