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Vintage Dual 1228 Turntable : worth to upgrade cartridge ?

I have from my college days (1977) Dual 1228 with original fitted Shure M95ED cartridge .  It is maintained well , not used for about 20 years in between , but just cleaned , lubricated , resoldered some loose connections , etc and just runs great for me. 
I am not too much into analogue , so not planning to do big time investment into new TT , Phono preamp , but if  can get larger benefit by replacing the Shure M 95 ED with some new cart upto $ 200-300 , I would like to do it . 
My Phono preamp is very low end Cambridge Audio MM 551P . To go with new upgraded cartridge , I may even consider to buy used Phono with budget of $1000 . 
I would appreciate advice form FMs here , where I should spend my money to get most benifit on sound improvement . New cart , new phono ? 

radni
orpheus10
5,988 posts
 

Analog is a case of run with the big dogs or stay at home. It will cost you a minimum of 3K to get into the ball park being discussed here most of the time, and that's just beginning.

If you just want to occasionally hear some of your old records, a new cartridge in that range would be fine. I used a Shure V15 back in the day.

In regard to your question; even if you bought a 1K cartridge, you wouldn't get much improvement in sound with that turntable. There is a formula for how much to spend in regard to TT, tone arm, and cartridge; meaning that all have to be in the same ball park in order to get your money's worth.


Enjoy the music.
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yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
2,678 posts
 
Replace the older Shure with a new one. If you are not into analog ,why spend anymore than this ?
http://www.needledoctor.com/Shure-M97XE?sc=2&category=380
radni OP
83 posts
 
Thanks for your responses . The verdict is quite clear about old Dual 1228. I will not do for upgrade of cartridge as not worth it. 
I will consider again if I am wanting to go into this serious business of Analog , and if I decide to go I will put a starting budget of $3000 for a new TT and cartridge , and further $500-1000 down the road for a used phono preamp . But I have to first make up my mind if  its my cup of tea. 
Thank you , ebm, orpheus10 and tooblue . 

radni OP
83 posts
 
Yogiboy,
will Shure M97XE be a good upgrade over my current Shure M95ED ?  M97XE is only $100 , so I don't mind buying it even if there is noticeable improvement . Will M97XE fit on my Dual 1228 arm ? 
Thanks 

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