I'm going to modify my Dual cs505-3.....

[Dancing_Priest]

Hi all
About this time last year I bought a dual cs505-3 on ebay in good condition. Since then I've replaced the cartridge and pitch control belt, but now I've got a hankering to do something a bit more extreme. Its a common enough unit and can be had on ebay for €50 so i wont feel guilty about messing about with it.
I'm not expecting any miracles, this is just a little project to see if I can improve it for little or no money.
Well, before I hammer into the project I'll run my ideas by you guys and see what you think.

1- replace the interconnects, the current ones are €2 ones soldered directly into the unit


2-replace the mains cable, the current one is very tatty!
With anything in paticular?What you you guys recomend?

3- make a new mat, the current one is made of rubber and is warped

4- Remove the 33/45 rpm switching mechanism, it rubs loudly against the belt and rattles, and I only own one 45!

5- Remove the auto stop at the end of the record, theres quite a lot of metal attached to the tonearm, and once again, its something that I never get a chance to use

6- Curently the deck is suspended on springs inside a plinth with a plastic base, I would like to fill the plinth with sand and mount the deck on solid stilts directly onto the sand in the plinth

7- The motor is screwed directly onto the deck, I would like to isolate it with felt and mount it in the sand under the deck.

Theres not a lot about this deck on the forums so I thought I'd run my ideas before I steam on ahead, with photos (if anyone wants)
So what do you guys think?

[PigletsDad]

If I remember, Dual TTs of this era had a subchassis made of pressed metal, which is fairly resonant. You could try damping the subchassis, taking care to keep clear of the working parts.

[Dancing_Priest]

Right, an update
Last night:

*I lubed up all that needed to be lubed.

*I made a new mat consisting of a junk record combined with a rubbery mesh type material.

*I removed the auto shut off mechanism, quite a lot of metal is now out of the subchassis.

*I also removed the 33/45 rpm switching mechanism, which was responsible for a lot of noise.

*I realigned the cartridge and reset the tracking force.

Resulting in......
A small change in the sound quality.

I also noticed that there is a perceptable wobble in the platter. Which I dont imagine is a good thing........

Anyway, tonight, Im going to clean some of my vinyl in a heavily diluted dish washing detergent

[Werner]

The classic 505 tweak was to build a much bigger wooden plinth,
filled with sand.

The subchassis is very ringy indeed.

You can also replace the subchassis-mounted motor with something
much quieter, like a Maxon Re-Max motor. There are sonic benefits to
a motor mounted hard on the subchassis. The reason this wasn't done
too often is that quiet motors were a rarity.