@bdp24 The Zeta arm/Townshend Audio Elite Rock is a robust combination. I’ve shied away from the Mk4 over the years as I was always waiting to grab a Jubilee/Reference at the right price. I passed up on a Reference some years ago for $2500 because the 600GBP stylus replacement was too expensive. Man, who knew things would go bizarre-o-land?
Vinyl Warm Up Time
Curiously, I am finding it’s only after a few vinyl albums into a listening session that my system starts to sound convincingly good.
For instance yesterday, I started off with a couple of Billy Cobham albums, Spectrum and a live one. This was followed by Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe. All three albums sounded quite harsh in places, although good sound shone through in others.
It wasn’t until I got to a fourth album, Yes’s Tormato that the sound became really convincing. Then with the fifth album, Yes’s Drama things started cooking. It sounded absolutely superb.
This seems an inordinate length of time for the system, presumably the cartridge to warm up particularly in summer. It has been fairly humid recently.
I have returned to vinyl last year after a gap of five years. I don’t remember this ever being an issue in the past. In general, I am getting a much better sound than before due to various upgrades to the turntable and the rest of the system.
I am using the same model of coil cartridge, a Linn Kandid that I used for many years previously. I bought the current one used, so it may well be getting towards the end of it’s life. The turntable was rebuilt and upgraded towards the end of 2024.
Maybe, it’s just me who takes a long time to relax and get into the listening zone. I don’t get the same issue with streaming, but then I never reach the same heights as I do with vinyl.
Is this typical of other members’ experiences? Any advice will be much appreciated.
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@noromance: Yeah, getting the Decca to the London office was my responsibility. London requested that I send it via UPS, and I was flabbergasted (how’s THAT for an old word?) to learn that such a small, light package cost over a hundred bucks to ship from Washington State to London England. When I was selling vintage drums on ebay (over a thousand transactions---not all of them for drums, with 100% positive feedback) in the first decade of the new century, shipping a drumset to Europe didn’t cost much more than that. I agree with you, the increase in prices the new London owners have instituted is downright shocking. I bought my Super Gold in the 90’s, and iirc at that time it’s price was $1200. By the time of John’s retirement, I believe it had crept up to $1595. After deciding to find myself a Decca Mk.4, I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to acquire one before John Wright announced his decision to retire. It was a while before it was announced that new parties had arranged to keep the London brand going, and I wondered if anyone but John could make such unusual cartridges. And if so, with the same level of expertise as that of John. I won’t have an answer to that question until I receive my rebuilt Decca 4. I’ve always loved the look of the Blue/Gold etc. Deccas, and the London Reference even more so. The Mk.5’s (Blue, Gold, etc.) have a rather aggressive body shape---especially the front end, and the Reference has a very bold, masculine looking body design and build. There is a current AudiogoN thread with the topic of how important the look of components is to members, and though I’m not overly concerned with looks, with the cartridge I for some reason feel differently. That’s why I couldn’t live with the London Jubilee; it’s body shape is aesthetically displeasing to me. Does that make me shallow?
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@bdp24 Yeah, I was never a fan of the London Jubilee aesthetic either! I do like the Decapod and have them on my SG and two Golds. |
The look of the Decca Mk.4 isn't as good as the Super Gold and Reference, but it's not as bad (imo) as the Jubilee.- 54 posts total