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New project: Micro Seiki DDX-1000 overhaul

for_p1 said:
My rating scale is just skewed with what I bought and what I see available for sale at Japanese sites. When table just needs surface wiping or (in worst case) applying wax to veneer to look and work just like new 40 years ago.
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When it's just that (only cleaning), it's in very good condition. So I guess on the Japanese sites you can see the internals and the state of the components inside? And the insides of the feet? And you can look inside the motor to check the oil and the bearing? I guess not.

Condition is not all about the outside. From time to time they need some TLC on the inside which involves replacement of parts.

This DDX only needed a surface wiping on the outside and therefore the condition was good, right?

Anyway, when I'm done it's in very good condition on the outside and on the inside ;)
 
I ordered different neon lamps to experiment a bit and found a suitable one. It has the right brightness, but i'ts pretty much smaller than the original, so I had to think about how to overcome that problem.

The wires were soldered on and shrunk individually. Then I shrunk 3 sleeves total over the wires to make it a bit sturdy. Then I used foam around the sleeves to fill the 360 degree gap between the lamp and the housing. So now it 'sits' in the middle of the housing. And it works like a charm.

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Some pictures of the feet installed. Be aware: Vibrapods can (and will) leave stains on wood and laquer, so I placed foam under them to protect my wooden rack.

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Mr. Yamaha said:
When it's just that (only cleaning), it's in very good condition. So I guess on the Japanese sites you can see the internals and the state of the components inside? And the insides of the feet? And you can look inside the motor to check the oil and the bearing? I guess not.

Condition is not all about the outside. From time to time they need some TLC on the inside which involves replacement of parts.

This DDX only needed a surface wiping on the outside and therefore the condition was good, right?

Anyway, when I'm done it's in very good condition on the outside and on the inside ;)
Click to expand...

I did work on some adjustment work on high-end audio components (not TT) from the same age. They rarely needed components replacement. I am surprised Micro used "no-name" capacitors in their table.
 
Looks like you did a great job, Mr Y! Must be a very satisfying feeling. That DDX is truly yours now. I like how you handled the feet — looks great, and works better than the originals. It's a great table — sounds good, looks fantastic, and the multi-arm capability is very useful if you use MM and MC, and Mono — or any other combinations. I once had 3 arms on mine: Linn Ittok, SME 3009, and Mayware Formula 4, a range of effective-masses suited for just about every cartridge in the world.

I have the DQX 1000, the next iteration. I got in 1998, after it stood in its box in a climate-controlled warehouse, unused, for 15 years. Since then, I've only put about 2 years on it. I like to think, being almost "new", it doesn't need cap replacement. They all look good, but I know caps can deteriorate even if idle. The feet are totally effed despite so little use (just from air pollutants I guess, or bad chemistry to start with) and must be replaced. Your solution is ingenious, and a happy coincidence the Vibrapod's diameter is perfect.

Which model Vibrapod did you use, in regard to weight bearing? I'll just follow your example.

A small aesthetic note — I took the white plastic sleeve off the strobe. The table is a beautiful statement in finely tooled metal, and I find that one cheap plasticky element out of place. The strobe works fine without it and looks much better, to my eyes, consistent with the all-metal statement. As you know, you can easily try it by unscrewing the top cap — and easily replace it if you disagree with me.

Armboards are expensive and hard to find. I made some from wood — hardwoods, like oak, maple, walnut. They work just as well as the MS boards. And you have more versatility, to suit tonearms MS didn't cater for — after all, many quality arms have been introduced since MS made their limited range 30 years ago. A 30mm hole-driller from the hardware store ($8), used for installing locks in doors, is the perfect size for mounting on the post. For the rest, you can duplicate the MS boards, or get creative.

Also, a guy in Italy is making boards out of thick acrylic or aluminum, to any dimensions you specify, for far le$$ than the old originals cost. They're CNC, very precise, and the Acrylic looks quite stunning. He was advertising on Ebay, but seems to have stopped. I'll try to find his contact details if you're interested.

