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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
normansizemore
473 posts
 
Radni,

The 1228 is by no means the last word in turntables, but it's certainly good enough to get back into the vinyl game. My Dual 1229 is my
personal favorite and gets daily use. 

Get a new Shure, any Audio Technica or Nagaoka cartridge. 
You don't have to spend a fortune to enjoy vinyl playback. Properly set up the 1228 will  blow yhe average  CD player into the weeds. 

N. 


radni OP
83 posts
 
I wish to decide for a new cartridge between Shure M97XE and Audio Technica 440 MLb .  With my limited knowledge , I take it that both carts are suitable to be fitted on tone arm of my Dual 1228 without much difficulty. 
I will sure appreciate views from here , especially from yogiboy , mesch, normansizemore . Between the two carts , which one would you suggest?
After new cart , I will test the water for few months  or a year at the most , see if I am drawn into analogue , then   go for a new TT and new phono  
Thanks guys  for all your help. 
Ag insider logo xs@2x
mesch
1,679 posts
 
I once had a Dual 1219 with a Shure V15 cartridge on it. Was very impressive for its day and $ (1970, bought on Okinawa US Base).  I have not heard either of your choices. Check out the specs and make sure they have synergy with the Cambridge phonostage regarding gain and capacitance. 
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
2,678 posts
 
Since you already have a Shure on the arm now, I don’t think you would go wrong replacing it with another Shure. I can’t give you a comment on the AT as I don’t know how it will work with the Dual arm.
You can be sure with the Shure!
donvito101
278 posts
 
+1 yogiboy
Would you put on a set of high end Michelin tires on a 1977 Chevrolet Vega?
Makes no sense to spend more than $100 on a cartridge for a 40 year old Dual table !
The Shure is fine.
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