When my Dual 506 died after 24 years of faithful service, I shopped for a mid- priced turntable and this Sony had many of the same features as the Dual - like a low-mass s-shaped tonearm, strobe speed indicator, and gram settings for stylus pressure and anti-skating. If you're looking for a fully manual turntable at a reasonable price, then this one is for you. Overall I'm very pleased with the quality and smooth operation. One disappointment, however, is that there is no auto shut- off when the record ends - the stylus just stays in the runoff groove and your stereo sounds like a bad '40's B- Movie until you get up and cue the tonearm. One other wish would be that Sony would identify the supplied stylus more precisely - "a m/m needle" is a poor description. Since I had no idea of the quality of the cartridge supplied, I spent the extra money and purchased an Ortofon that I'll use for my better records. One last thing, if you have no experience setting up a turntable, make sure you read and understand the instructions before you start.