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Demon DP 1200 - thoughts?

S

Sandman175

New Member
I'm thinking of buying this TT, equipped with the Ortofon 2M Red cart. This will be my first TT in ~40 yrs! I only started researching, collecting, & enjoying vintage gear a little over a year ago. So, I'm a beginner in general, & a complete novice when it comes to TTs & vinyl. I only joined AK last week, following months of lurking around, trying to learn, and being both impressed & somewhat intimidated by all of the experience & knowledge to be found here.

So, I'm most interested in getting feedback regarding what you think of the DP 1200 & the Ortofon 2M Red. Is the TT - in good condition - highly thought of? Same for the cart? Are they a good pairing? For the last couple months, I've been shopping the local thrifts, garage sales, CL, etc., without any luck finding a TT that I wanted to buy. Now, I found this one but it's not the super bargain garage sale find that you sometimes read about. It belongs to an audiophile vinyl lover who has some very nice LPs that I may also purchase. Can you give me your opinions as to a reasonable value range for the combo, assuming excellent operational condition & very good cosmetic condition? I appreciate all opinions, from any of you with more TT knowledge than me, especially those with personal experience with the DP 1200 &/or the Ortofon 2N Red,

Thanks in advance!
 
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Sandman175 said:
I'm thinking of buying this TT, equipped with the Ortofon 2M Red cart. This will be my first TT in ~40 yrs! I only started researching, collecting, & enjoying vintage gear a little over a year ago. So, I'm a beginner in general, & a complete novice when it comes to TTs & vinyl. I only joined AK last week, following months of lurking around, trying to learn, and being both impressed & somewhat intimidated by all of the experience & knowledge to
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Balifly said:
Welcome to the AK turn table forum.

It is not half as back as your title implied. :rolleyes:
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/denon/dp-1200.shtml
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These gurus - not only knowledgeable, but witty too! Where is spell check when you need it? knew it was coming immediately after hitting button to post, lol! But not only am I new to TTs, but I'm also new to posting & had no idea how, or even if, I could edit title after posting. tried & it looked like I could edit content, but not title. Oh well, no where to go but up, right?
 
I had one and enjoyed it..it was a pretty good table, the auto lift at the end of the record was a very nice touch..I miss it. I did have issues with the 45rpm holding speed but it's a common thing cured with some contact cleaner in the speed/trim pot/s. I ended up trading it off but only due to upgrade-itis. I don't know anything about the Ortofon, I ran a Denon DL103 MC cart..very good match with the Denon arm.
What are you plugging your table into?
 
A good way to base a value/price for a turntable when buying locally from a private seller is to check Ebay for completed sales of that same model deducting the cost of shipping and listing fees. You can also do a AK Google search of the Denon DP-1200 to see what cartridges AK members have installed that were a good match for the tonearm and produced excellent sound quality. Also I'd want to hear a demo of the table in the sellers system to see how it performs. Go to the Vinyl Engine web site, sign up it's free, look up the Denon DP-1200 owners manual, print it out and read it front to back making yourself familiar with it's operation/features. Take the manual along when you go to check out the table as a reference.
 
Thanks for the input; I have so much to learn, lol! For now, I have a Pioneer sx-780 and Polk Audio SDA 2b studio speakers in my br setup. These were my first purchases last year when I decided to get started collecting & enjoying vintage gear. The sx-780 really isn't powerful enough to get the best out of the speakers, but I'll probably keep both. Initially, since all I had were CDs, I connected my JVC XL-MC334 changer that I bought back in the 90s, & CDs are all that I've been listening to. I'll be adding the TT to this setup for now, but eventually I plan to get some smaller, more efficient speakers for the br, & a more powerful amp/receiver for the SDAs - which I love - & put together a new setup for the living room. If I enjoy playing vinyl as much as I expect, I'll get another TT for there as well. I'm really just getting started & don't have the time or cash to devote to this hobby that I'd like. But, that's probably true to some extent for everyone, right?
 
majick47 said:
A good way to base a value/price for a turntable when buying locally from a private seller is to check Ebay for completed sales of that same model deducting the cost of shipping and listing fees. You can also do a AK Google search of the Denon DP-1200 to see what cartridges AK members have installed that were a good match for the tonearm and produced excellent sound quality. Also I'd want to hear a demo of the table in the sellers system to see how it performs. Go to the Vinyl Engine web site, sign up it's free, look up the Denon DP-1200 owners manual, print it out and read it front to back making yourself familiar with it's operation/features. Take the manual along when you go to check out the table as a reference.
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majick47 said:
A good way to base a value/price for a turntable when buying locally from a private seller is to check Ebay for completed sales of that same model deducting the cost of shipping and listing fees. You can also do a AK Google search of the Denon DP-1200 to see what cartridges AK members have installed that were a good match for the tonearm and produced excellent sound quality. Also I'd want to hear a demo of the table in the sellers system to see how it performs. Go to the Vinyl Engine web site, sign up it's free, look up the Denon DP-1200 owners manual, print it out and read it front to back making yourself familiar with it's operation/features. Take the manual along when you go to check out the table as a reference.
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Majick47, thanks for the input. I was responding to vonclod at same time you were posting: still getting used to participating in these forums. I had kind of intuitively done the ebay comparison thing & it looks pretty good from that perspective. Truthfully, I've seen so many posts on here where members tell someone the price they pay is too high, referencing values that must be based on GW or garage sale scores, that I was confused. I want a bargain as much or more than anyone - and I think I got them on my receiver & speaker purchases last year - but it's good to hear that eBay sales can be a good reference point. I signed up on hifi engine recently & I'll definitely take your advice & sign up on vinyl engine as well. The thoughtful advice that members like you are willing to share is pretty cool, and I really appreciate it.
 
Sandman175 looks like you have been doing your homework prior to posting. Yes many of us have to be time and money conscious but with a decent knowledge base which is free if the time is devoted to researching/reading there is some very nice equipment to be found for very reasonable prices. Depending where you live you might want to attend a local AK fest where members will have turntables, amps, speakers etc for sale. The last one I attended had a very good selection, more than fairly priced and were as much a labor of love being fully reconditioned by highly skilled audio technicians who are members of AK. Unless your living off a fat trust fund the real bargains can be had in well selected midfi to hifi (audiophile) vintage audio equipment from the golden age of analog audio, roughly the late1960s to the late 1980s.
 
I got a chuckle out of the model number. If you get one that runs backwards? Actually the DP-1200 is a pretty nice sounding and very reliable table. The control logic is a bit "different" but works well and the arm will accommodate a rather wide range of carts. Nice to look at as well!
 
The pre-quartz pll AC drive Denons are relatively simple durable TTs, I like them.
I own one of the later ones and it's more complex.
 
majick47 said:
Sandman175 looks like you have been doing your homework prior to posting. Yes many of us have to be time and money conscious but with a decent knowledge base which is free if the time is devoted to researching/reading there is some very nice equipment to be found for very reasonable prices. Depending where you live you might want to attend a local AK fest where members will have turntables, amps, speakers etc for sale. The last one I attended had a very good selection, more than fairly priced and were as much a labor of love being fully reconditioned by highly skilled audio technicians who are members of AK. Unless your living off a fat trust fund the real bargains can be had in well selected midfi to hifi (audiophile) vintage audio equipment from the golden age of analog audio, roughly the late1960s to the late 1980s.
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I live along the border at the very southern tip of Texas, in area called The Rio Grande Valley. The closest large city - at 250 miles - is San Antonio. So opportunities to attend an AK fest will be limited. I couldn't afford hifi in my youth, and certainly can't afford today's TOTL hifi. But fortunately, some of the best ever, which I couldn't afford when it was new, is still around & capable of producing amazing hifi audio - sometimes requiring a little help - at a great value! I'm really enjoying the entire process of researching, looking for, acquiring, testing, matching, & ultimately enjoying the music! Even though most of this is new for me & I'm just getting started, I feel certain that the excitement & satisfaction this hobby brings won't wear off; I hope to enjoy it as long as I live.
 
Sandman175 said:
Thanks Kermit. I appreciate the encouragement. But the main reason that I liked your reply is because of your avatar!
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Haha, yeah, it used to dance in the old forum, but now one has to click my avatar to watch hip cat :) But remember, this is a fun hobby. Pay what your comfortable with. Denon gets a lot of respect for a reason.
 
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