Our Favorite Vintage Turntables!!! So Many Surprises!!!

I had an old Dual 1218. I put an ad on kijiji, "Free to a good home". 15 minutes later a 17-year-old kid was on the way. I still feel good about that.

I'm still using my Dual 1219, purchased in 1971. Recently took it in for a tune-up and it works like a charm.

Can never go wrong with a Technics in good shape. The amount of headaches you avoid having a swappable headshell, adjustable VTA, and the most reliable speed you could ask for is worth every penny. Only thing that sucks with the older models is the attached RCA.

Still spinning vinyl on my original Dual 1257. Solid as a rock even for being the more budget friendly Dual of the time. 43 years and going strong.

Don't forget about the Dual 1219!!! I have just restored a 1219 my older brother gave me. Solid built.. A nice heavy platter also...

I grew up with a Dual 1229 and was so sad when it bit the dust in 1985! I also loved that it muted during the automatic cycle and the noises that the unit itself made while it cycled! Peace.

My first table was a BSR. 1980 bought a used Duals 1216. I still have it and love it. Since then two 1215S, two 1216, 1218, 1225, 1226, 1229, and two 506 Duals. Love them all

Very nice video. I still have my Dual 1216 in a Sylvania case from 1974. Still works great.

I just got a very old but in great condition Rek O Kut T12 with a Shure 232 arm. It has that low idler noise floor but this beast is so dynamic and forceful in its music presentation. I'm amazed.

My Dual 701 turntable is great but I have also a Dual 1219, Linn Sondek LP-12 I visited the factory as a dealer in 1983 and all my turntables work great. I have hundreds of LP's in great shape. Working at a stereo store was great.

Picked up a Hitachi PS-48 a year ago for a fair price on looks for my spare listening room. Love this TT so much I actually got rid of my Rega.... Love the sound and appearance of vintage....just recently upgraded to a Grado Opus Cartridge and could not be happier 👍

Great post! I was a QA tech at the Dual U.S. main distribution location in Mount Vernon, N.Y. back in the late 70's. One of the main features on their turntables was how accurately you could balance the tone arm. At audio shows we would mount the turntable upside down on a rack and play a record. The tone arms were so finely balanced that there was minimal wear on your vinyl. Beautifully engineered.

I appreciate your connection with turntables and that "connection" to vinyl. Its something I was blessed to grow up with and it sounds better with the right turntable and amp/speakers. I have a Fluance RT83 with upgraded plate and Ortofon Blue cartridge. Staying with heritage and media that has so much historic meaning in history is so much more than many in our electronically advanced society will truly enjoy. Thanks for sharing!

Great video thanks. I have a Dual 504 I bought in 1974. It's all original with dust cover and it works great. Glad you like them.

I'm using a DUAL 704 Electronic Direct Drive, with a Nagaoka JT322 cart with a Shibata Naked diamond stylus. In total it cost me less then €500 and I love it! I have a custom made acrylic dust cover on it as well, looks so good. I did go from vinyl to CD during the 90's, but now I use both as they both have their strong and weak points. The thing about vinyl is that it takes more time and effort to properly use it (starts with cleaning any new record), which in turn makes you really take time to sit down and listen to the music.

I’ve owned many high end and vintage turntables and my FAVORITE one was always the AR XA due to it’s SIMPLICITY and tone arms that would virtually float down towards the vinyl.

Great video. I live very close to Skylabs and have been there a few times over the past few years. Always a welcome greeting, happy to chat and answer questions, and the "bench" is in plain sight. They do it all! My 2 turntables are a Technics SL1200 MK2 and a 1972 AR XA which I rehabbed myself. One is a fancy vintage deal, the other probably the world's simplest turntable. Love em both for different reasons.

I am still using the family Philips 312 turntable from 1979. Only issue it ever had was a fractured rca connector. Replaced the cables and sounds better than new.

The AR was my first turntable in 1972 and still my fave. Still working after heavy use for 50 years. I got other turntables but kept coming back to these. I have 2 now.

That´s a nice video! I still have the 1229 I bought new in the 70s, accompanied by a Lenco L78, a Dual 502, and a CEC BD-3200. The nice thing with classic turntables is: when they are well cleaned and properly lubricated, when they have a cartridge that fits to the toneam in its compliance, when the cart is properly aligned, and when you have added a bit of damping and fiddling, then any of those machines sounds really good. So really it is useless to debate which of those is "he best".