I have a maroon in a Naim Aro unipivot, I had to drop the back of the arm by a mm or two to get the sound to fill out and there is a definite sweet spot for VTF and I have to make a new arm board to get the overhang right. Even with overhang 2mm too much I’m enjoying the result immensely, bar a little coarseness at the start of a side because of that overhang error but the sound has a lot of presence notwithstanding that, I have the red plastic bracket and the cartridge just slides up onto it, I had to reseat this as it moved a bit when I took the cap off and I didn’t get any sound at first. I remember it sounded thin before dropping the rear of the arm.
Decca London Super Gold Compatibility Question
Can someone tell me what happens when you use the Deccas with the wrong arm? Is it a tracking issue or will it just not sound good? I tried it with my SME M2-12R with a Yamamoto wood headshell and the results were not great. Hoping it's just compatibility and not something wrong with the Decca.
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There are several tonearms that work well with the London Decca series cartridges, the Fidelity Research FR-64 and FR-66 being the most notable (and among the most expensive). I have used Ortofon, Jelco and the Thomas Schick tonearms with good but not great results. I found that the Pear Audio Cornet 2 tonearm unipivot works very well with the Decca Gold. This is an updated version of the Nottingham tonearm designs, so you might start there. Some have reported that the Dynavector DV-507 works well but I have not tried this combination myself. A friend of mine runs his Decca cartridge on a Pete Riggle Woody tonearm and claims that it's the best pairing for the Decca series. I'm skeptical but I have not yet had a chance to hear it so I'll pass it along as an unendorsed recommendation. |
I've tested the London Decca Reference on the FR-64S, FR-66S and DV-507/II and the FR-66S is undeniably the best match. HERE With both FR-64S and DV-507/II.....the Decca mistracked at the same point on every disc. And I agree with previous posters.....the Deccas like their arms with the pivot slightly down. |
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