Japanese "Golden Era" Direct-Drive Turntable Standouts

My contribution is the Luxman PD121, designed by Micro Seiki, made by Lux. First released in 1975 and stopped at around 1979 (at least in Europe). The picture shows a AT33PTG/II but I got it replaced by a AT-ART7 sinds a month of 5.


Last purchased music #1 by Peter van de Beek, on Flickr

 

What you have is a great collectible TT, but if you want another vintage collectible-the SR 929 by Sansui is an excellent model. They are pretty hard to find. I have one which I enjoy very much. Mine has to arm made by Micro-Seiki.

 

Not Japanese, but you might find the Beogram 8000 a very interesting turntable. It was very much ahead of its time, with microprocessor control and an unusual "magnetic" form of direct drive that produced excellent results:

Beogram 8000

If you do decide to go down this route, I'd suggest you buy the slightly later iteration as the Beogram 8002, though it will cost you more: this replaced the plastic tacho disc, which tended to crumble and degrade, with a metal alternative, and you'll find it easier to pick up original NOS cartridges too.

 

If I would replace it with another Direct-drive table, I would like to have a PD441. But I would realy like to go for something like a Micro Seiki BL-91 with a nice SAEC arm.

 

Another comment, that Pickering XV 15/625e happens to be one of my all time favorite cartridges. Pickering and Stanton moving iron for me has been my favorite cartridges. I am presently using a Pickering XV 15/400 with a Stanton D6800EL stylus on my Technics SL-1500 direct drive turntable, it just makes music. I love the musical accuracy of these MI classics. Your love of the Nagaoka MP 150 is making me interested in one in the future.

 

That is a nice combo, pretty popular back in the day too, especially the WE-407/23 like below, so not hard to find, I almost went that way myself, but I do really like the MA-505XII tonearm on mine. In any case, with a good arm, it can be a very good sounding table ...

 

These tables are gorgeous and seem to be really well regarded. But out of my price range. Any perspectives on the less expensive BL-71?

 

That's a gorgeous table! I've read that MS did a lot of work for Lux. I'll have to add that to my list.

 

I love the Pickering. I have a NOS d1200 stylus on the way now and it will be interesting to compare that to the d625. It's such a complete sound and captures all the details without being bright or harsh. The MP-150 sounds a little bit softer to my ears and on my system. But still wonderfully balanced and detailed.

 

Thanks Davey and Soundgarden. That SAEC WE-407/23 is indeed the tonearm I would like to have with that great ULS-3X headshell. Luckily that the BL-91 was sold here in The Netherlands back in the 70's and the tonearm isn't region bonded.

About the BL-71 (or BL-51). They are all great tables. But the BL-91 isn't build for nothing and was sold well. There should be a reason. But when I go for such a choice, I will go for the BL-91, instead of first another one and then look for a -91 in the end. Thanks for the great photo. Should almost print it out and hang it on the wall.

 

Sony ps-x50!

 

I have the Sony PS-x70 and SP-1o mkii and I think they are fabulous.

 

Sansui
1979 SR-929 - nice!
1980 SR-838, I like & have the 838 - a wonderful TT !!

Both are TOTL.

 

The SR-929 is pretty nice, I think that's another one engineered by Micro Seiki, they got a lot of turntable work in that time frame. Not sure how much of it they did, though, doesn't look quite like a MS tonearm, the knife edge bearing probably means it was a SAEC design. Cool table with the gloss black finish, and the black aluminum platter housing with the lit up displays, really stood out...

 

Why used. A new SL 1200 MK7 is $999.00. Probably will be my next table, I bought a AT LP140 to tie me over for a year or so. I am a bit surprised how much I like it, and it is certainly is working great for me right now. Within a year or so though I want to get an MK7, fit a decent cart on it and be done, probably be the last table of my life

 

This is probably crazy, and totally not the type of table I'm looking for but this one on is fascinating: BE Broadcast Turntable Model 12C / Rek-O-Kut Tonearn All Original Mint. | eBay

Anyone have any knowledge of or experience with this BE Broadcast Turntable Model 12C?

 

Well, I bit the bullet and picked up a Micro Seiki DD-8 minus the tonearm/base for a good price. Then purchased the correct tonearm base and an aftermarket dustcover.

But I'm struggling on the tonearm. I'd like to be buy an upgraded tonearm. MA-505 MkI is the base model. The other 9" S-shapes MA-505 models are, near as I can tell, as follows:

MA-505 Mk II - Improved Mk I
MA-505 S - Improved Mk II with silver wire.
MA-505 X - MkII featuring a heavier arm base
MA-505 XII - Improved MA-505 X with silver wire.
MA-505 XS - MA-505 X w silver wiring.

