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In Reply to: RE: You do realize that they don't have a cantaliver. NT posted by BPoletti on July 27, 2014 at 16:32:56
The cartridge design comes from Decca's original mono cartridge. This enplanes why the vertical coil assembly sits right on top; at a 90° angel to the lateral (mono) coil, instead of the traditional 45°/45° configuration of nearly all stereo cartridges. The line drawing in the other post is very correct, but let me add a few words of explanation.
There is no cantilever in the sense we think of one, surely not one that could simple be replaced when replacing the stylus. The stylus fits into the tip of an L-shaped tempered steel blade that protrudes down through a cartridge body. The other end of the L is clamped tightly within the body. A tiny tie-back cord affixed to the vertical part of this L-shaped piece(which for lack of a better word sometimes is called a cantilever, but it does not meet any definition I know of as a cantilever in audio or other places) just above the stylus and is literally tied back and attached to the same set of clamping plates holding the other end of the L-shaped blade. This creates a kind of spring like suspension. The stylus end of the L passes through a coil-and-pole-piece assembly that tracks the lateral motion, while another coil and magnet at 90° to the lateral one registers the L piece's vertical movement.
Beatnik's stuff http://web.me.com/jnr1/Site/Beatniks_Pictures.html
Follow Ups:
The physical configuration of the Decca is very interesting, but can you tell us more about your love/hate relationship? Why do you sometimes love the cartridge and why do you sometimes hate it?
Thanks,
John Elison
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.
Beatnik's stuff http://web.me.com/jnr1/Site/Beatniks_Pictures.html
anything will make it skip :), stuff that all my other cartridges sail through this thing just gets stuck on. Good thing most of my records are in good shape. so how long before it needs to be re stringed? Say on average....just ballpark.
dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.
quote by Kurt Vonnegut
Looked at your system, if you still have the Well Tempered table put it in that arm and see if it does better. I bet it will. The current ones seem to be better built and should last longer, but I don't really know how long.
Beatnik's stuff http://web.me.com/jnr1/Site/Beatniks_Pictures.html
The well tempered is not that well tempered right now, it has some speed stability issues....i have been working on it for a while i think i have a solution, but the arm works just fine. i will give it a try.
dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.
quote by Kurt Vonnegut
I've used Decca cartridges for decades, having tried them all, always looking for improvement. Maroon, elliptical, gold, super gold, Jubilee, and Reference. The earlier models with and without the Decca Clamp.
I've found they sound best in a damped arm. I've used the Keith Monk with mercury contacts (a nightmare with oxidation on the mercury), Formula Four, Hadcock, and Well Tempered. The WT Reference is the best in my opinion. It allows for adjustment of the amount of damping, which is critical to get it sounding at its best.
When heard at its best, a Decca is addictive for the naturalness of its sound. No other cartridge has the clarity. It's a finicky cartridge and takes lots of patience to set it up, which has to be done by ear for final adjustments. Most of the mistracking can be adjusted out with the WT Reference and cartridge setup (to be sure the cartridge is properly aligned). Again final adjustments are by ear over a period of time on a range of records. The most highly modulated grooves will not be perfectly tracked, but the alternative is a better tracking cartridge with less clarity, the visual equivalent to looking through a slightly dirty or grimy window.
On the EPA 250
Dee
:-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.
quote by Kurt Vonnegut
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