Denon DP-S1 (1993)
Despite the "DP" prefix, the Denon DP-S1 is not a turntable. It is Denon's flagship CD transport, launched in 1993 as the company's cost-no-object statement of digital expertise. It was meant to be paired with the companion DA-S1 D/A converter. Original list price was $8,000.
Audio (January 1994, p.41) described the DP-S1 as built with three levels of mechanical and acoustic isolation and a high-resolution laser system. It also noted that Denon brought the audio industry's longest heritage of digital design and music recording to the project. The surviving record keeps coming back to vibration elimination: a newly developed pickup mechanism, a large stabilizer, triple-layer flotation, and a frame designed to keep the influence of external acoustic pressure to an absolute minimum. The transport had five types of digital outputs and Denon's ultra-high-speed synchronous optical link (ST-GEN LOCK) for tightly synchronized driving of an outboard DAC.
Documentation past that is thin. No dimensions, weight, transport mechanism details, or production end date appear in the record. One forum recollection describes good memories from a single audition and asks how the DP-S1 compared with transports from Wadia, CEC, and Mark Levinson - a comparison nobody seems to have written down. Whether Denon still keeps spare parts is likewise undocumented.
Known facts, in short:
- Denon DP-S1 CD transport, launched 1993
- Original list price: $8,000
- Five types of digital outputs and ST-GEN LOCK optical link
- Built around triple-layer flotation / three-level isolation and a high-resolution laser system
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