Micro Seiki DD-8 w/ MA-505 arm @$245 -good deal?

[annunaki]

Holy Jesus.

[annunaki]

So...to explain...

I bought the Micro Seiki DD-8 today. I brought it home and did a basic clean and polish. What a beautiful piece of art. The deck and tonearm are in perfect shape, minus the counterweights. I bought some modeling clay for a buck to rig on the arm just to get it balanced before I find a proper set.

Now, I set the TT up with a quick balance to null, set the height to level with my DL-103 and did no other adjustments. Connected a pair of mid-range RCA interconnects, a straight quality copper wire for ground and turned it on. Put the stylus down and about peed my pants at the incredible sounds emanating from this setup.

Never have I heard the DL-103 sound so lush and beautifully detailed through the whole dynamic range! I was starting to wonder about this cartridge. Now...I'm not worried one bit.

The Micro is now the reference deck in my system. On to search for a good set of counterweights. It's such a beautiful looking turntable, and the sound is just sooo smooth. Wow.

My wife has put up with my audio silliness over the years. Even her eyes went super-wide when I played the first track. She thought I had the DL-301II connected, but was shocked when I told her it was the DL-103

[davidsss]

Sounds like a great outcome.

Enjoy.

DS

[JaS]

The Micro is now the reference deck in my system. On to search for a good set of counterweights. It's such a beautiful looking turntable, and the sound is just sooo smooth. Wow.

Not a bad outcome for $245

Regards,
JaS

[annunaki]

Yes, definitely worth the investment. I'll be enjoying the Micro for some time I'm sure. Funny thing though...I just put on a copy of ELP - Tarkus that played so well on my DP-59L with its Dynamic Servo Tracker tonearm. I never noticed that the album was pressed slightly off center and had some slight hills and valleys. This was enough to get it to skip and dance a bit with the MA-505 arm. It tried, but alas, I'll have to get a better copy of the album later.

Interesting though...the DL-103 sounds far and away better on this arm than the Denon DL-301II. As soon as I figure out the compliance thing I'll probably understand.

So, as it stands, the 301II stays on the DP-59L (and will be the default player for wobbly vinyl). The 103 stays on the Micro and will be the default player for everything else.

Thanks all for the encouragement and advice. All worked out better than expected.

[jahukle]

Do you know the weight and dimensions of the counter weight?
I have the same problem.I know a guy that works in a machine shop
that might be able to make one of these.
Thanks John...

[piergj]

I think your D-8 has the same jvc motor of mine model : DDL-60 with two arms.Mine is a very rare model (i have a pair of mail with the european import-man of the time. The last DD deck direct by Micro has got very big and good motors from the JVC company. Please state this a make a photo to spindle without the platter.

Good thins to everywhere

Ciao

Pierluigi

[Alec124c41]

Holy Jesus.

Sounds like he will be too busy playing music to post much!

Cheers,
Alec

[Jonti]

I've also landed a DD-8 with MA-505 arm for a similar price this past week. Agree with everything Annunaki says. It has a superb deep, lush sound - mates exceptionally well with my favourite cart, the Denon DL-107. This will be my main TT for some time now!

[rromeo923]

I got a Micro Seiki DD-40 w/MA-505 arm for $250 a couple of weeks ago. It came with a Stanton 681eee cartridge. The original owner says he never replaced stylus but didnt use the turntable that often. It sounds great. Wondering if I should just get new stylus (which one?) or get a whole new cartridge (which one?)

[Alec124c41]

Holy Jesus.

I think he likes it.

Cheers,
Alec

[satanfriendly]

Sounds like you are a truely happy man if you can bring Jesus in to the frame!

A few pictures would go a long way. If you are having trouble posting photos on here try using www.photobucket.com. The photo links always work fine for me.

Looking forward to seeing what you have here.