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The Decca Mark V is the latest version of that English firm's unique "tip-sensing" stereo-matrix-ing pickups. The "matrixing" apellation refers to the fact that the Decca pickups do not use 45°–45° sensing coils, but use instead a combination of vertical and lateral-sensing coils. There is a single coil for lateral sensing, with its pole pieces brought down next to the tip. This is the tip-sensing feature, whose major attribute is that the stylus motions don't have to be conveyed along the length of an armature before reaching the transducing pole pieces. Thus there is virtually no…
Yet there was no visible waveform distortion in the pickup's outputs over most of the audio range, and the overall sound gave every indication of very low distortion. (The Magneplanar speakers, remember, are single-ended devices, and seem to have extremely low distortion.) Only at low frequencies did we find the Mark V to have substantial distortion, and then only on vertical groove modulations. The distortion was entirely harmonic (not mistracking buzz), and was observed only on test discs, mainly below 80Hz. It seems Decca knew what they were doing here, for no such distortion was audible…
Manufacturer's Comment
We have not observed any relationship between measured separation and the listenability or musicality of Decca pickups, and we have probably listened to (and tested) as many of them as anyone in the US, as both checks are used to determine the suitability of all incoming Hark Vs for resale to perfectionists. Also, with regard to tracking force vs distortion, all Mark Vs are required to produce an undistorted 100Hz sinewave at between 2 and 4 grams in order to meet minimum specifications.
Over the years, much has been said about Decca's lack of quality…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Tip-sensing matrixing phono cartidge. Stylus: 0.5 to 0.6-mil spherical. Recommenced tracking force: 3 grams. Cartridge weight: 5 grams. Nominal output: 7.5mV.
Price: $109.50 ($135 for Export model) (1974); $1600 (Jubilee, 1995); $4495 (Reference, 2005).
Manufacturer: Decca, New Malden, England (1974); Presence Audio, Overdale, Haglands Lane, West Chiltington, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 2QR, England (2005). J. Wright Audio Services, Unit 12, Stanley Lane Industrial Estate, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV16 4SF, England. Tel & Fax: 0044 (0)1746…
Self to self: It's looking like a good day, with seven hours sleep and only 14 more rooms to cover between 10 and 4. Let's see, if I eat Chinese delivery leftovers in the room for breakfast, and return to home base to consume a protein bar and apple for lunch to save additional time, that will leave a whole 5 hours for going room-to-room. Hey, that's 20 minutes per room, with a little bit to spare for navigation. Piece of cake.
First stop, a return to the High End Zone/Perfect8 Technologies room on the 2nd floor. I couldn't cover this exhibit on opening day because the visually striking…
The Monitor Audio R300/MD ($669/pair) debuted at the 1988 SCES in Chicago. English company Monitor Audio is one of the pioneers in spreading the use of metal-dome tweeters in relatively low-cost loudspeaker systems. The tweeters they have designed in conjunction with SEAS and British manufacturer Elac may have now found their ways into a number of designs from competing manufacturers, but there is no doubt that Monitor leads the way. The new R300/MD features a new ¾" version of the SEAS 1" aluminum-dome unit Monitor introduced with their R652/MD (reviewed in Vol.10 No.5), in conjunction with…
Sidebar 1: Review System
The Monitor Audios were used with a pair of VTL 100W Compact monoblocks, connected with Monster M1 speaker cable, while the preamplifier was a combination of the Mod Squad Line Drive Deluxe AGT and Vendetta Research SCP2 phono preamp. Source components consisted of a Marantz CD-94 CD player used to drive a Sony DAS-R1 D/A converter, a 1975-vintage Revox A77 to play my own 15ips master tapes, and a Linn Linn Sondek/Ekos/Troika setup sitting on a Sound Organisation table to play LPs. Interconnect was Audioquest LiveWire Lapis.
The speakers sat on a pair of…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Looking at fig.1, the way in which the R300's impedance changes with frequency, the speaker appears to be a kind load, never dropping below 8 ohms. In conjunction with its reasonably high sensitivity—I measured 89.5dB/W/m for the 1kHz 1/3-octave—the R300 should mate well with inexpensive, low-powered amplification.
Fig.1 Monitor Audio R300/MD, electrical impedance (2 ohms/vertical div.).
Measured in the nearfield, the microphone almost touching the dustcap, the bass extension was only moderate, at –6dB at 62Hz, though as can be seen from…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Two-way, sealed-box, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" metal-dome tweeter, 8" doped paper-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 4.2kHz. Frequency response: 50Hz–20kHz ±3dB. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Amplifier requirements: 15–100W.
Dimensions: 18.5" H by 12.5" W by 10" D. Weight: 22 lbs each.
Price: $669/pair (1989); no longer available (2017). Approximate number of dealers: 50.
Manufacturer: Monitor Audio, Cambridge, UK (1989); Monitor Audio Ltd., 24 Brook Road, Rayleigh, Essex SS6 7XJ, England, UK. Tel…
Following my keynote speech at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning, my beat at the Los Angeles Audio Show was the Sheraton Gateway's 1st and 5th floors. Even with just the two floors, this was a daunting prospect—considering that this was the show's debut, it had a larger number of exhibitors than any of us had anticipated. So without further ado, here's the first of my three reports.
I photographed Vanatoo's Gary Gesellchen outside his room, because when I first visited, it was jam-packed. I had been impressed by Vanatoo's affordable, active, Transparent One bookshelf speakers at…