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Technics SP10 mkII or Denon DP-80

tabarddn51

tabarddn51

Super Member
Hi, Got the T/T itch, has anyone ever been able to audition these two side by side. Obviously the SP10 needs no recommendation. But have read the DP-80 is more reliable, easer to repair & around 50% the cost. S/Q wise some people have written the DP10 is nearly as good and has a better bass (I like bass)

Also to note shipping an SP10 is around $500, whereas a nude DP80 is $100!!

Cheers for any replies.
 
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tabarddn51 said:
But have read the DP-10 is more reliable, easer to repair & around 50% the cost.
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From what I see it's a lot cheaper, but it looks as if it was always serving a different market. I'm not sure about it being more reliable, other than the likelihood that some SP10s you come across will have been installed in a working environment and treated none too gently. Neither model would be as easy to repair as a basic belt drive or a basic idler turntable, and both are likely to need some work done on them if they have seen heavy use or sat unused for years. But an SP10 restored to working order is an excellent turntable that should be extremely reliable, as indeed they were originally designed to be. That's practically the whole point of them!
 
tabarddn51 said:
Hi, Got the T/T itch, has anyone ever been able to audition these two side by side. Obviously the SP10 needs no recommendation. But have read the DP-10 is more reliable, easer to repair & around 50% the cost. S/Q wise some people have written the DP10 is nearly as good and has a better bass (I like bass)
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You mean DP-80 right? Because you write "DP10" and "DP50" on your post.
I also assume you mean the SP10MKII (there are three different models of the SP10)

It's easy, if you want high resale value get the SP10MKII, if you want the best possible sound quality my bet is on the Denon DP80. I wouldn't call the Denon "nearly as good", i would call it having an essentialy superior motor and a more precise frequency generator.

Maybe people think "nearly as good" because the Technics brand is hugely overrated nowadays thanks to the SL-1200MK2; people think Technics made the best DD turntables etc etc. The SP10 models were the top effort by Technics and they're awesome, but in no way they represent the ultimate, never-to-be-topped pinnacle over other top models by other brands; in my view Sony and Denon generally made better DD turntables than Technics.
 
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flavio81 said:
You mean DP-80 right? Because you write "DP10" and "DP50" on your post.
I also assume you mean the SP10MKII (there are three different models of the SP10)

It's easy, if you want high resale value get the SP10MKII, if you want the best possible sound quality my bet is on the Denon DP80. I wouldn't call the Denon "nearly as good", i would call it having an essentialy superior motor and a more precise frequency generator.

Maybe people think "nearly as good" because the Technics brand is hugely overrated nowadays thanks to the SL-1200MK2; people think Technics made the best DD turntables etc etc. The SP10 models were the top effort by Technics and they're awesome, but in no way they represent the ultimate, never-to-be-topped pinnacle over other top models by other brands; in my view Sony and Denon generally made better DD turntables than Technics.
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I would add Kenwood and Yamaha to that list.
 
Lets not forget JVC, it was JVC that gave us the quartz locked DD technology, not Technics, Denon or any of the other Japanese companies, they just reacted to it and came out with ther own version.
Probably the best DD motor ever designed is the JVC TT101. At this age they require a major servicing though. The TT81 or TT71 is more practicle and far easier to service.

BillWojo
 
BillWojo said:
Lets not forget JVC, it was JVC that gave us the quartz locked DD technology, not Technics, Denon or any of the other Japanese companies, they just reacted to it and came out with ther own version.
Probably the best DD motor ever designed is the JVC TT101. At this age they require a major servicing though. The TT81 or TT71 is more practicle and far easier to service.

BillWojo
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Yes, i should have added JVC to my list of the top DD makers.
 
Sgt Shultz said:
I would add Kenwood and Yamaha to that list.
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I thought of them, but Yamaha made very few turntables overall (and most were subcontracted). Very few top turntables too. I see them as an audio manufacturer more focused (and famous for) speakers and amplifiers.

Mind you, i'm a big Yamaha fan...

As for Kenwood, I also see them as more focused on amplifiers even though they indeed had really good turntables.

But really if I had to narrow down to companies that apparently were doing strong R&D on direct drive turntables, releasing models that were groundbreaking, my list would be (no order):

Sony
Denon (a company mainly focused on turntables!)
JVC (inventors of CD-4, enough said!)
Technics/Matsushita
 
flavio81 said:
I thought of them, but Yamaha made very few turntables overall (and most were subcontracted). Very few top turntables too. I see them as an audio manufacturer more focused (and famous for) speakers and amplifiers.

Mind you, i'm a big Yamaha fan...

