Denon jumps in the vinyl-to-MP3 turntable game with DP-200USB

For turntablists, there have been a plethora of options when scouting a deck with integrated vinyl-to-MP3 capabilities. Until now, though, you've had to deal with second-rate brands (we kid) like Numark and ion -- neither of which possess the prestige and haughty factor that comes with a Denon logo. The DP-200USB enables deep-pocketed DJs to rip vinyl straight to MP3, and you can even save the digital files to a USB drive thanks to the built-in USB socket. The unit will be available in Japan early next month for ¥31,500 ($310), though it's hard to say if or when Denon will see fit to bring this Stateside.

[Via T3]

[Wolfticket @ Oct 21st 2008 7:10AM]

This doesn't look at all high end to me. $300 isn't that much to spend on a turntable. Going on looks alone I would hazard a guess that the USB version of the Project Debut 3 is considerably "highender" for about the money: http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/3378

[Muhammad-Oli @ Oct 21st 2008 9:01AM]

Nobody said this is high end as far as I know...

[Wolfticket @ Oct 21st 2008 9:17AM]

The title of the article was "Denon jumps in the vinyl-to-MP3 turntable game with high-end DP-200USB" up until it was changed a little while ago, hence the references to it in other comments.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 21st 2008 10:39AM]

Denon were considered an industry benchmark turntable back in the seventies. They've historically made some of the best turntables in the market. Obviously I have no idea how good this turntable is but it looks like just one more of those situations where a famous old name is being bastardized in an attempt to take advantage of a new market.

[konshuss @ Oct 21st 2008 4:50PM]

are DJs hurting that much for business these days, 300 bucks is classified as 'deep pocketed' ?

[deus_ed @ Oct 21st 2008 7:23AM]

Whats the use of a highend turntable if you're going to convert them to mp3 anyway.

[mbond @ Oct 21st 2008 7:38AM]

Presumably you can convert to other formats as well, including lossless. So if you have a good quality record, you should be able to get a richer sounding file.

[fanman @ Oct 21st 2008 1:02PM]

So you can listen to your old favourites on your iPod without having to repurchase them.

Yes, we know, you could pirate the music.

[Arran @ Oct 27th 2008 8:07AM]

Ditto, does this have flac support?

[jorge @ Oct 21st 2008 7:32AM]

@deus_ed highend to listen to vynil. usb to past the same vynil to listen them at ipod at the beach...

[happy_penguin @ Oct 21st 2008 10:40AM]

Say what?

[jorge @ Oct 21st 2008 11:13AM]

Um giradiscos com boa qualidade para ouvir os discos, mas com possibilidade de gravar-los para mp3 e assim poder ouvir o seu vinilo favorito na praia ;-).

Why highend + usb

Highend - to listen with good quality
usb - to ripper lp -> mp3 -> go to beach

[happy_penguin @ Oct 21st 2008 4:38PM]

Ah! I believe I understand now. I also believe that English is not your native language. Please forgive my lack of consideration. :)

[Glenn @ Oct 21st 2008 8:03AM]

LOL $300 would barely buy an entry level high end cartridge. This thing is a toy, not much else.

[Samboini @ Oct 21st 2008 4:06PM]

Ortofon Nightclub's are more than this. I prefer hooking up my Mk5 1210's to my PC and recording with Cubase.

[DjMgJ @ Dec 18th 2008 7:42AM]

umm, yea, $300 can buy a high end cartridge, almost two!

[Philip Arthur @ Oct 21st 2008 8:21AM]

If this thing is high end where is the pitch control?

[Pete W @ Oct 21st 2008 8:27AM]

C'mon of course it's not high-end. It's designed for consumers that don't know how to plug a 'normal' turntable into a mixer (for the preamp) and then into their PC.

These things are so dead end. You can't use them for anything else.

[KilgoreTrout @ Oct 21st 2008 8:32AM]

About one year ago when I was on the market for a similarly equipped turntable I examined a few dozen possibilities and ALL OF THEM where better or "higher end" than this thing.

In any case before buying one of these USB spinners one should remember that simply by plugging the PC's sound card into the amplifier rec. ports will always give better results and allow you to use the recording/converting software you prefer.
Just a couple of weeks after I bought my USB turntable I realized that I had just wasted my money because using an USB cable instead of the RCA cables, that were already plugged between my hard disk and the ampli of my stereo, did not add any vantage whatsoever to the recording & converting of vinyles.

