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Fix Denon DP-51f or New (Old) Vintage?

Derek O

Derek O

New Member
Good evening/morning/day,

My First post in Audio Karma! I just wanted to get an idea of what value people think a Denon DP-51f has, and if it's worth it to fix.

Basically the turntable worked well for about 4 years after I dug it out of my dads music storage (along with a few gems of records ;) ). Recently it started to make weird clicking noises after the end of the record. At the end of the record the tonearm would return to its stop position but the record would keep on spinning at a slow speed (seemed like it was trying to stop the record from turning) with a weird clicking noise coming from the machine/stereo.

This happened for a couple months but eventually the table would not turn at all. I'm without a TT now, and I've taken the table apart, but looks extremely complicated and is unfortunately beyond my skills, as most old automatic electronics are from the 70's.

I'm now in the midst of deciding to fix it or buy a new record player (preferably vintage). My local audio store basically wrote off the turntable due to lack of spare parts in the market, is this true? From what I've read it seems pretty accurate.

Would pay 250 for a vintage and 500 for a new TT if comparable.

Any thoughts or opinions are super useful.. I'd like to start a decent system setup, but without a TT it's hard to compare anything!

Thanks Audio Karmits (my name for all the beauties on this site)
 
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Welcome to AK!!!

First thing you need to do is update your profile where you are located. This will help if there are other AKers in your vicinity and if there are any reputable shops. You need to find out if your Denon is worth repairing. If for some reason it is not and you still want to stay vintage, contact Bill Neumann at Fix My Dual. Explain to him what you're looking for, and he will take care of you. Duals are the only turntable he has worked on all these years, and he has the largest parts inventory of Dual tables in the US. He is a wonderful person to talk to and deal with. A FMD turntable will last your lifetime and possibly your children. I have two of Bill's Dual, a 721 direct drive and a 1219 idler drive. I would highly recommend Bill and Fix My Dual to anyone looking for a vintage turntable.

Let us know what you decide.
 
The Denon DP 51 F is a very high quality unit. It's controls are elegant when working. It's speed control an SN are better than 90% of the stuff that is out there. It is the first table that I have owned that I could clean a disk with a discwasher while I play music without any warble. The arm that is on it may not get everything out of the better carts, that is there.

The bad news is that they are old and some parts may not be available. The scuffing or clicking sound is not good, if you damage the magnetic coating inside the platter, you will have to find a used platter. They are very complex and expensive to fix. A good working unit that has been re-caped and adjusted is worth $300 at least here in New York. If you part it out on Ebay you can make $300 or more for, good pieces like dust covers, plastic feet, platter, power supplies and such. Switch controls also get good prices. It takes a real talent to properly repair one of these tables. But I would do it, and don't get talked into the U-Turn, Project, or Fluence they are overrated junk for too much money. Most of the Technics are pretty good, and are at least semiautomatic.
 
Thanks Bubbalouie, updated my location. Cool I'll definitely look into Fix my Dual if all else fails with trying to fix this Denon.

@Freddymac2, thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to pay the assessment fee at my local place and see if they can figure out what's wrong with the unit. How would one scratch the magnetic coating inside the platter without having removed the platter at all? Any good places you'd recommend buying a used Denon Platter?

Thanks again for the speedy responses
 
There is a guy here in Berlin nj who can get parts for the table, even the ones that aren't supposedly available. He gets them from overseas. He deals with those tables all the time. If interested pm me and I will give you his info . I know it's a whole different country but it may be worth it. He also has a 51 at his shop right now.
 
There is a pickup head that reads the magnetic bars on the lip of the platter. If the head rubs it will mess up the coating. Also any magnets near it will screw it up. This is not your problem, because your table doesn't turn at all. Did you find what the noise is if you rotate it by hand. Does it feel smooth with no power applied. Good Luck, I hope it is a good shop.
 
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