Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Denon DP-59L Turntables by J-PMatt@Comcast.Net

Model:	DP-59L
Category:	Turntables
Suggested Retail Price:	$?$?$?$
Description:	Semi Automatic Direct Drive
Manufacturer URL:	Denon

Review by J-PMatt@Comcast.Net on October 25, 2008 at 18:59:00
IP Address: 24.0.129.161 Add Your Review
for the DP-59L

The oportunity to get this bad boy came my way. I've been looking for years for the table. I was able to trade a bunch of old gear I didn't care about in exchange for the Denon. No cash exchanged hands.......sa-weet!

So, about MY DP-59L. Well, mine is new, in the box....that's right. NOS DP-59L. Came from an estate sale, the seller wasn't looking for much....cost me some old Adcom, Proceed, Kinergetics, Yamaha and Nakamichi. Before you go thinking I got ripped off..... I didn't. I work in the business, I comb the websites like A-Gon, E-Bay and Craig's List. So.....I know what I'm doing. I know what stuff goes for. The trade was perfect. I didn't pay for any of the stuff I gave away. No complaints.

I took the table and parts out of the box gingerly. Ahh.......the smell of vintage Japanese equipment. Over 20 years for all the package smells to marinate. It brought a tear to my eyes.....fond memories of my Dad from the late 70's shopping with me at Stereo Discounters, Sound Works and Tech Hi-Fi...... may he rest in peace. Man we had some great times together looking at great gear. The smell of that stuff coming out of a brand new box.....well, you never forget it, do you? My old boss said that nothing smelled better than brand new JBL's (70's to early 80's) coming out of the box, so I know there's someone out there like me who appreciates the smell of new toys.

I followed the instructions of the manual....and I installed the Denon DL-103D on the DP-59L. It just seemed like the right thing to do. My Electrocompaniet ECP-1 Phono Preamp has no problems driving the DL-103D. Anyway........the DP-59L was frankly the easiest table I've set up in a long time. VTA, Anti-Skating, VTF.........it was all a breeze. All i had to do was level it and play some tunes.

And what tuneage should I play with this behemoth from the early 80's? The rosewood veneer, the gleaming and flawless dustcover, the SIZE of the DP-59L.....it stood there on my shelf daring me with memories of Deep Purple, Rainbow, Wings Over America, Frampton Comes Alive, Foghat, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Rush "2112" Boston's first album, Bob Seger, The Cars debut album..........and damn it....yes, the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack album.

Let me assure you all that my albums are in excellent condition, and also that Denon combo tracked everything I threw at it easily. The sound?

It was great.....it was organic, it was big and powerful and effortless with extension to tomorrow. Bass was solid, quick.....never lean. Never. McCartney's Rick Bass-Spray on "Soily" from "Wings Over America" was tangible and well paced. The Overture to Rush "2112" was outstanding, Peart's drums placed perfectly on the stage.....this was better than I had remembered. Much better.

But then I got an idea. I threw on my low output Benz Micro ACE. That beautiful Red Cartridge looks frickin perfect on the Denon and I have to tell you DL-103D fans something.......the ACE is better. It's blacker, it's more natural, it's more dynamic......whoever said that the DP-59L is the Compact Disc of Japanese Turntables should have stopped by my house with a bottle of wine to hear these albums I was playing. Make no mistake...you CAN hear differences between cartridges with the DP-59L. Deep Purple's "Child In Time" was amazing with the Benz, and better than the DL-103D. All of the instruments stood out from each other, the stage was bigger AND closer to my seat.......Ian Gillan's vocals had an intimacy through the ACE that wasn't there with the DL-103D. Blackmore's extended solo had more texture......sorry Dl-103D, but your micro-dynamics aren't on par with the ACE.

For Jazz........I played one album. "Time Out". The track? "Take Five" of course. On this cut, the two cartridges were actually neck and neck until two things happened.......the drum strikes were much more solid through the ACE at the beginning of the drum solo, and when the sax returns after the drum solo, it's place on the stage was so 3D with the ACE that it made the hair on my arms stand up. The DL-103D was damn good though. I'd like to try the Zu Audio version of it.

So, how does the DP-59L with stock straight arm stand up to my other tables, which would be the Kenwood KD-770D, Ariston Forte with Sumiko arm and Basis 1400 with Origin Live modded RB-300? Stood tall and proud.....and I would be really interested in hearing it with my RB-300. I won't reduce the value of the table by trying to put a different arm on it, but it would be cool to compare. Against the Basis 1400, it is as you may imagine......the 1400 is a little more dynamic and has better bass, but deatil is a toss up. Against the Ariston Forte, it's a totally different sound and the Ariston Forte is a totally different table, and visually striking in it's own right too!

Overall, I have to tip my hat to the folks that designed and manufactured the DP-59L. It has very good resistance to feedback, is easy to set up and adjust for any cartridge, a snap to level quickly, can track a warped tire and has flawless pitch and pacing. I'm proud to own it, and I love listening to it. With the new light I placed next to it, it's quite striking and has never failed to be the attention getter when friends come to visit. It's all business with the DP-59D.

Ah, and one other thing.......I always do this weird little test of my own with tables. I spin the platter manually as fast as I can and time it to see how long it spins until it stops. The DP-59L will spin for almost 7 minutes. That's considerably longer than my other tables with the belts removed, of course. The DP-59L is machined for the ages. It's a serious player and for being over 20 years old......it's a great trip down memory lane.

Dad......I hope you had as much fun as I did............

Product Weakness:	None for what it is.
Product Strengths:	Nostalgia galore, great Japanese engineering, beautiful cosmetics, breeze to set up, beautiful to listen to

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Electrocompaniet AW-250DMB
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Electrocompaniet EC-4.7
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Denon DP-59L
Speakers: Dali MS-4 Euphonia...........Talon Audio Peregrines
Cables/Interconnects: Stealth, Elco, Kimber, Tributaries
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Rock & Roll, Hard Rock and even more Hard Rock..........with some Jazz
Room Size (LxWxH): 40 x 30 x 8
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): MIT Z Center
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Electrocompaniet AW-250DMB
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Electrocompaniet EC-4.7
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Denon DP-59L
Speakers:	Dali MS-4 Euphonia...........Talon Audio Peregrines
Cables/Interconnects:	Stealth, Elco, Kimber, Tributaries
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock & Roll, Hard Rock and even more Hard Rock..........with some Jazz
Room Size (LxWxH):	40 x 30 x 8
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	MIT Z Center
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner