Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot II

Hi Jean

Does adding mass to the headshell of the Decca also give an increase in bass and substance?

Paul

Hi Paul: one of the Decca's great strengths (and there are many) is bass power, which even its opponents concede. If you're not getting that now, then I hope anyway more mass will help. One thing for certain, the extra mass increases focus, SLAM/dynamics and clarity in the bass. In my system, with the slightly bass-light Klipsch Heresy's, I can't currently tell if it has increased reach. Try it, you might like it! One thing I didn't expect from a Decca being mounted on a Giant Direct Coupled Idler, is that now it sounds very much like a Grado (except with extra speed): rich and resonant and smoooottthh and organic. Never heard a Decca sound like THIS before! Very easy to live with. On belt-drives it comes across as more speed and detail-oriented, and in your face. Idlers suit it!

Yep Peter, they are horn-loaded as Rjdcan says, except the woofer: maybe this is the heresy! Apparently, PWK named the Cornwalls for the fact they were to be placed in the corn-er, against the wall :-).

With the Decca, adding mass to the headshell seems to be the most effective, in my experience.

I have observed this with the modified Rabco SL-8E on my Garrard 301, and with a homebuilt Well Tempered clone that was on my modified AR belt-drive. On both of them, adding mass to the headshell improved bass definition and extension, and imaging. I am guessing that since the Decca throws a lot of energy back into the arm, added mass would tend to reduce the effect of that energy, otherwise more of it would get various vibration modes going in the arm itself. Just my guess...

Hi Jean. Thanks for your reply and apologies for it being wasted. After working 12 hours on a screen my eyes were even fuzzier than my brain and I mis-read your post as adding mass to the Decca tone arm instead of the Decca cartridge.

I'd love to have a Decca cartridge but for the forseeable future will have to make do with reading about your, and others, experiences with them.

In the meantime I do have a Decca tone arm and with a bit of application and experimentation can probably answer my own question.

Regards, Paul

Hello all. my lenco is about set up after a 10 month hiatus destroying my bottom disc lifting a piano, with resultant surgery, then buying a house with 6 months work needed (sorry back). in the meantime, while recovering, i've found the most amazing internet radio site - digijazz at http://www.abc.net.au/dig/jazz/default.htm
playing fascinating jazz amazingly interesting nonstop!
Meanwhile, i cannot play lenco as my sony pre is in need of tlc and i sold all my phono stages to buy my house. However, today i have set up my Yamaha NS-615 speakers, given my sony power its 2 day warm up, and have been frankly astonished by the sound coming out of these little speakers, them just sitting on the floor! Ok i have got seperate 10mm mains cable coming from my hifi consumer unit to every component, but these speakers are remarkable. and all because i was looking for Ns-625's, a la jean. Jean, i'm amazed at the amount of time you have to throw hifi together experiment and what you come up with next.

mgreen love your system. heard a fisher about 2 yrs ago, it was seductive!