decca london reference-phono stage loading?

[spiritofmusic]

Hallo everyone, I am currently running my turntable (Orbe) thru a Zu Denon 103R into a Tom Evans Groove Plus SRX at 115 Ohms loading. I am very tempted by the Decca London Reference that Clive Meakins amongst others rates very highly.

He loads at between 23-35kOhms, and uses a diy solution of adding a resistor. However my phono stage goes to a maximum of 1kOhm. Many other stages then just jump straight to 47kOhms.

Are there any active stages out there that can accommodate 115 Ohms and 23-35 kOhms, or do I need a passive stage at 47 kOhms with a step up transformer, or will 47 kOhms be ok for the Decca? No diy solutions please, only propriatary devices, thanks.

[hifi_dave]

No problems at all using 47K with a London/Decca, it's what I use every day. The vast majority of MM stages are at this value.

[Clive]

Indeed, don't get too hung up on 47k vs 33k. Because it's simple for me to do I tweak it. It's not necessary but any means but as London say in the their specs 33k or thereabouts is optimal but 47k sounds great too, just a little more treble.

[DSJR]

It's my current view that 39K or whatever is only used to tame the excesses of lower-caste Decca's with extreme top problems. Many phono stages just canot take it and overload and/or ring when presented with this and the results ain't nice at all...

I'd also say that many mm types need 68K loading to reduce or remove the "droop" in the treble that so many of them exhibit. Just my tuppence worth, but you see, I appreciate the neutrality of Decca's and CD, so don't have a system balanced around a soft toned cartridge (Marco, I'm excluding you from this, just in case you felt I was having a pop - I reserve judgement until I've heard your wonder-deck with modern SPU :))

[Clive]

Dave, we've been around this loop before. Not only does the cartridge manufacturer recommend 33k but the physics theory backs this up. In my system it sounds right. Maybe my HF hearing isn't as bad as I thought. Anyway, there are no hard and fast rules, just what works for the individual.

[Clive]

...also, maybe old Deccas and new Londons don't behave exactly the same. All my experience is with Londons, SG, Jubilee and Reference.

[DSJR]

Fair do's, but I wonder where the top rolloff would be into 33K, that's all, as the bass to mid top is as flat in response as a pancake and was so in the cruder C4E and 4RC models (HiFi dave has the early 70's HiFi Sound with these cartridge tests in) :)

Whatever, I love mine and will never get rid of it ;)

P.S. Lentek now modded and running back in as I type - will post piccies in the proper thread shortly :)