Denon DP-300F Review - A nice entry level turntable RUINED by playback speed issues
Before we get into this, one thing I didn't mention in my Amazon review, was that I purchased this record player based off of this list of recommendations on the /r/vinyl subreddit. Which I highly recommend examining, if you are looking at getting into Vinyl record listening and are trying to avoid one of these (unfortunate) record destroyers.That is also the same list I used to purchase the replacement to this player that I will post a review of soon. Anyway, onto the original Amazon review...
Rating
★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5)
Pros
Cons
Other Thoughts
TL;DR
Playback speed consistency issues ruin an otherwise wonderful record player. Denon, please fix this!!!
This turntable provided a wonderful experience… while I had it. I loved the idea that it was fully automatic because the convenience factor is very nice. It comes with everything you need to get going without needing to go out and replace anything immediately (like the cartridge for example). I bought this to replace a gifted turntable that is known to cause damage to vinyl records. I wanted to get something that didn't cost an arm and a leg but would still provide me with a good experience.
Provide a good experience this turntable did… at first. The first few listening sessions I had with this turntable were a joy. I loved watching it whir into place and slowly drop the needle and then whir back out of place and shut off when it was done. It was a fun sight to see and gave me happiness that I wouldn't need to worry about dropping the tone arm in the right place and keeping an eye on the player to shut it off when it hits the run out groove. I hooked this up to a pair of Presonus Ceres 3.5BT speakers with an Advent Subwoofer. I definitely noticed a bump in sound quality of the crappy player I was previously using which got me even more excited to enjoy my records.
Then, disaster struck. All of a sudden out of the blue, I noticed that the playback speed kept changing drastically while I would listen to any record on this player. At first I chocked it up to the possibility of a misaligned belt, but after reseating the belt multiple times, no matter what I did the issue would come back. This is the second belt driven turntable I've had that has given me issues like this so now I have a really sour taste in my mouth for belt driven turntables. After doing some more review reading and searching on this player I came to the conclusion that this is a known issue. So, unfortunately I returned this for a full refund.
I don't know if Denon isn't listening or what the deal is but this is obviously a problem and they need to correct it accordingly if they want people to buy this product. It really is a shame because I loved everything about this player and I am saddened to see it go.
External Links
Rating
★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5)
Pros
- Fully automatic (auto start/stop)
- Included stylus is elliptical rather than conical
- Price (got it for $199)
- Rubber anti-slip mat and dust cover included
Cons
- Playback speed consistency issues
Other Thoughts
TL;DR
Playback speed consistency issues ruin an otherwise wonderful record player. Denon, please fix this!!!
This turntable provided a wonderful experience… while I had it. I loved the idea that it was fully automatic because the convenience factor is very nice. It comes with everything you need to get going without needing to go out and replace anything immediately (like the cartridge for example). I bought this to replace a gifted turntable that is known to cause damage to vinyl records. I wanted to get something that didn't cost an arm and a leg but would still provide me with a good experience.
Provide a good experience this turntable did… at first. The first few listening sessions I had with this turntable were a joy. I loved watching it whir into place and slowly drop the needle and then whir back out of place and shut off when it was done. It was a fun sight to see and gave me happiness that I wouldn't need to worry about dropping the tone arm in the right place and keeping an eye on the player to shut it off when it hits the run out groove. I hooked this up to a pair of Presonus Ceres 3.5BT speakers with an Advent Subwoofer. I definitely noticed a bump in sound quality of the crappy player I was previously using which got me even more excited to enjoy my records.
Then, disaster struck. All of a sudden out of the blue, I noticed that the playback speed kept changing drastically while I would listen to any record on this player. At first I chocked it up to the possibility of a misaligned belt, but after reseating the belt multiple times, no matter what I did the issue would come back. This is the second belt driven turntable I've had that has given me issues like this so now I have a really sour taste in my mouth for belt driven turntables. After doing some more review reading and searching on this player I came to the conclusion that this is a known issue. So, unfortunately I returned this for a full refund.
I don't know if Denon isn't listening or what the deal is but this is obviously a problem and they need to correct it accordingly if they want people to buy this product. It really is a shame because I loved everything about this player and I am saddened to see it go.
External Links
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