Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Denon DP60 Direct Drive Turntable



Wow! What an amazing turntable!

My experience with the Realistic LAB-420 this week has opened me up to the possibility of direct-drive turntables, as opposed to the belt-drive tables that are in vogue. Back in the '70s, it was a much fairer fight, with some of the best direct drives proving their worth.

This is the Denon DP60 direct drive from the '70s. It's considered one of the greatest turntables ever made. Happens to also be at Audiogon right now, which means someone else will likely get it before me. Too bad. My loss.

5 comments:

Torsten Rehn said...

Hi there!
I recently bought one of these in very good shape and with a good cartridge. It is truly amazing! If I had listened to one back in the 80's I would never have bought a CD-player. (Well, at least not as early as 1984 when there very few CD:s to choose from.) Try to buy one if you can. You will not be disappointed.
Greeetings from Torsten in Sweden

Bill said...

I DID buy one of these, around 1982, from an audio salon in Illinois, and I still have it. After buying the Denon and Signet line-contact cartridge, I went head-long into direct-to-disc and original master recording pressings, and it was thrilling. I was immediately intrigued by CD's, but lack of media and high player prices kept me away until '84. A big bummer came along in the late eighties, when the Denon lost speed control, and 33-1/3 became about 35 or thereabouts. I recall seeking and engaging a repair facility; however, they did not fix it. I have been hauling it around (in the original packaging) for the past 25 years, along with four or five boxes of LP's. I hope that someday I can get it fixed. It is almost perfect cosmetically, with light scratches on the dust cover (which is a little too scratch prone.) The cartridge is still mounted, but shot, of course. If you have any tips on getting the Denon repaired, I am all ears.

Time flies, 'eh?

Bill said...

I did buy a denon DP60 around 1982, and I still have it. After buying it, I went headlong into direct-to-disk and Original Master Recording pressings, and I still have these too. The first CD players were available, but very little media, and high player prices. I bought my first CD machine in 1984, after the first round of price drops made my Sanyo front-loading unit $300. I loved the Denon, and have been hauling it around for 30 years, in the original packaging. Cosmetically, it is excellent; however, sometime in the late1980's the speed control went bad, and 33-1/3 became 36, or thereabouts. I recall seeking and engaging a repair shop, but it wasn't fixed. I have been hauling it around for a quarter-century, hoping that someday I can get it fixed. It has the original Signet line-contact stylus, which is shot, of course.

Unknown said...

I own this board for over 25 years .... and it works like the first day ... Thank you Mr. Denon.

Anonymous said...

I bought mine used in 1995 with an Audio-Techinca cartridge for $325. Played a few albums on it through my Adcom 555II amp, Sony ES preamp, NHT Super Ones, with Kimber PBJs and speaker cable. The sound was so real and deep it was amazing. It ruined my CD collection as the CD soundstage was so small it sounded as if the player was broken.