The BigMooG decca cartridge rules thread

[bigmoog]

1: dont put it in a unipivot of any quality, a waste of time, the whole assembly will just wibble wobble and the decca with transmit this into the music

2: dont use it on a three point suspended flip flop AR copy turntable of any description as the decca will just reproduce the undulations emanating from a flawed cheapo engineering solution using grommets and springs that was pure tomfoolery (imho...imho)..(I owned such transcription devices...)

3:Put thee decca in a nicely made medium/high mass arm

4: keep it clean

5: set it up carefully

6: make sure one spike of your TT stand is resting on a 3mm slice of paper and all your curtains have a pin placed thru each bottom edge

7: Own at least two as one will always need fiddling with

8: listen to music




in my opinion very few cartridges reproduce music in a realistic way (as far as it goes....), in my experience, in systems I either owned or heard - only the WIN Fet-10, SPUs and Ikeda cartridges made music sound more 'real'....or as satisfyingly musical as a decca cartridge...SPUs come very close as do some denons and other highly priced MCs with price tags beyond sense, but none match the visceral punch of decca cartridge


PS (Im not Ken Kessler)

[Clive]

Recent London (Decca) review here:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...ld_jubilee.htm

[bigmoog]

Thanks Clive, I had not seen this review yet.....putting a Decca in a linear tracker??.....nutty......(nice that Terminator arm tho'......)

[Clive]

The latest version of the Terminator looks even better:


The Londons/Deccas work really well with it. I'm left with the feeling that most other cartridges in comparison are lying about the music they are playing.

[DSJR]

I don't think that arm would fit the Dual - OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

It depends on the unipivot BM. The Mentor arm and its descendants should be stable enough methinks and a mate's 301/Bastin plinth/Omega Point arm and VDH (?) London Silver sounded amazing...

P.S. NAS tonearms used to be unipivots with stabilisers, rather like Stax did with their UA7 tonearm.

Get the deck right and there really is *something* about a good Decca. I think the "SPU" is too bassy and dull for me (research is however ongoing on that opinion...).

Here's me Decca, all on its lonesome awaiting a decent turntable to out it in...

[bigmoog]

the terminator arm looks lovely........


I think a good working decca is the perfect route to music, as it energises the playback,,,,sort of like listening to decent tape or being in a studio.....I used to be in bands and live music has the same quality as deccacartridges or vice versa...that intangible rightness or realism

[Barry]

1: Don't put it in a unipivot of any quality, a waste of time, the whole assembly will just wibble wobble and the decca with transmit this into the music

2: Don't use it on a three point suspended flip flop AR copy turntable of any description as the decca will just reproduce the undulations emanating from a flawed cheapo engineering solution using grommets and springs that was pure tomfoolery (imho...imho)..(I owned such transcription devices...)

3: Put thee Decca in a nicely made medium/high mass arm

4: Keep it clean

5: Set it up carefully

6: Make sure one spike of your TT stand is resting on a 3mm slice of paper and all your curtains have a pin placed thru each bottom edge

7: Own at least two as one will always need fiddling with

8: Listen to music


In my opinion very few cartridges reproduce music in a realistic way (as far as it goes....), in my experience, in systems I either owned or heard - only the WIN Fet-10, SPUs and Ikeda cartridges made music sound more 'real'....or as satisfyingly musical as a Decca cartridge...SPUs come very close as do some denons and other highly priced MCs with price tags beyond sense, but none match the visceral punch of Decca cartridge


PS (I'm not Ken Kessler)

Point 1. Most of Decca's arms were unipivot designs that had pivot damping.

Point 2. The Decca/Hadcock/Linn was a viable combination.

Point 3. I have successfuly used a Decca in a damped Infinity Black Widow arm (3g effective mass).

Point 4. Agreed, but that applies to all cartridges.

Point 5. Agreed, ditto as above.

Point 6. No need - my listening room is aligned along a layline

Point 7. I do and they don't.

Point 8. I much prefer to listen to test tones and tracking tests.

On a more serious note, do you have any comments on the electrical loading that Deccas like to see and on the deliberate decoupling between cartridge and arm that some users employ?

Regards

[Marco]

The latest version of the Terminator looks even better:


The Londons/Deccas work really well with it. I'm left with the feeling that most other cartridges in comparison are lying about the music they are playing.

That's MUCH more like it, Clive. The Terminator is starting to look sexy now! Just starting, though. It's still a touch too brutal and 'industrial' in appearance for me, almost like an instrument of torture

Given that my idea of a truly sexy looking arm is this (and probably my ultimate T/T, too!):





...I doubt that the Terminator will ever be quite my thing, aesthetically. Sonically, there's no question though it sounds superb

See some other nice pics of Schick-adorned decks here: http://www.thomas-schick.com/arm06.htm

Dave, that Decca looks really cool, and I'm sure will sound fantastic on the right arm and T/T. I love Deccas and agree with all the comments here about them, although I disagree about SPUs being dull and bassy - not the ones I've heard!!

For me, Deccas, SPUs, DL103s (when properly 'sorted'), Shure M3D, and the EMT XSD/TSD15, are what I would call 'proper' cartridges for genuine enthusiasts, as they sound truly musical without trading tone and timbre (so important to the accurate portrayal of music) for forensic detail retrieval, and a cold and clinical sound as a result - a mortal sin, as far as I'm concerned, committed by the vast majority of today's cartridge designs.

Marco.

[bigmoog]

just because deccas were used in decca unipivots doesnt make it any good, I have a london international and it makes the decca sound rubbish


my deccas like to see 47k

[Marco]

I don't doubt it, Jonathan. I've never understood how that flimsy looking abomination could ever bring out the best in a Decca!

Marco.