Denon
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese electronics
company that was involved in the early stages of development of digital audio
technology, while specializing in the manufacture of high-fidelity professional and consumer audio equipment. For many decades, Denon was a brand name of Nippon-Columbia
, including the Nippon Columbia record label. In 2001 Denon was spun off as a separate company with 98% held by Ripplewood Holdings
and 2% by Hitachi
. In 2002 Denon merged with Marantz
to form D&M Holdings
. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo and others in 1939.
There followed a number of mergers and tie-ins over the next few decades as firstly the company merged with Japan-US Recorders Manufacturing in 1912 and then in 1928 the brand “Columbia” was introduced when the company became “Japan Columbia Recorders”. A further change of name occurred in 1946 when the company renamed itself “Nippon Columbia”.
The Denon brand was first established in 1947 when “Nippon Columbia” merged with “Japan Denki Onkyo”.
“D&M Holdings Inc.” was created in May 2002 when Denon Ltd and Marantz Japan Inc. merged.
Today, the company specializes in professional and consumer home cinema and audio equipment including A/V receivers, Blu Ray players, tuners and wireless music systems.
Denon is also known for high-end AV Receivers and Moving coil
phono cartridges.
Two M-series models, the Denon M31 and M30, have been the most successful radio hi-fi's for the last 4 years. Since being released to the micro hifi DAB market, they have received several awards in Europe.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
company that was involved in the early stages of development of digital audio
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
technology, while specializing in the manufacture of high-fidelity professional and consumer audio equipment. For many decades, Denon was a brand name of Nippon-Columbia
Columbia Music Entertainment
is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as . It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK Columbia trademarks in 1931. The company changed its name to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in 1946. It used the Nippon Columbia name until...
, including the Nippon Columbia record label. In 2001 Denon was spun off as a separate company with 98% held by Ripplewood Holdings
Ripplewood Holdings
Ripplewood is an American private equity firm based in New York, New York that focuses on leveraged buyouts, late stage venture, growth capital, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and other illiquid investments....
and 2% by Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
. In 2002 Denon merged with Marantz
Marantz
Marantz is a company that develops and sells upper-mid range to high-end audio products.The first Marantz audio product was designed and built by Saul B. Marantz in his home in Kew Gardens, New York...
to form D&M Holdings
D&M Holdings
D&M Holdings is a Japanese corporation that owns several audio and video brands. It was formed in 2002 from the merger of Denon and Marantz. It has acquired several other companies since that time. In 2008 it was acquired by K. K. BCJ-2, a Tokyo corporation owned by investment funds advised...
. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo and others in 1939.
History
The company was originally established in 1910 as part of “Nippon Chikuonki Shokai" (Japan Recorders Corporation), a manufacturer of single-sided disc records and gramophones. The company was originally called '日本電氣音響株式會社' - Nippon 'DENki ONkyo Kabushikigaisha' which was shortened the name of DEN-ON in Japanese. The company is actively involved with sound systems electric appliance production and later the company has been merged with other related companies as a result of this the company name became "DENON".There followed a number of mergers and tie-ins over the next few decades as firstly the company merged with Japan-US Recorders Manufacturing in 1912 and then in 1928 the brand “Columbia” was introduced when the company became “Japan Columbia Recorders”. A further change of name occurred in 1946 when the company renamed itself “Nippon Columbia”.
The Denon brand was first established in 1947 when “Nippon Columbia” merged with “Japan Denki Onkyo”.
“D&M Holdings Inc.” was created in May 2002 when Denon Ltd and Marantz Japan Inc. merged.
Today, the company specializes in professional and consumer home cinema and audio equipment including A/V receivers, Blu Ray players, tuners and wireless music systems.
Denon is also known for high-end AV Receivers and Moving coil
Magnetic cartridge
A magnetic cartridge is a transducer used for the playback of gramophone records on a turntable or phonograph. It converts mechanical vibrational energy from a stylus riding in a spiral record groove into an electrical signal that is subsequently amplified and then converted back to sound by a...
phono cartridges.
Two M-series models, the Denon M31 and M30, have been the most successful radio hi-fi's for the last 4 years. Since being released to the micro hifi DAB market, they have received several awards in Europe.
Product timeline
- 1910 Manufacturer of single-sided disc records and gramophones.
- 1939 Launched first professional-use disc recorder for broadcast industry and disk cutting lathe.
- 1951 Commenced sales of Japan’s 1st LP records.
- 1953 Launched professional-use tape recorder for broadcast industry.
- 1958 Introduced sales of stereo records.
- 1959 Commenced production of open-reel audio tapes.
- 1962 Introduced Elepian series of electronic pianos.
- 1963 Developed the DL-103 phono cartridge.
- 1964 Started sales of audio cassetteCompact CassetteThe Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
tapes. - 1971 Started producing hi-fi audio components, including turntables, amplifiers, tuners and speakers.
- 1972 Introduced the world’s first viable 8 channel digital recorder.
- 1977 Awarded US Billboard magazineBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's "Trend-Setter Award for outstanding contribution to the industry". - 1980 Awarded the 13th Montreux International Diplome d’honneur technique award.
- 1981 Developed a professional-use CD player.
- 1982 Industry leader in the introduction of consumer-use CD players.
- 1988 Introduced range of AV amplifiers to product range.
- 1990 Awarded three component awards at Paris hi-fi show.
- 1993 Developed the twin deck DJ CD player DN-200F. Other early models are the DN1000F, DN2000F and the DN2500F. Denon also made the world's only twin MiniDiscMiniDiscThe disc is permanently housed in a cartridge with a sliding door, similar to the casing of a 3.5" floppy disk. This shutter is opened automatically by a mechanism upon insertion. The audio discs can either be recordable or premastered. Recordable MiniDiscs use a magneto-optical system to record...
player designed for DJ use. - 1994 Awarded European Audio Innovation of the Year.
- 1995 World's first Dolby AC-3 and THX 5.1 certified home theater system.
- 1997 Introduced DVD player into product range.
- 1999 World's first THX-EX home theater system (THX Extended to provide fuller surround sound).
- 2001 Produced first Mini system with 5.1 surround sound.
- 2002 Denon link technology developed for improved digital connectivity.
- 2004 Launch of world's first consumer product featuring HQV (Hollywood Quality Video).
- 2006 Denon introduces the 1.5m long AK-DL1 CAT5Category 5 cableCategory 5 cable is a twisted pair cable for carrying signals. This type of cable is used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Ethernet. It is also used to carry other signals such as telephony and video. The cable is commonly connected using punch down blocks and modular connectors...
EthernetEthernetEthernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
cable. It wasn't until mid-2008 that it caused controversy because of its high price ($499) and the company's claims that the cable is "designed for the audio enthusiastAudiophileAn audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...
," and would "bring out all the nuances" in digital audio signals transmitted over it, despite the fact that even the most poorly made ethernet cable would deliver similar quality for digital audio over a similar length. - 2007 Denon releases the AVP-A1HDCI Pre-Amplifier and matching POA-A1HDCI Power Amplifier set which marks the company's first additions to a new line of high-performance custom-focused components.
- 2008 Denon announces the world's first Universal Blu-ray player capable of DVD-Audio and SA-CD playback