Denon

Denon
株式会社デノン
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryElectronics
Founded1910; 114 years ago (1910), in Japan (as Nippon DENki ONkyo Kabushikigaisha)
FounderFrederick Whitney Horn
Products
  • Audio
  • Visual
ParentSound United LLC
Websitewww.denon.com

Denon (株式会社デノン, Kabushiki Gaisha Denon) 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.