Dual Fans, What's Your Plinth Philosophy?

[illinoisteve]

I'm sure this issue has been discussed here and there, but I haven't found a recent thread addressing this topic directly and specifically with regard to classic Dual turntables, so here goes ---

How do the Dual Turntable enthusiasts active at AK breakdown on these questions:

* Do you prefer that your Dual sit and play on its stock plinth?

* Do you prefer to MODIFY the stock plinth in some way to achieve better sound?

* Do you think it is better to have YOUR Dual luxuriating on a massive and/or more beautiful custom plinth?

Please explain the reasons behind your preference or whether you have straddled these preferences in some instances.

Reading many of the Dual-related posts here it is easy to get the impression that many Dual enthusiasts love the sound of Duals restored to original condition, but I was wondering how much of this is out of a spirit of historical preservation (which I strongly sympathized with) and how much was because of a belief that the original configuration, including the stock plinths, competes with units with modified or custom plinths.

So please post your Dual plinth philosophies here, thoughtful digressions and anecdotes permitted....

 

[Maestro_T]

Well, umm, what I would like to know is how hard it is to switch plinths, because I have a 1210 in a mint plinth and a 1218 in a less-than-mint one, and would like to switch that around....A 1215 I have sits in one of the chintsiest plinths I have ever laid eyes on. WTH?!

I think Dual is sometimes criticized for not paying enough attention to their plinths, so I'm thinking there may be many who want to upgrade them....

 

[eb2jim]

I prefer the nicer flip-front base, with storage slots for the the spindles, etc. I find the United Audio bases with the cheesy press-wood feet to be less than desirable, although good for the hinge-less dust covers. They work fine.

As far as hard-core audiophile bases - so hardcore that they must be referred to as plinths - that is to me a bit of a stretch for the better Duals. They are musical and nice as is, and I would tend to think that the total package was thought out pretty well for the time. But I don't feel the level of design for a better-than-most 1970-ish turntable benefits from that mentality of tweaking. I don't think they were aiming for that kind of machine when they made them. Got a Lenco? Go nuts. Garrard 301 or 401? Have at it. 1219? It just ain't there.

 

[djnagle]

I am building a new plinth out of sold MDF, 2.5" thick and 2.5" wider on both sides and 1.5" deeper but only in the front. The first piece of MDF will only be .5" thick with the square cutout the same size as the space my 1229Q sits in now. The rest of the MDF will have the normal plinth underside cutout. I will then veneer it with Rosewood. Some of the guts will hang a bit from the bottom but I am using gold spikes to make room for them. I'll do pics when I am done.

 

[SpruceMoose]

i made an mdf base for my 1245, painted with grey granite paint. but now its mounted in the top of a 1919 edison phonograph cabinet. sounds the same to me...

 

[stereofisher]

The German Piths are cool,UA ones generally suck...

My first Dual a 1010S had a United Audio base and plexiglass dust cover. It was the only UA base and dust cover that was decent. Got one that I"ll never part with. Later bases were crap including the one on my 1229. The German stock bases are kinda of cool. Picked one up this last summer and its now on one of my 1009s in the shop. Just yesterday, I put a 1009SK on my UA base in my quarters.

The flip down front panel base is cool. Came with the German Duals. Hard to find and pricey. Picked up a Deco style base (pith) off Ebay thats not a UA base. Needs work as does a newer UA deco base. Hopefully I can attach pics of what I have. My Canon Digital cam crapped out. The Kodak I got to replace it is a nightmare to run. Pics goto their software and I cant get it to go to my pictures without putting it on a disc the put the disc in the PC to my pics. Wish me luck. The pics will show my 1009 on a German base and the 1009Sk on UA's only decent base

Eric

 

[Dadbar]

About 10 years ago I bought a Dual 1241 at a yard sale. It came with a really cheap, ugly plastic plinth that just had to go....at least for aesthetic reasons.

I eventually found an empty United Audio wooden base originally meant to fit a 1229....which fit the 1241 perfectly. The pastic base went to my local recycling yard and is probably now in someone's pillow somewhere.

I use the 1241 in my home office system...it's a Dual that's often overlooked....but performs really nicely.

 

[jetblack]

Novice Question

Is this just an aesthetic gain, or are there other advantages to a plinth upgrade?

 

[Divotdog]

I built a mahogany base for my CS-622 (not a real good TT to start with), it came with the cheesy plastic plinth, the new plinth made a noticeable difference, less rumble and background noise, not to mention it was considerably better looking. :thmbsp:

 

[OvenMaster]

Like Divotdog, my later 1257 had the PlastiCrap® base. I pulled off the cheesy brown fakewood vinyl and put on cherry veneer and polyurethane. Then I put bags of aquarium gravel in the bottom to add mass and absorb vibes. Better looking, better sounding than stock.

 

[Sir.Byrd]

So far on my 1229 I have replaced the veneer with some walnut on the stock United Audio plinth. I've also added thick rubber pads directly under each foot. Before I could use this though it died on me so I can't tell you how it improved the sound but it does look better.

