Debut Carbon vs. Denon DP300F

[wiscodeman]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm in the market for an entry level TT and I've been doing some skimming via Google through forums (such as AudioKarma and a couple threads on here) that had reviews and asked similar questions.

 

I've noticed Needle Doctor is selling both models fitted with a Ortofon 2M Red, at around the same price.

 

Both have enticing features, such as the Carbon's visual appeal and the Denon's automatic operation.

 

What I wanted to know is, has anyone either owned, sampled, or had an experience with both of them which ultimately made your decision to choose one (or conversely, not wanted one) of them?

 

Thanks in advance for any input provided.

[ajxd]

In turntables, less is more. Automatic functions are for the birds. Get the pro-ject.

[wiscodeman]

I have the feeling that I won't always be near the turntable to catch the end of a side playing though. Or worse, (drunkenly) falling asleep while something is playing. 

 

Legitimate concern? 

[mattalica17]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Q-UP/360377677349365?fref=ts

 

 

if it's a big deal get that.

[wiscodeman]

Had no idea that existed. Awesome, thanks!

[ruckis]

I just got the Carbon. It's beautiful and sounds amazing.

[youspinmeround]

Have had that denon for about 3 years now. Love it

 

The automatic was a huge feature for me. The statement that less is more doesnt really apply. That added feature is a minimal thing

[ajxd]

Look at all high end tables. They don't have automatic parts for a reason. More production value into features means less production value into the parts that matter on a turntable. If a gear breaks, you then have a lot of possibilities of problems to come up.

[bearchuck]

In this this case, I'd probably go with the Carbon.  It just has nicer parts ... especially the tonearm. Put those nicer parts together and you should get a nicer whole.

 

Of course, I don't really agree that less is always better.  I mean, given the choice I would want my turntable  to be lean and mean with all the focus going into build quality and making it sound as good as it possibly could.  However, real world experience is a little different.  The question is not less vs more but rather turntable vs turntable.  You should judge a deck based on how it performs, and then factor in all the other stuff like automatic functions, etc etc.

 

You can't claim that an automatic is more likely to break down simply because it has more moving parts.  Sure, it seems more likely, but there's absolutely no evidence of that.  Manual tables break down too.  The only way you could make that assertion is if you literally knew how many Denon DP300F turntables needed to be serviced in the past few years compared to the number of Debut Carbons that had issues.

 

Basically what I'm saying is that you shouldn't make assumptions like all manual turntables are better than all automatic turntables.  In many cases, it's true, but not always.  As far as I can tell, people seem to like their Denon DP300F turntables.  If I had to guess though, I think that the Carbon would probably beat it in a head-to-head competition.

[ajxd]

Oh I was trying to say they are more prone to breakage, I was merely saying that if a gear breaks... There's a lot more to go wrong.

Quality tables are quality.

[gabpower]

I find the automatic functions to be essential to my listening habits. Especially the auto-return since I'm always doing something else while music's playing or I just fall straight asleep. I guess that's just a matter of getting used to it if it's manual but I hate to wake up in the morning and find that the record's been spinning all night on the end groove.

[kyacrash]

I have the Denon, love it.  Auto return is awesome, and changing the speed with the push of a button is very awesome as well.  Built in preamp is also awesome.  I did replace the cartridge after owning it for a little over a year.  Overall a great turntable, especially for the price and I'd highly recommend.

 

Having said that, if all those perks don't matter to you, even I would venture to think that the pro-ject beats it everywhere else.  Probably not by a huge margin, but still.