I have never heard a Decca cartridge but hope to some day. I lament the passing of the Garrott Brothers who sound like true idealists. Some of you might be interested to know that there was a lot of publicity in the American 'mainstream' hi-fi press when the Decca first came out, which was either in the sixties or early seventies - I'm getting senile. As most (all?) of you know, it went strongly against then-current orthodoxy by being low-compliance, requiring a high tracking force, and preferring high mass arms. There was a lengthy discussion and favorable review in Stereo Review or High Fidelity, or perhaps in the Equipment Buyers' Guide brought out annually by High Fidelity in those days. They did not dispute Decca's assertion that its cartridge would not cause greater record wear, and referred excitedly to the cartridge's absolutely 'hair-trigger' transient response. This is one of many examples of the mid fi press departing from its alleged Philistine objectivism. Anyway, some of you may be interested to chase down this review which included measurements. If I had a copy I'd offer to post it but if I still have it I don't know where I put it. If one takes the Garrott Brothers' views as defining the standard specification for the cartridge it would be interesting to lay this standard out precisely, since it may be that the original spec is not now available but could be replicated at an acceptable cost.