I have no idea whether the differences between models will be audible. Right now on Ebay are several MkIs and a couple X models. The prices are all over the map. Sometimes the MkIs are more expensive than comparably quality Xs. Then there's one labelled a MkIII which looks different on the margins than the others, but I'm not sure what it is cause MkIIIs have straight arms. (I've inquired...)

If anyone has knowledge of the differences and whether they matter, I'd love to know. Again, as with most things Micro Seiki, details are hard to find.

 

ebay isn't a very good place to buy turntables or parts, the prices are generally far above market value, especially on something like Micro Seiki. I'd also be cautious buying a turntable that is parted out, it is generally done because it is damaged so worth more as parts. There was a DD-8 on ebay just recently that fit that description, it was offered as a complete table, but the plinth had some damage so would be a tough sale, and then another seller was offering the same table without the tonearm, and not really showing the damage, for a little less. And the dust cover didn't look like it was the right one either. They are likely both brokers.

In any case, I have the MA-505 XII on my BL-91, don't think it has silver wire, but it has a more hefty base, and they moved away from the VTA on the fly capability to a simpler mechanism. I also have the Mk 1 version that I bought via hifido for $386 about a year ago according to my email, it's for another project.

And yes, the MKIII is the later straight arm version. It's similar to the MKII in most respects.


MICRO MA-505XII/MA-505SII/M-505LXIIの仕様 マイクロ

 

Yup. That was me. I recognize the gamble. Because I wanted a DD-8, am planning to re-veneer anyway, and intend to (likely) install an upgraded arm, I figured this might the best way to go. $440.

Despite all the considerations and input offered in this thread, I couldn't pull myself away from the allure of the DD-8. Largely because it's clearly an upgrade to the DD-5 that I know I love. So I bit the bullet. I've been watching for the right DD-8 for months. The same ones have just been sitting there and I got tired of waiting. And I couldn't find one anywhere else. Then this popped up.

What I may do from here though is wait for the table to arrive and have my tech go through it before purchasing an arm. I intended to send whatever I bought to him anyway, so this isn't an unexpected expense. But what will show up on my doorstep in perhaps three to four weeks time? I guess I'll find out and go from there.

Lastly, if this is a table that's salvageable and may have otherwise ended up out-of-service and in a junk pile, I'll be happy to have saved it. And because this is likely my endgame table (for now, hah!) I don't mind spending a little extra if it gets me where I want to go.

 

That Stax UA7 arm with the carbon fibre is a nice one.

 

There was a post on audiogon that helped me when I was looking for more info on the MA-505 differences, beyond what I could glean from the manuals... I added a couple comments below.

Micro Seiki MA-505 variants - any oracles around? | Audiogon Discussion Forum

 

That was the best summary I could find too. My summary above is basically an abbreviated version of that one focused only the 9" S-shaped arms and adding the DD-7 variant. Which of course leaves me with the question: Would my ears notice a difference between the MkI and any of the others??? Hah. I have no idea.

 

Well, I think the DD-8 uses a variant of the MkII, but it isn't the universal mount version like on my BL-91, it has a custom base for the DD-8. I think it attaches with three screws to the arm base and doesn't have the threaded base and nut type mounting. I'm not sure the universal type would fit, so be careful and get measurements before committing to a purchase. I can give you the tonearm base threaded shaft size for the MkI and MkII, if needed. The MkII is bigger.

 

The plot thickens...

I just learned that there is a not just a tone-arm base that's specific the DD-8 but a tone-arm MOUNTING BASE BRACKET that's specific to the DD-8 too. See here:

MICRO DD-8 Tonearm Mounting Base Bracket Assembly for MA-505 | eBay

So the question is... which of the various MA-505 tonearms will fit this mounting base bracket? Is there a specific variant of the MkII made for the DD-8 and that's the only one that fits? Or does it fit the universal types? If there's only one variant that fits, then the list of MA-505 variants needs to be expanded to include the DD-8 variant. That's a question I need to answer before purchasing a tonearm. I also wonder if the threads on the bottom of the universal MA-505 tonearms can be removed to allow those to fit base mounting bracket. That's another question.

 

Or... maybe there is a way to modify the DD-8 base to accept the universal tonearms with threads - without having to use the mounting bracket. The bottom on the DD-8 base is completely flat and the hole in the DD-8 plinth looks to be big enough to accept the threads and bolts of the universal types.

Or or... I could take the standard DD-8 base and whatever tonearm I purchase to a local machine shop and have them fashion a custom base that the universal types can fasten to directly.

Looks like I've put myself in a problem solving situation. If the DD-8 motor/platter, etc. all turn out to work well, then I can try to solve it. Good thing I don't like things to be easy.