[Wayner]

It seems that Denon has come out with a 100th anaversary turntable for $2500. Oddly enough, the arm looks like the exact one used on a $400 AT LP240USB, which in turn, looks just like a Stanton ST.150.

 

 

 

Not that there is anything wrong, but to me, the arm certainly does not merit use on a $2500 table. Different headshell and counterweigh is about all I can see.

Wayner 

[Mitsuman]

Unpossible! 

[TRADERXFAN]

Being a non-vinyl person... let me in on the secret? What is the issue with that arm?

[Wayner]

It's a piece of crap.

Wayner

[neobop]

Just before they came out with this table Denon discontinued the TOTL DP600 I think it was. It was around $600. This one looks identical except with a different finish. Maybe it has a better motor or something 

If the new cart is worth $500 (get a DL-S1 at Comet for that), then the table/arm is $2K. Denon is Nippon Columbia? I think they were bought and now everything is made in China. That might not be so bad, except for the marketing. I happen to think piano black is elegant, and an exceptional value.
neo

Edit - The carts are said to still be made in Japan.

[Elizabeth]

Agree the arm is a piece of crap.
NO aftermarket arm has been an "S" arm in years!  it is just a retro chunk of crap.

[SET Man]

Hey!

   Hmmm.... what's wrong with "S" shaped arm? 

   Anyway, good observation there Wayner. Maybe Denon just repacked the whole thing in a nicer plinth for this one. There are many other nice TT + cart combos for that price out there.

   But than I've heard this Denon 100th Anniversary TT. It sure look like it got a nice finish in the picture. It will be interesting to see how it will compare to other at the similar price.

Take care,
Buddy

[*Scotty*]

The Audio-Technica LP240 TT starts to look pretty good at a street price under $400. It weighs a little over 26lbs.. With the demise of the Technics 1200 TT the Audio Technica looks like promising place to start for those just getting into the vinyl side of the hobby. Scotty

[Minn Mark]

I'm pretty sure the Denon table/arm uses those special, directional electrons, and (of course) features a non-captive power cord !   

It does have some eye-appeal, though, and I think the Denon MC cart is probably not too bad for -$500.

M

[dlaloum]

On the other hand there are lots of arms and turntable with arms that look a lot like rega's....

Oh wait! - That's right rega OEM arms for lots of people - but those people frequently tweak and modify the arms...

I don't know - have they added damping inside the arm tube?

Obviously made by the same (chinese?) factory - But does that mean it is necessarily crap?

There are plenty of "period" high quality S-arms and the very similar J-Arms (eg: SME !)

If that table sounds good (yet to be seen/heard) - then I would say that the AT  LP240 has HUGE tweaking potential.
As does the Stanton (and I believe the same table as the Stanton is available under a range of other unknown brandnames at an even lower price...)



The mid-mass S-arm should really be a perfect match for mid-low compliance Denon MC's really....

Or it could just be a bunch of glossy doodoo's

bye for now

David

[blakep]

Agree the arm is a piece of crap.
NO aftermarket arm has been an "S" arm in years!  it is just a retro chunk of crap.

The Denon arm may well be crap. Jelco and Ortofon may beg to differ with you on your statement that "no aftermarket arm has been an "S" arm in years".

The Jelco 750D is definitely one of the biggest bang for the buck tonearms under $1000 and the Ortofons (apparently made by Jelco) have their fans as well. The Schick arm (J as opposed to S) has also been very positively reviewed.

http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Ortofon-Tonearms_2

http://www.stereophile.com/artdudleylistening/listening_87/index.html

[Ericus Rex]

The Denon arm may well be crap. Jelco and Ortofon may beg to differ with you on your statement that "no aftermarket arm has been an "S" arm in years".

