My review of the DUAL CS-460 Turntable

Posted by joey1127 (A) on September 15, 2014 at 07:02:07

There does not seem to be any information on the web for the current Dual turntable offerings so I thought I would take the time to do a write up on the CS-460. NEW Dual Turntables have somewhat receded from the market over the last several years but they are still alive and well it seems. The Turntables are still made at the Dual Factory in Germany, though the electronics part of the company was sold to an Asian company a long time ago…don’t confuse the turntables with the mix of electronics, often cheap, that you see in most car audio catalogs.

After All-In-One Electronics, the former North American distributor of Dual closed up shop, New Dual turntables seemed to go absent from North America. Thorens is still selling their re-branded Dual tables at hefty Thorens prices, but the actual Dual branded tables were gone. Enter AudioScape and we again have Dual branded turntables slowly making a modest attempt at re-entering the market, though a bit pricy this time around. At the moment, the CS-415-2, CS-440, CS-455-1, and CS-460 are the only models available. Still being produced, but not available at the moment is the CS-505-4 and the unseen in North America, CS-600 (which looks like a re-imagining of the CS-7000/Golden 1).

My audition is of the fully automatic CS-460. This table is essentially an upgraded (though mildly) CS-455-1. It features a double damped, heavier platter than the CS-455-1 and comes in 3 color choices: Structured matt black enamel, Piano Black high gloss, or Walnut Veneer. I opted for the matt finish at $899.00 as I did not feel the Walnut Veneer warranted an additional $200.00. It comes fitted with an Ortofon OM10 phono cartridge which is a good cartridge choice for the Dual ULM arm. It’s also worth noting that the CS-460 is fully automatic! I want to be clear that in no way are these current units to be compared to Dual turntables from the 60’s and 70’s. That would be like comparing a 2014 Toyota Avalon Limited to a 1966 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III…just don’t do it…there’s no point.

Unpacking:
The table was double boxed, but the inner styro that held the turntable unit and dustcover had already started to break apart. The platter is secured to the bottom of the box so no fear of it causing damage in shipping. In the box was the Dustcover, the Turntable itself, a wall wart power supply, 45 EP adaptor, and a basic owner’s manual. The Ortofon OM10 cartridge was pre mounted…but we’ll get to that in a second. To get the table ready, all you need to do is remove the 2 red transport locks that secure the sub-chassis and install the platter. Balance the tone arm, dial in the tracking force, set the anti-skating and your done…well, something told me to pay close attention to the VTF and cartridge alignment part and I’m glad I did.

Tonearm Setup:
Using my trusty Ortofon digital scale, I floated the arm till it was perfectly level (making sure the VTF scale was set to 0) then dialed up 1.5 grams VTF. Upon checking it with my Ortofon scale, it indicate I actually had 1.8 grams! I backed off the counter weight until the digital scale read 1.5 grams. I then set the VTF dial to zero, the arm was floating a tad tail down…BUT…the stylus tip was now about 1mm above the platter surface. Ah-Ha, the Dual arm with Ortofon OM10 runs slightly Tail Down. When setting the VTF, float the arm above the platter surface about 1mm, not level between the platter and arm rest.

I also remember that Dual used Baerwald (lofgren) geometry from my experience with the 601/701 tables. For the heck of it, I got out my trusty Dennesen Geometric Soundtracktor to check the overhang of the stylus. Hmmmmmm, it was too far back in the headshall about 2mm. The headshell and the cart body were in proper alignment with the grid, but the overhang was off. I made sure that the headshell was tightly secured to the tonearm and I adjusted the overhang. When the stylus and cantilever were aligned to the T with the Dennesen Geometric Soundtracktor, I tightened everything back up, reset VTF and Anti-Skate.

Listening:
Now it’s time to hook it up and play some records. The Ground cable and audio cables are captive. I know, YUCK. It really wouldn’t matter so much if the quality of the cable were similar to that of the Rega cable on my P3-24 or RP6, but it’s your run-of-the-mill audio cable that you would see at Parts Express for about $5.00. I tried to remember what the founder of AR once said in an interview…cables are cables (don’t shoot me, I’m only stating what he said). After connecting the Dual to my Receiver and plugging in the less than impressive wall wart, we were ready to go. I put my first LP on and pulled the start lever. First thing that made me happy was how quiet the auto mechanism is. It’s smooth and silky. It does not make snapping and popping sounds of the older machines or some of the lower quality machines.

