2. analog
  3. 136211-117

Well Tempered/CROFT/Harbeth...London SG or NAGAOKA

This system has performed very nicely with my Charisma Denon 103.... However, I don't want to keep borrowing my Step Up and 0.5 meter Interconnect from my main system. So I'm leaning toward a HO/MM to simplify and get this setup up and running on it's own. The synergy between the London and CROFT phono is well documented... And as many know, they like damped arms, so the SG should perform well with the Amadeus. The London SG retails at around $1,200 US. Enter Nagaoka... I believe the NEW Well Tempered MM is actually a modified Nagaoka, but based on it's price, it may haven begun life as a 150 or 200.  I'd likely go a bit higher up the line to a 300 or 500 series. The London seems like the way to go, but I do have concerns about the whole no Cantilever thing. I guess these are not for the faint of heart, as they say. Then of course, I don't want to sell the Nagaoka short. I like what I've heard about these, and they seem to fall in to the more full bodied, and not Hi-Fi or exaggerated camp. The London, I'm not so sure as they say these are so alive and open sounding. That may not be a bad thing, as long as they are not crude or etched in any way. Thanks in advance!
fjn04

Showing 2 responses by noromance

noromance's avatar
noromance
10,057 posts
 
@fjn04 
I assume with the Nagaoka MP (500) I would give up the London's insight in to the emotion of music. 
Well, as you've noted, it's to what degree. The quasi-cantileverless design gives very fast risetimes such that there is an immediacy to everything with percussion benefiting very noticeably. Once you have used a Decca, it is not easy to switch back. That said, if you like your reproduction unoffensive and laid back, a Mullard man so to speak, then the Decca sound may be too edgy.  

noromance's avatar
noromance
10,057 posts
 
@fnj04 "When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid." The Decca SG can be utterly superb as long as the vinyl is in good condition. Surface noise is more obvious but dynamics are startlingly real and present. On the rare occasion the vinyl is rough, I switch to an older Ortofon HOMC. If I replay the same disk with the Decca, I ask why I bothered with the other cartridge. Yes, the Decca is noisier but it captures the music in a more palpable way. Think of it as a small price to pay for a clearer insight into the emotion of the music. Female voice is to die for. If you like the Decca, you can send it to John Wright to change the tip to a paratrace diamond for more refinement and detail. Or you can play it safe and get the Nagaoka MP500.

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