Micro Seiki SZ-1

Ahhh - chances are you and I will never, ever, see (or hear) one of those.

Micro's statement turntable, produced a couple of years after the direct-driven Onkyo PX-100M and the Marantz Tt 1000... both direct-drives made when Micro Seiki already had mostly gone back to belt-driven designs.


Weighing 88kg, more expensive than anything they ever produced, more lavish, heavy, magnificent, more, more, more...
As a result, well, the SZ-1 didn't sell that much - SX-8000s are abundant in comparison.

With a total inertia moment of 26t/cm2 (yes : 26 tons !) and an 30µ air-isolated floating platter and motor, the SZ-1 was the nec plus ultra. It probably still is but who is to tell ?


CD came in at the same moment and such efforts, however fascinating or excellent, suddenly seemed vain... and old-fashioned : LP after all was a very vintage format 35 years old !

Or so it seemed in 1983 ;-)