I ran a number of Classical, Jazz, Acoustic, and Pop LP’s during my test period of both Audiophile pressings as well as first edition standard pressings. Note that none of my samples were of garage sale or dollar bin quality. I also want to point out that the records were all recently or had been previously cleaned on a RCM. Dirty records sound dirty and can make really good equipment sound bad so I have no interest in how well a turntable handles such gems! The overall sound quality is actually quite good. In fact, it’s really good. I would liken it to “WOW, That sounds far better than I was expecting and then some” good! Overall, the Dual did a great job with vocals and instruments. Everything was positioned where it should be. There was no glaring faults or harshness at all, just well reproduced music. It’s not the last in fine detail, but it is in no way a slouch either. It’s a very decent performer.

I did not find myself getting fatigued in the least bit, but rather enjoying the pleasure of listening to music. The tonearm/cartridge matching is very well done with this package and its performance is striking. I detected no IGD and actually found that listening to an entire side of an LP was very fun! At the end of each record, the arm so quietly lifted and returned to the armrest. The extra heft of the CS-460’s platter is evident as after the unit silently switches off, the platter made @ 2 revolutions before slowing to a stop. Again, do not try and make any comparisons to the Dual tables of yore with their massive platters…the CS-460 platter is not that massive, but compared to the platter used on the CS-455-1, it has substantially more mass and damping.

The one and only Upgrade:
Next, I changed out the #10 stylus for the #20 stylus…about the only upgrade I would recommend making. The #20 is a Nude Bi-Radial tip while the supplied #10 has a bonded tip. The Dual CS-5000 and CS-7000/Golden 1 were supplied with the OM 20 so I figure it’s a worthwhile upgrade. No, I’m incorrect, it’s a significant upgrade. Playing through the same LP’s with the #20 stylus brought about even better tracing performance. I found tracking was excellent with the OM10 and did not feel that the #20 stylus performed any better, but tracing was quieter and overall sound was a lot more focused and sharper. Low end was clean and tight, HF was clear and focused…the #10 often left a slight amount of unrealized HF, but the #20 was like a clarifier in this respect. I will say that going for the matt finish and spending another $149.00 +/- for the #20 stylus was really a smart way to go!

I know many a fiddler will want to try other cartridges and I can only say that you will want to stick with High Compliant carts like vintage SHURE or AT models with light tracking forces. Modern AT’s like the AT150MLx, AT120E/t or AT440MLa come to mind as good candidates as does the Shure M97xE. Note that you can buy spare head shells for the Dual so that’s a +. I must say that the performance of the Dual ULM tonearm and the Ortofon Optimal Match cartridge are just so good that the desire to tweak out is not there for me! I have an AT150MLx NIB but just don’t have a desire to change out the Ortofon. A simple change to the #20 stylus and it’s good IMHO. I’m sure someone is going to try and stick a DENON DL-103 or some other tank of a Moving Coil cartridge on this arm…I believe I saw a video on YouTube already of that…but really?

Final Thoughts:
Of the tables I have on hand, which modern table do I think this modern Dual is comparable too? Well, I feel that I would easily compare or consider the CS-460 w/ Ortofon OM20 (note that I upgraded the stylus from the #10 to the #20) to the likes of my “STOCK” REGA P3-24/Elys combo. The RP3 is going to surpass the Dual CS-460 a bit, but the P3-24 is indeed comparable. If you want the convenience of Automatic operation but want decent fidelity at the same time, The CS-460 w/ Ortofon OM10 upgraded with a #20 stylus is honestly a very competent contender. Note that while the Dual tonearm seems light and flimsy next to the massive Rega RB-301 tonearm…IT IS! It’s a Low Mass design that is meant to track light! It does not want to carry a 10 gram moving coil cart. It want’s high compliant cartridges with light tracking forces. Is it Audiophile? No, not by any stretch of the imagination…but, like my Rega P3-24, it does do its job exceptionally well and for that, it’s worthy!

I will not try and compare the CS-460 to the Dual tables of yore nor those that I have on hand such as the 701 or 601 because those are not Modern tables available today (used does not count). Complicating matters is that you can’t really audition this table anywhere…from a North American perspective, only AudioScape in Canada is distributing the Dual line so getting a listening test lined up is going to be tough. Upon checking the German Dual website, I see that they still offer the CS-505-4 and a NEW model, the CS-600. These models however, are no longer available via North American distribution at the moment (I have never seen the CS-600 in the states). I believe pricing is probably a major factor in the lack of availability.

