Vintage Dual 1228 Turntable : worth to upgrade cartridge ?

Norman,
" Enjoy your Dual, when you can, and only if you feel the need too,  upgrade.  But make sure the upgrade is an actual upgrade in sound, not just in cost."

Yes, I am really enjoying my Dual as of now and find it more and more musical and wish to spend more time listening to it. As it happened , my CD Transport has gone for some repairs for last 3 weeks and that forced me to use Dual TT for consistently longer period. Now looks like I have started to discover the beauty of analog sound. 
My new JICO stylus will be arriving before end of this month and may add to the pleasure of listening. 
Looks  like I am fine with this Dual for the time being . Future upgrade , after a year may be , will surely be, like you wisely advised , " on merit of sound , and not just cost". 
I have one question : despite cleaning of cartridge , stylus , etc, my Dual still makes "thud"  noise ( through speakers )  when the tonearm lifts at the start  and again when stylus sits on the leading groove of the record . During the play of entire record , there is absolutely no issues. "thud" nose is unpleasant (and scary at higher  volume level !) . What could be the problem and how to solve it ? suggestions will be welcome.
Thanks

Radni,

There is a black box on underneath the turntable toward the left hand side. The power cord plugs into it.  Unplug the power cord and remove the two screws.  There you will find a capacitor.  Replace it as it is no longer suppressing the engagement of the switch, which is what you are hearing.  That, or turn the volume down before setting the stylus into the groove.

You can do an online search and get the pdf of the 1228 service manual.

Norman

Thanks Norman,
I will sure try to replace that capacitor ASAP. I will be very happy if this solves the problem .In the mean time , I am turning the volume down at the start of the play. I have the service manual of 1228 , but could not find solution to my problem . 
I also got my JICO stylus N95HE yesterday , within 4 days from shipment from Japan , and had it installed on my current cartridge Shure M95ED . So far Only briefly listened to it , and for first 15 -20 minutes I did not find any improvement , but for next 1 hour I found it much better , I noticed I never  heard some of my familiar tracks like this before. I think I am going to be very happy with this stylus. 

Radni,

I only have one Dual cartridge alignment jig left.  If you want to send me your mounted cartridge I would be happy yo align it for you (I'll take photos) and send it right back.  My email is n@normansizemore.com

Or, I will loan the jig to you if you promise to send it back.

Norman

Radni,

The JICO is a very good stylus.. You'll be happy with it. Ed Saunders also makes an excellent replacement for the Shure.

N.