As for Kenwood, I also see them as more focused on amplifiers even though they indeed had really good turntables.

But really if I had to narrow down to companies that apparently were doing strong R&D on direct drive turntables, releasing models that were groundbreaking, my list would be (no order):

Sony
Denon (a company mainly focused on turntables!)
JVC (inventors of CD-4, enough said!)
Technics/Matsushita
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Then you really don't know anything about Kenwood as they're really known for their outstanding turntables and tuners not so much their amps, much more so than Technics.

Just a few of the many

Let's start with the TOTL KD-500 shown here with a Grace G-707 arm. Being their TOTL deck at the time it was sold sans arm and are often found sporting boutique arms of the era such as the legendary Infinity Black Widow, Mayware Formula IV, a Grace etc. This was followed up by the similar KD-600 adding quartz lock to the equation. There were a number of other great decks at the same time, many also using the concrete resin base, some being belt drive even.
20190428_112137.jpg

The KP-1100 belongs to a later line of audiophile tables.
b21722fa476f9a3c4888e0405d50.jpeg

What was hiding under that beautiful exterior
images (10).jpeg

Some like to run them nude and with multiple arms
post-131373-0-70019700-1379498603_thumb.jpg

If these were manufactured today they would be in the 5G range.

The baby of the line the KD-770D
Kenwood KD-770D.jpg

With a number of other models I'm not mentioning.

Then there's the legendary LO7D, these still command over $5G used.
l-07d-h.jpg

As for Yamaha as much as you don't think they made great tables then there's the GT line.
gt-2000-h-474x387.jpg
 
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I have 3- DP80's and never seen one lower than $500, unless broken. Amazing deal if you can get one for $100. They are not too hard to fix if you can solder. Lots of caps and transistors though. Same for the technics.

Dp80 is a reliable table with solid specs.
 
Hi, Thanks for the replies. Note from my post
- Corrected fingers slips, my bad
- DP80- is not $100, (that's postage cost,) The GP80 is $500.

Cheers
 
ve7kilohertz said:
Man I would love to find a KP-1100, even more beautiful than the oracle Delphi mark three which I have. Stunning looking table.

cheers
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I'm pretty sure you can find them from reputable sellers in Japan that know how to pack them to survive a bomb blast with free shipping for reasonable money. Much less than the inferior overpriced new offerings from Technics lol.

Just checked eBay and there are quite a few ranging from around $600 to $1100.

There's a guy in Germany refurbing KD-770D tables with exotic wood veneer offering them for around $2700 and worth every penny.
s-l400 (1).jpg
 
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Sgt Shultz said:
Then you really don't know anything about Kenwood as they're really known for their outstanding turntables and tuners not so much their amps, much more so than Technics.

Just a few of the many
(.;..)
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Hi Sargent,

I'm already aware of all the Kenwood models you listed. My comment needs to be taked into context.


Sgt Shultz said:
As for Yamaha as much as you don't think they made great tables then there's the GT line.
View attachment 2899089
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I never said that.

I said they made "very few top turntables", which I think you would agree.
 
flavio81 said:
I stand for what I wrote. And, Technics is the most overrated turntable brand of all times.

And I say this as somebody who cherishes and loves his Technics SL-10 turntable, an outstanding product. I also owned (and have written about) a Technics SB-1000, that makes me a technics nerd in the minds of some people.
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We dont often disagree, but this time we do.
The issue with thr Denon is they have a magnetic strip round the platter which with age looses the tape encoding in it then thr table is toast.
I have a denon i cant fix i wonder if this is the problem with mine as i have checked everything else..
The SP10mk2 however ( i have 4 if them) generally only need 3 caps changed in the psu, if these go thry put stress on everything else. Recapping thr turntable itself is easy but probably not needed in most cases. I recapped mine and the caps were in spec. Every component in a SP10mk2 you can buy easily, not the case with the Denon. My SP10mk2's all are 0.02% wow and flutter or less with super low rumble. SP10mk2 bearings are super easy to service unlike the Denon.
There are some amazing direct drive turntables out there but few perform as well and are as simple to fix as the SP10mk2.
Chris
 
I have owned a SP10 II and a DP75. They were in different styles of plinths and had significantly different types of tonearms. The SP10 II was in a custom CLD plinth the DP75 in that steel.plated VPI plinth.

Both are wonderful tables. There are too many variables for me to make any kind of statement about superior sound quality, so I will not. I do think the split platter design of the Denon is a nifty design decision. I also suspect the DP80 are a bit more affordable in the marketplace. But if a SP10 MK II is what your heart desires then it is a good choice also. I would probably choose a DP80 for myself.
 
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