Dual -
Automatic Turntable with Arm and Cartridge in Black
CS455-1

Do you want a manual or an automatic turntable?

And more importantly, what is the difference?

In short, a manual turntable is more work. It makes playing the music very deliberate.

With a manual turntable, you have to manually lower the tonearm onto the record to start playing and when the record is over, you have to lift the tonearm back into its resting position.

An automatic turntable, on the other hand, takes that work away.

Once you place the record, all you have to do is press a button (or push the lever) and the tonearm will automatically lower onto the record and then when the record is over, the tonearm with lift and return back to its resting position. It’s a minor bit of automation but with a big effect; it makes your turntable essentially a press-and-play machine.

What are the advantages of an automatic turntable?

The biggest advantage of an automatic turntable is that you don’t have to worry about placing the stylus. That can be a big relief if you’re just getting into vinyl because you won’t have to worry about missing the edge of the record or placing the stylus cleanly. And it’s important to do so; if done improperly this can scratch and ruin the record, not to mention make a terrible screeching sound in the process.With an automatic turntable, there’s also less likelihood of you damaging your turntable’s stylus; most automatic turntables have an “auto off” feature that also picks up and returns the tonearm, that way the stylus doesn’t keep riding the record for hours before you realize it’s still on.

At one stage Dual was Europe's largest manufacturer of Turntables, this is German engineering for beautiful sound.