Dual CS 435-1 Automatic Turntable

The Dual CS 435-1 is a fully automatic belt-drive turntable from the German manufacturer's automatic range. Designed as a plug-and-play solution, it pairs the convenience of fully automatic operation with the engineering precision Dual has refined over decades of turntable production in Germany. The CS 435-1 sits alongside the CS 435-1 EV (which adds a built-in phono preamplifier) in the entry-level automatic lineup, below the CS 429 and CS 529 models.

Construction

The CS 435-1 is built around a solid wooden console that provides a rigid, acoustically inert foundation. The aluminium platter sits atop the chassis with an antistatic felt mat to reduce static charge on vinyl surfaces. Drive comes from a DC motor with electronic speed control, connected to the platter via a polished flat belt. Two speeds are supported: 33 and 45 RPM.

Tonearm & Cartridge

The weight-balanced tonearm features adjustable counterweight and anti-skating force, allowing fine-tuning of tracking performance. The torsion-resistant headshell uses a standard 13mm (1/2-inch) cartridge mount, making future cartridge upgrades straightforward. The turntable ships with an Audio Technica AT-91E moving magnet cartridge fitted as standard.

A viscosity-damped arm lift provides smooth, controlled cueing. The fully automatic mechanism handles tonearm placement at the start of a record and returns it to the rest position at the end, with an auto-stop function that halts the platter once playback is complete.

Connectivity

Output is via a stereo RCA cable with a separate ground cable. As the CS 435-1 does not include a built-in phono stage, it requires connection to a phono input on an amplifier or a standalone phono preamplifier. The EV variant of this turntable adds an integrated phono equaliser for direct connection to a line-level input.