Dual has been building turntables and turntable mechanisms in Germany since 1907, and that century-plus of experience shows in the design philosophy behind the CS 718Q. This is a deck aimed squarely at the enthusiast who wants a serious platform rather than a plug-and-play convenience machine. It arrives with a direct drive motor system, a carbon-aluminium tonearm, and both single-ended and balanced outputs, but it deliberately leaves the cartridge and phono stage choices to you. That is a statement of intent: the CS 718Q is a foundation you build on, not a finished sound signature imposed from the factory.
In the broader Dual catalog, the CS 718Q sits toward the reference-minded end of the lineup. The "Q" in the name and the emphasis on adjustability (azimuth, dynamic balance, a removable headshell) mark it as a tool for people who understand cartridge alignment and want to control the variables themselves. Below it in spirit sit the more turnkey belt-drive Dual decks; the CS 718Q is where the brand hands the reins to the listener.
Drive System and Motor Topology
What does direct drive mean on the CS 718Q, and why does it matter?
Direct drive means the platter sits directly on the motor spindle, with the motor turning the platter at exactly playing speed instead of using a belt or an idler wheel as an intermediary. On the CS 718Q this is the core architectural decision that shapes everything downstream. In a direct drive system the motor is a low-speed, high-torque design coupled to a servo control circuit that constantly measures actual platter speed and corrects it in real time.
The audible and practical benefits are threefold. First, torque and startup: the platter reaches its rated speed quickly and holds it under the drag of the stylus. Second, speed stability: because a feedback loop is watching rotation continuously, the platter resists the tiny fluctuations that manifest as wow and flutter, the slow warble and fast quiver that smear pitch. Third, longevity and consistency: there is no belt to stretch, harden, or shed elasticity over years of use, so the deck's speed behavior does not drift as a consumable ages. The tradeoff a good direct drive design must manage is isolating the motor's own electrical and mechanical noise from the platter, which is why the quality of the bearing, the platter mass, and the control electronics all matter as much as the "direct drive" label itself.
What speeds does the CS 718Q play, and how does it change between them?
The CS 718Q plays 33 1/3 and 45 RPM, the two speeds that cover the overwhelming majority of vinyl in circulation, from standard LPs to 45 RPM singles and audiophile 45 RPM reissues. In a direct drive system speed selection is handled electronically: the servo circuit is simply told to target a different rotational reference, and the motor is driven accordingly. There is no belt to reposition on a stepped pulley.
For the enthusiast, the practical payoff is that switching to 45 RPM, which many pressings use precisely because the higher linear groove velocity improves high-frequency resolution and dynamic headroom, is immediate and repeatable. Because the same servo loop governs both speeds, the accuracy you rely on at 33 1/3 carries over to 45.
The Tonearm and Cartridge Interface
What is the CS 718Q tonearm made of, and why a carbon-aluminium sandwich?
The tonearm is a carbon-aluminium sandwich tube with precision dynamic balance, meaning the arm wand combines two materials with complementary properties to manage resonance while keeping mass low. Carbon fiber is extremely stiff for its weight and has excellent internal damping, so it dissipates vibrational energy rather than storing and re-radiating it. Aluminium adds rigidity and helps distribute mechanical energy along the tube. Bonding them together produces a wand that is both stiff and self-damping, which is exactly the combination a tonearm needs.
Here is why this matters at the stylus. As the stylus traces a groove, it generates vibration, and any energy that is not converted into an electrical signal by the cartridge travels back up into the arm. If the arm tube rings at a particular frequency, that resonance colors the sound and can smear detail. A carbon-aluminium sandwich pushes structural resonances out of the critical audio band and damps whatever remains, so the cartridge is working against a stable, quiet reference. Low effective mass also matters for cartridge matching: it keeps the arm-cartridge resonance in the desirable window (typically the low bass region well above warp frequencies and well below the audio band), which reduces the risk of both subsonic pumping and mistracking.
What does "precision dynamic balance" mean for tracking?
Precision dynamic balance refers to how the tonearm applies tracking force and maintains stability while the record is playing, as opposed to only balancing the arm at rest. A dynamically balanced arm uses a spring mechanism to apply vertical tracking force, which means the downforce stays more consistent when the arm encounters a warp or when the surface it sits on is not perfectly level. A purely static (counterweight-only) arm relies on gravity alone, so any tilt or vertical movement can momentarily change the effective force on the stylus.
The benefit is more consistent groove contact. When a warp lifts the front of the record, a dynamically balanced arm keeps the stylus pressed into the groove with steadier force, which reduces mistracking on demanding passages and helps the cartridge deliver its rated performance. For an experienced user, this also makes the deck more forgiving of real-world records that are not laboratory flat.
Can you change the cartridge and set azimuth on the CS 718Q?