 

[goldwax]

Before I could use this though it died on me so I can't tell you how it improved the sound but it does look better.

:tresbon:

 

[Sam Cogley]

My first Dual a 1010S had a United Audio base and plexiglass dust cover. It was the only UA base and dust cover that was decent. Got one that I"ll never part with. Later bases were crap including the one on my 1229. The German stock bases are kinda of cool. Picked one up this last summer and its now on one of my 1009s in the shop. Just yesterday, I put a 1009SK on my UA base in my quarters.

The flip down front panel base is cool. Came with the German Duals. Hard to find and pricey. Picked up a Deco style base (pith) off Ebay thats not a UA base. Needs work as does a newer UA deco base. Hopefully I can attach pics of what I have. My Canon Digital cam crapped out. The Kodak I got to replace it is a nightmare to run. Pics goto their software and I cant get it to go to my pictures without putting it on a disc the put the disc in the PC to my pics. Wish me luck. The pics will show my 1009 on a German base and the 1009Sk on UA's only decent base

Eric

I love those angled Dual and UA plinths. I think I'm going to build something similar for my Collaro.

 

[bluewizard]

I saw the title referencing 'Dual Fans' and wondered why anyone would need to put one fan, much less two, in their turntable.

That OK though, I'm feeling much better now.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[circlesky73]

I built a mahogany base for my CS-622 (not a real good TT to start with), it came with the cheesy plastic plinth, the new plinth made a noticeable difference, less rumble and background noise, not to mention it was considerably better looking. :thmbsp:

Dumb a** question, but is the gravel still in the bags? Sounds intriguing... :thmbsp:

 

[illinoisteve]

I saw the title referencing 'Dual Fans' and wondered why anyone would need to put one fan, much less two, in their turntable.

That OK though, I'm feeling much better now.

Steve/bluewizard

I always appreciate a good pun. But before I lubed the bearings on my 1229, it's motor could have used a fan mounted underneath. A lot of us Dual fanatics seem to spend time underneath those plinths, like automechanics on creepers.

Seriously, that does raise another question in the MOD-ification area, anyone doing any customization along the lines of fans, lights, pennants, fuzzy dice, or other idiosyncratic features or decorations? (Com'on, confess. We won't tell anybody.)

I also like the look of those thick-looking (how thick and weighty they are actually I don't know) slanted European Dual "bases" (I didn't know what a plinth was until about 2 months ago, but I thought my furnace had one). Has anyone tried to ad some substantial thickness (more than veneer) to the lightweight United Audio wood bases? Perhaps by gluing some wood onto the interior sides where it would not interfere with any of the works or access to them?

 

[grooveman]

I owned a Dual 601 in the 70s that had the cheap plastic base. It's long gone, but I currently have a Garrard Type A that I'm planning on building a heavy MDF base for. I'll be using 3/4" birch plywood with a foot print of 16x18 layered to about 6 inches high. I'm curious to see if the "Lenco Home Depot" method will work to an advantage on this old idler as well. At the very least it should eliminate some rumble and background noise issues. So maybe any idler driven turntable will benefit from a solid MDF base. It's worth a shot!

Steve D.

 

[NoTransistors]

I really need to get a digital camera.
But we all know that I will resist as long as Kodak, Agfa, and FujiFilm are still in business.

Anyway, I have discovered that 1/2" clear white oak can be fashioned to directly replace the flakeboard sides. It can be cut and routed to hold the plastic motorboard/dustcover slot assembly as well as the recessed bottom cover [if desired].

Clamp it up and glue it together.
Stain or leave white. Sand and urethane. My 701 has this and looks great. The inside is lined with damping tape. The platter is damped as well. But I still prefer the sound of my 1219, which sits on the optional UA Scandanavian-inspired base. Only its platter is damped.

PS: I just looked up Agfa, and apparently the company is out of the film and camera business. I have a few of their cameras and they are wonderful.
Thank you again, digital.

Seth
Forever Analog and Covered In Parrot Poop

 

[bluewizard]

I was in Home Depot recently and saw some 3" white marble skirting or base board. It was as I said, white marble (real marble) about 3" wide and roughly 0.5" thick. I wonder if a turntable base could be made from this. It's not cheap, but it is not painfully expensive either.

It could be glued over a wood frame, and if you have the tools to work it, you could even make the top of the turntable base out of matching white marble.

It would be a tricky build as it usually requires a lot of special tools to work marble, but I think it could be done, though not on my budget.

While I only saw white marble, I'm sure it could be purchase in other common shades of marble.

Most stores will make a cuts in tile and marble for you for a price. So the most basic cuts could be done for you; bevels and so forth.

That would probably make a sweet looking turntable base.

Just a thought.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[illinoisteve]

In another plinth thread (started after this one I believe) someone mentioned the idea of using soapstone. That would be easy to work. I think you can carve it with a spoon.