Micro SX-8000 II or SZ-1

Axel, I see you are a real expert in a very special kind of music. I would never laugh on your great remarks but it fires my imagination and I am trying visualizing how you exercise in front of your bamboo hut shouldering your arms and protecting against wild animals... Am I wrong?

I think, Fm_login speaks lot of truth!

You can't change 'intrinsic' sound of a given TT a whole lot. Agree 100%
Multiple tone-arms/cartridge combos, while it is cool to have, can't necessarily give you best sound that 'you' desire or what your perception of best sound is.
You would have may be one or two combo/sources that meets your mental 'picture' of perfect sound. That you will always go back to when you really want to listen to music. The others are just toys that offer you variety and something to talk about. Sure they helped you arrive at your perfect sound forever, but after that they are useless show/bragging-rights pieces. I, too have some of those.

The comment regarding 'asian' sound is curious and thought provoking for sure. I guess all the components, depending upon where they 'come' from have their signature quality.

It is indeed stroke of luck if you hit a jackpot when a system just clicks ( to your ideal of perfect sound) without having to do any 'external tweak' of addition. But where is the fun in that?

FM_login,

I did look at the playback installations of some of you and I kind of confused what the hell you do in audio. Some of you have 5-6 turntables with 10-15 tonearms, which is a strong induction in my mind that a person can be disqualified to make comment about sound. After all audio is not about accumulation and cataloging the differences...

Not all of us are blessed with the absolute knowledge of what we like best (and the absolute knowledge that it is indeed, the best) when let loose from the womb. Some of us have to experiment to find out what we like. That said, learning about what else is out there is itself a learning experience about music reproduction. I have acquired a bunch of tables (and a lot more vinyl) because I am learning what I like by listening, not by reading what a self-declared expert tells me I should like. I have started getting rid of tables, and will continue to do so because I have reached a certain set of conclusions.

As to TT tweaking and isolation platforms... In my case, I live in a city in an earthquake-prone zone. There are trucks and cars rolling past my building constantly. The difference between my SX-8000 (or my other non-suspended/non-isolated tables) on an air/magnetic-bearing isolation platform and the table on its own is night-and-day obvious. Despite your suggestion that the SX-8000 does not need isolation, I will go with what my ears in my environment tells me is right (rather than trying to dampen the tectonic plates, the rumbling of magma deep under Mt Fuji, or decouple my apt. building from its foundations). As it happens, I also work on other parts of my system (and I imagine others do too) but I don't feel the need to post that on threads about Micro Seikis.

I am obviously ill-informed because I don't your site or system. I am, however, curious as to why you would have a "daily driver" cartridge which different (and probably lesser) than your "reference" cartridge. If it was really worth listening to your reference cartridge on all kinds of music, would you not use it on a daily basis? I listen to the carts I want to use on the music I want to listen to. That's my reference.

Nilthepill,
I agree that is indeed a stroke of luck when the system clicks. I have found a few table/arm/cart combos where it just clicks, but I am also inclined to say that "it just clicks" is also largely a state of mind.

T_bone, where did you see me said that 8000 does not need isolation? Well, I know that “those” people understand only imperative sentences and do not use own minds….

Anyhow. I have written today a large conclusive post and posted it, withdrawing myself from this thread. For whatever reasons the post disappeared. I saved it and I will rep-post in at my site as I think it does a good conclusion for this whole thread.

Thuchan,
>>>I am trying visualizing how you exercise in front of your bamboo hut shouldering your arms and protecting against wild animals... Am I wrong?<<<

Ah, very well, you have se right sing of wat you see. No, no, you are not wrong. Und senk you for wen you like set schtrong Marschmusik. Very moving, und sen manchmal I get tears in my eye. I sink it is the right one, oh yes - weil in secret, alles is sonst so left, ja.

On the more serious side, I got some other then comic relieve hearing about the function and performance of tt's: >> “best quality PERFORMANCE” has absolutely nothing to do with a topology of quality of your or my turntable. <<

Excellent, now I can rest in peace, and go looking for some more MM carts instead :-)