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Decca cartridges

Robert said:
Graham, isn't the vertical compliance around 4-5cu?

That's extremely low and will certainly drive an arm hard.
They have much higher lateral compliance which is around 20-25cu IIRC.
Makes finding the ideal arm difficult, and likely why damping is recommended since it will lessen the effects of any mismatch - and there will be one with any conventional arm. Unipivots of course usually have damping so no surprise they've been favoured.
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Decca quote the following Rob:

FFSS head
Lateral 15 x 10 (-6) cm/dyne
Vertical 4 x 10 (-6) cm/dyne

Decca Super Gold
Lateral 12 x 10 (-6) cm/dyne
Vertical 5 x 10 (-6) cm/dyne

Decca London
Lateral 15 x 10 (-6) cm/dyne
Vertical 7.5 x 10 (-6) cm/dyne
 
I always use the Pod as did Tom Fletcher when he designed the arm. The plastic bracket is there to lose the energy which would otherwise upset less suitable arms.
 
hifi_dave said:
The Notts arms are a perfect match - in fact, they were designed using Deccas.
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Indeed Dave. The early Notts Analogue arms were (namely the Omega Point and Mentor arms etc). The NA tonearms from the mid 1990's onwards were designed with the Tracer range of cartridges (Tracer No 1 to the No 4) that NA supplied. These were MM designs and very similar to todays MM cartridges with conventional cantilevers.
 
hifi_dave said:
I always use the Pod as did Tom Fletcher when he designed the arm. The plastic bracket is there to lose the energy which would otherwise upset less suitable arms.
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Yes the Pod was definitely the way to go with the Blue, Grey and Gold.
 
No, they are all suitable for use with Deccas old and new. I have been using Notts Ace Space and AceAnna since their inception, with Decca cartridges and still do.
 
Here are my Decca C4E in a 70s vintage Hadcock (AO rewired with both ground leads soldered to one cartridge tag). The other arm/cart is my Schroeder Model 2 & Allaerts MC1B

 
What was Decca's own FFSS arm like sonically? One seldom if ever sees it mentioned, yet it was advertised on the back of many classic SXLs etc and it was obviously designed as the partner for the bakelite Decca FFSS carts.
 
It is my understanding that anyone interested in the Decca sound should hear the Soundsmith Strain Gauge. It may cost more but you will get a phono/preamp stage included in the purchase... and the not insignificant matter of user replaceable stylii...
 
I haven’t heard either the original Decca International or the later Decca arms. I remember there being an old stock item in Canterbury Hi-Fi, when I worked there in the late 70s. But I never listened to it. I bought the Hadcock instead!

As for the Strain Gauge carts, again I haven’t heard one. But I’m told they are pretty good too. A rebuild from JW doesn’t take long, Mine was back within 10 days incl postal time, so that didn’t bother me.
 
Ahh that would be obvious - durr ! Too many glasses of wine.
Still i am playing copious records too....
 
topoxforddoc said:
...........in Canterbury Hi-Fi, when I worked there in the late 70s.
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Well well, Charlie! Do you remember Ken Kessler on his rocking chair in the diminutive shop called Burgate HiFi nearly opposite to you?

I was in C'bury from '69 to '82 and do remember buying something Japanese from your shop in the seventies. Small world !

Can't recall a Decca thread before, so well done for that. I had a Decca International (which my brother-in-law still has), but also have a vague feeling that there was a precursor to this, but you say the International was the first.
 
G T Audio said:
Hi Charlie, have you tried the C4E in the Schröder?
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Graham,

I haven’t yet. I did have my Garrott Gold in the Schroeder before. And I have had the Allaerts in the Hadcock.

In some ways, I’m rather reluctant to stick the C4E in the Schroeder, as I like using both options. The C4E is not perfect by any means, and classical music often sounds better on the Allaerts. I find the Hadcock easier to set up than the Schroeder. Maybe that’s just familiarity over three decades. Adjusting the gap between the magnets and particularly the top screw for the bias on the Schroeder seems to be a bit of a black art, as there aren’t any visual reference points.

Charlie
 
Mike Reed said:
Well well, Charlie! Do you remember Ken Kessler on his rocking chair in the diminutive shop called Burgate HiFi nearly opposite to you?

I was in C'bury from '69 to '82 and do remember buying something Japanese from your shop in the seventies. Small world !

Can't recall a Decca thread before, so well done for that. I had a Decca International (which my brother-in-law still has), but also have a vague feeling that there was a precursor to this, but you say the International was the first.
Click to expand...

Mike,

A very small world. I worked in that shop between 79-81 as the saturday boy. I got my appreciation of Deccas and valves from KK. My Garrott Bros Gold, Maroon and Hadcock came from that shop.

As for the tonearms. I think you may be right. The first tonearm was the FFSS with a rectangular shaped counterweight. Later came the International with an inverted unipivot. I think that spawned more than one model, but I can't remember how many versions there were. Will need to check.

Charlie
 
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