The vast majority of turntables available today are operated manually—you move the tonearm to the lead-in groove to begin playing a record and lift it off at the end of the side. There are a few models that automatically stop the motor at the end of a side, fewer still that lift the tonearm off the record as well, and a very few that automatically return the tonearm to its rest position. Rarer still are fully automatic ’tables that will automatically move the arm into position and drop the needle to start playing, then retrieve it when the record finishes.
But in the early days of hi‑fi, automatic turntables were the norm. When I got into this hobby in the 1960s, many listeners owned record changers with tall spindles that could accept a stack of records and play them in sequence. Some of these things were record destroyers—but not all of them. One brand that offered very decent automatic turntables was Dual, at that time the largest turntable manufacturer in Europe. Their turntables had heavy platters and gimbaled tonearms that enabled low tracking forces.
Nonetheless, some people look upon automatic turntables as the devil’s spawn. I’m not one of them. My parents bought a Dual 1009 record changer in 1964, and I used a Dual 622 automatic turntable until 1993. And now I’m reviewing the CS 529, the top model in Dual’s current automatic-turntable lineup, which is manufactured in the same city in Germany’s Black Forest region where my parents’ Dual 1009 was made.
The CS 529 comes with a factory-mounted Ortofon 2M Red cartridge and has a built-in phono stage and Bluetooth connectivity. The Bluetooth feature can be used to send audio wirelessly to Bluetooth headphones, powered speakers, or an amplifier equipped with Bluetooth; it also allows users to control turntable operation with a mobile app. The standard version has a black plinth and retails for US$1299, CA$1699, £999, or €949. The CS 529 is also available with a walnut plinth for US$1399, CA$1999, £1099, or €1069.
Description
The CS 529 is a belt-drive design with a servo-controlled motor and optical speed control. It can play 33⅓-, 45-, and 78-rpm records, but for 78s you’ll need Ortofon’s 2M 78 stylus (US$137.99). The die-cast aluminum platter is topped with a heavy rubber platter mat. The straight, static-balanced, twin-gimbal tonearm has an effective length of 8.7″. The turntable sits on four elastomer-damped feet, each of them 2.4″ in diameter. Unfortunately, the feet are not adjustable, so they cannot be used to level the ’table. For power, the CS 529 relies on a 12V DC supply that will accept any input voltage from 100 to 240, and it comes with three different plug sets. A hinged dustcover is included, and with the cover installed and closed, the CS 529 measures 5.8″H × 17.1″W × 14.4″D.
Next to the base of the tonearm are the cueing lever and a switch for setting record size. That latter control has 17cm and 30cm positions, for automatic operation with 7″ and 12″ records. There are three controls on the front-right: a Bluetooth button, a button for toggling the repeat function, and a larger knob for start/stop and speed selection. Push the knob once to start playing a record and again if you want to stop playing and return the arm to its rest position; twist it to change the speed.
From left to right on the rear panel are the phono/line switch used for engaging or bypassing the built-in phono stage, a pair of RCA output jacks and ground terminal, the main power switch, and the input jack for the 12V power supply.
Unpacking and setup
The first item you see when you open the box is a fairly thorough owner’s manual with instructions in German and English; a French manual is available online. Just beneath that is a cardboard carrier for the rubber platter mat. That’s followed by the dustcover, which just lifts out; it’s enclosed in a plastic envelope.
Two polystyrene forms hold the turntable in place. Lifting them out frees the turntable, which is wrapped in a plastic bag. At the bottom of the box is the platter, again in a plastic bag. Inside the cardboard forms that hold the platter in place during shipment are a white cardboard box, which contains a set of decent interconnects with a captive ground/earth wire, as well as the wall-mount power supply. Within the left-hand polystyrene form are the headshell with pre-mounted Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, the arm counterweight, a 45-rpm adaptor, and hinges for the dustcover.
The first setup step is placing the platter over the spindle, then using the red ribbon to loop the belt over the motor pulley. Then you install the rubber mat. Next, fit the headshell onto the front of the arm and the counterweight onto the back. Remove the stylus protector from the cartridge and turn the counterweight until the arm balances (perfectly parallel to the top of the plinth). Then, return the arm to its rest position and lock it down. Grab the counterweight firmly and turn the tracking-force dial on the counterweight’s front until it reads “0.” Unlock the arm and check the balance. Now, turn the counterweight until it reads 1.8g, the recommended tracking force for the 2M Red. Turn the antiskating dial next to the arm pivot until it, too, reads as close to 1.8 as possible.
On the rear of the turntable, insert the interconnects into their RCA jacks and connect the ground wire with the thumbscrew. Plug the power-supply cord into the small input jack. Then, make certain the phono/line switch is in the proper position for your system. Finally, install the dustcover hinges on the rear of the turntable and slip on the dustcover. You should be ready to go.
