Hard to find, clean example. One of the best belt drives every made in high end audio history. Exceptional. Magical.
This
134,5kg monster is mainly made of the updated SX-8000 II, the updated RY-5500 II motor and of the optional but recommended BA-600 base.
The
8000 II is a re-engineeed
8000 : better air circulation isolating the moving parts with a 3µ film
of air, resizing of the glass plates enclosed, larger air chambers and a
main air income coming from under the shaft rather than from under one
of the main side air chambers, redesigning of the shaft itself, platter
parts and dimensions etc.
As in the contemporary
SZ-1 (or Luxman
PD555 or etc) - the basic system is the same for all Micro but here pushed to the limit.
The
5500 II is an updated
RY-5500 with a major change of motor : from DC/FG (the Panasonic
DAX-10A1PM / DAX-10A1CL often used by Micro, Luxman and... Kyocera - no
wonder) to 8-pole hysteresis with dual-voltage drive, as in the then
10-year old
MB-800S... only much bigger with a BTL amp and a redesign of the enclosure's top.
The
BA-600 base was designed specifically for the
8000 II and serves isolation-by-mass and by-air purposes : mass because of its overall 50kg weight and air because the air-insulation can also be hooked to it (this time as
repulsive) to set the entire monster on a stable air cushion.
For those not having the demanded 200,000¥, the BA-600 could be replaced by the more common RP-1110 - but a manual bike air pump was supplied for all :)
Micro has since retreated to other activities but still accepts on-demand orders for
SX-8000 II. Only two a year can be made.
