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Vintage Audio (record players, hi-fi etc) Amplifiers, speakers, gramophones and other audio equipment.

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Old 17th Oct 2018, 12:49 pm   #1
Magoorty
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Default Dual Party Record Player

Hello all,

A friend has unearthed an old turntable in her loft and was wondering if it's any good. It's a Dual Party 295A. It powers up but there's no stylus. Also, the arm is cracked and has been taped over. Is it worth bothering even trying to source a stylus or is it unusable with the gammy arm?

Anyone know these machines?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 17th Oct 2018, 1:46 pm   #2
Al (astral highway)
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Default Re: Dual Party Record Player

Quote:
Originally Posted by Magoorty View Post
A friend has unearthed an old turntable in her loft and was wondering if it's any good.
That depends... good for what? It's often possible to get these things working but it takes time and effort. There's a very inflated market for some makes of restored record player (Dansettes) where I live, and on EBay, and I'm sometimes asked to do the restoration for a friend who runs a local 'hipster' shop. Iv'e probably done rescued ten in total. Others may but I personally haven't heard of this make.
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...it powers up but there's no stylus.
Strong advice is to NOT power it up again. You may destroy an expensive component (an output valve) or several (output valve and rectifier). It could also catch fire if left unattended. It is almost impossible for it to be safely or operable as designed unless someone with the right skill and knowledge has already been inside to replace some components that are going to be wildly out of spec and will affect the safe and competent operation of the set.
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,,,is it worth bothering even trying to source a stylus or is it unusable with the gammy arm?
It may be worth it, or not. If your friend wants to have a go at getting it going for her own entertainment, then yes. If she wants to sell it, no.

Someone will have to do work on it, between an hour and several hours. Most of us do this for a hobby. If it's done commercially, it will wipe out any residual value in the set.
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Old 17th Oct 2018, 2:24 pm   #3
ben
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Default Re: Dual Party Record Player

That dates from the 1950s. It has charm visually. However, in my experience, it will need a lot of work to get going properly.

Almost certainly new rubber idler (hard to find), new cartridge (expensive/unobtainable, and in the case of Duals you'd need to modify the arm to fit another), deck/motor lubrication, amplifier component replacement, then there's the problem of a broken arm. And it is still a rather crude deck unsuitable for playing valuable LPs on, for example.

Personally I'd look at getting something in better condition.
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Old 17th Oct 2018, 4:27 pm   #4
Magoorty
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Default Re: Dual Party Record Player

Thanks for the replies. I thought it might be a nice unit to play some less than pristine records on, if it were only a case of a bit of grease and a new cartridge. I wouldn't have a clue about amp section so will steer clear.
I'll warn her about plugging it in again.

Cheers
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