Denon DM-101

The Denon DM-101 is a direct-drive turntable with an integrated moving coil cartridge. That makes it an outlier in Denon's catalog. It didn't ship as a bare deck that expects you to bolt on your own cartridge. It came with a factory-installed MC pickup, properly aligned and ready to play. The cartridge's output is rated at 0.28mV with an impedance of 4 ohms, so it wants a decent MC phono stage. A typical MM input won't cut it.

Surviving documentation on the DM-101 is thin, and no launch year or original price has turned up in the research. What the record does show is a well-specified machine. Wow and flutter is rated at 0.012% WRMS, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 74dB. The 320mm platter sits in a chassis measuring 442 x 157 x 368mm, and the whole thing weighs 10kg. The tonearm is a static-balance design with an effective length of 230mm, 16mm overhang, and an effective mass of 12g. Tracking force range is listed at 0-3g, with the integrated cartridge's own recommended tracking force at 1.2g ± 0.2g.

The integrated cartridge is specified with a frequency response of 20Hz-60kHz and 30dB of channel separation. The listed replacement stylus is the Denon DL-102S. The DM-101 runs on 100V 50/60Hz and draws 14W.

The DM-101 also appears in a 1990 issue of Mix Magazine (June 1990, p.183) in a studio equipment inventory, listed alongside B&W monitors.

Known Specifications

Direct-drive turntable with integrated moving coil cartridge
Speeds: 33⅓ and 45 RPM
Wow and flutter: 0.012% WRMS
Signal-to-noise ratio: 74dB
Platter: 320mm
Tonearm: static balance, effective length 230mm, overhang 16mm, effective mass 12g
Cartridge output: 0.28mV; impedance 4Ω; tracking force 1.2g ± 0.2g
Cartridge frequency response: 20Hz–60kHz; channel separation 30dB
Dimensions: 442 x 157 x 368mm; weight 10kg
Power: 100V 50/60Hz, 14W