Denon has been making direct-drive turntables for a long time. Its very first was the DN-302F made for use in Japanese radio stations, released in 1970 — co-incidentally (or not) the same year that Matsushita released the world’s first direct-drive turntable, the SP-10, after having claimed to have invented the direct-drive motor system used in it two years prior (though see below*).
Up until 1970, all turntables were driven by either a belt or an idler-wheel. Radio stations didn’t like belt-drive turntables because they required continual maintenance and were slow to reach playing speed. They also didn’t like idler-wheel turntables, because they too required continual maintenance, and also had higher levels of wow and flutter than belt-drive turntables.
So for radio stations, the direct-drive design was the answer to all their prayers. Zero maintenance, no belts or pulleys, and the platter came up to playing speed almost the instant it was switched on — and stopped the instant it was switched off — yet the drive had far lower levels of wow and flutter than the idler-wheel system.
Build & facilities
The DP-3000NE’s plinth