After setting up the CS 529, I used the RPM Speed & Wow app on my Android phone to check speed accuracy and wow. At 33⅓ rpm, the CS 529 actually spun at 33.25 rpm, about 0.25% slow, with a wow figure of ±0.32%, while at 45 rpm, its speed was 44.82 rpm (‑0.4%), with wow of ±0.64%. At 78 rpm, the results were 77.64 rpm (‑0.47%) and a wow of ±0.16%. Wow figures for all three speeds were higher than Dual’s spec: ±0.08% (DIN). These figures are higher than one wants to see, but only on one occasion did I hear any audible effects.
Operation
The CS 529 is pretty simple to operate. You can initiate playback manually by raising the tonearm with the cueing lever and moving it into position. When you move the arm, the platter will rotate at your selected speed. To use the automatic feature, depress the speed-selector knob briefly. The arm will lift up and automatically go to the lead-in groove that corresponds to the selected record size. At the end of the side, the arm will lift and return to its rest position. If you wish to stop listening before that point, push the speed selector again to manually prompt the arm to lift and return to rest. The turntable’s automatic operation is nearly silent. When it’s not in actual use, the automatic mechanism is decoupled from the arm.
To transmit the signal to a Bluetooth receiver, download the Dual app for either Apple or Android phones; QR codes in the owner’s manual make that simple. Make sure the output on the CS 529 is set to Line and put your device in pairing mode, then complete pairing by pressing the Pairing button on the turntable (the left-hand button) twice. Once the turntable and the playback device have been paired once, you only need to press the Pairing button on the Dual a single time to re-pair. The app allows you to set repeat cycles (up to ten repeats of a side) and sleep time. It’s somewhat limited in its functions, but it works as advertised. I don’t have any Bluetooth-enabled audio gear, so I didn’t use the wireless-playback feature.
Listening
I connected the CS 529 to one set of phono inputs on my vintage Apt Holman preamp, bypassing the phono stage built into the Dual ’table. The rest of my system comprised an NAD C 275BEE power amp and Acoustic Energy Radiance 3 floorstanding speakers.
First, a couple of overall observations about the Dual CS 529 and the Ortofon 2M Red. The 2M Red is a lively-sounding cartridge, with vibrant highs and upper mids. It can sound a bit brittle on records that are mastered hot. Also, it’s not very forgiving of pops, clicks, and surface noise, so cleaning records before playback is recommended. The Dual’s tonearm bearings have very low horizontal friction, as I discovered when I was starting a record manually and accidentally brushed the arm. It swung over to the end of the side and initiated the auto-shutoff.
For my critical listening, I started with a recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s ballet suite The Age of Gold, with Jean Martinon conducting the London Symphony Orchestra (London STS 15180). The second movement, marked Adagio, begins with a long oboe solo, which sounded very pure but a tad bright. When the oboe passage ends, a lone violin picks up the melody, accompanied by the rest of the strings. The solo violin also sounded very pure. Later, the rest of the orchestra enters and the movement builds to a great crescendo that, typical for the composer, is rather dissonant. I was impressed with the rendition of this early stereo recording by the CS 529 and 2M Red.
Next up was “Put It Where You Want It” from The Best of the Crusaders (MCA 2‑6006). The six members of the Crusaders are arrayed across the soundstage: rhythm guitar and percussion on the far left, keyboard and saxes (tenor and soprano) in the middle along with the bass, drums just to the right, and lead guitar on the far right. There’s not a lot of depth on this recording, although the tenor is positioned in front of the soprano, but the sound quality through the CS 529 was superb. The saxes wailed and Larry Carlton’s lead guitar wah-wahed beautifully. Bass was taut and deep. In all, a fine reproduction of this longtime favorite.
Gordon Lightfoot (RIP) has been one of my favorite singers for decades. One of his finest songs, in my opinion, is “Carefree Highway,” which is included in the 1975 two-LP compilation Gord’s Gold (Reprise 2RS‑2237). Overall, the sound presented by the Dual ’table was marvelous—the 12-string guitar shimmered, the bass was prominent but not overdone, the lead guitar, on the upper registers of the instrument, was suitably tinkly, and Lightfoot’s voice was as smooth as a great crème brûlée. Unfortunately, I noticed some wow in the sound of the backing strings or the synthesizer (I’m not sure which). It wasn’t particularly obnoxious, but there was some pitch unsteadiness that I did not hear on my reference vinyl rig—a Technics SL‑100C turntable and Goldring E4 cartridge.
