Analog Gear News

One of the many affordable turntables that impressed us at High End Munich 2024 was Dual’s CS 529, which features a twin gimbal tonearm and a pre-mounted Ortofon 2M Red cartridge (among other things), so we felt it was time to give the German company’s latest a closer look — and perhaps even consider it for a future AP review as well.

The fully automatic CS 529 table sports a stainless-steel arm bearing in a four-point design, and it utilizes pivot ball bearings for “optimum” record tracking. It also has its own control app for smartphone, tablet, or desktop operation and a remote controller, plus Qualcomm’s 5.2 aptX HD Bluetooth pairing for one device at a time (such as wireless headphones or active speakers). The app allows users the option to repeat tracks, change playback speeds (33⅓, 45, 78rpm), or even fine-tune the speed incrementally.

The CS 529’s plinth is solid MDF, the subchassis boasts rubber dampers, and you have a walnut wood veneer finish option in addition to the standard black veneer. (Both options are shown throughout this story.) The aluminum die-cast platter has a hardened steel spindle in a brass bushing, and comes with a heavy rubber mat.

Other specs and features for the CS 529 include an effective arm length of 221.5mm, offset angle of 25.6 degrees, overhang of 19mm, stylus pressure range of 0g to 4g, cartridge weight range of 5g to 9g, 0.62mm Elastomer feet, RCA connectors for phono and line inputs, and an external power supply.

The dimensions of the CS 529 table are 400 x 145 x 415mm (w/h/dj; the d is 324mm and the h is 367mm with the supplied dustcover in place), and its weight is 6.7kg\.

Finally, the SRP for the Dual CS 529 turntable is $1,199. (Sounds like a good review option to us.)

For more about Dual, go here.
To find an authorized Dual dealer, go here.