FLO's journey with the Micro Seiki RX-1500

[Florian E.]

Fully agree, and done right you will get significant improvement.
That's why I recomend these.

Hi Tony,

Absolutely, I see your point. However, I believe it’s important to note that a universal recommendation isn’t always possible in this case. Every setup is different, and factors like external resonance management and the overall system need to be considered to achieve the best results.

Simply saying that rigid feet are better than damped feet isn’t always the way.

Best regards,
Florian

 

[DasguteOhr]

https://reverb.com/item/35155716-brand-new-in-box-micro-seiki-audio-shock-absorber-feet-msb-100

 

[Lynnot]

Nothing simple about me I'm afraid ...
Just recommending R15 feet.

Enjoy your RX-1500VG, it's a very nice turntable.

 

[Juiced]

Congrats!!

The Micro Seiki are amazing tables!

 

[DasguteOhr]

Nothing simple about me I'm afraid ...
Just recommending R15 feet.

Enjoy your RX-1500VG, it's a very nice turntable.

yes, that's where we differ, the air bladder feet msb 100 were developed for smaller series by micro seiki because the large air bladder base ba 600 was too expensive. I don't have to convince anyone, just try it out and judge for yourself.

 

[PeterA]

yes, that's where we differ, the air bladder feet msb 100 were developed for smaller series by micro seiki because the large air bladder base ba 600 was too expensive. I don't have to convince anyone, just try it out and judge for yourself.

I have a friend with that BA600 large air bladder base for his mint SX 8000II. He listens with the bladder deflated. I had that table and placed it on 2" thick steel plates on a good rack. I lived with Vibraplane pneumatic platforms for years.

 

[DasguteOhr]

I have a friend with that BA600 large air bladder base for his mint SX 8000II. He listens with the bladder deflated. I had that table and placed it on 2" thick steel plates on a good rack. I lived with Vibraplane pneumatic platforms for years.

This was my best buy in my hifi history I don't want to say more about it In the german analog forum there is a 200 page long thread about this.

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

both my Micro Seiki DD-1500 and my Melco are placed with solid feet on a custom 30mm thick MDF base, which again is placed upon 4 feet of Rubloc Trisolator

very effective combo
guess Florian noticed in ETF Baarlo

 

[Juiced]

Sorry for jumping in ..

My rx-5000 air placed on Quadraspire bamboo stand.

My concern that too much isolation could somehow absorve all the resonance and dampen the sound,
Like placing tube amps on springy / floaty isolation.. like too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
What i mean,
that some of the resonance energy could disperse through hard surfaces more efficiently..

Like a resonance feedback loop,
were the energy have no where to go but the chassis it self.

 

[DasguteOhr]

Sorry for jumping in ..

My rx-5000 air placed on Quadraspire bamboo stand.

My concern that too much isolation could somehow absorve all the resonance and dampen the sound,
Like placing tube amps on springy / floaty isolation.. like too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
What i mean,
that some of the resonance energy could disperse through hard surfaces more efficiently..

Like a resonance feedback loop,
were the energy have no where to go but the chassis it self.

I'll tell you about the principle of operation. Firstly, the record player is not on a damping element but directly connected to slate plate. This creates excellent dynamics and hardly any influence on tonality. Only then do the air springs come under the slate and block everything above 3.5hz. You can lower the pickup, turn the motor off and turn the volume up to the maximum. Then jump as high as you can into the air and when you land you won't hear any sound or membrane movement from your speaker. Functional test passed

 

[Juiced]

Hi @DasguteOhr

Thank you for the explanation.

Could you please elaborate more on the isolation you use,
and where exactly can i get one or similar to it and what are those pistons underneath it?

 

[DasguteOhr]

Hi @DasguteOhr

Thank you for the explanation.

Could you please elaborate more on the isolation you use,
and where exactly can i get one or similar to it and what are those pistons underneath it?

I use air spring elements from cplusw, Germany. Model SLM1A, max. load 45kg. The air hoses are from Festo, I have to warm them up a bit so that they fit on the connections. I also sealed them with 2k glue.

