So what has Marco replaced his SPU Royal with…?

[jaym481]

Yeah £750 is a decent chunk of dosh, but if I were looking for a Decca right now, that’s one which would be on my radar, as I think it would sound superb

Marco.

For that price I'd splash out a bit more (less than £100, I think) and get a brand new Super Gold. Or do what I did: get a used C4E off ebay for half the price (or less) and send it to John Wright (Decca London) for rebuild.

[Marco]

Fair point, Jay. However, I’ve always considered the vintage Garrott Bros ones as being a bit special

Marco.

[paskinn]

I've had the chance to listen quite a lot to a just rebuilt Decca Gold. What strikes me is how variable the sound is depending on the arm. The best I have heard so far is a nice unipivot with an original Townsend damping trough fitted at the cartridge end. You get a y holographic soundstage, nice and 'floaty' but with none of the brightness/aggressiveness Deccas can be prone to. However, what also strikes me, is how much this is just about personal preference. We compared it with a humble Shure 97xe. As you would expect, rather different; a smoother 'flatter' sort of sound. If you wanted, you could describe it as 'dull', or you could equally describe it as smooth and natural......
So many of the choices in audio are little more than personal choices, not 'facts' in any meaningful sense. Certainly, after hearing the LPO playing yesterday, I am reminded that reproduced music is still pretty poor. You just select the compromises you can live with...or follow the 'fashion' trends . As one example, a fashionable 'new' Moving Coil range has been given great praise in a number of reviews and appraisals. But not one of them has remarked on the inability of these cartridges to track even mildly difficult vinyl. Because 'tracking' hasn't been a fashionable topic for ages....even though a cartridge without good tracking is as useless as a car that can't go round corners.
Not to mention damaging your records.

[jaym481]

Fair point, Jay. However, I’ve always considered the vintage Garrott Bros ones as being a bit special

Marco.

Fair enough, but I'm not entirely certain what they did beyond the sticker. I think they potted the internals? JW has brought the brand a lot further in the years since the Garrot Bros met their unfortunate end, so it'd be well worth the effort to hear a new Super Gold in comparison before making the final decision. Or just splash out for the London Reference and be done with it.

[WOStantonCS100]

Cheers, Chris. It’s certainly up there with the best things I’ve ever bought for my system, and most definitely a keeper!

No, on this occasion, I didn’t consider a Decca, as I was primarily out to replace the SPU Royal I’d sold, so I guess that some type of SPU (and most likely a vintage one) was always on the cards.

However, at some point I do intend to own a Decca (not sure which one), and also an EMT - either an XSD-15, or a JSD-5 or 6, or perhaps 5G/6G (shown below):




…which, along with the Denon DL-103 (that I intend to have re-bodied) would pretty much complete my cartridge collection

Pics of the SPU-G/T, in situ, to come later!

Marco.

Okies, some (not too brilliant) pics….






















Marco.

Always liked the 'period' look of the SPUs. Is it much different to the modern one in appearance Marco? I can't recall.


Next, why not add a Mk.IV Decca to the system, You'd be astonished. They do not sound exactly like the Londons, to my ears they have a somewhat bigger and bolder sound. Lovely!



Wish I still had my 4RC, it was a fine complement to my sixties SPU and equally good.

Holy crap, Batman. Serious porn overload! Concentrated, even.

[walpurgis]

This is not too shabby either:



Remember. I've owned an SPU and a MK.IV Decca. This is as good or better (tough call though).