[Wolfticket @ Oct 21st 2008 9:08AM]

I disagree.
Ignoring the quality or otherwise of this particular turntable, generally the analogue to digital (and vice versa) conversion on you average pc soundcard (and especially onboard sound) is pretty crap and noisy. I guess all of these usb turntables have some sort of external dac (adc?) and generally that is a better (ie. high quality) way of recording or outputting sound to and from a pc. Obviously there are probably exceptions (either very expensive sound cards or very cheap external dacs) but generally the inside of a pc case is not conducive to high quality digital to analogue conversion.

[htd @ Oct 21st 2008 9:18AM]

I highly doubt the conversion on this turnable is that much better than audigy.

[Ynot @ Oct 21st 2008 9:21AM]

I have about 400 LP's that I'd like to convert. Granted, I could probably find half of those online in much better shape. If I were to go this route my first concern would be the quality of the needle and is it replaceable? The other thing is, I wonder what I'd get for it when I'm finished using it? Would it Ebay for very much? Maybe we should just buy one and pass it around. :)

[Bill @ Oct 21st 2008 10:22AM]

If it was High-End, this wouldn't be silver. Ugh! What is up with all of the silver components the last 5 or so years? Please bring black back.

[benderillo @ Oct 21st 2008 10:39AM]

Silver ftw!

http://www.son-video.com/Rayons/Hifi/PlatineTD/Technics/SL1200Mk2_Top_L.jpg

[happy_penguin @ Oct 21st 2008 10:45AM]

Silver was the standard way before black. Apparently silver is back in style and I like it.

[rob @ Oct 21st 2008 12:03PM]

This thing is laughable. To be honest, this is a tool for DJs on a budget. A Technics 1200 (which is the absolute standard, IMO) costs more than this.

For a turntablist, no. For your average vinyl listener that would like to convert their collection to digital, sure.

[illskematic @ Oct 21st 2008 12:53PM]

when it can't be strictly vinyl, REAL djs use 1200s with a serato.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 21st 2008 4:42PM]

But a real audiophile might use something more like this:

http://andyhifi.50webs.com/images/micro_seiki.jpg

or this:

http://sales.highendpalace.com/14070.jpg

[Gerard Rejskind @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:26AM]

It seems to me that $300 is a lot for that much evil-looking plastic. Lily Tomlin was right...there's a danger the Earth may run out of unnatural resources.

[Loonie @ Oct 21st 2008 5:27PM]

"A plethora of options", maybe, but why do all those options look like they were just ripped from the top of a crappy late 80s midi "hi-fi" system?

[papa knows best @ Nov 1st 2008 4:34PM]

Did you guys know that Denon already had a couple of digital out turntables that allowed you to rip the files to WAVE using Soundforge, Audacity, or any ole ripping/recording program?

The ones I'm talking about were much higher in quality than the one shown above, and both allowed you to pitch lock, pitch change, key lock all while sending out the digital output to the recorder of your choice. Both older ones looked similar to the Technics 1200... and the Denon version can be used for regular gigs if you so choose. So you ask, what is the model numbers for these older Denon digital out turntables?

Denon DPDJ100
http://shoroji.com/xoops/uploads/weblog_imagephotos/16.jpg


Denon DBDJ150
http://img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dbdj150ub4.jpg

(I told you they looked similar to a Technics 1200) ;)


By the way, you are bound to find one of these for sale on eBay, or still in stock at some of the bigger music shops.

As for this this new one, the only thing I like about it, is the ability to rip directly to MP3 and then being able to save it to a thumb drive. Then you can transfer the music to your computer (no need for any extra programs).

[papa knows best @ Nov 1st 2008 4:35PM]

Someone mentioned... "Ortofon Nightclub's are more than this. I prefer hooking up my Mk5 1210's to my PC and recording with Cubase."

True, but the sad part that you fail to realize is, that the signal the Tech MK5 is outputting (and all the versions of the 1200), is an ANALOG signal, and NOT a digital one like the Denon ones I gave links to have. ;)

By the way, because the ones I posted allow you to use ANY head shell-cart you want, you can also use the Ortofons, or ANY other model you want.....and the 100-150 are more affordable then your "club standard" (rolleys) Tech 12.

And before you try and knock the older Denons... try them out first. ;)