Micro RX 5000 Renaissance?

@amg56, I agree. The capitalist need for cheap labor ushered in globalism - as a slightly more civilised form of colonialist exploitation - and the communist regime in China opened their doors in a desperate attempt of revigorate their own declining pre-industrial economy. Necessity is the mother of invention and copying is simply a part of that process. And so they became the world's sweat shop.

Fast forward a few decades and they have evolved into innovators in several key sectors like energy, mobility and digitisation to power, move and manage their economic transition. The second industrial revolution made - uh - 'America great', but the third industrial revolution will happen in the East, as well as the power shift that goes with it.

Now they've learned all the tricks from the former Masters of the Universe like a real sorcerer's apprentice, we're now talking about moralism over here in the 'decadent West'? That would be the mother of all cynicisms. Or would that be Mr. Trump starting a trade war to 'bring back the jobs' and 'make America great again'?

I wonder what all this has to do with my initial observation that reputable Western brands are building turntables that look like the RX-5000? Does it show that the former copyists are now being copied by us? Perhaps a reverse trend as just another sign of our own decline?

@amg56, don't worry, my last remarks were very much tongue in cheek. I sort of enjoy the way discussions on this forum tend to take unexpected turns. From RX-5000 clones to paradigm shifts in global economic power is just a small step in 'lateral thinking', so I feel right at home here...... ;-). 
 
@lewm, you mention two 'weak links' in Micro turntables, the motor speed controller and the construction of the armboards. The first one contradicts my own experience. I've had several German made modern tables (from Clearaudio and TW Acustic) that exhibited problems in speed control. That was the main reason for going back to vintage Micro. Both my RX-1500G and BL-91 are flawless in that regard. The gunmetal AX type armboards are very heavy and solid, so I wouldn't know why they could be considered 'not the most stable'. Especially compared to the acrylic or aluminium ones used by these 'modern' German tables........

I wanted to ask a question related to the better MS tables, but I see @invictus005 has already infected this thread.  

Dear @edgewear / friends: The " notice/news " in your thread is not really a good notice because the RX-5000 is not the " touted " TT as we could think. I’m an owner and know it very well.

The MS RX seies followed the TT trend in Japan in those old years: massive metal heavy weigth BD units as if metal heavy weigth TT characteristic was the rigth solution for a TT targets when in reality it’s not and does more harm than true help to the cartridge signal.

MS motors came from Technics/Panasonic and that heavy TT platter in reality damps nothing at all and rings as a bell. The 5000 has not a well damped structure/foots anywhere in the design because they thougth that heavy means " damping " and try to " disappear " problems mainly through " high weigth ".

Its arm boards are really easy to use, solid an tonearms friendly to set up but they choosed the worst position for the arms board: exactly vinculated to each TT foot with out no damping, everything pass through those foots and arm boards and when I said everything I mean vibrations, resonances and the like and those " everything " degraded the cartridge signal. Terrible as a TT.

The " incredible " notice is that now other manufacturers are taking the MS as a guide to build/design its TTs, ! !

But not only the ones you name it but several other manufacturers that are just followers of that totally wrong vintage japanese trend: massive metal heavy weigth designs that they used thinking that a heavy weigth platter high rotational intertia permit better speed stability but it’s not so simple as that and in the other side any rotational/movement heavy weigth platter can’t damp its own internal resonances generated for its heavy weigth in movement.

Asian people in those times likes it that metal heavy weigth shiny look that for them was a sinonimous of high quality performance when it’s not but the other way around.

The " stupid " thing about is that today we have that same trend, I can say : an up-dated trend and not because are better thatn the vintage TTs but because are/comes even with more mass and way higher metal weigth. It’s clear that the vintage audiophiles in that TT chareacteristic regards just do not changes and follow buying those trash of metal heavy weigth BD TTs. ! ! !

As always IGNORANCE is the culprit here and ignorance from the manufacturers that shares with the " audiophiles " that just can’t think a little on what they are paying for: they are buying kilos of metal at a price that’s higher than real gold ! ! and are all happy with ! !

The @jtinn Wave Kinetics NVS TT outperforms easily any of those heavy weigth massive BD TTs and for a lot lees money ! ! !

About who is copy whom is more a " joke " because a TT or tonearm or whatever audio item you can think is not rocket science, it’s really easy to build a TT like the MS or a tube ( perhaps SS units and allitle on speakers not so easy. ) item and we don’t have to be engineers to do it almost any one can do it.



Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.