I sent in one of my 5000m for something like this. One unit seems not to be running true when the platter is on.
Can you check after a cold start if the pitch bend button works on the unit in question.
You can turn off pitch lock so you can hear if it clearly if the pitch bend is working or not with the platters active
Pitch bend buttons is working fine from cold start.
As mentioned, I have a theory regarding ambient operating temperature for the mechanical parts.
I did an experiment today. I took one of the players into my livingroom and let it sit there for about 8 hours in 22 degrees celcius before powering it up. The result: Everything is running fine with no slowdown! Then i fired up the other unit that had been sitting at around 15 degrees celcius. The motor on that unit was really slowing down a lot and not able to follow the correct tempo. Just turned it off again after 3 minutes. Will redo the test with that unit tomorrow after it has had a night above 20 degrees.
If my theory regarding temperature is correct the second unit should work fine tomorrow.
The test is simple enough to perform for anyone else interested:
In my case they drift apart after just 4-8 beats when the unit is “cold”.
Update: The second unit is also working correctly after spending time in a room above 20 degrees celcius.
It’s obvious to me that the motor/bearings (at least in my units) have surprisingly high operating temperature requirement compared to my turntables. I guess it’s worth noting that this can be an issue if you’re planning on using them short time after transporting or at location below summer temperatures in the nordic countries. Unless you do the test prior to you set, it’s not obvious that they are behaving differently and you might just (like me) think that you have a very bad day beatmatching.
If anyone from Denon reads this I’d love to hear if this behaviour is regarded to be within the specifications.
Thanks for the info, I find this really helpful, as I’m experiencing the same problem when operating the 5000M on the twin layer function. I’ve been forced to switch the motor off to avoid fighting with the tempo, it literally goes out of time within a bar, and I was actually mixing by sliding the pitch controller continuously. I really would appreciate some feedback from Denon on this?
Ive also made a post on here regarding this in the past. Ive learnt to live with it, as you say leaving them running for about 40-60 mins on continuous mode before i plan on playing. Situation definitely exacerbated in the winter when ambient temperatures are colder.
Are you using the new version of engine 2.0?? For me i think i might do that since i did the update! Pretty sure its not a hardware problem but a software update that will need to be done by engine
Yep. It’s been updated whenever there was a new fw available. It is a hw related issue.
So would a solution in the cold months be to use the sc players without running the motors i.e. like a regular CDJ unit without moving platters?
You could do that. However, I find it a bit awkward to use them that way as the platters are somewhat heavy and have a momentum. Not in any way comparable feel to the non motorized versions. The workaround is however to let them run for quite a while for themselves until the mechanics have reached operating temperature. For myself I even got a second hand prime4 just to have something reliable that will work whenever I turn it on…
Just seen this post…but I’ve had the same problem. I have two motorised and non motorised sc5000’s, I’ve had issues with the motorised doing the same thing…my kit lives in the conservatory and rings true about the temperature. Part of the reason the standard 5000’s get used the most.
Hello guys. My 5000M starts slow and will take 2 bars to get into the right speed. I didn’t see any improvements after playing it for over an hour. You can hear the Pitch going up (wooo sound) when we try to scratch or simply press play. Looks like mechanical issue for me. Another issue is that the player is not working with serato on both windows and mac. I tried different cables and configurations. All I hear when I play (on serato mode) is sort of a muffled low noise. Or also the track fast forwards straight to the end. Any suggestions on where can I get it serviced?
I’m going to make an assumption on this.
If I were to take a guess I would say this is from a capacitor (probably a big one) that is tied to the motor. For some reason it looks to be taking a while to fully charge up. Maybe it might be due to temperature. I’m trying to find an old numark v7 so I can take it apart to get a better idea on how the platter works and to have on hand donor parts for my 5000m if needed.
DN-S3500 are simillar and fairly cheap right now.
They’re not the same. The numarks are near 100% identical for a lot of the parts. I spotted an ns7 for $350 cad. lol. I think I can get a v7 for around $100cad.
I seen a pair in my region for about 200€ including mixer some time ago…
Maybe You will have luck there as well 
I saw one for $100 here but it disappeared. I’m expecting to see a lot more going up for sale since Serato and inmusic eol the whole series. The ns73 will be retired soon also.
No way, i just got my second deck this weekend. I flew it from Hollywood to Chicago on my trip back and this morning after setting them up i thought I was tripping. The motor slows the track down by 2.61% I thought it was due to be loosening the disc for easier scratching but after tightening then turn ing the motor off A/B’ing the tone its crazy noticeable. I have two decks and it only happens to my second one. WACK! Maybe i need to store them in their cases over night but yo this should not be happening. Gonna email Denon for sure. They can have the slow motor.
Denon ever get back to you? I just emailed them
Never heard anything. I didn’t contact them though email though.