London Decca

Looks like we have the thread to ourselves :-)

To me, the Decca sound is the antithesis of "transparent," which is one of the reasons I like it (components noted mostly for their "transparency" tend to sound threadbare and bleached to me). The Decca is (again, to me) kinda rough-hewn and "real" sounding to a degree not found in my other main cartridges. I like them too, and sometimes the Decca is a little TOO much, but for now I'm sticking with it and leaving the others for a later time. I remarked to Warren that a new phonocable (Furutech Silver Arrows) had emphasized its "Decca-ness" in a very attractive light and he responded that cables are HIGHLY important in getting the most out of these carts.

Dealing with Warren, btw, is one of the really pleasant aspects of Decca ownership. He really believes.

Everyday I'm startled by what this cartridge does on my records. With some songs it's almost like I'm hearing them for the first time.
That's interesting about the phono cables. I have only ever heard the SG with my Kondo silver tonearm cable.
Can you tell me/the community what Warren recommends and, possibly, what to look for in a tonearm/phono cable to get the most from the Decca carts?

All that Warren said, after I told him about the Furutech silver cables, was "Wires can make an enormous difference." At the time I got them, I wasn't even very much interested in hearing the Decca. Don't know exactly why except that I was quite satisfied with the other 3 carts in rotation on the JMW arm (Soundsmith Zephyr, Shure V15VxMR with Jico SAS stylus, and Denon 301 II). But I put on the Decca and was kinda stunned when I didn't hear anything from either channel.

I told Warren about it and he said they could probably restore it for comparatively little money. When I got it back it sounded both great and different, which I laid to the new phono cables. (Maybe Warren's work had something to do with it.) In any event, it's not leaving the JMW arm any time soon :-)

I love my Decca Super Gold too. I had it re-tipped by John Wright in England with a Paratrace stylus which takes it to a new level.

Warren offered me a good price on the Reference and full refund for returning the Super Gold.
I will post my review to this thread but it won't be for a few weeks.