sparklow
Active Member
Two grams seems perfect to me for this stylus.
Denon DP 300F Belt Driven Turntable
- Thread starter johnda
- Start date
2nickels1dime
New Member
Just spun my first 2 sides (Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra) after unboxing the the DP300f from TTL with the Ortofon Red upgrade. Went with the stock mat, just b/c I don't like the look fo the cork and like the additional mass it provides.
TTL had them on sale $100 off, so essentially you pay retail and get the cartridge upgrade installed and aligned.
This makes 3 turntables I have in operation -- the other two are vintage -- Rotel belt drive manual (RP-850) with a Mx97e and a Hitachi HT-461 DD automatic with a Nagaoka MP-110. Yes, I have a problem.
The buttons are a little clunky. It's plastic. It's not as smooth in automatic operation as the IC and servo motor controlled Hitachi. But the Hitachi could give up the ghost any day with no chance of repairing those IC's and motors.
Good news is that it sounds great. It is dead silent, no bearing rumble or motor noise. No speed variation in extended piano notes. No inner groove distortion, but haven't given it the test record torture test yet. Even without break in I am hearing extended lows and sparkling highs. In short I would put it up against either of my vintage machines, which cost $100's more even in 1980's dollars.
I think it looks very nice in a sleek minimalist way even with the dust cover on it. And setup was easy. I can't imagine a better bargain for a mid-fi setup. And being fully automatic it's almost perfect for a dinner/cocktail parties ... the Hitachi has the slight edge there with its repeat mode for when the drinks and conversation become the priority.
TTL had them on sale $100 off, so essentially you pay retail and get the cartridge upgrade installed and aligned.
This makes 3 turntables I have in operation -- the other two are vintage -- Rotel belt drive manual (RP-850) with a Mx97e and a Hitachi HT-461 DD automatic with a Nagaoka MP-110. Yes, I have a problem.
The buttons are a little clunky. It's plastic. It's not as smooth in automatic operation as the IC and servo motor controlled Hitachi. But the Hitachi could give up the ghost any day with no chance of repairing those IC's and motors.
Good news is that it sounds great. It is dead silent, no bearing rumble or motor noise. No speed variation in extended piano notes. No inner groove distortion, but haven't given it the test record torture test yet. Even without break in I am hearing extended lows and sparkling highs. In short I would put it up against either of my vintage machines, which cost $100's more even in 1980's dollars.
I think it looks very nice in a sleek minimalist way even with the dust cover on it. And setup was easy. I can't imagine a better bargain for a mid-fi setup. And being fully automatic it's almost perfect for a dinner/cocktail parties ... the Hitachi has the slight edge there with its repeat mode for when the drinks and conversation become the priority.
johnda
Addicted Member
My DP300f is still working without any problems! The only bad thing to happen was when the cleaning girl lifted the plinth and the arm swung over and took out my Grado stylus. Ouch! They should have had an arm lock of some kind, but other than that one disaster, everything is great.
johnda
Addicted Member
Well, here we are... I purchased my Denon DP300f turntable in 2008 and it is now 2019. Right now I am listening to the Brandenburg Concerto in my study. My Yamaha A-S500 amp and Grado Green cartridge are performing without a hitch.
We have thus far spent 11 wonderful years together as I listened to music to make me smile! The turntable is still dead silent between passages, no rumble bothers me, and my original investment was well spent. I am glad to see that it is still available for others. Happy Fall, folks!
We have thus far spent 11 wonderful years together as I listened to music to make me smile! The turntable is still dead silent between passages, no rumble bothers me, and my original investment was well spent. I am glad to see that it is still available for others. Happy Fall, folks!
Attachments
Still running mine as well. Dead silent and sounds great with Ortofon Blue.
I've got a Ortofon Blue on mine and it's quite nice. It's running through the phono on my Parasound 2100 classic preamp. It all works well for me.
Endless
Active Member
Thanks I'll give the Ortofon a try. Maybe even a black. I have an Avid Pellar phono preamp which I use with the RP8.
Sounds like some great gear to test with!
Yep. I run it almost daily. AT VM540 cart into my schii mani. It works great.
Endless
Active Member
Great to hear you guys are still loving the DP300F. I will look at changing the standard cartridge very soon. Not sure what to go for. I have TU-8500 mm/mc phono stage as well as Avid Pellar so I'm not limited to mm. I love details as heard on my Apheta cartridge on RP8 but one with good tight bass would interest me too.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
Denon DL-103 is not appropriate for this outsourced Denon arm. Not high enough mass. Also, I'd stick to a AT 120 E/T in this arm or it's modern AT-VM 540 EN. Those are as far as I'd take it.
Endless
Active Member
I took it to Sydney HiFi shop and there were a lot of choices of varying prices. Finally I settle on the 2M Blue which I had the shop installed for me. I wanted it professionally done. When I got it home I play 'Love Over Gold' by Dire Straits for the first time with 2M Blue, I was shocked by how good this turntable sound now. I was tempted with the Bronze but I think this Blue is good enough for me. As much as I enjoy the Rega Rp8 with Apheta, I find I can love this too because it sound superb. $300 bucks including installation I would gladly spend.