Yes, the CS 718Q has a removable, azimuth-adjustable headshell, which gives you two important degrees of control that many fixed-headshell decks omit. The removable design means you can mount several cartridges on separate headshells and swap them in seconds without redoing the entire alignment each time, ideal for anyone who runs, say, a mono cartridge alongside a stereo one, or wants to compare cartridges.
Azimuth adjustment sets the perpendicularity of the stylus to the record surface as viewed from the front. When azimuth is correct, the stylus sits symmetrically in the groove and the two channels are properly balanced, which sharpens the stereo image, improves channel separation, and lowers crosstalk-induced distortion. If azimuth is off, one channel effectively "leans" into the groove wall differently from the other, blurring the soundstage. Being able to dial this in is exactly what a discerning listener wants from a reference-oriented deck, because it lets you optimize each individual cartridge rather than accepting a factory compromise.
Why does the CS 718Q ship without a cartridge?
The CS 718Q ships without a cartridge because it is designed for owners who want to select the transducer themselves. The cartridge is the single component with the largest influence on the final sound, and an experienced listener usually has strong preferences: a particular moving magnet or moving coil design, a specific stylus profile, a compliance rating matched to the arm's effective mass. By leaving the choice open, Dual avoids bundling a cartridge that you would likely replace anyway, and it lets the removable, azimuth-adjustable headshell do its job with the pickup you actually chose.
Practically, this means you should factor cartridge compliance into your selection so that the arm-cartridge resonance lands in the safe window, and you should budget setup time for alignment, tracking force, and azimuth. That is a feature, not a burden, for the target user.
Outputs, Phono Stage, and System Integration
Does the CS 718Q have a built-in phono preamp?
No, the CS 718Q does not include a built-in phono preamp, which is a deliberate choice consistent with its reference intent. The signal from a phono cartridge is tiny and requires both substantial gain and RIAA equalization (the inverse of the curve used to cut the record) before it can drive a line-level input. A built-in preamp is convenient, but it also fixes the gain, loading, and sonic character in place.
By omitting it, Dual lets you pair the deck with an external phono stage matched to your cartridge, whether that is a moving magnet stage or a moving coil stage with adjustable loading and gain. This keeps the sensitive, low-level phono circuitry away from the motor and its control electronics, and it lets you upgrade the phono stage independently over time without touching the turntable. For the enthusiast this is the correct division of labor.
What is the difference between the RCA and XLR outputs on the CS 718Q?
The CS 718Q offers both RCA unbalanced outputs and XLR balanced outputs, and the difference lies in how each carries the signal and rejects noise. An RCA connection is single-ended: it carries the signal on one conductor referenced to ground. This is the traditional, universally compatible interface and works well over short runs into any standard phono input.
An XLR balanced connection carries the signal on two conductors of opposite polarity plus a separate ground. At the receiving end, the balanced input subtracts one leg from the other, and any noise picked up equally on both conductors (hum, interference from nearby power supplies) cancels out. This common-mode rejection is especially valuable with phono-level signals because they are so small that any induced noise is proportionally significant. A balanced connection also suits longer cable runs and systems where the turntable and preamp sit apart. Having both outputs means the CS 718Q integrates cleanly whether your downstream gear is conventional or fully balanced, and you can choose the path that gives you the lowest noise floor in your specific room.
Build, Power, and Where It Fits
How does the CS 718Q handle power and vibration?
The CS 718Q addresses power and vibration through the discipline that direct drive imposes on the whole design. Because the motor is servo-controlled, the associated electronics must deliver clean, stable current so the control loop can hold speed without introducing electrical noise into the signal path. Keeping that motor and its supply managed and separated from the low-level cartridge signal is central to why the deck offers external phono connectivity rather than an onboard stage.
Mechanically, the goal is always to give the stylus a quiet reference. The carbon-aluminium tonearm damps vibration at the pickup end, and a competent direct drive platter and bearing system provide the rotational mass and stability that resist stylus-induced disturbance. Every one of these choices serves the same aim: ensure that the only energy the cartridge converts into signal is the energy in the groove, not resonance from the arm, the platter, or the motor.
Where does the CS 718Q sit in the Dual lineup, and who is it for?
The CS 718Q sits toward the reference-oriented, enthusiast end of Dual's range, distinguished from the brand's more turnkey belt-drive models by its direct drive system, its adjustable carbon-aluminium arm, and its dual output topology. Where a more entry-level Dual deck may include a cartridge and a built-in phono stage to get you playing immediately, the CS 718Q assumes you want to make those decisions yourself and gives you the control to do it well.
This is a turntable for the listener who values speed stability, resonance control, and system flexibility, and who is comfortable choosing a cartridge, aligning it, setting azimuth, and pairing an external phono stage. In return it offers a platform that grows with you: swap cartridges via the removable headshell, refine channel balance through azimuth, connect balanced or single-ended, and upgrade the phono stage independently. That combination of German engineering heritage and open-ended, adjustable design is exactly what places the CS 718Q where it belongs, as a serious tool for the committed vinyl enthusiast.