When Chicago Transit Authority (renamed “Chicago” following legal action by the actual CTA) released its eponymous first album in 1969 (Columbia GP8), “Beginnings” was released as a single and went absolutely nowhere. Re-released in 1971, it became a major hit and has always been my favorite Chicago song. “Beginnings” may challenge Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” for having the most widely spaced drum kit in rock history, and this was convincingly rendered by the Dual-Ortofon combo. The large cymbal was far left, while the snare, hi‑hat, tom, and bass were just right of center, with a cymbal at the far right. The horns were arrayed across the back, except for the trombone and trumpet solos near the end. Also near the end, the wood block and cowbell came in on the right. The sound was crisp, a trait of the Ortofon 2M Red, but not excessively so. The solos were right up front, and their sound was exceptional: tight, crisp, and very clean. A good performance of a great song.
Looking through my records, I realized I hadn’t played The Alan Parsons Project’s The Turn of a Friendly Card album (Arista AL9518) in years. I bought the album for “Games People Play” and was not disappointed with the way it sounded played on this automatic rig. Again, the 2M Red demonstrated its propensity for intense high notes, which the many synthesizer settings in the song made evident. There are at least four throughout, not to mention a blistering guitar solo, which matched the intensity of the synthesizers’ offerings. Vocals were right in the middle, with synthesizers all across the soundstage. Tight drums and taut bass were in the middle. This was a highlight of my listening.
Is there a female rock singer with a better voice than Ann Wilson of Heart? I listened again to “Crazy on You” from their Dreamboat Annie LP (Capitol B0024861‑01). I especially like the strummed acoustic guitar at the very beginning that transitions to the searing lead-guitar part. The lead guitarist, Roger Fisher, does an incredible solo near the end. Throughout the tune, Fisher’s guitar is placed just below Ann Wilson’s voice in the mix, with the drums behind. Nancy Wilson’s acoustic guitar is initially on the right but moves to the center just before the lead comes in. The soundstage presented by the Dual was outstanding, with good breadth and depth. The mix, however, is pretty hot, so the 2M Red’s tendency towards stridency was sometimes a bit much. Still, the driving rhythm of the song, Ann Wilson’s soaring vocals, and Fisher’s driving guitar make the song a long-time favorite.
Comparing phono stages
To assess the CS 529’s built-in phono stage, I selected “Killer Joe” from The Best by Quincy Jones (A&M SP‑3200). This recording is heavily weighted to the right channel, with only occasional trumpet bursts from the left. When I played it through the CS 529’s internal phono stage, the sound was warm and slightly mellow, with good heft from the double bass and bass drum. It did feel stressed on a few high notes during the flute solo, but that was really all I could complain about. Through the Apt Holman’s phono preamp, which is an acclaimed design, the top end of the frequency range sounded more open, but that made the distortion on the flute solo more obvious. The bass drum was not as prominent with the Apt’s phono stage as it was through the CS 529’s preamp. In all, I thought the CS 529’s internal preamp was quite good and did justice to the sound of the record.
Conclusion
I’m of two minds about the Dual CS 529 turntable. On one hand, I was disappointed with the rather high wow measurements on all three speeds. And there’s the price: there are many fine turntables available for US$1300 to $1400, although I can’t think of any others that are automatics.
However, the mechanics of the CS 529 are superb. The automatic-stop and -return features exert practically no drag on the platter. The build quality is excellent. The built-in phono stage is one of the best I’ve tried. And the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge is outstanding for rock music.
If you have the budget and want a turntable that won’t harm your vinyl but offers the convenience of automatic operation, the Dual CS 529 is definitely a top choice. I’ve been a Dual fan for decades, and the CS 529 may be their best automatic offering yet.
. . . Thom Moon
thom@soundstagenetwork.com
Associated Equipment
- Turntable: Technics SL‑100C
- Phono cartridge: Goldring E4
- Preamplifier: Apt Holman
- Power Amplifier: NAD C 275BEE
- Speakers: Acoustic Energy Radiance 3
- Interconnects: Pro‑Ject Connect it E (turntable to preamp), Morrow Audio MA1 analog (preamp to power amp)
- Speaker cables: Nakamichi Excel 12-gauge OFC cable terminated in banana plugs
Dual CS 529 turntable with Ortofon 2M Red cartridge
Price: US$1299, CA$1699, £999, or €949 (black plinth); US$1399, CA$1999, £1099, or €1069 (walnut plinth)
Warranty: Five years (turntable only)
Dual Deutschland GmbH
Hauptstraße. 1 D 86925 Fuchstal
Germany
Phone: +49 (8191) 915 777-0
Email: info@dual.de
Website: dual.de/en
US distributor:
American Music & Sound
4325 Executive Dr
Southaven, MS 38672
Phone: (662) 342-4010
Website: americanmusicandsound.com
