London Decca Cartridge Rebirth "Cat Out of the Bag" Through Canada

stranger launches have happened but......not many!

For the past few years my old friend, U.K. based audio writer supreme Ken Kessler has been telling me about an upcoming re-launch of the fabled line of London Decca phono cartridges. But it's been "hush-hush". As many of you surely know, the Decca name is/was owned by a U.K. based record label now owned by UMe and it has recently re-launched that label—probably after seeing the great success DGG has had with the Original Sound Series (thanks in great part [almost totally IMO] due to the outstanding coverage by our writers Mark Ward and Michael Johnson).

That's why the last iteration of the cartridge had the London name, very similar to the two record labels, one here, the original there. It's very complicated!

A cult-like following surrounds these cartridges but this post isn't the place to go into either the history or their unique mechanical workings That's best left for a review, though a careful inspection of the below image provides more than a hint.

However, over these few years Kessler has kept me in the loop about what's been happening with the line, now owned by two gents, one U.K. based and one American. I've been patient.

Then, yesterday, out of nowhere, Massif Audio's Trevor Doyle sent the image at the top and announced that, "London Decca cartridges and Massif have developed a proprietary record weight, different than other Massif weights. Specific to London Decca cartridges and other new products around the corner."

What? He then followed up with a cautionary note: "London Decca has asked me to convey that Massif has been selected as an official partner.  This dissuades other guys from throwing a logo on a product and calling themselves legit."

Ken had warned me over the years that unauthorized individuals had grabbed the London Decca name and produced, mods and devices to better secure the cartridges to head shells (etc.) so seeing these emails from Trevor, who I know to be on the "up and up" had me concerned about publishing anything. So I contacted Ken.

Ken said he'd contact the two individuals to be sure all of this was legit, and then I had an idea: what if contact Trevor and give him the name of the U.K. based individual and ask him to ask his American contact if he knows who that person is. This is sounding like a detective story but...

The story ends when it's confirmed that Trevor's American contact is the brand's co-owner and the entire thing is legit and this weight is a product developed by Massif in co-operation with London Decca.

In his final email Trevor writes," I didn’t know that (redacting the name for now) would be so elated that I contacted you…..We are actually doing 2 weights. One is ebony, and the other is rosewood.  Each will  weigh approx 470-500grams.  Prices have yet to be decided."

Kessler confirmed it's all legit.

So you've just read what must be the strangest "press release" for the re-launch of a legendary analog product. From what Kessler has been telling me the new London Decca cartridges will represent a significant upgrade from the originals. When the product actually launches I hope to have the full story, which based on what Ken's told me over the past few years, will make for fascinating reading!