Denon Turntables


Denon turntables are not the most well known turntables in the world. Cartridges, sure. They have created some of the most well respected cartridges of all time. But are their turntables equally as good?

History of Denon Turntables

Denon is a Japanese electronics company established as part of a larger company in 1910. Initially manufacturing gramophones and single-sided records, the company merged many times over the next few decades. After absorbing Japan Denki Onkyo, the Denon name was born.

Some of Denon’s achievements include the manufacturing of the first LP records in Japan and the creation of the legendary DL-103 cartridge.

Denon continue to create wonderful moving coil cartridges today, and have expanded in to the world of home theatre – including receivers and blu-ray players.

 Denon Turntables Today

Denon turntable model numbers are all prefixed with ‘DP’. Their vintage turntables are generally well made and sound excellent.

Unfortunately, their best turntables are incredibly hard to find. This is likely why they come up rarely in discussions of the best vintage turntables. To be considered the best, you have to be heard first. A second hand Denon turntable is a rare find, and thus not often the first thing that comes to mind when recommending or searching for a vintage turntable.

Denon still make turntables at entry level prices. For the most part, their cheap turntables aren’t worth the money, especially when compared to the competition.

If you’re lucky enough to happen upon a vintage Denon turntable at a garage sale or similar, be sure to pick it up. Chances are it’ll be a great little unit.

Denon Turntables To Look Out For

The following is a short list of wonderful Denon turntables that are worth purchasing if found:

  • DP-100
  • DP-80
  • DP-75
  • DP-72
  • DP-70
  • DP-62
  • DP-61
  • DP-60
  • DP-59
  • DP-55
  • DP-6000
As a guideline, the higher the number of a Denon turntable, the better. The 4 figure series is an exception, as the DP-6000 is about on par with the DP-55. The turntables often have a suffix letter as well: F for ‘fully automatic’ and L for ‘auto-lift’ at the end of play. Auto-return was a common feature of Denon turntables, and they rarely made fully manual turntables.

 

 

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