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Thread: Decca C4E cartridge

  1. #31
    Join Date: Nov 2013

    Location: HAMPSTEAD

    Posts: 1,156
    I'm brian.

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    Sounds like a possible overhaul ( inspection ) from Mr Wright, he did the same for my maroon and put in a line contact jobbie ( superb )
    for £ 256 . Thats if your finances, ooch can stand it of course. good luck. Your right about seeing the thing though, difficult at times ?

  2. #32
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

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    Hmm well It would stand me in at £750. The question is.... Is it a £750 cartridge??
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  3. #33
    Join Date: Nov 2013

    Location: HAMPSTEAD

    Posts: 1,156
    I'm brian.

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    On the other hand your not going to be happy with it as a £500 cart it seems ?. I would keep trying with VTA, arm height and
    other stuff members have said and just maybe the sweet spot will appear ? !. Had to do that a few times myself. Good luck

  4. #34
    Join Date: Jul 2010

    Location: Cheltenham

    Posts: 982
    I'm Charlie.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jamie123 View Post
    Hmm well It would stand me in at £750. The question is.... Is it a £750 cartridge??
    A well sorted C4E is absolutely worth £750. Mine was rebuilt by John Wright with a LC tip, as soon as I bought it. It took me 3 years to find one. Mine sits on an AO rewired 1970s Hadcock 228 alongside a Schroder Model 2/Allaerts MC1B (a highly rated hand built £3000 MC cartridge) on my Platine Verdier. The Allaerts is fed into the MC phono stage of my TRON preamp and the Decca into a TRON Seven Reference built for the Decca.

    In my system I can have both the cartridges playing at once and I can switch instantly from one to other for a proper A/B. The Decca wins almost all of the time - much better on rock, jazz, electronic. Allaerts is probably better on orchestral.

  5. #35
    Join Date: Nov 2013

    Location: HAMPSTEAD

    Posts: 1,156
    I'm brian.

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    Well that proves something I think, £3000 v £750 and the latter wins most times. Sounds lovely that Charlie !

  6. #36
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

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    well you made my mind up charlie thanks
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  7. #37
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

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    some further thoughts,do you think my arm is ok to use with it?an alphason hr100 with fluid damping on the tt.
    what would be the symptoms if it was a poor match?
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  8. #38
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    I would have thought the HR100 plus fluid damping a near perfect match. Have you varied the damping at all?
    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  9. #39
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

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    not gone that deep with set up yet geoff,today i had a fresh listen and after some advice i connected both earth tags to the decca's 1,
    my first impressions were of great slam and drive to the music,the vta needs a few more tweaks though.
    ive been making more speaker stands today so will have all day tomorrow to have a play.

    i think i'll stick with it long term and see about sending it off for a check or re-tip.
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  10. #40
    montesquieu Guest

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    Well ... dissenting voice here. I held off on this one precisely due to fears over arm compatibility. I've tried Decca Golds - newish ones - twice now and never 'got' it. The first time was a PU7 12in - this has no damping but is as good a gimballed arm as you'll find. I heard only a ragged treble always on the verge of becoming really unsettling.

    Second time was a Jelco 750d which does have damping. But even filled up with fluid my impression was hardly better. It seems to me that most people who like these have unipovots. I didn't go for it mainly because all the arms I have right now are high quality gimballed arms - having tried a number of unipivots this is where I've ended up.

    Frankly I can't get my head around how any cartridge is supposed to work well when it is very low compliance vertically but very high compliance horizontally requiring an arm to be two opposing things simultaneously. Having owned a Rock with an HR100S, and a Rock Reference with an Excalibur I, so with years of experience of the Townshend trough, I'm at a loss to see how the trough helps matters here I always thought it was mainly about damping out the kinetic energy of pops and clicks, not about fundamentally altering compliance characteristics.

    I would suggest trying a unipivot - even something cheap like a Nima see if that helps.

    Personally I'd love at least once in my life to hear what others rave about in these cartridges but it's really never happened. In my world of classical music at least your 2M would be my preference indeed I had been thinking of asking for first dibs!

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