Harman Kardon T-60 vs Dual 721


I have a Dual 721 that works great, and I'm considering putting a Sumiko Pearl cart on it. However, I could pick up a Hardan Kardon T-60 with the Ito arm on it, supposedly in good shape. I would have to get a new cart for the HK.

Does anyone have opinions about these older TTs ?
The HK T-60 is represented as in very good shape, and as the "poor man's Linn Sondek".
The Dual is just a great TT with a very solid direct drive.

I need to make a decision is a couple of days, so any knowledgeable advice is useful to me.

I know neither of these is a contemporary model like a Technics 1200, or a Pro-Ject, but a couple hundred dollars is is my budget arena.

Basic question is this, is it an upgrade over the Dual 721 to get the HK T-60?

Craig
craig_c

Showing 1 response by aliu2

I have no experience with the Dual 721, (do have a Dual 606, however) so I can not give an accurate comparison between that and the HK T-60. Although I can tell you that I used the T60 with Ito arm for four years and had very good sound with it. I think it's a decent TT but wouldn't pay much more than $300 for one. One change that significantly improved the sound of my T60 was getting rid of the stock rubber mat(this is a must) and replacing it with a carbon fiber TT mat of similar thickness. There's no VTA adjust on the tonearm which was is a downside if you really want to optimize settings for different cartridges, and also, the quartz-lock speed was a bit crude and resulted in audible speed variances--not a recommended setting for more serious listening. The autolift feature at the end of LPs can be defeated to free the tonearm of interferences. There are RCA jacks at the rear to allow changing of interconnects--a nice feature in this older TT as some older TTs are fitted with cheap TT RCA wires. Overall though, it still fell short in about every aspect of sound when compared to the Linn LP12 I currently use.