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OK, so how good is a Decca cartridge?

T

topoxforddoc

pfm Member
I have been a fan of Decca cartridges since the late 70s. Ken Kessler introduced them to me, when we worked together at Canterbury Hi-Fi. I still have my Garrott Brothers Gold, dating from my time with KK, and a John Wright rebuilt Decca FFSS MkIV C4E. So how good are they?

As some of you know, my friend, the now sadly departed Stewart Emmings (Lodgesound), introduced me into the world of Studio R2R tape machines. My master tape collection has been growing steadily over time. This means that I now have quite a few albums on LP and tape. Recently I purchased a production master of Dusty in Memphis. For a bit of fun I compared this 15 IPS master on an Otari MTR12 against my vinyl set up - Platine Verdier with 2 tonearms - Schroeder Reference/Allaerts MC1B and a 1970s vintage Hadcock 228/ JW rebuilt Decca C4E.

I have a 45 RPM Analog Productions copy of Dusty in Memphis, which allowed me to compare the master tape to 2 cart/tonearm combinations side by side. So which cartridge sounded more like the master tape?

The Decca won by a long way. The Allaerts sounded lovely - spacious, tonally richer - some might say very attractive; the Allaerts has many fans and rightly so. But the Decca sounded much more like the master tape. OK, compared to the tape, the Decca was narrower and shallower in sound stage, as well as missing some of the harmonics, which gave the tape more texture. But the Decca was pretty close.

Food for thought...

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Anyone who hasn't heard a properly set up Decca doesn't know what they're missing. I heard my first one in 1962 and I've been a fan ever since.

That said, they are high maintenance. "More like a Ferrari than a Ford", to borrow a quote from Vinyl Engine. Strictly for the dedicated enthusiast.
 
although for me, FFSS is very close to how I felt owning one. Brilliant when on a good recording, in perfect tune on the right arm and the right day with all the fairies aligned. Any other day and I prefer the sound of nails on a chalkboard (slight exaggeration for effect).
 
I’d like to have one on a two arm deck just for those things it really excels at with a less highly strung cart as the other alternate. I guess that is what Charlie is doing above really (though I have no knowledge of the Allaerts).
 
I don't find the Decca high maintenance or highly strung at all. 90% of my LPs are played with the Decca and only 10% with the Allaerts. You do have to keep your LPs clean; I wet clean every LP when I buy it and put it in a new inner sleeve.Tonearm choice is also important, given the negligible vertical compliance and resultant high energy transmission.

Doing this comparison seemed like a neat idea. The Analog Productions 45 RPM Dusty in Memphis is stunning. Hence when I got the Dusty master tape, I wanted to hear what the gap was.
 
Didn't know you worked in the Burgate shop, Charlie. I frequently used to see K.K. in his rocking chair (?) just inside the entrance. Guess this must be in the early/mid seventies.
 
david ellwood said:
I’m surprised the record gets anywhere near the tape. I suppose it’s very media dependent.
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That's why I chose Dusty in Memphis. The Analog Productions 45 RPM issue is fabulous as a vinyl release. So I thought this might be as good as vinyl gets. I would say that the Decca gets 80-85%, when compared to the tape.
 
topoxforddoc said:
Mike, I worked there in 78-81
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Ah, I was living in C'bury from '70 to '81, but was distracted from serious hifi by family coming along. The shop really was a tardis, though, if I remember correctly from my few visits.

Bought an Ortofom MC something or other (3000?) on K.K.'s gushing review in the early eighties. Terrible, and sold it off soon after. Probably a compatibility problem with my LP12/Tiktok/Naim boards but no idea why. Totally underwhelming.
 
G T Audio said:
Depends on the TT/tonearm/cartridge and of course the phono stage and of course the matching of all 4 items...
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Absolutely - The Decca sings, as it is a great match with the Hadcock on the fabulous Platine Verdier platform, topped off with a perfectly matched phono stage (TRON Seven Reference built bespoke to match the Decca). Getting things right with component matching is really important in optimising vinyl replay.

In fact, I was quite surprised how close the Decca/Hadcock/PV/TRON set up got to the master tape.
 
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Another thing to consider is in most cases the final vinyl release was never intended to be a direct copy of the master tape. An additional level of EQ and compression etc is usually added at that stage. One should never underestimate the art/skill of a good mastering engineer! They can actually add a lot and really help shape the music into the right final product.

PS I say that as someone lucky enough to have had a record cut by George Peckham (Porky).
 
Tony L said:
Another thing to consider is in most cases the final vinyl release was never intended to be a direct copy of the master tape. An additional level of EQ and compression etc is usually added at that stage. One should never underestimate the art/skill of a good mastering engineer! They can actually add a lot and really help shape the music into the right final product.

Analogue Productions are mastered as Flat Transfers of the mastertape & not remastered with added Eq/Compression etc
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matt j said:
You don't have to give any numbers, but from a price point what is the difference between the two set ups?
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Vinyl
Hardware - (NEW PRICES OR APPROX EQUIVALENT) - Platine Verdier £8k (a guess as there are no UK dealers now), GT Audio Battery PSU £1.5k (no longer in production), Haddock 228 (£65 in 1978 - now £775), Decca C4E (£350 incl rebuild - realistically not far off the Decca London Reference £3k). TRON Seven Reference Phono stage £4.5k - Total new price £16-17 k (OK I didn't pay that)
LP - Dusty Springfield - £50

Tape
Otari MTR 12 - £1500 second hand price (bequeathed to me by Stewart Emmings - Lodgesound) - list price USD 8800 in 1986 - 2019 equivalent USD 24000 = c £18k at current exchange rates
Master tape - £300

So, in summary, not a lot of difference in price for the hardware - more expensive for the software.
 
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