Plinth ideas for DENON PD-80 DD turntable

I own a Dp80. It is perhaps too simple to say that the platter is spring loaded. The platter is two concentric pieces,an inner piece that is about the size of the record label or a little wider in diameter, and an outer which goes all the way out to the periphery. The inner and outer platters are linked by flexible thin metal fasteners that act sort of like a spring to decouple the two sectors . This was Denon’s way of isolating the platter from the bearing, since the playing surface of the LP is almost entirely supported by the outer platter.

I have a DP-80 too. My platter differs markedly from your description: the "inner piece" is not the size of the label, it is the size of the LP. The playing surface of the LP is entirely supported by the inner platter, not the outer. The outer is directly coupled to the main bearing/motor. It may look otherwise to a casual glance, but there is a clear gap (±1mm) near the edge, separating the inner platter (11 5/8" diam) from the outer — the outer platter is just a silver rim 3/8" wide, though 99% of its mass is hidden beneath the inner.

The springs are only half of the suspension. There are also foam pads (9 of them IIRC). Like all foam from that era, they decompose, crumble, rot (just like old speaker surrounds) and no longer provide the intended decoupling or resonance-damping. You cannot see them without removing the leaf-springs and separating the two parts of the platter, so you may not know they’re there, or their condition.

But if you had it completely rebuilt, I’m sure the technician took care of it.

The discrepancy between our platters confuses me. I’ve had it apart (to replace the rotten foam pads) so know it rather well, and just looked again. If you have time, could you take another look at yours, and confirm the inner part is label-size? If it is, Denon must have made differing platters, which would be very intriguing.

@bima my platter is just like yours, the inner part is not the label size, it’s the record size (on my DP-80)

@chakster And you just received it, yes? it’s beautiful, of course.

But your mat is not like mine! Now I’m worried: it’s said to be "carefully engineered for the DP-80" etc. I don’t know how much that matters, but...

Mine came with the table, from an eminently reputable dealer, in a massive VPI plinth, but with the best will in the world, mats get switched.

Mine says "Denon" on the back, molded in the rubber. Yours is markedly different. I have one that closely resembles yours; more concentric rings, and lighter in weight — but of course that doesn’t mean it is like yours. "SFTG170M01" appears on the back of it; does yours have any signifier on the back?

I checked 50 or so pictures on Google of various DP-80s; there’s a variety of mats, including some silly mismatches — but over half look like mine.

Another question: do you know about the state of the foam pads (described in my post above)? Did the seller mention them, or any other info of recent maintenance/renewed parts?

Bima, my dp80 platter could well be just like yours. I haven’t closely examined it in years. So my own description may have been inaccurate. My mat is definitely OEM, has “DENON” inscribed in the rubber on the underside, like yours. It’s thick with concentric raised ridges on the top side.

Mine says "Denon" on the back, molded in the rubber. Yours is markedly different. I have one that closely resembles yours; more concentric rings, and lighter in weight — but of course that doesn’t mean it is like yours. "SFTG170M01" appears on the back of it; does yours have any signifier on the back?

@bima well, i have stamped RGS0008 on the rubber mat, but honestly i don’t care about it, can’t remember when i’ve been using a rubber mat last time, normally i replace them with my favorite SAEC SS-300 (lightweight) or heavy Micro Seiki CU-180 (or superheavy CU-500) depends on the turntable torque and platter.