Schwingungsisolatoren | cplusw GmbH

www.cplusw.de

A slate plate with the dimensions 70cmx55cm and thickness of 5.5cm weight ~65kg. with my tonearm bases and the td 124 that results in 110kg mass. we have tried almost materials, slate is really the best from a sound point of view. a few photos from well-known.

P.S
Air must be refilled every four to six weeks. This is the only known disadvantage. You should buy a good bicycle pump.
P.P.S
Since the company had to produce so much for us, they now have a table in the program

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

I have 8 of those from the days I had Wilson Watt Puppy on them
mine were bought at RS Components
thought of using them under Melco, but then I tested Rubloc Trisolator

 

[Lynnot]

@DasguteOhr:

that's a very sophisticated air spring decoupling system for your TD124 turntable and I do see the advantages.
Would work for my TT as well and I might try it.

And then I had the suggested MSB-100 feet on my late BL-91 which I used between 1980 and 2005.
Due to uneven weight distribution of the plinth, two of them suffered and lost presure, causing for a tilt.
The BL-91 is at about 20kg, my current RX-1500 incarnation is over 30kg (including motor unit over 40kg).
You can imagine what would happen to these MSB-100 feet - made me react with a HaHa smiley.
No offence intended.

Best regards, Tony

 

[Tandem]

The msb-100 were designed in 1974, long before the need for beefier feet, I mean long as the changes were happening quite fast at that time.

Beside, Micro at the time was supplying lot of parts in case they were to fail for the japanese market. Not so much elsewhere as it was far from being major markets.

As for the RX-5000, yes, it can become a nightmare with resonances, the 1500 is less subject to this.

Micro started the larger series requiring beefier feet in 1979 for public market when they puted back the belt turntables in the shop.

 

[DasguteOhr]

@DasguteOhr:

that's a very sophisticated air spring decoupling system for your TD124 turntable and I do see the advantages.
Would work for my TT as well and I might try it.

And then I had the suggested MSB-100 feet on my late BL-91 which I used between 1980 and 2005.
Due to uneven weight distribution of the plinth, two of them suffered and lost presure, causing for a tilt.
The BL-91 is at about 20kg, my current RX-1500 incarnation is over 30kg (including motor unit over 40kg).
You can imagine what would happen to these MSB-100 feet - made me react with a HaHa smiley.
No offence intended.

Best regards, Tony

No problem, I've been told that there are people who use more then four of them under one base and they are lucky with the sound of the feets. One foot can carry 8kg.

 

[Florian E.]

Sometimes it's the unexpected twists and turns that make life so exciting. I've already had a few surprises and gained a lot of knowledge with the various Micro Seiki RX-1500 drives.


The pursuit of the large Micro Seiki SX drives (e.g. SX-8000, SZ-1) was also a constant companion. If you go into this price range (approx. 20000€), you come across price regions where the first drives from TechDAS can also be found.


These are:


- TechDAS Airforce V (Premium)


- TechDAS Airforce III



The magic of TechDAS and Hideaki Nishikawa


To understand TechDAS and its connection to Micro Seiki, you have to look at the history of the developer. Hideaki Nishikawa, the brains behind TechDAS and owner of Stella Inc, is an icon in the world of analogue music playback. At the height of analogue playback in the 1980s, he was the chief developer in the then department for the RX, SX and SZ series of turntables at Micro Seiki, shaping the era of top-of-the-range turntables (including the SX-8000).


With the founding of TechDAS in 2010, Nishikawa-san continued his vision some 25 years later.


The goal was clear:


To enable the best possible analogue music playback with today's possibilities, without compromising on technology and design.


The Air Force series, which includes the Air Force III, is a result of this philosophy, for which Niskikawa waited almost 3 decades. The Air Force series combines the heritage of Micro Seiki with the latest technological developments and an uncompromising approach to material selection and construction.


The Airforce One was the first drive to appear on the market in 2013.


Using a top-down strategy, the technologies were incorporated in a slimmed-down form in the Airforce II, III and V.



