Disparity in prices for replacement belts

[Woochifer]

I did receive a response from The Needle Doctor, and it stated that the $50 is for an original Dual belt, which they purchase from Dual in Germany, and whose price has gone up with the devaluation of the dollar. They actually recommended the PRB belt instead, and said that when customers order the OEM belt, they suggest the PRB belt as a less expensive, but equally good, alternative.

The Needle Doctor has been pretty good in my dealings with them. When I ordered my Ortofon OM30 from them, they had a special running in a Stereophile ad. The sale had already ended on their website, and they were out of inventory on the OM30. But, they agreed to sell me the OM cartridge body plus a 30 replacement stylus for the sale price. I would also guess that their margin on that OEM Dual belt and the PRB belt might be similar.

Insofar as maintaining the belt, I can remember what AR suggested doing with theirs, all the way back to 1964: clean it with alcohol, and then dust it, not with baking soda, but with talcum powder. In all the years I owned an AR turntable, I never had to replace the belt.

Ah! Thanks for the correction! Because of that quartz lock control (and the heavy platter), the CS5000 unfortunately requires much more frequent belt replacement than an AR turntable.