Vintage Denon Direct Drive Turntable

I've just finished my second evening of listening to my DP80 mounted in a 70-lb slate plinth with Triplanar tonearm bolted directly to and thru the plinth (no discrete armboard) and a Koetsu Urushi. I am ecstatic, as you might guess from the fact that it is past 1 AM here on the East coast US, and I have not yet gone to bed. This thing is sweeeeeet. I just got done with Chick Corea, Return to Forever, on ECM, a recording I bought new in the 70s. I re-experienced everything but the chemical high of those days. It has a BIG sound (certainly in part due to the Urushi/Triplanar) but also incredible drive and rhythmic presence. I will post photos in my system, as soon as I get a new camera, in a couple of days. Awesome is a cliche', but so be it.

Lewm, I anxiously await pics. If you have any comparisons against other tables, I for one would love to hear them. Mine remain in wood plinths (both my -80 and my -75) so I can only expect what I would hear (though an air-bearing or magnetic-float isolation platform works wonders on both).

I think a large dollop of the goodness of this set-up is bolting the Triplanar very firmly to the slate. In theory, any energy put into the tonearm by the Koetsu is going to be traveling down the tonearm and into 70-lbs of slate, where it would easily be dissipated. I can't easily mount the Triplanar on either the SP10 Mk2A slate plinth or the forthcoming Lenco/PTP in slate, because the respective chassis' simply do not allow the tonearm to get close enough to the spindle, so I probably won't be making comparisons among the 3 tables using this tonearm. (It could be done with the SP10, but I would need to raise up the Triplanar on an additional small piece of slate, about 3/4" thick.) I may be able to do a tt comparison with the RS-A1 or the Dynavector DV505. But what I am most surprised about with regard to the Denon is how completely open and rhythmic it is, virtues usually ascribed to sprung belt drives and idlers. Whereas, traditionally I think of the Denon dd's as being a bit on the dark side. There is no trace at all of that quality using slate. None at all. I briefly tried the SAEC ss300 platter mat in place of the Denon rubber mat. I am not sure this is a good idea, because the ss300 is heavier, and one wants to stay close to the mass of the stock mat. (In the owners manual, Denon specifically warns against using anything but the stock mat. This is because any tt servo mechanism is designed specifically to run a certain platter mass.) Anyway, I think the sonics may be even slightly better, cleaner with better bass definition, using the ss300. BTW, my slate is about 19"X23" and 2 inches thick. This calculates to about 90 lbs, before making the large cut-out for the Denon.

Photos of my Denon DP80 in 2" slate slab w/Triplanar and Koetsu Urushi, plus a photo of my SP10 Mk2A in a similar slab with RS-A1 and Ortofon MC7500. Are now posted on my system site, since I don't know how to post them right here.

Dear Lew: That Denon looks gorgeous, good job and good listening too.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.