Meanwhile, enjoy the well-deserved fruits of your labor. And you've inspired me: I also have a Denon DP80, their penultimate DD, and now I may finally do the re-cap I've been putting off...
 
elcoholic said:
Well the DP80 is close, but the DP100M is the stuff of dreams
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Do you have a DP100M? Please give us a review, I've certainly heard of it, it's legendary, but never heard one. I'd love to read about it though, from an owner who knows it well.
 
bimasta said:
Do you have a DP100M? Please give us a review, I've certainly heard of it, it's legendary, but never heard one. I'd love to read about it though, from an owner who knows it well.
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I wish I did. It looks like it might work in a Ford Raptor going flat out in the desert. I bet they are hard to find even in Japan. The DP80 is indeed the best Denon that isn’t unobtainium. The 3 arm Micro Seki’s would Look right at home on the Discovery rover.
 
I was pretty surprised by the motor in my DP80 — my first thought was "This could drive a go-kart..."
 
elcoholic said:
Looking good. Listening impressions soon?
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Just finished installing the tonear, cartridge and adsjustments. Sweet music is coming out the speakers at the moment :music: It sound really good, this is another league than my previous 'high-end' Yamaha direct drive. The Micro has a very rich sound and plenty of tight bass.

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bimasta said:
Looks like you did a great job, Mr Y! Must be a very satisfying feeling. That DDX is truly yours now. I like how you handled the feet — looks great, and works better than the originals. It's a great table — sounds good, looks fantastic, and the multi-arm capability is very useful if you use MM and MC, and Mono — or any other combinations. I once had 3 arms on mine: Linn Ittok, SME 3009, and Mayware Formula 4, a range of effective-masses suited for just about every cartridge in the world.

I have the DQX 1000, the next iteration. I got in 1998, after it stood in its box in a climate-controlled warehouse, unused, for 15 years. Since then, I've only put about 2 years on it. I like to think, being almost "new", it doesn't need cap replacement. They all look good, but I know caps can deteriorate even if idle. The feet are totally effed despite so little use (just from air pollutants I guess, or bad chemistry to start with) and must be replaced. Your solution is ingenious, and a happy coincidence the Vibrapod's diameter is perfect.

Which model Vibrapod did you use, in regard to weight bearing? I'll just follow your example.

A small aesthetic note — I took the white plastic sleeve off the strobe. The table is a beautiful statement in finely tooled metal, and I find that one cheap plasticky element out of place. The strobe works fine without it and looks much better, to my eyes, consistent with the all-metal statement. As you know, you can easily try it by unscrewing the top cap — and easily replace it if you disagree with me.

Armboards are expensive and hard to find. I made some from wood — hardwoods, like oak, maple, walnut. They work just as well as the MS boards. And you have more versatility, to suit tonearms MS didn't cater for — after all, many quality arms have been introduced since MS made their limited range 30 years ago. A 30mm hole-driller from the hardware store ($8), used for installing locks in doors, is the perfect size for mounting on the post. For the rest, you can duplicate the MS boards, or get creative.

Also, a guy in Italy is making boards out of thick acrylic or aluminum, to any dimensions you specify, for far le$$ than the old originals cost. They're CNC, very precise, and the Acrylic looks quite stunning. He was advertising on Ebay, but seems to have stopped. I'll try to find his contact details if you're interested.

Meanwhile, enjoy the well-deserved fruits of your labor. And you've inspired me: I also have a Denon DP80, their penultimate DD, and now I may finally do the re-cap I've been putting off...
Click to expand...

A DQX is great too, do you use the Quarz lock? I used Vibrapod Model 3, it depends on what weight the gear is. The Vibrapods are rated for a certain weigh per pod. Yes, I have seen thos arm boards, I'm very happy that I have the AX-1 and AX-2.

About the Vibrapods, I discovered yesteray that the feet were not in height adjustable anymore. When I looked again at the contstruction, I saw why. The Vibrapods are mounted inside the feet on a spring tensioned pole, so when you adjust the feet, the Vibrapod will move the same way with it. Which results in no change at all. So I had to cut the center of the Vibrabods out and just put them in the feet without the bolts. It's a tight fit, so they won't go anywhere. And now they are adjustable again :biggrin:

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Mr. Yamaha said:
A DQX is great too, do you use the Quarz lock? I used Vibrapod Model 3, it depends on what weight the gear is. The Vibrapods are rated for a certain weigh per pod. Yes, I have seen thos arm boards, I'm very happy that I have the AX-1 and AX-2.

