Note: I purchased this turntable for the Black Friday sale price.
This is my first turntable, which I purchased after exhaustive research, deliberation, and auditioning. The other turntables I was considering were the U-Turn Orbit, Audio Technica AT-LP120, Rega Planar 1, and Project Debut Carbon. I will explain why I chose the DP-300f over the others in a head-to-head comparison:
vs. AT-LP120
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The Denon has marginally better advertised specs, such as 0.10% wrms wow & flutter and a 60db S/N ratio, though I doubt there’d be an audible difference between the two. The Denon is fully automatic, which is irrelevant to me, but might be a consideration for some. Between the two it’s too close to call and really comes down to price. At MSRP I’d choose the LP120, but I was able to get the Denon at 40% off.
vs. U-Turn Orbit
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I think U-Turn is a cool company and I really wanted to buy from them, but a couple things nixed it for me: the fact that they charge $40 for a que lever (putting the price above what I paid for the Denon), and that the headshell is not easily swappable. I like the idea of being able to throw on a “beater” cartridge to spin some thrifted vinyl without having to bust out the protractor. If you don’t care about swapping headshells and the LP120 isn’t on sale, this is the table I’d choose.
vs. Rega Planer 1
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The MSRP of the new entry-level Rega is $475, but I don’t see $256 more value than a U-Turn Orbit (w/ que lever), not even close. The plinth on the Rega is particleboard, not MDF, and Rega doesn’t even publish its wow & flutter specs. Pass.
vs. Project Debut Carbon DC
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Googling “debut carbon hum” put me off buying one of these. Just being honest. I inspected one in person and it struck me as quite chintzy for the money, more so than the Rega Planar 1 (however, in person the Rega Planar 3 seemed quite nice). The carbon fiber tonearm seems to be a gimmick, and in my opinion the new Rega RB110 arm is superior in every way. You get an Ortofon red with this one; neat I guess, but could this table hold its own if it didn’t come with a $99 cart? In my opinion, no.
Now, onto the DP-300f. There are a concerning number of reviews on Amazon and elsewhere complaining of motor issues / warped platters. I’m glad to report that my platter isn’t even slightly warped. It is, to my eye, actually the most perfectly flat platter I’ve seen out of all those I’ve thus far inspected. The table spins a hair fast (33.7-33.9rpm), but this is no worse than the Rega Planar 3 I tested. There are potentiometers to adjust the speed on the underside of the turntable, though I’m not sure I’ll bother. I have left the motor running for several hours of burn-in testing and all seems well. I will certainly update this review if I experience any issues, however thus far I could not be more pleased with the turntable.
EDIT 13-02-17:
I found the urge to mess with the turntable speed setting irresistible. There are two screws on the bottom of the turntable, clearly marked, one for 33.3 and the other for 45. Turning the 33.3 screw clockwise increases the speed, counter-clockwise decreases the speed. The *inverse is true* of the 45 screw, e.g. clockwise *decreases* the speed. There is an indeterminate reciprocal relationship between the two speed settings, i.e. one can be correct and the other can be *way* off. Tinkering with this is a laborious process, more so I'd say than even aligning a cartridge using a universal protractor. It seems that even turning either screw just a hair has a dramatic effect. The very best I could do was to get the table spinning at 33.37rpm / 45.05rpm. The speed remains consistently stable within 0.1rpm. I'm very happy with these numbers considering the price of this belt-driven turntable.
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From the manufacturer
DP-300F
The DP-300F has been designed with heavier base construction for reduced vibration and improved performance. The all new tonearm has a removable headshell making cartridge replacement simple. The standard mount headshell allows for any standard mount cartridge between 5 ~ 10 grams to be mounted and balanced. The automatic startup feature allows the turntable to begin play with the touch of a button, and once play has been completed, the tonearm will be returned to the armrest gently so that the stylus and record are not damaged or scratched. The turntable is made of rigid diecast aluminum to produce uniform rotation for smooth flutter free operation. There is also a manual lifter mechanism that allows you to place the needle on the record wherever you want, so you can skip to a different song in the middle of a side.
The DP-300F includes a built-in phono equalizer to connect the player to an integrated amp or receiver that does not have its own phono input. This turntable is powered by a DC servo motor and belt drive system and has rotation speeds of 33 1/3 or 45 rpm. It comes with a MM cartridge so that you can begin to enjoy your analog record collection as soon as you connect the DP-300F to your home hi-fi system.
Compare with similar items
This Item  Denon DP-300F Fully Automatic Analog Turntable with Built-in Phono Equalizer | Unique Tonearm Design | Hologram Vibration Analysis | Slim Design |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $429.00 | $349.00 | -9% $299.00 List: $329.00 | $249.99 | -9% $299.00 List: $329.00 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 17 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 20 | Get it May 16 - 20 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15 |
| Customer Ratings | |||||
| Sound quality | |||||
| For beginners | |||||
| Sold By | Amazon.com | S-Waves Electronics | Amazon.com | Fluance Audio | Lifestyle by Focus |
| power source | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | AC | AC | Corded Electric |
| connectivity tech | Wired | — | Bluetooth | Wired | Bluetooth |
| signal format | Analog | — | Analog | Analog | Analog |
| model name | — | cs 329 | ATLP3XBTBK | Elite | ATLP3XBTWH |
| material | Plastic | — | Plastic | Wood, Engineered Wood | Plastic |
| weight | 12.13 pounds | 13.7 pounds | 5.2 kilograms | 14.1 pounds | 13.9 pounds |
| motor type | DC Motor | AC Motor | AC Motor | AC Motor | AC Motor |
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Denon DP-300F Fully Automatic Analog Turntable Review
Gerardharris
Reviews with images
Old vinyl, old dude, new turn table!
I was redoing my av rack and decided to throw in my thirty year old turn table only to discover that it was just a hair to wide for my rack. I didn’t spend a lot of time shopping for a new one. I just knew I didn’t want a cheap one or an overly expensive one. This one seemed to be kind of medium priced and I had faith in DENON products. It was a little weird putting it together. Seems like all that should have been done at the factory but I got through it ok. I like the on/off buttons in the front which means I can slide it back into my rack and then start it. Hooked it up to my new Yamaha avr and fired it up and sounded great!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2024
Style: DP-300FVerified Purchase
I was redoing my av rack and decided to throw in my thirty year old turn table only to discover that it was just a hair to wide for my rack. I didn’t spend a lot of time shopping for a new one. I just knew I didn’t want a cheap one or an overly expensive one. This one seemed to be kind of medium priced and I had faith in DENON products. It was a little weird putting it together. Seems like all that should have been done at the factory but I got through it ok. I like the on/off buttons in the front which means I can slide it back into my rack and then start it. Hooked it up to my new Yamaha avr and fired it up and sounded great!
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