Replacing a Dual 1214 2 pole motor

[Dual701]

Hi, not sure if anyone can answer this but.... I have a Dual 1214 that came out of a Noresco Consolette that I paid $12.00 for. It has a 2 pole motor and I was not aware when I bought it that I am not able to use a MM cartridge with it. My question is: If I can find a used Dual 1214 4 pole motor for sale would I be able to drop the new motor in the unit without to much trouble? If it's not possible what about shielding the 2 pole motor with adhesive copper foil? I had already rewired the 2 pole motor for normal plug and play and everything works perfect... speed, automatic functions, everything. It's in wonderful condition. I just don't want to use ceramic carts. Any help would be great. Cheers!

 

[stereofisher]

Before I did anything I would try using a magnetic cart. I have a an old Dual 1010S. I do not believe it has a 4 pole motor and sounds ok. If memory serves I serviced a 1214 last year. I put on a Audio Technica AT95 cart on it. Played fine. Good luck,

Eric

 

[Dual701]

Before I did anything I would try using a magnetic cart. I have a an old Dual 1010S. I do not believe it has a 4 pole motor and sounds ok. If memory serves I serviced a 1214 last year. I put on a Audio Technica AT95 cart on it. Played fine. Good luck,

Eric

I am going to try that first for sure. I took the platter off and in fact I do see three holes where the 4 pole motor might fit.... but I have only been able to look at website pictures of the 4 pole mounting. I also know that Dual intended for the 1214 to be made with either a 2 or 4 pole motor so logic tells me Dual wouldn't punch out 2 pole chassis then re-tool to punch out the 4 pole chassis, but I guess anything is possible. It looks like it might be a go, but of course it's impossible to measure hole distance from an image. Thanks so much for the input, I didn't think anyone was going to chime in. Cheers.

Mike

 

[Nat]

Any 1214 should be fine for all cartridges. By the time the 12 series were made, ceramic cartridges were no longer thought to be acceptable by even mid market buyers (which was tough on Sonotone, which actually made high quality ceramics that could compete with most moving magnets - which is why they changed the name to Micro Acoustics and put in a little bit of circuitry so that the output was made compatible with phono sections). So unless someone went and put some kind of field radiating replacement motor into your table, you should be able to use whatever you want. Stereofisher is right - try it before doing anything else. An AT 3600 will set you back around twenty bucks, and may be the cartridge you are looking for, not just for experimentation, but for normal use. It is cheap but cheerful, and if you feel the need to upgrade, there are more sophisticated stylus shapes that also fit. If you are like me, you might decide to stick with what you have. (Certainly there are better styli/cartridges, but to my ears, the 3600 is good enough that a big step up would be required to justify the expense.)

 

[Dual701]

Any 1214 should be fine for all cartridges. By the time the 12 series were made, ceramic cartridges were no longer thought to be acceptable by even mid market buyers (which was tough on Sonotone, which actually made high quality ceramics that could compete with most moving magnets - which is why they changed the name to Micro Acoustics and put in a little bit of circuitry so that the output was made compatible with phono sections). So unless someone went and put some kind of field radiating replacement motor into your table, you should be able to use whatever you want. Stereofisher is right - try it before doing anything else. An AT 3600 will set you back around twenty bucks, and may be the cartridge you are looking for, not just for experimentation, but for normal use. It is cheap but cheerful, and if you feel the need to upgrade, there are more sophisticated stylus shapes that also fit. If you are like me, you might decide to stick with what you have. (Certainly there are better styli/cartridges, but to my ears, the 3600 is good enough that a big step up would be required to justify the expense.)

Thanks so much for the input! I will try the 2 pole motor route first. I have a Dual 214 4 pole motor on the way that I picked up for very cheap so if I'm hearing any noise that I just can't live with I'll install the 4 pole and give it a shot. The AT 3600 sounds like the way to go also. Cheers!

Mike

 

[Dual701]

So, I received my set of Dual Replacement RCA cables today and got everything wired up including the power supply. Cleaned up the old grease, re-lubed, adjusted tonearm to proper set down and installed an AT VN95C that I had bought for another turntable when the AT carts were first released. It plays fine! There is a little bit of rumble but I have yet to clean and apply new tacky oil to the platter bearing and touch up the idler wheel.... I will do that tomorrow. All manual and automatic functions are working very well including the stacker. I think the conical stylus on this AT cartridge works well with this tonearm and it's combination VTF/Anti-Skate design, and it sounds better than I thought it would. Thanks so much for the input Guys! Cheers.

Mike