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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
alexberger
919 posts
 
Hi @chakster ,

I had Lenco 78 turntable. My friend built me birch plywood plinth and I changed original tonearm to SME 3009 mk2. I also removed auto stop mechanics.
Lenco is a great turntable and best value for money. I liked Lenco much more that Nottingham Spacedeck/Spacearm that I had too. I used the same Ortofon Jubilee cartridge on both.

But EMT 948 that I have been using after Lenco is a completely different league.
And I don't agree that EMT much more expensive than SP10 mk2 or other Hi End vintage Japanese DD turntable or idle drive like Garrard.
My friend bought EMT 948 with tonearm and TSD15 SPH cartridge in perfect working conditions two year ago in LA and payed just $4200.
OK if you buy EMT from company which does restoration you will pay at least twice. But you will pay the same money if you buy from a similar company, for example, Garrard 301, 401.
I agree that EMT turntables are not good for customization. But I saw some people do custom arm boards for EMT and use other tonearms.

But my main point was that DD EMT are much better turntables vs Sp10mk2.
And dozen people who did comparation when SP10mk2 was with better tonearm (my friend use SP10mk2 with Fidelity Research RF-64 tonearm), better cartridge, better phono stage (EMT internal phonostage is a garbage) told the same.

Regards,
Alex.
chakster's avatar
chakster OP
6,144 posts
 
The main problem with huge turntables like some of the EMT is their size and weight, you can’t buy them online. It’s extremely difficult, especially international transit.

Technics, Denon or Victor drives are compact and can be shipped anywhere (must be protected). They can be purchased online. One of the reason they are so popular worldwide. 

I wish I could buy this one, but it’s impossible to ship it.
alexberger
919 posts
 
Hi @chakster ,

Yes it is true.
The issue is not just shipping price. Most of sellers don't pack turntables properly.
I bought EMT948 from Germany in 2011 when I was living in Israel.
The shipping price wasn't too expensive but I also payed taxes.
The main issue was how the seller packed it.
The seller didn't tighten the transportation screws (yes EMT 948 has the transportation screws!)   
He even didn't disassemble tonearm counterweight! The package carton box wasn't good enough too.
So I got: broken tonearm, bent motor axle, and bent corners of the turntable upper panel.
In the end I send the tonearm to Hans Fabritius to Germany and he fixed it.
I fixed the motor axle. But after one year I decided to buy a NOS motor from Fabritius.
What is good there are people in Germany like  Hans Fabritius and Hans-Ludwig Dusch who give support for EMT turntables. They can fix control and phonostage boards and sell NOS or used parts.

Regards,
Alex.


lewm
13,110 posts
 
Chak, THAT in the photo looks pristine but it's a Denon, not an EMT.  If being sold by a reputable dealer in Japan, I would not be concerned about packing and shipping.  Those guys know what they are doing when it comes to packing a turntable and then how to ship.  I was just thinking the other day that if I love the DP80 so much in terms of bang for the buck, what would a DP100 sound like?  I'm definitely curious.
illmatic
2 posts
 
@pindac Thank you for your thorough response. I truly understand the complexities and risks that come with buying vintage mechanical equipment, and have spoken with a repair team based in Los Angeles with expertise on Micro Seiki tables: ’George Meyer A/V’ and they will be the first to see the table and get it up to original working condition.
To add another level of complexity, I have been finding more TTs in the EU secondary markets and wondering if you have any experience with vintage tables that will need the voltage transformed from 220v/50hz to 120v/60hz?
Thank you.
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