Denon DCD-S1 (1994–1996)
The DCD-S1 was Denon's flagship CD player of the early 1990s. It is built as a dual-mono design with two PCM 1702 D/A converters and an NPC SM5842 digital filter. The chassis work was the big story. Denon gave it a die-cast aluminum frame and a double-layer damping chassis to suppress resonance, and the front panel carries special "Ultra Pure" lettering to mark it as the top of the line. The transport is a custom "Dynamic Servo" type with a die-cast aluminum pickup base, and the digital and analog sections get separate power supplies. All of that makes for a very heavy machine: 22 kg, with dimensions of 470 × 150 × 370 mm.
Specs are respectable even by today's standards: frequency response of 2 Hz–20 kHz (±0.3 dB), S/N of 118 dB, dynamic range of 100 dB, channel separation of 100 dB, and THD of 0.0015%. Digital outputs are one optical (Toslink) and one coaxial (RCA), with a fixed RCA analog pair. CD text is supported. The original Japanese price in 1994 was ¥350,000.
The record beyond that is thin. A period review in HiFI-Stereo (February 1995, p.98) covered the DCD-3000 CD player, which featured a remote with volume control. On the used market, asking prices have ranged from ¥330,000 to ¥420,000 in 2025 listings, with at least one unit described as mint and fully serviced with original packaging. No service manual, repair documentation, or owner forum threads were found in research.
Known specs:
- D/A converter: PCM 1702 × 2 (dual mono)
- Digital filter: NPC SM5842
- Frequency response: 2 Hz–20 kHz (±0.3 dB)
- S/N: 118 dB
- Dynamic range: 100 dB
- Channel separation: 100 dB
- THD: 0.0015%
- Output: 2 V
- Digital outputs: optical (Toslink) ×1, coaxial (RCA) ×1
- Analog outputs: RCA fixed ×1 pair
- Weight: 22 kg
- Dimensions: 470 × 150 × 370 mm
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.