Dual Soundburger (Audio Technica) Portable RecordPlayer

$

150

Hi there beat boys and B-Girls. You are bidding on a Dual Soundburger from the 80s and some extras too! I blew my Christmas bonus on this portable record player (hey! – I deserved a good present!) but I need to sell it now as I’m getting a Sony PsF5 soon and I have way too many portables as it is.

Audio Technica first produced the soundburger (aka Mister Disc) in the early 80s as an update on the classic Emerson Wondergram design. Soon Dual and Nordmende copied the design and for a little while it looked like it would become the standard for record players to rival the success of Sony’s Walkman. Electronics companies manufactured ghettoblasters which incorporated the soundburger into their design and there was even a soundburger called the Sky Studio which had a tape player built in!

I cant vouch for the quality of the SkyStudio or those old ghettoblasters but I can tell you that this particular Dual is fantastic. I spent months looking at soundburgers on Ebay wondering if they were any good. No doubt you are wondering the same thing. Well wonder no more! Here’s an in depth description of the unit:

The unit measures 29cm x 6.5cm x 10cm (wxhxd). It has 2 speeds 33 and 45, is lighter than I expected and best of all it sounds FAB. Stop lugging about your Vestax Handytrax and go for something a lot neater & more compact – you wont be disappointed. I’ve seen so many listings on ebay for portables that say great for beat hunting etc etc. But quite often the sound of the units just doesn’t do justice to the records. You will loose out on the drums and bass – and there the 2 things you need to hear when you’re checking out a tune.

The Dual Soundburger has 2 headphone inputs (please excuse me if I get my inputs & outputs confused) so two people can listen to a record in secrecy. It also has 2 outputs so you can hook it up to your Lasonic ghettoblaster and rock the party. Or hook it up to your separates (as shown in the picture) and use it as an every day record player.

The unit is in great physical condition except for a small scratch about an inch long on the top of the player (around where the Dual logo is). I tried to take a picture of it but it didn’t come out – it’s not all that visible. It is NOT a crack, it is a scratch.

The unit runs on 3 1.5 v batteries (I think they are the same as boombox batteries) or a 4.5 V DC plug. I didn’t get the plug/adapter with the unit so you will have to buy one. I’ve been running the player off the batteries and it doesn’t seem too tough on the batteries.

I have rigorously tested this unit for about an hour a day for the last 2 weeks. I have played 45s and lps on it to make sure everything was running okay. The sound quality is great. It is louder and in my opinion way better than a Columbia GP-3, Handytrax, Fisher Price player, Fidelity or Deejay players and any other portables you can get on ebay. I’ve been collecting portable record players for about 5 years now (I KNOW! IT’S SAD!) and the Dual plays louder and clearer than anything else I’ve used.

This unit comes to you with a newly fitted Dual needle. As already stated I have been testing this unit but I’ve only played about 20 records on it with the new needle. So you should get AT LEAST another 2 months of constant use out of this needle, if not more. The needle cost me $40 so you are saving yourself extra by bidding on this unit. Usually you would have to factor in the cost of a needle when buying a portable. You’ll also get the original Dual dustbag. My digital camera gave up on me the other day so I’ve had to scan in the dustbag – it’s the grey thing in the picture, along with the needle case (so you know what needle to order next time) & another extra – the DUAL PRP5 manual. I bought this photocopy of the manual for about $8 as I wasn’t sure if the soundburger would work or not. So IF you encounter any problems in the future you will have the manual as a reference. I will also include the necessary cables for you to hook the player up to your amp if required. The cables I have are pretty standard, they’re not gold tipped or anything fancy but they will do the job.

hopefully the image of the dustbag is showing here but if not try the link or email me and i will send you the picture of the dustbag and manual - I'm not very good at all this HTML stuff - email me if you need the pictures - there should be 3 showing on the page. Now for the small print – I prefer payment through paypal. I have set a reasonable reserve price on this auction. I will probably get less than I paid for it but I don’t mind too much. I will ONLY ship this by airmail and the buyer MUST pay for insurance. Please allow for up to $30 for postage & insurance. It will probably work out less - I meant to go to the post office yesterday but I was too hungover. I will confirm the postal rate at the end of the auction.

There’s only one little fault with this player. There are 2 inputs for headphones. But only one works properly. When I first got the player I intended to use it as a portable but when I plugged in my headphones to the faulty socket it sounded like all the records I was playing were covered in dirt – which they weren’t. I thought it was the needle – which is why I ordered a new one. But that didn’t help. Then my friend gave it a go and plugged into the other headphone socket and the sound was excellent. I don’t know exactly what the fault is but I am sure it is something quite easy to repair. If you have any questions or concerns about this fault please email me and I will try explain myself a bit better. Apart from that the only fault is that the player wont tolerate dust on the needle and is very sensitive to dusty grooves so make sure you give your platters a wipe before spinning them.

Please check my feedback, it’s all good so you can be sure I wont rip you off. If any buyers from Ireland are interested in this unit I can meet you in Dublin so you don’t have to pay the shipping charge.

This is an excellent chance to get this unit for a reasonable price. The Dual soundburger is more rare than the Audio Technica Soundburger and it’s not as garish. The AudioTechnica in yellow or red can look a bit naff. You wont be embarrassed to pull this unit out of your record bag! And as it’s more unusual than the Audio Technica all your pals will be dead impressed. Play your Roxanne Shante, Grandmaster Flash, Main Source, Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, De La Soul, Cold Crush & Ultramagnetic MCS lps on the bus, in the park or anywhere!

I ACCEPT PAYMENT BY PAYPAL & CASH SENT REGISTERED POST

I accept Euro & Pound Sterling & U.S. Dollar payments through PayPal!

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL ME @

sutchandsuch@eircom.net

Thanks for Looking & Good Luck