I’m not sure why the prices have been so heavily inflated on these Dual’s, but it’s a tad high I feel and that should be addressed because there is a LOT of competition at the $900 - $1,200 price point and I’m not sure the Dual CS-460 can hold its own. Let me say that this is a GREAT table for someone that want’s to listen to music on a decent player with excellent fidelity and performance…but for an enthusiast that wants to do the cartridge swap and tweaking thing…this table is not going to satisfy those individuals…and those individuals make up a huge chunk of the market at this price point.

Observations/Criticisms:
I must say that I am, overall, happy with the CS-460. It did exceed my expectations by a decent margin and so far, is still setup in my main listening system. It comes with a 2 year warranty so that’s pretty good. I am very happy with this table and do not really want to change it out or try and upgrade it. I feel it’s a keeper to be honest, but it is what it is…nothing more, nothing less.

I will say that setup is going to be very important (not really plug-n-play) as there is some question about the cartridge alignment which I attribute to the interface of the headshell to the tonearm. It seems that it can be inconsistent and you need to tighten down on that locking collar pulling the headshell into the collar firmly so it’s tight (but not too tight) and not just partially secure. Once you’ve done that, check and reset the geometric alignment using a good tool like the Dennesen Geometric Soundtracktor. As my table arrived, the headshell was semi-secure and the cart was still too far back. I tightened it up pilling the headshell in secure and then set the geometric alignment of the cartridge with my Dennesen Geometric Soundtracktor. I will say that the supplied overhang tool is not very useful from my observation, a good alignment tool is a must! Using the supplied Dual alignment tool resulted in significant IGD…thus the use of the Dennesen Geometric Soundtracktor was essential.

I also am not really thrilled with the clunky casting of the platter. While the top of the platter displays only a very slight amount of wobble up and down (as does my P3-24), the two grooves cut on the face of the platter show substantial wobble that would, if observed with a ruler, suggest that the platter was defective or poorly made. I’m not sure why the casting of the platter sides is bad because it looks to be diamond cut, but something went wrong and that could cause a lot of frustration for the perfectionist…and at the asking price, should we not expect some degree perfection? I did note that the sub-platter was perfect and free of any casting defects.

The Dustcover seems to be a rather soft material. Mine already has small scratches from dusting and normal use. Not sure what they are making them out of, but I would HIGHLY recommend that before you get any serious use on this table, you take some time to apply a heavy coat of wax to the dustcover to try and shield it from dusting scratches. Again, at this price point, this should not be a problem. My REGA dustcovers have always held up exceptionally well. The same goes for the dustcovers on Pro-Ject tables, very well made.

Pricing Breakdown:
CS-460 matt black structured enamel finish w/ OM10* $899.00
CS-460 black piano gloss finish w/ OM10 $999.00
CS-460 walnut veneer w/ OM10 $1099.00

* I recommend the CS-460 in structured enamel and the purchase of a #20 Ortofon stylus for an extra $149.00 +/- V’s the cost of getting a high gloss or veneered finish which has no impact on the fidelity of the table whatsoever. It looks nice, but you can’t hear it. You can however, hear the #20 stylus upgrade.

Comments from AudioScape:
AudioScape was kind enough to share the following with me after I shared my observations and criticisms:

"I can't argue with your observations... the new Duals from the Black Forest in Germany tend to perform as advertised so to speak. The 460 is intended to be a decent player at a decent price, and I think fulfills that objective. We did decide not to support the 505-4, and we have yet to see a working sample of the CS 600. That being said it may be priced out of reach for the value proposition.

I like your price proposition with the black matt finish and upgraded stylus. With your permission I'll adopt that in my presentations.

I agree that there is competition in the $1000 range, and each offering has its own story and position.

Finally, like you, I'd appreciate a somewhat lower cost, but the reality is that we buy these in Euros, and convert to dollars. Recognize that we as a smallish distributor have to pay for the shipment before it leaves the factory, and it can then take 6 weeks for it to arrive. The exchange rates alone, not factoring in the time value of money necessitates the pricing we have. If we sold at a lower price, there would be no profit, and we would therefore not be in business."

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Topic - My review of the DUAL CS-460 Turntable - joey1127 07:02:07 09/15/14 (4)

!! ONE YEAR UPDATE !! - joey1127 00:57:46 09/13/15 (1)

RE: !! ONE YEAR UPDATE !! - rindolini 15:39:09 09/13/15 (0)

RE: My review of the DUAL CS-460 Turntable - rindolini 13:27:43 09/15/14 (1)

RE: My review of the DUAL CS-460 Turntable - joey1127 15:14:25 09/15/14 (0)

My review of the DUAL CS-460 Turntable

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