London Decca

Jafox, I find it hard to believe myself I can keep listening to a table top radio, but I have come to believe that enjoyment of music and hifi reproduction can be separate (otherwise why do musicians listen to pretty boring audio, right)? I too started out with the Harry Pearson Absolute Sound philiosophy (live music is ideal) but have migrated to a Japanese philosophy. Great hifi is thrilling, and can be a way to appreciate music more deeply. For example I never really liked Mozart's Requiem until I heard a stupendous system with a 100k turntable front end play it. It did not even sound good or natural, but the sound was so detailed, like a microscope, that I suddenly heard things that I had previously missed. After that I got really into the music, and can appreciate the music on a vintage system with Spendor speakers. Some might sneer at this, but if an audio system broadens your musical appreciation, is that not a wonderful thing? I therefore sometimes call a high fidelity system a music exploration machine :)

I installed the London Decca Reference. I was told that it would have the dynamics of the Super Gold with more sophistication and nuance.
It is actually much more powerful sounding than the Super Gold.
It seems to energize all the air in the room and really make the speakers disappear on many songs.
It is also much more 'real' sounding than the Super Gold in that it you don't have to use much imagination to believe that there are real people playing real instruments in your room.
I honestly can't imagine a better cartridge - perhaps if there was one that had all the same positives and was as quiet in the groove as my ZYX.

My newly acquired Super Gold performs flawlessly in my Ikeda 407 arm, VTF 1,9g. No mistracking, stunning dynamics, wonderful music. Just to give my contribution.

I owned several Decca Mk Vs many years ago and loved them all. Immediacy with the Decca cartridges is unparalleled. The quality control back then was somewhat variable (sort of like British sports cars of the time) and required purchase from a reputable vendor. Years later, and several moving magnet & coil cartridges later I was still missing that Decca sound so I bought a Gold. While the almost non-existent cantilever is purposely part of the design, it was even shorter than the Mk V and drove me crazy on a few mildly warped record as the cartridge body would bottom out on the LP rendering them unplayable. (Yes, I do use a hold down clamp on the record). I'm curious if QC and the cantilever length are issues for anyone with the current cartridges.

Pretty much any warp will throw mine (Super Gold Mk VII) for a loop. Playing around with damping fluid in my JMW 10.5i does help ... some ... but that's the best you can hope for, IMO.