LONDON Decca, Tzar DST and similar cartridges

Hope this doesn't come off as sounding gratuitous or over-the-top!

It might if one hadn't actually heard the DLR....😎

Kmccarty
Ct0517, I can’t use my stereo system on the first without disrupting family life. I agree that would be better for turntables.

yes, better for turntables, but also for large speakers with dynamic cone drivers that send excess vibrations downward.

Regarding Warren, I am not sure what his issues with my system are. Perhaps he isn’t familiar with my turntables.

Kmccarty
Regarding the Decca folks/representatives discussed on this thread. I will say I have come across individuals in this business, and I am not saying that those mentioned here are like these folks. After all I don’t personally know them. The folks I am thinking about have been down their road, experiences, and have their own take on things. If certain criteria are not met; the answer will always be no, not good enough unless all the t’s are crossed and the i ’s dotted. The t’s and i’s here, as this is vinyl (a mechanical, vibration, resonance process) could very well come down to the Room Type/Location, and the type of tonearm. I say this from the limited information on this thread. Dealing with vibrations that get amplified from a very small signal are real. In the end, imo, these folks are as passionate as anyone else, and are just trying to make sure "you", meaning whoever they are talking to, get to their "place" and "experience" what they experience. Some are better at dealing with people than others when it comes to this.

True Story
I went to hear and maybe buy a 200 lb amplifier. I arrived at this person’s house who lived alone in a large two storey home with full 8 foot ceiling basement. After greeting me, instead of going down or across the main floor we headed up the stairs to my surprise. In the large master bedroom was contained high end audio gear including very large dynamic cone speakers that were sitting on concrete blocks. Long story short, this fellow was only digital but he was considering vinyl. I told him with his gear to strongly consider moving everything to a dedicated space in the basement. The first floor was also suspended wood beams, typical of Ontario Canada housing. He told me he couldn’t do this. His basement which he showed me before I left (with the amp) was full of racks containing electronic diagnostic gear, and vintage electronics pieces. He was an Electronics Engineer with the local Honda Automobile Plant. He worked with the actual electronic circuits.
Just sayin...

Cheers Chris

I finally got around to checking out the website of Schiit Audio, the company selling the new products from Mike Moffatt, designer of the initial Theta Digital gear. Mikes focus with Schiit is on very inexpensive offerings, and his $129 phono amp is interesting in that in his description of its design on the website, Mike states that the lowest gain setting (30dB) is for very high output 5mV cartridges, specifically naming the Decca/London. For $129, sure worth a listen! Mike also mentioned that for that price, he couldn't include adjustable loading, no doubt referring to the requirements necessary for getting the optimum performance from the Decca/Londons, which he said could be added after purchase.

I just came across this old thread and as an owner of a London Decca Reference I thought I'd respond.  I've had mine for a couple of years but have always loaded it at 47k.  I was interested to read the suggestion of loading it at 15k.  I'll give that a try.  Thanks.