Back to motors. The 'new' Technics one looks to be a rethink on the early 70's Pabst make motors that Dual used in their 700 series decks. here's the one as used in my 701 - Never any cogging or overshoot in this one, which was used by Revox too I believe as well. The main bearing thrust pad on mine is totally unmarked and looks to be a black glass type substance with copious grease to lubricate it.
Below are personal observations on Dual/Technics differences, FWIW:
One (which may or may not have been important to 'living room' users) was that compared to Technics (original models) Dual DD didn't have as much torque. Duals were not quartz locked until after the 704/721 series. I'm not sure when the first Quartz PLL players from Japan came out, but it was before the Duals. In any case, by the time Dual introduced Quartz regulation, they had also replaced their arms with the ULM series, which were essentially tied to Ortofon cartridges. So if you didn't want to use an Ortofon you had to use a wonky adaptor.
The tonearm of mid '70s Dual record players was a nice design--very low bearing friction straight tubes, dynamically balanced, along with a proprietary wobbly-bobbly counterweight that was supposed to break the major arm/cartridge resonance into three lesser resonances. Of course that was not nearly as precision as Technics higher-end solutions, but the Japanese firm's 'comparable to Dual in cost decks' had no damping at all. One thing: if the ancillary counterweight's rubber 'hinge' broke (which many did after a long time in the field--rubber fatigue I suspect) it was not user replaceable. You needed a new counterweight, which today is impossible to source.
Dual cartridge carriers were not as easy to manipulate for overhang and offset as with standard plug in headshells, but could be done with enough patience and dexterity.
704/721 arms (but not the 701) were VTA adjustable at the pivot, like 1200 series (both original and Mk2). A nice touch.
Duals were either semi or full auto, which I always thought was a great feature. You don't find that anymore in higher-end decks.
Dual used a four point spring suspension. That could have possibly helped in certain 'feedback' situations. Not on the level as AR, Thorens or Linn, but it was there if you needed it.
I owned two 704 models. Both motors eventually failed, so my own expereince concludes that they were not built as sturdy as Technics designs. I have a Technics from 1975 that is still going like new. Of course in the failure department it is always YMMV.
I always like Duals as an all-in-one solution--owning a 1228, 1229, and two 704s. The 1229 had a nice walnut base with a flip down front where you could store your spindles and other accessories. I understand there's an outfilt restoring the old changers, which can are rebuilt to last another 40 or 50 years.
The 701 was IMO the last of the really nice Duals--from a cosmetic standpoint. I always wanted one of those, but for whatever reason never bought one. Later models showed signs of cost cutting, in spite of their not exactly bargain basement MSRP.
www.hifinews.com
