I too have lived with the problems of the Micromega, but a little wD-40 took care of my problems. I have yet to hear anything better. It has the best midrange I have ever heard.

I'm a musician, and I dislike things in the local shop that don't sound real. On my mostly baroque strings and opera collection, the micromega does fine. I only have a previous NAD on which to base direct equipment-specific comparisons, and I bought the player as a demo, based on a friend's recommendation that it "harmonizes" orchestral colors better than the rega I was considering, so I have not approached this purchase with audiophilic directivity, but this little micromega (stage 5) has excited me to listen to other things in my system, and upgrade--and, yes, my upgrade went to a FRENCH integrated, the YBA, and perhaps I love france (I do definitely the music), but I owe four stars to whatever the player is doing to te sweetness of that violin!

I hate it that so many of you have had trouble from your Micromega. I boughta stage 2 after it had been repaired..This player wonderful, but so does my
DVD player JVC XV-1000. I have had problems with the stage 2 not playing
certain tracks, or sometimes not responding to commands..I think a player
everyone should check into is the UCD 100 from ULTECH..This piece is an
absolute great value at 895.00.. Nothing compares to this machine for the
dollar..This machine is my next purchase...Retiring the Micromega.

Hmmmmmph I dont know whether I rank as an audio enthusiast or an audiophile. I just like music.
I've just spent a considerable sum of money on a new Micromega Premium 18 (£750). Its a new machine in the UK (I think I've got one of the first machines available here)and uses a Sony transport I believe.

I auditioned the machine against an Audiolab 8000CD (£1,000) and an Marantz CD17KI Signature (£1300). To my ears (and note this is only to my ears) the sound was better controlled (significantly more precise). More musical - more like an analogue deck in every way.

Things I'm not impressed with are the cheap control buttons they use (they feel horrible). The quality of the documentation (seems almost like they couldn't be bothered to write a decent high quality manual - My Sonus Faber Loudspeakers come with a beautiful manual printed on real paper - feels like thick card - still its only presentation). The Sony CD transport appears to be fairly noisy - it makes a very high pitched whistling sound (this is very quiet but is noticeable between tracks or when the music gets very quiet.

I was enjoying this machine until I read the comments here and now I'm wondering whether I shouldnt take it back and suggest to the dealer that they find me something else that sounds similar (which is likely to have a usable life in years rather than tens of hours). That way I wont have to argue in 6 months time if its as big a flopsy as the other Micromega's which have been discussed here.

In the meantime 5 stars for sound at the price(i'm enjoying it) but 3 stars only for build quality at the moment.

I bought my Micromega Stage 1 player 3 years ago from Dennis Brunby Hi-Fi inMörbylånga in Sweden. After one month the player started skipping like everybody
here already mentioned. I brought it back to Dennis and he gave me a new one.

Since then I've never had any problems with it. It's perfect for me. I feel
sorry for everybody that have had so much problems. Actually I REALLY like
my Micromega and I won't replace it until it breaks down.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their info. on Micromega--helped me from making the big mistake of buying a Stage 6 ! I have had similar nightmare problems with Cambridge CD players--stay away from them as well! The only consistenly solid product I have come across is the Arcam line in this price range (I now have the Alpha 5 plus) It is a shame that companies like Micromega and Cambridge stay in business despite their shoddy products.
Umar

Garbage, garbage, garbage. Unfortunately, I purchased a Micromega stage 5 before I read about the problems others had with this useless player. Although the sound is good, the player is EXTREMELY unreliable. After it broke down, it took months to have it repaired. The after sales service is ATROCIOUS. It took multiple phone calls to have anything done. Eventually, I received a brand new player - the drawer would not even open!!!!! It took MONTHS to obtain a partial refund. However, I decided the lost money was a smll price to pay for getting rid of this piece of junk. DON`T EVEN THINK OF BUYING ONE!!!! It doesn`t even rate a star.

i have bought my stage 6 ywo years ago via local dealer. it was a moment when old series 1-2-3 was finished & new series 4-5-6 started, so my stage 6 has 0043 serial number. during all two years there were no problems at all, especially described here (skipping ÑD), but sometimes i've got error messages independent of currently played CD. they were fixed by cleaning lens with special cd-cleaner. thats all for service. but the main thing - sound - is absolutely great. and i'm fully satisfyed with it.

I believe that there are many more music lovers who are frustrated over the unstable working condition of their MM Stage series players, as well as those who owned players that use Philips CDM 12... tpt. The manufacturers should be well aware of the situation prior to shipping their pdts. By covering up and hoping that the buyers will not notice it is disgusting and unethical. Avoid getting a player that uses Philips CDM12 tpt, there are plenty of good player out there, Sony makes good CD player esp. the ES range, though not cheap (but not very expensive either) it compares well with ML and Wadia players. Pioneer makes very good tpt too, EAD uses Pioneer tpt mechanism. I into vinyl more than CD but my Sony gave me as much musical pleasures. So 1 * for the MM and Philips tpt

I'm currently in possession of a MM Stage 6 and I love it! (wonderful rhythm, detail galore, very forward, "live-like" presentation, fantastic bass, incredibly engaging, very turntable-like).I, too, became concerned when I read these mostly negative reviews. The best thing to do is to try one out for yourself. Because MM has taken such a beating here, I feel compelled to write about my very positive experience (and I don't work for MM). The unit I have was previously a Stage 5 which was upgraded to Stage 6. No problems have been reported in about 6 months of possession.
Quite simply, it is fantastic! Myself with others (some audiophiles) have done direct comparisons with other fine units. When it was a Stage 5, it was preferred by all to the Rega Planet. So much so, that one of the audiophiles sold his Planet to get the Stage 5. Recently, we compared the Stage 6 to the Planet and it simply trounced it (a unanimous conclusion from 4 well informed audio consumers). The Stage 6 was also compared the NAIM CD 3.5 and declared about equivalent by some and better by others. Certainly no worse. All of us involved in the comparisons use NAIM amplification. We are also primarily turntable guys. The Stage 6 was declared better than a Rega P3 turntable and a Thorens TD 160. Sure, the Rega P9 beat it. In other words, the Stage 6 is wonderfully turntable-like and I never thought that I would enjoy a cd player as much as my turntable. The Planet on the other hand, is a fine player but has much difficulty matching even entry level hi-end turntables. A good interconnect is a must.
joe