The Jelco 750D is definitely one of the biggest bang for the buck tonearms under $1000 and the Ortofons (apparently made by Jelco) have their fans as well. The Schick arm (J as opposed to S) has also been very positively reviewed.

http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Ortofon-Tonearms_2

http://www.stereophile.com/artdudleylistening/listening_87/index.html

Don't forget Morch (Moerch).  Very nice and sexy s-shaped arms.

http://www.moerch.dk/

[Wayner]

If you will notice the picures of the Stanton and the AT are at my house. I bought both of these units last winter to review them. The headshell did not firmly grasp the arm when the collar was tightened, and the anti-skating was off.

There is nothing wrong with an "S" shaped arm straight arms are cheaper to build, but are more prone to vibration transmission. The shape was not my concern, rather the build quality of the arm, and the pricing point of the Denon.

In fact, Denon announced a Receiver and a CD player, all for their 100th anniversary, and they all magically got priced at $2499 each. These guys are really smart to design 3 completely different devices and have the price points turn out exactly the same. Genius. Or can the word SCA_ be used here? You fill in the blank.

Wayner 

[dlaloum]

Both the Stanton and the AT had the same problem !? 

Ok I can see where you are coming from....

Methinks it sounds like a lot of highly concentrated mushroom fertilizer, growth encourager, and product to enhance vegetable growth....

[TheChairGuy]

Seems quite likely that all the old tooling for their late, great Denon DP-series direct drives was tossed along the the past 30 years.

Whether the tooling was tossed with the wholehearted commitment to digital technologies or junked along the way as they went from standalone to part of larger entity (now part of D & M Holdings). So, for small business like turntables, they likely source from the same Chinese entities as the AT's and Stanton's of the world now do, too.

The 'D' is for Denon and the 'M' for Marantz, their first two brands co-joined together several years ago...but now includes Snell Acoustics, McIntosh and Boston Acoustics (http://www.dm-holdings.com/eng/)

Somehow or another the Denon cartridges survived somehow...and thank goodness for that as they are stellar  versus most of the competition at anywhere near their prices

John

[neobop]

I looked it up and the discontinued model was the DP-500M. It sold for around $600 but apparently it had a mrsp of around $1K. Some Agoners bought it and replaced the arm. Sound familiar?
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?ranlg&1165037655&&&/Denon-dp-500m-Turntable

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-DP-500M-Direct-Drive-Turntable/dp/B00022669U

[jimdgoulding]

Seems quite likely that all the old tooling for their late, great Denon DP-series direct drives was tossed along the the past 30 years.

Whether the tooling was tossed with the wholehearted commitment to digital technologies or junked along the way as they went from standalone to part of larger entity (now part of D & M Holdings). So, for small business like turntables, they likely source from the same Chinese entities as the AT's and Stanton's of the world now do, too.

The 'D' is for Denon and the 'M' for Marantz, their first two brands co-joined together several years ago...but now includes Snell Acoustics, McIntosh and Boston Acoustics (http://www.dm-holdings.com/eng/)

Somehow or another the Denon cartridges survived somehow...and thank goodness for that as they are stellar  versus most of the competition at anywhere near their prices

John

I used to know a Japanese opthalmolgist in Fort Worth, TX who made treks to Japan twice a year and smuggled home MC cartridges from the day (late 70's).  Of the four MC's (that I can remember) auditioning in my system at the time thanks to him included a Denon 103D.  I remember that cartridge being outstanding on jazz recordings (Woody Shaw's live recordings, for example).  It was quicker than anything else and very exciting.  Two that I kept were a  Fidelity Research mark III and a Koetsu Black.  I didn't bite the bullet for the Denon.  I listened to a lot of classical music, also, and preferred them overall.  Today, I'd love to audition a Zu modified 103.  Art Dudley of Stereophile is on the moon about them and they are dirt cheap as MC's go these days.  $350 bucks or something.  I like Dudley.  He loves Devore Nine speakers, too, as does his colleage Jim Austin ($6500.00).  Those would be on my short list along with the Zu-Denon if I had one.