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A Denon – that says it all. It was a manual direct-drive turntable that was widely known and highly regarded when it was first released, and remains highly regarded to this day. This machine combined components that were sold separately by Denon and Stax, an approach typical of the great Japanese hi-fi tradition, which aimed for maximum freedom of configuration and the creation of high-end analogue systems.
It was a premium direct-drive turntable characterised by solid construction and an extraordinary, elegant and refined design, perfectly embodying the technical aesthetics of an era in which major Japanese manufacturers were developing increasingly sophisticated solutions for analogue reproduction.
In this Denon model, the turntable speed was electronically controlled and the revolutions were detected by a magnetic sensor that regulated the speed for unrivalled precision. In this method, the pulse that was precisely recorded magnetically on the inner circumference of the turntable was detected by the magnetic pickup and converted into a voltage based on the frequency. This voltage was then compared with the reference voltage to control the voltage applied to the motor. 1,000 pulses were recorded with an accuracy of 0.01% wavelength error, enabling extremely accurate speed detection and extremely fast and sufficient servo control, resulting in excellent wow and flutter characteristics.
It was possible to maintain a stable rotational speed even when load conditions, such as stylus pressure, changed. Furthermore, as the servo circuit provided temperature compensation and utilised a stabilised DC power supply, the rotational speed was unaffected by fluctuations in the supply frequency and voltage, as well as by temperature changes.
A solid-rotor AC torque motor was used for the drive motor. This motor exhibited smoother, less vibrating rotation characteristics than synchronous motors and DC motors. Furthermore, there was virtually no hum because it was driven by alternating current with a beautifully shaped waveform.
The Stax UA-7 was a 9-inch tonearm with a 16g mass and a removable headshell (SME mount). It was a highly successful unipivot tonearm, designed and built in Japan. Its reliability meant it remained in the catalogue from 1970 to 1984, practically until vinyl sales began to decline due to the emergence of the quintessential digital format, the compact disc.
For those not in the know: from a mechanical point of view, the smaller the contact area of the moving surfaces in relation to the load, the lower the friction. Consequently, the Unipivot-type tonearm sought to minimise friction by replacing the four bearings in a traditional tonearm with a single bearing on which the tonearm balanced. In this way, the weight of the tonearm was supported exclusively by the stylus on the record and by the single vertical bearing at the tonearm’s fulcrum, thereby reducing the contact area to a minimum.
The VMS magnetic cartridge with a fine-line diamond, the VMS 30 MK II, was the flagship model in Ortofon’s VMS range. In the 1980s, it was the ideal model for use with the finest turntables on the market. It was characterised by excellent tracking ability across the entire frequency range, high channel separation, very low distortion and minimal record wear.
The chassis was based on the original design of Denon’s DK100 but was machined from solid Carrara marble using a CNC machine. The weight of the cabinet alone (without the cover) is 25 kg. The dust cover and hinges are those of the original DK100 and are in excellent condition.
This particular unit is a substantial piece of equipment in terms of both size and weight. It measures a width of 53 cm, a depth of 44 cm and a height of 18 cm. The total weight is 29.6 kg, a figure that testifies to the solid construction and design philosophy focused on mechanical stability typical of high-end hi-fi systems.
