Help with Denon turntable

[Cyberrich57!!]

I've bought a Denon DP-300F turntable from richersounds but I'm having problems with albums occasionally jumping. None of my Lps have jumped before on my old turntable. I've set the antiskating and counterweight to 3 now, which is slightly above the recommended 2.5. Richersounds said it would be ok to do this and to bring it back if there's no improvement. Some albums still jump but not all of them, so I will take it back. Has anyone encountered this problem with Denon turntables before. Is Denon a good make of turntable. I know cheaper turntables have always caused LPs to jump. This one cost about £200. What do you suggest? The shop emailed back and said they could get an engineer to check it out. Is this turntable a good enough one to stick with, or should I ask to upgrade and spend a bit more. Thanks.

 

[Al ears]

I've bought a Denon DP-300F turntable from richersounds but I'm having problems with albums occasionally jumping. None of my Lps have jumped before on my old turntable. I've set the antiskating and counterweight to 3 now, which is slightly above the recommended 2.5. Richersounds said it would be ok to do this and to bring it back if there's no improvement. Some albums still jump but not all of them, so I will take it back. Has anyone encountered this problem with Denon turntables before. Is Denon a good make of turntable. I know cheaper turntables have always caused LPs to jump. This one cost about £200. What do you suggest? The shop emailed back and said they could get an engineer to check it out. Is this turntable a good enough one to stick with, or should I ask to upgrade and spend a bit more. Thanks.

If its not functioning as it should then no, send it back and buy a Rega or a Project.
However, you cannot do good vinyl playback on the cheap, and £200 is cheap.

 

[Gray]

I know cheaper turntables have always caused LPs to jump.

Even if they're cheap, they shouldn't cause jumps, there has to be a reason.

True, when it comes to vinyl playback, £200 is cheap - but it shouldn't buy you guaranteed jumps.

 

[Cyberrich57!!]

Thanks for the replies. I thought I'd balanced the arm correctly and I even watched an online tutorial, but this is the first turntable I've had where I've had to do this, so I may not have done this correctly. My old turntable was a pioneer CZ-101 and you didn't have to balance it. It was a brilliant turntable, nothing ever jumped on it. Is it possible for me to start again from scratch with the balancing. I'll try this before I take it back. Is there an online video you'd recommend for someone like me who hasn't had a turntable that needs setting up this way? I actually paid over £1000 altogether for the cd player, amp and speakers I bought alongside the turntable. Thanks.

 

[Al ears]

Firstly get yourself a simple stylus pressure gauge like this to accurately check downforce.

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[daytona600]

Denon are excellent but the £300 DP300 this is a £50 chinese TT with a £5 cartridge
They can be improved with a quality aftermarket stylus & actually cost more than a quality made in uk/eu deck like project or rega from £200
Also 2.5/3.0gram tracking not ideal for record health but like be required on a low quality cartridge

 

[matthewpianist]

I have no experience with the Denon but the common assumption that Rega and Project are ALWAYS better than the alternatives isn't consistently correct.

I own both a Rega Planar 2 (current model) and TEAC TN-4D. Both are similarly priced, the Rega a belt drive and the TEAC a Direct Drive. The latter is every bit as good as the former, and tracks extremely well. This doesn't mean anything specifically about your more affordable Denon, but it does demonstrate a wider comparison.

 

[daytona600]

Would take the Teac myself over the current RP2 based on sound quality and fitted with a much better cartridge Sumiko Oyster
Rega will outlast the Teac by a few decades on reliablity

 

[matthewpianist]

Would take the Teac myself over the current RP2 based on sound quality and fitted with a much better cartridge Sumiko Oyster
Rega will outlast the Teac by a few decades on reliablity

The Oyster is good, but I found the change to the AT95EN a noticeable improvement.

Time will tell regarding reliability, but the TEAC is well built and likely quite repairable. I'm not sure it's as bomb proof as a Technics SL (which would be my ideal turntable), but pretty good nevertheless.

 

[Cyberrich57!!]

No luck. There is no arm lock on this turntable but I couldn't get the arm to float anyway when I slowly wound the counterweight back to 0. I've set it at 2.5 and the antiskating. It's just played one album perfectly but the next one jumped once in the same place every time. I tried it on the old turntable which is a Trio and it doesn't jump in that same place. This denon seems to play some albums ok but not others. I think I'll have to take it back to richersounds. I bought it in January so hopefully it's still under guarantee and I'm hoping they'll let me upgrade it to a better one. Thanks for the recommendations. I'll see what richersounds has got in stock.

 

[WayneKerr]

Am I reading this correctly? You can't get the arm to float horizontally with no weight dialled-in on the counterweight? If the arm doesn't float which way does it angle, up or down?

 

[Al ears]

Does the counterweight not physically slide back along the tube?
It should I believe.
Set counterweight to zero then physically move counterweight until are floats then dial in your downforce.
If you cannot do this then you have no idea how much downforce you are actually using and the cartridge itself may be contacting some LPs because you have too much applied.
Anyhow, if you can't do it, take it back to RicherSounds and get them on the case.

 

[cyberrich58!]

HI, I started this thread a few months ago. I took the turntable back to Richer Sounds (LIchfield , UK) back in Jan and they adjusted it and said it would be fine. I'm very disappointed with this turntable though. The Denon cd and amp are fine but the turntable makes half my vinyl jump. The older thicker vinyl from the 1960s and 70s seem fine mostly, but the later 1980s vinyl all jump and they didn't on my old Pioneer turntable. That was an excellent turntable, nothing jumped on it. I know cheaper turntables makes vinyl jump. This one cost just over £200 so I thought it would be ok. I've emailed Richer sounds and asked if I can exchange it for a better one and pay the difference but I've had it over a year now, so they probably won't. I should have asked straight away but Ive been playing older vinyl which is fine. I've been playing some of the 80s vinyl recently and it is anything but fine. I'll always have problems with this turntable. Maybe Denon aren't the best regarding turntables.

 

[Nico69]

Have you got a magnifying glass to first check the stylus is clear from built up crud? A stylus brush and or cleaning fluid can help. Both are cheap.
Take the deck back to RS along with some records that jump and some that don't. Get them to set it up with you there so you can see what they are doing.
You should be able to get the arm to balance as per the original instructions. The recommended stylus weight is 2g with 2 set on the anti-skate too.
It may be you have a faulty or bent stylus.
Edit: you can get a replacement DSN85 stylus for around £25. Check this is actually what is fitted first.

 

[Al ears]

It seems to me that if some records jump it is an issue with the LP itself that was somehow smoothed over by the Pioneer.
Can you test these LPs on anyone elses turntable?

 

[Nico69]

It seems to me that if some records jump it is an issue with the LP itself that was somehow smoothed over by the Pioneer.
Can you test these LPs on anyone elses turntable?

Maybe he had a 2p piece blu-tacked to the headshell?