Denon adds the stylish DP-400 and DP-450USB decks to its Design Series
Fancy getting into vinyl but find all the technical terms around turntables confusing? Well, Denon aims to simplify that with its latest efforts.
The DP-400 and DP-450USB are plug-and-play efforts, designed to be easy-to-use and install. Both come with an MM cartridge in a universal headshell, along with a built-in pre-amp that makes them suitable for use with a wide range of systems.
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The Denon DP-400 uses a heavy, damped plinth to help stave off the effects of resonance. It’s measures at only 41cm wide in an attempt to save space and match the visual look of the Design Series.
The belt-driven platter is capable of 33.3/45 and 78rpm, with the turntable’s integrated sensor able to control speeds to avoid fluctuations and ensure pitch accuracy. The S-shaped tonearm is designed to reduce distortion during playback and it also auto-lifts and stops playback once it reaches the end of a side.
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The installed moving magnet cartridge can be switched for a moving coil cartridge if you wish, while the built-in phono stage can be bypassed when the turntable is used with amplifiers that have their own phono section, or, with external phono amps.
Rear connections on the DP-450USB turntable
The DP-450UB builds on a similar foundation to the DP-400, except it adds a built-in DAC and is capable of ripping vinyl music to USB storage. You don’t have to connect to a computer to rip files from vinyl to digital, either. Just attach a USB storage device to the USB port on the front panel, choose from either compressed MP3 or uncompressed CD-quality WAV files, and away you go. Denon offers MusiCut software for digital metadata tagging and organisation of files from its website, free of charge.
The DP-400 and DP-450USB retail for £449 (€499) and £529 (€599) respectively. They’re available to buy from authorised Denon dealers.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