A faithful companion: the Micro Seiki RX-1500VG


The RX-1500 drives were my centrepiece for a long time and still are. With its modular design and innovative vacuum suction, the 1500 series offered an impressive basis for analogue playback. The flexibility allowed me to test a wide variety of tonearms and cartridges and to optimise my system bit by bit. But despite these strengths, there was one weak point.


For me, this was/is the drive. The original motor of the RX-1500 was solid, but often cannot keep up with the precision of modern drive systems.


An upgrade with the large Dereneville DMS-5001 motor would be the next logical step and I would advise everyone to do so - a step that would undoubtedly take the RX-1500 to a new level, as many other users have already reported.



But then, unexpectedly, everything changed.



The step to the TechDAS Air Force III


Owning a TechDAS Air Force III had long been a dream for me.


I've heard TechDAS turntables at friends' houses, installed them for customers as a service, read about them in reviews and marvelled at how they capture the essence of music.


I have even had the opportunity to marvel at the top model, the TechDAS Airforce Zero, in the flesh and listen to it in a suitable environment.


Now there was an opportunity to purchase an Airforce III, but the decision was not an easy one. After all, the RX-1500 was not only a technically magnificent device, but also a companion that had characterised me for years.


But the desire for progress and a fascination for the engineering skills of Nishikawa-san ultimately tipped the scales.



The technology of the Air Force III in detail


What makes the Air Force III so special? It is not just the individual technical components, but above all the overall concept that characterises it.


The following key points:



- Turntable and bearing:


As with the RX-1500, the platter weighs 9 kg and is made of brass, while the TechDAS also weighs 9 kg but is made of aluminium. The platter is now milled from solid aluminium and therefore weighs the same.


The disc is guided by an air bearing and therefore floats on a 30mu air cushion, which is generated by an external pump system. This design reduces mechanical friction to an absolute minimum and ensures unrivalled smooth running.


- Drive and control:


The Air Force III relies on an external motor that is completely decoupled from the drive. The motor is controlled by a multi-stage electronic control system that virtually eliminates speed fluctuations. This was an area in which the RX-1500 always showed slight weaknesses.


The TechDas delivers measurement data here that is comparable to a controlled direct-drive turntable.


- Frame and housing:


While the RX-1500 is equipped with a cast aluminium frame, the chassis of the Air Force III is made of solid aluminium milled from a single block. This design significantly increases stability and resonance control.


- Flexibility:


The square basic shape allows up to four tonearms to be mounted. This not only opens up sonic possibilities, but also makes the turntable future-proof in terms of tonearm variations.


Sound experience: A quantum leap


In combination with my SME 3012R tonearm and the Koetsu Rosewood standard cartridge, the Air Force III has so far essentially shown what is possible as follows:


- Stage imaging:


The spatial imaging is more detached and free. Instruments and voices float in space and are clearly positioned.


- Timbre and texture:


The reproduction is richer and more detailed. Instruments sound fuller and livelier, as if they were right in front of you.


- Drive and dynamics:


The Air Force III brings an energy and precision to the reproduction that leaves you amazed. It's as if a direct drive unit and not a belt drive unit is at work here. The W&F measurement confirms this.


Conclusion:

The TechDAS Air Force III is more than just a turntable. It is a tool that captures the essence of music and reproduces it with incredible authenticity and intensity. Moving from the RX-1500VG to this turntable was not just a technical advance due to the age difference, but a long journey that has taken my devotion to analogue playback to a new level.


Cheers,

Florian

 

[mtemur]

Congratulations on your new purchase.

 

[PeterA]

Great post, Florian. Have you experimented with thread versus non-stretch belt and tension?

 

[Florian E.]

Great post, Florian. Have you experimented with thread versus non-stretch belt and tension?

Thanks Peter! Not yet, I'm quit happy with the TechDas kevlar belt. Also the tension is set as mentioned in the manual. Less tension as possible, as many as necessary.

Why are you asking? Any suggestion for me?


Cheers,
Florian