Denon 1800R (c. 1985)
Little is documented about the Denon 1800R. What survives in period sources identifies it as the DCD-1800R, Denon's compact disc player of the mid-1980s. The archive's record is a test report in High Fidelity (December 1985, p.37) and a Denon advertising campaign that ran through the summer of 1985. No service manual, production dates or measured performance data have survived in the available material.
The High Fidelity test report's data sheet is the most concrete document left. It gives the DCD-1800R a front panel of 18¼ by 4 inches, a chassis depth of 12 inches plus 2½ inches of rear clearance for the heat sink, and a list price of $949 - which included the RC-1800 wireless remote control. The warranty was one year, parts and labor. The report names the manufacturer as Nippon Columbia Company, Ltd., Japan, distributed in the U.S. by Denon America of Fairfield, New Jersey. The archive's copy cuts off before the actual lab measurements appear.
Denon's own advertising that summer made bolder claims. The campaign ran in Audio (June 1985, p.196) and HiFi-Stereo (August 1985, p.60). It argued that CD players do sound different, so one model must sound the best. It pointed to Denon's library of PCM master recordings, its own CD pressing operation, and what Denon called the world's only hand-tuned D/A converter, fitted in the DCD-1800. The ads also claimed that Germany's Audio magazine had chosen Denon over Philips and Revox as its reference CD player.
Known from the period record:
- Product: DCD-1800R compact disc player, per period press
- Price: $949, including RC-1800 wireless remote control
- Dimensions: 18¼ × 4 in front panel; 12 in deep plus 2½ in rear clearance
- Warranty: one year, parts and labor
- Maker: Nippon Columbia Co., Japan; U.S. distribution by Denon America, Fairfield, NJ
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