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What's a real good arm for a Decca Cartridge?

I have a Decca London Super Gold with a paratrace stylus. It's sound as good as anything I've ever heard using my SME M2-12R arm on a rebuilt TD124. The problem is I want something that will track all my LPs and the SME just won't. After a bunch of tweaking, including adding tons of mass, it'll play 90% without issue. What arm will get me those extra 10%?
dhcod
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
The Biotracer arm on the Sony DD TT. Servo-compensation for better groove tracing and elimination of arm resonance matching for different compliance cartridges. The Decca cartridge would certainly benefit from this, as it has much different stylus compliances in the vertical and horizontal planes!

roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Sorry for not remembering the model number of the Sony Biotracer TT! I do have one on hand in the other room! Pretty neat arm!
harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
Terminator T3Pro by Trans-Fi Audio and you will never look back. Gets the best out of any cartridge. Enjoy the ride : )
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,821 posts
 

@dhcod: Are you certain it is the arm not the cartridge that is responsible for the mistracking? The current London’s are better in that regard than were the Decca’s, but tracking remains the design’s major failing. The SME has long been considered to be a poor match for the cartridge; something about the huge amount of mechanical energy it puts into an arm causing the SME’s knife-edge bearings to "chatter" (that’s why adding mass helps).

Arms popular amongst the Decca/London cognoscenti include the Sumiko MDC-800 ("The Arm"), Zeta, Hadcock (and other unipivots), Mission Mechanic, Fidelity Research, Helius Omega, Well Tempered, linear trackers including the Eminent Technology, TransFi Terminator, and London’s own. Art Dudley even liked the London Gray in a Rega 300, but he’s not a Decca nut. There are some older Audiogon threads on the same subject.

If you really want to go all in, get yourself a Townshend Rock, THE table for the Decca/London!

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
+1 bdp24
There is nothing wrong with your arm. It is the cartridge, just one of the things you have to live with when you get a Decca. They can sound great but they do not track so hot. Just like any British sports car.  Most people I know with Deccas have other cartridges they can use on tougher disc. Instead of getting a new arm jest get another cartridge!

Mike
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