About the Vibrapods, I discovered yesteray that the feet were not in height adjustable anymore. When I looked again at the contstruction, I saw why. The Vibrapods are mounted inside the feet on a spring tensioned pole, so when you adjust the feet, the Vibrapod will move the same way with it. Which results in no change at all. So I had to cut the center of the Vibrabods out and just put them in the feet without the bolts. It's a tight fit, so they won't go anywhere. And now they are adjustable again
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I'm very glad you're enjoying the TT — small aside, I use the same Stanton cartridge (though not always). It also looks stunning in your photos. So many look ill-treated, but yours gleams. Yes, I often use the Quartz lock. I was very wary at first, because it is so roundly criticized. The DQX at least has the option: Quartz, or manual setting like yours. When I got it, I had a "jury" of friends to help me evaluate gear — two musicians, and a recording engineer. They had perfect pitch, and we also had the luxury of using their own records which, of course, they knew intimately. They heard no difference between the manually-adjusted setting and the Quartz lock. (They also helped me choose between two Luxman tube preamps, the famous CL35 and humble CL34, unanimously preferring the CL34 — and between the Mitch Cotter MC SUT and a lesser-known Audio Interface: I could hear no difference, but they all rejected the Cotter.)

It was my first DD table. I was anti-DD after all the years of propaganda against it (really anti-Japanese-corporate animus). I only bought it because it was offered brand new for $300. It was set up and running (no arm, so no music) and it was just so beautiful I had to have it. I was skeptical when I got home and set it up alongside my Linn LP12. Fortunately I had two identical arms (Ittoks) and cartridges (Fidelity Research MCs) so it was a pretty rigorous comparison, the TTs being the only variables. The DQX destroyed the Linn, which I sold within the week.

Anti-DD bias was vehement, especially in the UK — they actually published the racist phrase "Jap is Crap" often in the audio magazines. After watching Toyota et al destroy their beloved auto industry, they were fiercely protecting their home audio industry and its cottage-industry belt-drives. They especially attacked Quartz lock — "by definition the speed is always wrong"; "you can hear it speeding up and down to correct itself". Possibly that was true for the cheap plastic DDs that flooded the department stores, but not for the more sophisticated designs (I also have a Denon DP80, their almost-TOTL DD). The critics were presenting a hypothetical weakness as a factual one.

This kind of (non)thinking is sadly prevalent. Even in this thread, someone wrote "Well the DP80 is close, but the DP100M is the stuff of dreams" — he's heard neither, just opinions and rumors cycled through a dozen others and presented as knowledge.

Thanks for the info on the Vibrapods. I'm glad to hear "It's a tight fit, so they won't go anywhere." As I wrote earlier, "it's a happy coincidence the Vibrapod's diameter is perfect."

I must replace my feet. I was planning to use Vibrapods, but recently became aware there's a company manufacturing exact duplicates of the MS originals, and claiming to use better materials. They're quite affordable. Do you know anything about them?

Thanks for your advice. Our turntables may not be the "best" in utimate/super/hyper-end terms, but they're good enough for me, and beautiful kinetic sculptures. I always smile just putting the record on, before a note of music plays...
 
What kind of alignment device did you use to get the cartridge in the right place?

I would like the information on the strobe light bulb. I would like to see what the TT would look like with a blue bulb.

Thanks for sharing this with us again. I should be getting an audio stand next week and will then be able to get my DDX-1000 out of the original box after 3 years. Your thread is great inspiration.
 
bimasta said:
I must replace my feet. I was planning to use Vibrapods, but recently became aware there's a company manufacturing exact duplicates of the MS originals, and claiming to use better materials. They're quite affordable. Do you know anything about them?
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No not really, what is the company's name?

Hobie1dog said:
What kind of alignment device did you use to get the cartridge in the right place?

I would like the information on the strobe light bulb. I would like to see what the TT would look like with a blue bulb.

Thanks for sharing this with us again. I should be getting an audio stand next week and will then be able to get my DDX-1000 out of the original box after 3 years. Your thread is great inspiration.
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The MA-707 needs 15 mm overhang -> caliper gage. Then I used a simple protractor tool to adjust the cart.

I would keep it original (orange) :thumbsup:: http://nl.mouser.com/Search/Product...Tvirtualkey69600000virtualkey696-GT-NE6H1925T

:bigok:
 
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