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  3. 195652-94506

What would you do?

I just bought a Denon dp-57l turntable in really ​​​​​​, really nice condition for what I feel was quite a bargain ($250). It functions perfectly, gorgeous rose wood veneer, scuff marks on the dust cover which can be buffed out with lens restorer. Even though it functions perfectly, it is 43 years old and has never been recapped. A recapping can cost up to $700. It also came with an Ortofon Red cartridge not worthy of this quality of table and I'd say needs at least a Bronze.  So my question is:

Given the initial $250, plus $700 for a recap, plus let's say $500 for a good mm cartridge, we're looking at $1450 give or take a couple hundred if recapping isn't that much. Is this beautiful table worth it quality and sound wise to put that into it, or would a comparably priced new table beat it in sound quality? Looking for those with a similar Denon who've recapped theirs and have a quality cartridge to voice their experienced opinions. I'm putting it in a system that has Belles integrated, but I'll be using my BAT phono pre. 

thecarpathian
llg98ljk's avatar
llg98ljk
228 posts
 

Asking because I honestly don't know. What's to recap on a turntable and especially $700?

thecarpathian's avatar
thecarpathian OP
5,187 posts
 

@llg98ljk ,

These Denons are chock full of little capacitors and other fiddly bits.

Quite complex for a turntable. When you recap one, you’re replacing something like close to 50 parts. That's a pretty poor explanation, but it's the best I've got with my limited knowledge. Hopefully some of the more learned guys will explain it better.

viridian's avatar
viridian
5,352 posts
 

Wouldn't you need to purchase a phonograph cartridge no matter what turntable you purchased?

As to what I would do, I would not purchase a turntable with the Denon servotracer arm, but that is simply personal preference and has no bearing on if to recap or not. If you love it, go for it. You can always make more money, you can't always score vintage gear in nice condition that you love.

motown-l
234 posts
 

I like vintage turntables like the Denon mentioned or similar JVC's of the era. I am also not a fan of the bio-tracer tonearms, but it's personal. I would upgrade to an Ortofon 2M Blue, 

For $1400, I would get the new Clearaudio Compass.

I have a circa 1978 Philips AF877. Other than some maintenance like lubing the bearing and replacing the head shell leads, I have done little to the turntable. There are a few capacitors in the speed control circuit, but none that I could find in the signal path. I'm not replacing anything unless the speed gets wonky. 

 

mahler123
3,667 posts
 

For $1500 you can buy a pretty decent new table and cartridge.  Presumably being new you are less likely to run into issues with parts pooping out due to age, and there have been enough advances in manufacturing to take advantage of.  
 However logic isn’t the operative issue here.  It’s the love of resurrecting a vintage piece.  So spend what you feel is reasonable but I wouldn’t look for validation unless you need some people telling you that you aren’t crazy to enable you to do what you really want to do anyway 

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