Ok I'll try, but it's not eays

Decca’s were my favorite cartridges of my early audiophile years. In the early 70’s, I had already fallen in love with the Decca London cartridges. They were the only cartridges I know of that had no cantilever, in the conventional sense. This gets rid of what Decca called “cantilever haze.” Once you hear vinyl without this haze, it’s hard to go back. The minute I heard the Decca I knew I had to have one.

The Decca cartridges of my youth were amazing. They were immediate sounding, and had the deepest, tightest, and most powerful bass I have ever heard (or that’s the way I remember them). The only problem was they didn’t sound good for very long and no two Decca’s sounded exactly the same. I remember going to Dallas and listening to a dozen of the cartridges at Hillcrest Hifi and picking out the four best: two for me and two for Gene. Why did we buy two? Well it was quite simple; you needed one to listen to when the other one was on its way back to have the suspension redone. You could extend the time before sending them back by removing the top plate and then using the smallest jeweler’s screwdriver you could find; you could tighten the tiny screws that controlled the tension on the thread that held the stylus in place. After a while, though, it just would not track and you had to send it back. To be honest, at their best, the Decca’s wouldn’t track the last track on most records unless you had a damped tonearm.

The cartridges are very picky about tonearms and just don't track that well in the long run. Still they are as addictive as hell.

theaudiobeatnik.com

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - red, silver, blue and gold - Penguin 12:38:06 07/27/14 (17)

RE: red, silver, blue and gold - BPoletti 14:44:48 07/27/14 (16)

You do realize that they don't have a cantaliver. NT - jnr 15:57:47 07/27/14 (15)

RE: You do realize that they don't have a cantaliver. NT - BPoletti 16:32:56 07/27/14 (14)

I got my first Decca in 1972 when I was 18 years old and have had a love/hate relationship ever sense. . . - jnr 17:08:50 07/27/14 (10)

RE: I got my first Decca in 1972 when I was 18 years old and have had a love/hate relationship ever sense. . . - John Elison 19:21:09 07/27/14 (9)

Ok I'll try, but it's not eays - jnr 20:26:05 07/27/14 (8)

You both intice and scare me! (nt) - Crazy Dave 14:50:23 07/28/14 (1)

In this way the Decca reminds me of one of my ex-girlfriends! (nt) - Crazy Dave 14:51:50 07/28/14 (0)

Interesting! Thanks! /nt\ - John Elison 00:08:32 07/28/14 (0)

I noticed - Penguin 20:48:41 07/27/14 (4)

RE: I noticed - jnr 21:08:17 07/27/14 (3)

I will give it a try - Penguin 21:12:11 07/27/14 (2)

I use the Well Tempered arm - Botanico92007 17:32:36 07/28/14 (1)

It sounded good right out of the protractor - Penguin 18:12:14 07/28/14 (0)

it is a tie back string... - Penguin 16:38:15 07/27/14 (2)

RE: it is a tie back string... - hahax@verizon.net 19:28:17 07/28/14 (1)

good point :) - Penguin 09:30:40 07/29/14 (0)

Follow Ups

Ok I'll try, but it's not eays - jnr 20:26:05 07/27/14 (8)

You both intice and scare me! (nt) - Crazy Dave 14:50:23 07/28/14 (1)

In this way the Decca reminds me of one of my ex-girlfriends! (nt) - Crazy Dave 14:51:50 07/28/14 (0)

Interesting! Thanks! /nt\ - John Elison 00:08:32 07/28/14 (0)

I noticed - Penguin 20:48:41 07/27/14 (4)

RE: I noticed - jnr 21:08:17 07/27/14 (3)

I will give it a try - Penguin 21:12:11 07/27/14 (2)

I use the Well Tempered arm - Botanico92007 17:32:36 07/28/14 (1)

It sounded good right out of the protractor - Penguin 18:12:14 07/28/14 (0)

Ok I'll try, but it's not eays

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