Micro SX-8000 II or SZ-1

Radicalsteve, applying a damping material inside the platter does not work, I have tried it. Using different TT mats do work very fine, try a sorbothane mat atop the Micro with a layer of very hard rubber atop of sorbothane. I can’t give you specific as too many variables involved but even a basic hard rubber later atop 5000 will do very fine. The 5000 is very simple and extremely good performing TT as is. People invent the false differences about turntables presuming that many logical concussion about TT design leads to sonic differences. In reality the methodologically properly to evaluate the differences in sound between two turntables is a quite complicated task… Anyhow, to ask for intellectual honesty and rational sense is mostly too much to ask from audio people.

What is here disputed about the Micro Seiki skeleton TT's was already done so widely and brought to conclusion by the later 1980ies.
Micro Seiki introduced the Hs-20 and HS-80 to further improve the performance of the RX-1500, RX-3000, RX-5000 and SX-8000.
This enhancement in performance was founded on increased inertia and decreased noise and wear in the lateral bearing because - proper applied and aligned (no problem at all - belt or string, you just need balanced distance, equal length or a decent spring-tension-gauge) - the lateral bearing is force free.
This - BTW - works on most if not all (direct TT's are an obvious exclusion and Idler-wheel-drive needs some different treatment) TT's, as it is a simple mechanic principle of force vectors eliminating each other.
Each and every bearing with a shaft - i.e. with a lateral bearing - being addressed by a string pulling towards the motor in order to apply any tension on the medium (string, belt, tape) spinning the platter will benefit from the elimination of that one-side force.
Lesser noise - lesser friction - lesser wear.
Its obvious - a simple sketch on a sheet of paper does illustrate the point and principle very nicely.
The dampening of the "bell-platter" of the big Micro Seki's was addressed by Micro Seiki's copper-mat and in the early 1980ies by several soft and hard platter mats introduced by japanese manufacturers to better or lesser results.
I have too seen Micro platters damped inside (not easy done with good mechanical results, as the coating has to be done very precisely and homogenous so to not ruining the inertia force of the platter) with very good results, but these were all further damped with acrylic-mats (glued to the platter...) on top of the platter.
The improvements with inertia units by Micro Seiki or custom made devices are sonically apparent to all audiophiles who care, whose set-up is capable to show it and whose hearing isn't deafened by dogmatic prejudice.
This - for once in our audiophile world of often nebulous results and experiences - is fully backed up by applied science and simple mechanical laws found in every middle high-school physics book.

And yes, - I have used the RX-5000 too and am currently using a highly modified RX-Micro Seiki ( 4 inch double platter with isolated spindle (no contact to bearing) and 38 lbs highly dampened platter - gun-metal and PVC) and will soon incorporate an inertia unit similar to the HS-80.

We all seem to be aligned then on our experiences of using a mat to dampen the ringing. I tried a variety of mats and materials on my previous RX-5000, from heavy gunmetal mats, passive vacuum platter from Audio Technica, other metal mats, ceramic, etc. and found by far the best comination to be a light but hard vinyl/acrylic mat from a source in Germany, along with the ST-10 stabilizer. This gave a dynamic, detailed and controlled presentation, holding the famous Micro characteristic accuracy of timbre and the ADSR envelope.

As some know here, I am shortly moving to the SXC-8000 Mk1 with vacuum platter, and so it will be interesting to hear the differences.

...by far the best comination to be a light but hard vinyl/acrylic mat from a source in Germany

Probably from DeltaDevice

**** As some know here, I am shortly moving to the SXC-8000 Mk1 with vacuum platter, and so it will be interesting to hear the differences.

Radicalsteve, so you were apparently the person who got the 8000 MK1 from this site a few days back. Congratulations, it was very good setup and it was not overly expensive price. You will need to re-service it and then pretty much forget about TT to the rest of your life. That TT will easily succeed over many today’s TT that are being sold for 7 times more then what you paid. The MK1 is considered less desirable then MK2 and cost less but I like MK1 more – it more flexible with organization of space. You got the best deal of all as you have the white platter. Most of the MK1 come with yellow platter and most of the MK2 comes with white. The only thing that you would need to decide for yourself is if you willing to use the vacuum hold down. The vacuum hold down is tricky you might play with it. If you decide to use then you can make a very-very thin but hard cut of leather that you would place between the Micro’s levees. It will not screw up the vacuum but it will create a decupling layer between record and metal platter.