Decca Mark 4 Cartridge

[stevieboy]

Been waiting to pick up a good Decca. Finally found a good one at a decent, well relatively considering the interest in old Deccas. The 4 version. Which by quite a few accounts bests the modern Deccas cause they're heavier and have larger coils. This one's got regular cartridge pins at the rear so can easily use an existing tonearm.

Let's see how it goes when I receive it! This should go well with the heavier armtube SME 12incher I am planning. :licklips:

What sealed the deal was just before seeing the listing, I was listening to recordings made of someone who had the Mark I cart on a Decca tonearm on a Lenco and it sounded so natural and real.

This is the listing I was browsing:

decca ffss mk1 cartridge | eBay

And this sealed the deal, check the three links in the last post on the thread:
http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=4049.30

 

[jls001]

Wow!!!
Happy days are here.

 

[stevieboy]

Hi Joshua,

Am wondering how it will compare to the SPU. Will have to send it to UK for an overhaul though. Want to get it to pristine working condition! How's your decca doing?

Regards

 

[jls001]

If you can Paratrace it at Expert Stylus, it would take it to a much higher level. The only downside is the longish waiting period for deliveries.

I feel it will have a very different signature from an SPU though they are nearly of similar vintage.

To get the best out of my Decca London SG, I now (strongly) feel that it needs much better phono stage. My Phonomena is no longer able to do it justice. And neither is the DIY CNC MM phono stage.

 

[Rajiv]

Hi,

Congratulations Steven.

I have been wanting to get a Decca and did not pick them up when prices were low. Now they seem to be selling for quite a bit.

I have the SME adapter to use the Decca FFSS cartridges with regular tonearms and even these seem to be selling for crazy prices.

DECCA Cartridge Adapter | eBay

Regards
Rajiv

 

[Hiten]

 

[stevieboy]

If you can Paratrace it at Expert Stylus, it would take it to a much higher level.

I feel it will have a very different signature from an SPU though they are nearly of similar vintage.

To get the best out of my Decca London SG, I now (strongly) feel that it needs much better phono stage. My Phonomena is no longer able to do it justice. And neither is the DIY CNC MM phono stage.

Hi Joshua,

EsCo is my first choice for cart retipping should I need one. However this baby will be going to John Wright the ex Decca guy who knows them inside out. Am not too sure I want a paratrace. Sure it will be good at retrieving detail, but a conical tip is more forgiving of set up, will better suit old records which form the majority of my collection since ticks and pops would be pushed further back. I have to decide this when it arrives. I'm not much of a detail dragon chaser and the one conical tip I have has a charm to it. Now if I had a Denon 103 that needed retipping I'd try the paratrace.

Regarding the sound, from what I've been able to glean so far from online recordings, the Decca is more alive. Eager to hear it in the flesh. The Ortofon SPU Classic has a weighty authority to it and smoothness that just makes you unwind and soak in the music.

Hi,

Congratulations Steven.

I have been wanting to get a Decca and did not pick them up when prices were low. Now they seem to be selling for quite a bit.

I have the SME adapter to use the Decca FFSS cartridges with regular tonearms and even these seem to be selling for crazy prices.

DECCA Cartridge Adapter | eBay

Regards
Rajiv

Hi Rajiv,

That price is crazy!!! Yikes! Incidentally there's another mark 4 cart on ebay if you're interested DECCA FFSS SC4E Stereo Hi-Fi Cartridge Super condition | eBay. Gosh knows what they'll be in a few years... Maybe you should sell the adaptor and buy the 4, that would be a bit more affordable

Regards

 

[malvai]

Good going steven! you seem to have a knack for these deals!

May I request you to keep an eye out for me too???? just pull the trigger on a good deal and lemme know!

 

[stevieboy]

Will do Malvai. I just got lucky. It happened to get listed while I was browsing! There are quite a few on ebay now, even the Mark I and II sound superb. Even though a few people say the Mark IV is best, the Mark I and II sound superb to me. But you'd need an adaptor and the prices...

Regards

 

[stevieboy]

The cost for the paratrace is 240 pounds. Hmmm...

 

[jls001]

The cost for the paratrace is 240 pounds. Hmmm...

The Reference apparently uses the paratrace See here. Setup ought to be very finicky with this type of ultra low mass fine line diamonds. See here. But must be worth all the troubles.

 

[stevieboy]

Hi Joshua,

Apparently even John Wright uses a reference with a paratrace. There's no doubt that this tip can dig out detail. However he has advised some people that this tip is more useful on the higher end carts. Prob they have the coils and structure to benefit more? The finickiness and scope for damaging my records with a less that ideally aligned cart is what's worrying me plus with a conical even though it pulls less detail tends to relax me and have me tuning out, drifting off to the music.

Check this out:lp playback - conical vs. shibata stylus - YouTube

My current thinking is do this one in a conical and the next one in a paratrace else I'll never know for myself which I prefer Plus the one I've got has a limited response from 30 to 15 and is similar to the 4RC so a paratrace would not exactly be ideal, overkill?

Sigh... anyway got time till Tuesday till it arrives.

Regards

 

[stevieboy]

Joshua,

What tip does your super gold have? I think the seller had it overhauled when he had got it?

Regards

 

[jls001]

Joshua,

What tip does your super gold have? I think the seller had it overhauled when he had got it?

Regards

I think it has the stock extended line contact stylus.

 

[stevieboy]

Ah wonder whether it's the original vdh tip or a new one.

My deccas at hong kong airport as we speak

 

[stevieboy]

And the Decca has landed. A minor heart attack since the cartridge hardcase was empty! Turned out an innocuous looking foam square all wrapped up had the cartridge inside and I thought it was for packing! That small square of foam is so well packed I could drop it from any tall building and the foam would probably protect it. Very good example of superb thinking and packing!

Now to get home and open it and post some drool pics :licklips:

Will need 25mm screws though.

 

[reubensm]

Stevie, since you have experience with the Decca FFSS, would like to know how this cart performs. Forgive my ignorance but is it a MM or a Ceramic cart? What kind of replacement styli would fit it?

 

[jls001]

It's MI. Retip is similar to MCs as it is not field replaceable but has to be sent to an expert (like John Wright, ex Decca engineer who now has the right to the name London Decca and makes the current Decca cartridges; or someone like Expert Stylus Company).

 

[stevieboy]

Hi Reuben,

Here's a link. I've forgotten everything I knew hehe and can only offer rough comments right now. The link will give you a better picture.

Those Were The Days:Ortofon A/B, SPU, Decca London, Garrard GMC and Tannoy VariTwin Phono Cartridges

I only remember it sounded quite present and lively when I played it for a short while. Mine is the spherical tip and I will be retipping through John Wright as and when the project comes up in the long list of projects I have to finish I quite like spherical tips even my Ortofon SPU is a spherical.

Regards

Edit: Oh ya, these put a lot of energy back into the arm cos there's no cantilever so I got the damping trough for the SME. Else a unipivot is recommended, rather than a traditional arm bearing.