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drdna wrote:

Romy, I believe the cartridges are manufactured form Decca by JS Wright in London. The suspension is less of an issue since the Decca cartridges use a novel transducer.  There is no cantilever.  The stylus connects directly to a metal foil which flexes to create the current.  I have been running mine for many years with no issues at all. It seems pretty bullet-proof. I got mine from Warren Gregoire. He was then, and perhaps still is, the sole importer.  He is a really nice fellow, and he let me borrow the cartridges, with a deposit of course, for an extended trial in my system. I returned the cartridge after trying it free of charge and with no hard feelings.  I was just too hooked on the Jubilee, but again if I had two tonearms on my set-up, I would have both.  Look him up at http://www.warrengregoire.com and tell him I sent you. I have been over to his place a few times to listen to his set-up with the Vacuum State preamp and amplifiers.  His system is, frankly, severely tuned for inner detail at the expense of the Sound, but he knows what he likes and has a good ear.

 Adrian,

Thanks. The idea of a cartridge had no damping and therefore not exposed to aging is appealing to me, though I do not know what a novel transducer is and if it excludes any needs of damping. I did give to Warren Gregoire a call and I was trying to explain to him what I am looking for. He said the he would not sell to me his Decca cartridge because in my case it would be a waste of money. He was attentive and cooperative until I mention that I will be using SME 3012 arm but as soon I mentioned 3012 he informed me that it is a “piece of junk” and that “I will not be able to get what is possible to get out of Decca unit I go for $4K-$5K tonearm”. I was a little concerned by the fact that he mention arm by price and by the fact that did not say something like “unit you go for different type of bearing arms” and I asked what in his view is dissatisfactory in 3012 to play with Decca cartridges. He sound like he lost inters at this point and informed me that he has no time for further conversations. Well, I think it where the Decca cartridges went…

I am sure he know what arms is necessary for his cartridge and that he has his feeling what would generate for him essay sale but honestly I did not heard from him anything persuading that he might be on right tracks. You see, it is a two way street and getting and relying upon an advice from a dealer about his product I anticipate a dealer (if I do not know him) to establish a certain credibly. I try in a way to interview a dealer to make sure that we have at least common viewpoints and agree about something; otherwise it is just shaking air with words. Warren said that Decca is better then Shelter 901 (he somehow know that I use 901) but when you make this comment you must identify the specific weakness of Shelter 901. That how a sealer establish with me a standing and credibility with you advise. I very well know all flaws of Shelter 901 and if you right then I would be very carefully listen what you propose. The same is with 3012. The 3012 might have specific problem with cartridges of specific design. It was not said by this dealer. So, why do I have to have a feeling that he is taking about something that I would agree? After all, dealers do not sell cartridges. For 40%-60% of mark up that they get they sell this expertise to advise one or another cartridge. I do appreciate that Warren felt that I will not be a right user of his Decca cartridge (it saved time for both of us) but he also did not demonstrate to me another that would persuade me to get his counsel and to change arm or anything like this to accommodate his Deccas. Thanks, Adrian, for pitching the Decca but it does not look like it would go anywhere.

Ironically this morning I had a long conversation with another dealer with whom we did compare notes about cartridge. His comments about Shelter, Koetsy, SPU, Clearaudio and other cartridges that I know were exactly what I would like to hear. We were not agreeing about everything but he did hit some very key points that give to me very high confidence about his recommendations. He did recommend to me one cartridge, well justifying his recommendation and very interesting predicting the sound I might be getting from it comparing to my other arms.

Later on this week I will be meeting a guy who has good experience with Shelter 90x, 5000, 7000 and 9000 and after then I this I will be able to make more educated guess where I will be moving.

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