Description
Dual 1214 Grundig Turntable. Classic Vintage. Fully revitalized. Cartridge Shure M75.
The Dual company was established on February 1st 1907 in Black Forest (Germany) by two brothers, Christian and Joseph Steidinger, as a fine mechanics factory specialising in manufacturing of clockwork and gramophone parts. In 1927, Gebrüder Steidinger changed its name to Dual in reference to the dual-mode power supplies which allowed gramophones to be powered from the mains or with a wind-up mechanism. Soon after, the company began producing turntables of its own. After the Second World War, it became the biggest manufacturer of turntables in Europe. However, Dual, managed by the Germans, did not withstand the Japanese competition and after the bankruptcy in 1982 it was sold to Thomson. In 1988 it was bought by Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, a German company. Between 1970 and 1990 it also produced other audio and video equipment such as: cassette players, VCRs, CD players etc.
In 1993-34, Dual was split into:
– Dual Phono Gmbh acquired by a company called Alfred Fehrenbacher, which has continued to manufacture turntables in the Black Forest on the same traditional product line. They can be recognised by the CS code.
– Dual DGC Gmbh selling mostly rebranded consumer electronics made in the Far East (including the turntables with the DT code).
For the American market (after the insolvency of Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG in 2001) the right to use Dual brand was bought by a Chinese company called TCL Holdings, which passed it on to a Korean company called Namsung Electronics in 2002. Currently Dual Electronics Corporation manufactures audio, video and GPS equipment to be installed in cars, boats and at home.
Turntables from the Dual 12XX series were manufactured in the early 70s and “put” by the manufacturer into various casing, also in cooperation with other well-known German brands (including Saba, Nordmende, Wega), which did not want to produce their own mechanisms. The presented model 1214 was manufactured for the Grundig company, therefore it is characterized by a wider, profiled casing. It is equipped with a balanced arm that combines low mass and high stiffness. The knob marked with numbering enables precise and easy adjustment of the pressure, which depends on the selected insert model.
Technical characteristics:
– Shur M75 Type D cartridge, professionally calibrated with a turntable
– double dampening system (spring-balanced-damping)
– drive: bipolar, single-phase induction motor or 4-pole asynchronous motor with radial suspension
– rigid metal arm with vertical needle bearings and precise horizontal, double-skin ball bearings
– the cover has been re-polished and rewaxed, which made it look like new again
– suspended system (floating system)
– platter: 265 mm, 3.2 kg, non-magnetic, removable
– the case is made of exotic doussie wood and Canadian maple wood, finished with oil produced of natural Chinese oils, colour of natural wood
– drive mechanically separated and uncoupled
– vibration damping coefficient
– adjustable speed of 33, 45, 78 rpm
– speed regulation: 1 semitone (6%) at all speeds
– solid, mechanically damped aluminium plate with a thick antistatic mat
– auto-stop, arm lift and return system
– wow and flutter: 0,15% WRMS
– START – STOP automat
– the arm is raised and lowered smoothly
– dimensions of boards 17/25/30
– rumble: less than 35 dB
– anti-skating
– signal to noise ratio: less than 55 dB
– dimensions of the turntable: width 43 cm, depth 36.5 cm, height 19 cm
– new, high-quality shielded cinch cables
– GDN mass led out on the cable
– weight about 10kg
– produced in 1970-71