Cartridge Alignment Question

[memepool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuwhere /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is a very old direct drive tt. Perhaps the motor is still good and rotates fine. That's about all you can expect.

It's a total classic though, Micro made some of the best turntables ever to come out of Japan in the heyday of vinyl.

It's not their best deck but still you'd need to be looking at a VPI Scout or above to get much of an upgrade on this today and even then the speed wouldn't be as accurate as the Micro.

The only similar sounding deck available for sensible money today would really be a Technics SL1200 and this won't sound anywhere near as good as the Micro unless you fit an Origin Live / SME tonearm.

It probably just needs some minor servicing if it's been out of action for a while.

 

[Jigglybootch]

Well I tried messing around with what I suspect to be the height adjustment for the tonearm. I put a record on the platter and then set the height so that the tonearm was parallel to the record. The only problem was that the stylus wasn't anywhere close to being in contact with the record.

So yeah, back to the drawing board I guess. I really need to find the manual for this thing. It's possible that the manual is still in my parents' attic, but I'll have to call my dad and try to convince him to climb up in the attic and look for it.

 

[pcourtney]

you can download the DD-24 user guide from the Engine  ( you have to register first) 
 
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/micro-seiki/dd-24.shtml
 
once setup properly you will be very happy with this 1979 turntable made in Japan, today
you would be easily looking at a $1000 table to match it quality wise
 
 

Description

From its overall performance characteristics to its attention to minute engineering details, the new Micro Seiki DD-24 has been designed to please even the most critical audiophile.

The excellence in materials and workmanship is evident in every stage of its design and manufacture.

High torque DC servo motor - Extreme speed stability together with increased torque have been achieved by using a special DC servo controlled motor. Temperature changes and voltage fluctuations have no effect on its rotational speed. And since the motor is connected directly to the platter, the resultant wow and flutter is less than 0.03% WRMS. In addition, this almost vibration-less unit provides a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 73 dB (DIN B)

Precision machined platter - Close tolerance, high-precision machine technology is employed in engraving the stroboscope pattern and balancing the platter. You get unwavering speed accuracy.

Statically balanced tonearm - Micro Seiki tonearms have won wide renown for their high sensitivity, precision engineering and use of high quality materials. The DD-24 tonearm uses a solid low resonance headshell so your cartridge's performance may be fully displayed. To further reduce resonance, damping material is employed throughout the tonearm mounting.

Inside force canceller - This unique Micro Seiki mechanism corrects the tendency of an offset tonearm to favour the inner grooves of the record. It assures uniform stylus pressure between the left and right groove walls. The spring tension control is easily adjustable according to the tracking force you use.

The controls - Soft touch, push buttons select power On/Off and rotational speeds. Both speeds (33 and 45 rpm) may be fine adjusted by 5%.

Quick start - The tonearm is synchronized with motor switching so that moving the arm toward the record on the platter automatically starts rotation.

Specifications

Drive system: direct drive with dc servo motor

Rotation: 33 and 45rpm

Speed adjustment: +-5%

Platter: 310mm diecast aluminium

Wow and flutter: less than 0.03%

Signal to noise ratio: more than 73dB

Tonearm: static balance type

Effective length: 214mm

Overhang: 15mm

Dimensions: 440 x 350 x 125mm

Weight: 7kg

 

[pcourtney]

the DD-24 had a silver J shaped tonearm (model MA-303 ) medium mass arm suitable for a wide range of carts, but spare headshells are really difficult to source, look for headshell model Micro Seiki H-10 on the bay, most dealers in Japan at the time sold the DD-24 table with 2 or 3 headshells, a couple of cheap conical stylus, and a more expensive elliptical
 
http://audiolesswpg.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/micro-seiki-dd-24-turntable.html
 
the DD-24 could also be found at the end of its production  (around 1980) with the later DD-24S tonearm (standard 1/2 inch mount) , this was a straight black low mass arm more suited for higher compliance carts like the Shure V15 Type III from the seventies, the B&O MMCx range of carts from the eighties, even the Pickering XV-15 625E sounds great, basically anything that tracks around the 1 to 2g area
 
http://www.pickeringuk.com/625E.html
 
I have even used all three of the Ortofon's  OM 10, 20 and 30 with much success   
 
http://ortofon.com/images/hifi/brochures/om_omp/super_om_30_20_10.pdf
 
http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=526&image_id=15930
 
the really nice thing on both arms was the Anti-Skating device adjustment -   from the manual "The Anti-skating device is designed to get the correct cancel force where scale indicates the same figure of tracking force and also can be regulated to conform with stylus tip configurations. When the cartridge with elliptical stylus is used, adjust the cancel force according to the elliptical dot line. If the cartridge has a conical stylus, then adjust the cancel force according to the conical dot line"
 
the arm also used damping material throughout the tonearm mounting in an effort to further reduce resonance, a statically balanced tonearm, many Micro Seiki tonearms have won wide renown for their high sensitivity, precision engineering and use of high quality materials. but something unique at the time was the "Inside force canceller", this corrects the tendency of an offset tonearm to favour the inner grooves of the record. It assures uniform stylus pressure between the left and right groove walls. The spring tension control is easily adjustable according to the tracking force you use.
 
plus a precision machined platter - close tolerance, high-precision machine technology was employed in engraving the stroboscope pattern and balancing the platter. 

 

[Simon Templar]

All hail Mikey Fremer......
 
 
http://www.analogplanet.com/content/tone-arm-geometry-101#8afX5kvVQ3vfo174.97
 
 
 
 
 
....sT