Dual sales manager Lothar Mertens presented the company’s full line of manual turntables, along with an intriguing prototype: the CS 718Q, a manual direct-drive 3-speed model.
The manual lineup includes the CS 418 belt-drive 3-speed turntable ($590, all prices approximate when converted from Euros); the CS 518 belt-drive 3-speed ’table with Classic Dual tonearm ($750–900); and the CS 618Q direct-drive 3-speed model with auto-lift and stop functions ($1300 and up).
"It all started with the CS 701 turntable in 1973," Mertens explained of the CS 718Q prototype. “That was the first Dual and European turntable with a direct-drive motor. It was designed in cooperation with Hermann Papst, an ex-Dual employee who founded his own company.” After that, for many years it was company tradition to equip Dual’s entry-level products (the 400 and 500 series) with belt-drive, while the higher-tier models received direct-drive (600 and 700 series).
The CS 718 is a direct descendant of the CS 714, Mertens said. All past 700 CS models had a spring-loaded tracking force. The company reintroduced this feature in the current CS series. The benefit, claims Dual, is "better tracking on records that are not perfectly flat. The anti-skating stays precise across the record."
Dual’s CS 718Q turntable is scheduled for release in 2026; the price has not yet been announced.
"It all started with the CS 701 turntable in 1973," Mertens explained of the CS 718Q prototype. “That was the first Dual and European turntable with a direct-drive motor. It was designed in cooperation with Hermann Papst, an ex-Dual employee who founded his own company.” After that, for many years it was company tradition to equip Dual’s entry-level products (the 400 and 500 series) with belt-drive, while the higher-tier models received direct-drive (600 and 700 series).
The CS 718 is a direct descendant of the CS 714, Mertens said. All past 700 CS models had a spring-loaded tracking force. The company reintroduced this feature in the current CS series. The benefit, claims Dual, is "better tracking on records that are not perfectly flat. The anti-skating stays precise across the record."
Dual’s CS 718Q turntable is scheduled for release in 2026; the price has not yet been announced.
