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How good is the Micro Seiki DDX-1000 Direct Drive turntable ?

Here is the MICRO DDX-1000 direct drive. Never tried myself, but it is the most compact DD designed for 3 tonearms.

*The question is how good this turntable really is, compared to some other vintage Direct Drives ?


Some information from VintageKnob website:  

The DDX-1000 is the original design, with two sculpted strobe markings around the 2kg / 31cm die-cast aluminium platter. The resulting moment of inertia is at 330kg / cm2 and the top mat in fact covers a thick cork sub-mat set inside the platter itself.

The DDX-1000, in real late 70s modernism is a direct-drive. The motor is a DC-Servo with FG frequency generator reference set through the strobe neon lamp which "checks" how many stripe it sees and rectifies if necessary ; the resulting speed accuracy is of 0,03%.

The starting torque is of 1,2kg / cm and load characteristics allow the DDX-1000 to remain below 0,04% deviation up to a 3g load set at the outer limit of the platter - specs-wise, we're here under the contemporary Sony TTS-8000 for instance...

The heigh-adjustable feet are typical Micro Seiki (or Luxman, of course :) and contain a mix of inert damping (neoprene stuffing) and mechanical damping (spring).

The is no Quartz Lock on the DDX-1000 ; the MD-1000 power-supply box holds the power on/off, start 33rpm, start 45rpm and stop buttons plus two ± 6% speed controls.

The AX-1G to AX-6G tonearm bases fit everything from the ubiquitous SMEs to the Technics EPA-100 or PUA-1600L.

Of course, the motor of the DDX was used as basis for the Marantz Tt 1000 (1979), and that of the DQX-1500 (an updated DQX-1000) for the Tt 1000 mkII (1992). And, as often, Micro's direct-drive motors came from... Victor.


DDX-1000/G :

April 1976 limited edition (really limited : 30 units) custom made in... bronze. Howerever, it is black-looking for the most part, with the bronze only kept visible for the top of the three feet ; the platter was kept in AL and the command box was anodized in all-black style ; even the AX-1/G was in-bronze-but-painted-black...
Names of the people they were made for (and offered to - these were gifts !) were silkscreened on the (bronze...) motor's cache (...but painted black) - a rarity to say the least.


The DDX-1000 naturally spawned a myriad of lookalikes and still does today - perhaps better than the original, perhaps not. Or not that much :) 

128x128chakster
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
I actually looked at one localish to myself and it looked cool.
However close inspection showed it was not truly that high end and sort of insubstantial compared to some of its Japanese competition in weight and apparent build quality.

That said I did not hear it play as the seller was a flipper who had bought at an estate sale and there were no carts mounted and no system to plug it into.
I was not impressed enough to go to the trouble of further testing.
Ymmv.
chakster's avatar
chakster OP
6,144 posts
 
@tooblue

So your question was a rhetorical one?  

I don't have this turntable, it would be nice to read feedbacks from the users, especially in comparison to some other vintage DDs. 

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,501 posts
 
Chakster, the real problems that a turntable faces in regards to isolation come from out side forces that are not controlled by special feet. These outside forces are of three basic types. Low frequency input from stuff like foot falls and very low bass. Airborne vibration affecting the plinth, tonearm and cartridge directly and higher frequency vibration passed on form the platform to the turntable directly. This last one is the only type that might be controlled by special feet. So the Micro Seiki is subject to at least low frequency and airborne vibration. A turntable like an SME 20/3 is subject only to airborne vibration. It overcomes this by being massively heavy. The SOTA overcomes this by being heavy and enclosed by the plinth and the dust cover. Dust covers are an advantage because they isolate the record from dust and airborne vibration. 
lewm
12,868 posts
 
Dust covers are a strict nono for use during play. They’re fine for protection against dust when one is not listening to vinyl. They don’t protect against airborne vibration, rather, they amplify airborne vibration by vibrating themselves and then re-radiating the energy into the closed chamber where the LP is playing.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,501 posts
 
I forgot to mention, as long as the dust cover is isolated from the turntable. If you have a turntable like a Rega or Project and attach the dust cover directly to the component to which the main bearing and tonearm are attached you will transfer airborne vibration from the dust cover directly to the stuff you want to isolate. In the case of the SOTA the dust cover is attached to the plinth but the turntable platform is suspended (isolated) within. The way I deal with my SME is the turntable sits on a 1/2" acrylic base to which the dust cover is hinged so the turntable platform is suspended within and remains isolated. This is the best method to use with most turntables. If you have an isolation platform you would put the dust cover base under it. With the SME I could hinge the platform to the bottom plate but I just can not get myself to drill holes into it. Properly isolated turntables sound better and they sound even better with a properly designed dust cover. 
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