Dual CS 2110 Turntable
This is a budget Dual but like most things German it's better than it may first seem. It is made of plastic but the arm is pretty good. It is a relatively simple design meaning not too much to go wrong and easy to work on when it does.
This one had a few issues, the arm return gear had seized and the motor kept changing speed. After removing the mat and platter the whole interior mechanism can be seen and is held in by four screws, just remove the trim that surrounds the arm base and the cable clamp for the mains cord and signal cable, remove the four screws and the whole mechanism lifts out. The auto return gear had become very tight on its shaft, it needed some oil and wiggling to remove, cleaning and a polish and it was free to rotate easily and smoothly once again; there is a cir-clip that holds it in place (I also removed the sub platter for ease of handling - there is a scre on the bearing well that is re moved to re lease the sub-platter shaft). The driving mechanism that runs in the channel on that gear is easy to remove and reattach and because this is an auto return turntable only there is no complicated auto cue mechanism that can be the source of much trouble and frustration on some of the other Dual as well as other makes of turntables.
The electronics are fairly simple, a DC motor has a switch for 33 and 45 RPM and two trimmer potentiometers to adjust the speed, they are accessible through two holes next to the motor but only with the platter removed a slightly odd arrangement - having to adjust, return the platter, check and then same again until correct - but with a few tries the correct speed was attained.
It has interesting adjustable feet that also seem to isolate well, the mechanism is fixed solid in the plinth i.e. there is no spring or rubber suspension. If you hit the plinth you can hear noise but the feed back from the speakers is well controlled.
P.S. Sorry I did forget to take photos while it was completely disassembled.
It now runs well and sounds surprisingly good...a more than acceptable entry level turntable if one comes your way. I've seen very few but there are a few other entry level Duals that share the much of the inner mechanism.
This one had a few issues, the arm return gear had seized and the motor kept changing speed. After removing the mat and platter the whole interior mechanism can be seen and is held in by four screws, just remove the trim that surrounds the arm base and the cable clamp for the mains cord and signal cable, remove the four screws and the whole mechanism lifts out. The auto return gear had become very tight on its shaft, it needed some oil and wiggling to remove, cleaning and a polish and it was free to rotate easily and smoothly once again; there is a cir-clip that holds it in place (I also removed the sub platter for ease of handling - there is a scre on the bearing well that is re moved to re lease the sub-platter shaft). The driving mechanism that runs in the channel on that gear is easy to remove and reattach and because this is an auto return turntable only there is no complicated auto cue mechanism that can be the source of much trouble and frustration on some of the other Dual as well as other makes of turntables.
The electronics are fairly simple, a DC motor has a switch for 33 and 45 RPM and two trimmer potentiometers to adjust the speed, they are accessible through two holes next to the motor but only with the platter removed a slightly odd arrangement - having to adjust, return the platter, check and then same again until correct - but with a few tries the correct speed was attained.
It has interesting adjustable feet that also seem to isolate well, the mechanism is fixed solid in the plinth i.e. there is no spring or rubber suspension. If you hit the plinth you can hear noise but the feed back from the speakers is well controlled.
P.S. Sorry I did forget to take photos while it was completely disassembled.
It now runs well and sounds surprisingly good...a more than acceptable entry level turntable if one comes your way. I've seen very few but there are a few other entry level Duals that share the much of the inner mechanism.