is a Japanese electronics company dealing with audio equipment. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo (not to be confused with the other Onkyo) and others in 1939, but it originally started as Nippon Chikuonki Shoukai in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur.
Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon 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. Denon made Japan's first professional disc recorder and used it to record the Hirohito surrender broadcast. 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. On March 1, 2017, Sound United LLC completed the acquisition of D+M Holdings.
History
The company was initially named , which was shortened to Denon. The company is actively involved with sound systems and electric appliance production. Later the company merged with other related companies and 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. On March 1, 2017, Sound United LLC completed the acquisition of D+M Holdings.
Today, the company specializes in professional and consumer home cinema and audio equipment including A/V receivers, Blu-ray players, tuners, headphones, and wireless music systems. Denon is also known for high-end AV receivers and moving coil phonograph cartridges. Two M-series models, the Denon M31 and M30, were the most successful radio hi-fi's in the mid-2000s. Since being released to the micro hi-fi 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 cassette 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 magazine'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. 1984 Unveiled the CD-ROM format. 1988 Introduced range of AV amplifiers to product range. 1990 Awarded three component awards at Paris hi-fi show. Introduced lineup of Headphones. 1993 Developed the twin deck DJ CD player DN-2000F. Other early models are the DN1000F, DN2000F and the DN2500F. Denon also made the world's only twin MiniDisc player designed for DJ use. 1994 Awarded European Audio Innovation of the Year. 1999 World's first THX-EX home theater system (THX Extended to provide fuller surround sound).