Denon DP 300f Review

Getting a decent turntable at a cheap price is near impossible. If you prefer sound quality over price, you need to spend a lot. However, there is one turntable on the market, which is cheap and has outstanding quality.

It’s the Denon DP 300f, which is our personal favorite, and some of us have been using it for years now. But, there are still some music enthusiasts who need a good record player to listen to those old vinyl records.

Denon DP-300F

Moreover, searching for a decent record player in the heap of cheap quality turntables will take a lot of time, and you might not succeed.

Hence, we have taken it by ourselves to guide you towards the best vintage-style turntable by our detailed Denon DP 300f review. This review will let you know the good and the bad aspects of this turntable, so read it till the end.

About Denon

Denon is a known Japanese brand that is well versed in manufacturing audio products. It was founded in 1910 by an American entrepreneur named Fredrick Whitney Horn and since then, Denon has been one of the best products for music enthusiasts.

Before it was a popular audio brand, Denon started as a startup for disc recordings, but gradually, they started making other audio products such as speakers and record players too.

This turntable is specially made by keeping people with low budgets in mind. The Denon came up with the DP 300f, an automatic analog turntable. Even while having a minimalist design, this Denon record player is one of the best vintage-style turntables.

Overview

Besides that, the sound quality is decent, and there are many other features you will get to know while reading this review. Therefore, keep reading it till the end to get all your questions answered.

Denon DP-300F

Specifications:

  • Brand: Denon
  • Type: belt-driven
  • Weight: 5.5 pounds
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth, RCA wired
  • Speeds: 33/45 rpm
  • Platter material: die-cast aluminum
  • Outputs: headphone jack, RCA ports

Pros:

  • Removable headshell 
  • Automatic arm return 
  • Minimum noise 
  • Good sound quality 
  • Easy to set up 

Cons:

  • The motor isn’t user adjustable 
  • The tonearm is not great 

Features OF Denon DP 300f

Design

The Denon DP f300 has a slim and minimalistic design yet keeps the ability to outstanding other designer models with its vintage style. Unlike other turntables, it’s only available in black color.

Further, it has no confusing controls but two buttons on the top to control the disc’s speed and size. Also, for making it easy to start and stop, there are two buttons on the front side to start and stop the records.

Talking about the tonearm, it’s decent and automatic, which we will explain later. Further, it’s a belt-driven turntable that is slower than the direct drive but has fewer vibrations. Other than the heavy build, it comes with a hard plastic cover to protect this turntable from dust and a rubber mat to keep it stable and reduce vibrations.

Performance

As it’s a mid-priced turntable, the performance is average when it comes to sound quality. In other aspects, it’s great, but for performance, it somehow lacks behind because of the quality of the tonearm and stylus. It cannot generate bass and highs effectively, which makes it hard to play songs with highs.

Moreover, even though it has built-in speakers, they sound bad, and you have to get external speakers to use this turntable. Other than the sound quality, the automatic functions are great if you don’t want to do everything manually.

Build quality

The build quality of Denon DP f300 is pretty impressive. It’s fully made of rigid die-cast aluminum. It has a heavier base construction, ensuring the turntable doesn’t wobble while playing, making the sound quality better.

The plastic case on the top lets you cover the turntable when it’s not in use, unlike many other turntables that don’t have any cover.

Even while having a good base construction and fewer vibrations, this DP f300 is on the lighter side and is highly portable. The automatic tonearm is pretty decent, but it’s not up to the standards, so you need to upgrade it or compromise on the sound quality.

Connectivity

When it comes to connectivity, this Denon turntable lacks behind. You can only connect RCA cables to it using the pre-amp. Moreover, many turntables at this price range have USB connectivity for better connectivity, but this one doesn’t.

However, the RCA connectivity is pretty stable, and you can have uninterrupted music listening.

Automatic features

This Denon DP f300 is way more advanced, even if the looks are vintage. It has automatic controls for play and pauses the records. Further, the tonearm will automatically land on the record with a simple press of the play button.

Similarly, it will return to its place when you press the stop button. While the tonearm does it, don’t worry, it’s well-calibrated and won’t scratch your records.

Like other turntables, you can change its speeds from 33 RPM to 45 RPM, but here it’s with a press button which is more accessible according to us. Moreover, as it has an automatic tonearm, there is a special button to select the size of the record.


CONCLUSION

With all these quality features, the Denon DP 300f is our first choice for budget-friendly turntables. The build quality and features are all good. However, it somehow lacks sound quality. But, considering the price, the quality is decent.

Hence, we would highly recommend this Denon DP 300f. Moreover, check out our other turntable reviews for better insights if you are not satisfied.

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