The Micro Seiki DD-40 (available in Japan at 110V under the name DD-7) was my third serious player (after the Dual Golden 1 and the Kenwood KD-990). When someone at one of the forums praised it, I fell in love with its design and decided that one day it would be mine.
I hunted for my copy in the UK – true, there were no flaps or hinges, but given its age (1978), its condition was actually excellent. The kit includes an Audio Technica AT 440MLB insert with Microline polishing.
Lightweight, neat, but also durable in classic wood veneer. In addition, the magnificent arm of the Ma-505 and the climatically luminous strobe. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever owned a record player that I enjoyed buying so much.
The Ma-505 shoulder itself certainly deserves a few separate words. It’s one of my favorite hands – Great sound, but above all, incredibly versatile, with VTA (vertical tracking angle) and VTF (vertical tracking force) on the fly. Calibrating the liner on it is a pleasure. On the DD – 40, it admittedly comes in a slightly stripped-down version without the VTA lever, but that’s absolutely nothing to worry about. The Ma-505 is the perfect hand for people who have more than one earbud and like to model their sound with frequent changes.
The 505 is a more civilized version of the SME 3009 for me.
Much easier and more pleasant to handle. Similar effective mass, allowing depending on the weight of the headshell and counterweight to hang the vast majority of light and susceptible MMek (for example, the mentioned AT440mlb, Ortofon Super OM30, 2M), as well as slightly heavier and harder MC inserts-as far as I remember, I tested Denon 103r there (just a slightly stretched crease here), Audio Technica OC9 ML, or Orthophones from my favorite MC series.
The DD-40 was more of a mid-range model, sounding a step away from the DD-8 or DDL-120, but its appearance more than made up for it. In fact, if it weren’t for the nervousness and the desire to buy other turntables, he probably would still be with me today…
.. although, to be honest, this is a half-truth.
The decision to sell was made at the moment when I unsuccessfully dropped 180 g of vinyl, and this edging damaged part of the veneer on the side. Vinyl all over, the record player is broken. The damage is too small to veneered, but too big to live with 🙁 after this event, I put it up for sale, raising funds for the first turntable with a replacement arm.
The Micro Seiki DD-40 gave me a lot of pleasure – I loved looking at it, using it-a fairy tale, and also the model for photography was extremely grateful.
Even though Direct Drive sounded musical, sustainable-in fact, it has so many advantages that at this price, it’s hard for me to imagine any competition for it.
The Kenwood KD-990 sounded more dynamic, cleaner, but it didn’t have that anymore. The Dual Golden 1 may appeal to some more, but its hand was already clearly less versatile, and the sound with the same inserts lagged quite a lot.
It’s been several years since we sold my micro. I mention it actually exceptionally well, and if someone wants a gramophone that will adorn the living room, they will not limit it in their choice of inserts and will give a lot of pleasure to the black plate-this I can only warmly recommend.
