June 2009

London Super Gold And Jubilee Cartridges
Taking The Direct Route and cutting out the mush with a London Cartridge.
Review By Clive Meakins

  London cartridges come with very considerable heritage. The fundamental design dates back to 1951 when Decca introduced the "Positive Scanning" cartridge. Since then the original mono cartridge has morphed into stereo and modern stylus profiles have been introduced. John Wright builds the cartridges and Brian Smith of Presence Audio is the worldwide distributor. The current range of eight cartridges are branded London as the Decca trademark was not sold to John or Brian.

Vive la Différence
A typical cartridge has a longish cantilever, which is angled downwards from horizontal. The cantilever of such typical cartridges is decoupled with rubber. This provides some useful protection from noise due to dirt, record damage and ham-fisted use being transmitted along the cantilever. Certainly this is a practical arrangement but what are the consequences? I like to think of the issue this way; an SUV/4x4 such as a Toyota Landcruiser has a very compliant suspension that soaks up the rough stuff. Like the Londons, Aston Martins are British, the DB9 is certainly a great car to dream about however it is hopeless on rough roads but supreme on smooth roads. The DB9 suspension design and its ground clearance assumes it will be used on well-maintained roads and so it has its performance optimized to make the most of such roads. The Landcruiser has a much wider operating envelope, it can go places that the DB9 cannot but the Landcruiser cannot remotely hope to compete with DB9 on decent roads.

So, we have highly compliant and long-travel suspension for all-purpose on and off road use (read rubber decoupling and long cantilever with regard to cartridges) or stiff suspension for high performance on decent roads (read the London philosophy). Most of today's cartridges are designed to operate more like the Landcruiser whereas Londons are more like the DB9. If the London cartridges were a car they would be a race-bred design intended for very high performance. Londons all use a very short vertical cantilever that passes through a lateral coil and under a vertical coil pole piece. There is no decoupling, this is one very direct connection to the record, and there is no compromise.

The "Positive Scanning" Principle
As Used In The London Cartridges
If like me you use a linear tracking arm (Trans-Fi Terminator in my case) when you couple this with a London cartridge you really get as close as is reasonably possible to playing records in the same manner as they are cut. Record cutters traverse the record master linearly and the cutter operates vertically. Playing back records in the same manner as they are cut seems to me to be a smart move and one that I expect to produce truly excellent results. Note that Londons are neither Moving Coils nor Moving Magnets however their phono stage requirements are the same as a Moving Magnet. 5mV output into 47kOhms. It is said that 33kOhm is more optimal, I tried this but if anything I preferred a 47kOhm load. The stylus used on the models I tried (Super Gold and Jubilee) have an extended line contact profile. Vertical Tracking Force is said to be optimal at 1.8g, my experience bears this out.

My London Initiation
I started out with the London Super Gold, in the UK these cost £599 / $1,260 in the US. The Super Gold looks just like the Deccas of old, they have a painted and folded metal skin, they are attached to the headshell via a removable red plastic mount. Setting up is easy as the cartridge sides are square and straight. I unplugged my step-up transformers from my phono stage (less is more – removing the step-ups should be a good move) and cue'ed up some records. My long-term cartridges have been the £800 ZYX R100H and the £950 / $1,500 Ortofon Kontrapunkt B so my initial reactions relate to the sound of these two Moving Coil cartridges. The rest of the system comprises Garrard 301 on a slate plinth, Trans-Fi Terminator arm, tube phono stage, transformer volume control, LadyDay from Diyhifisupply300B single ended power amplifiers, BastanisAltas Open Baffle loudspeakers with Bastanis dipole bass units driven by XTZ Sub Amp 1 DSP.

Garrard 301, Trans-Fi Terminator arm and the cartridges

The Terminator arm was a godsend when comparing the four cartridges. I have the latest version, which features VTA-on-the-fly. You can see the brass adjuster in the photos; mine also has the optional digital readout. As I have enough wands to mount the all the cartridges I could swap cartridges and have them running optimally with correct VTA and VTF in the time it takes to change a record.

Kontrapunkt B

ZYX R100H

London Super Gold

London Super Gold

The Kontrapunkt B is smooth, big in the bass but I find it a little "safe" in the treble. The ZXY has more detail with less overhang in the bass to cover up the mid. The Super Gold has no apparent overhang, masses of detail, dynamics, harmonics, and an airy treble. It is vivid without the downside that sometimes comes with vivid; a forcefulness that can smack you around the head.

The Contenders Mounted On Wands

The initial stand-outs for me were:

1)   There is a huge step forward in bass reproduction, so clean, tight and descriptive. Rim shots take on a realistic impact in a way that is quite a surprise. Jennifer Warnes / Famous Blue Raincoat [Cypress PL90048] "Bird on a Wire" is just one of countless examples.

2)   Vocal intonation is so good that deep emotional expression is conveyed, those micro-details that lesser cartridges gloss over are there to be heard and enjoyed.

3)   Separation of instruments is superb, not just each instrument having its own space but it there is an uncanny ability to unravel complex music. Massive Attack / Collected [Virgin 0084835448517] "Angel" is a great example. Turned up LOUD, there were multiple rhythms happening at the same time, they all had their own space in the soundstage and you could follow whichever one you chose. Separation, clarity, and layering are incredible. Another record that the Super Gold unraveled was Prodigy / The Fat of the Land [XL Recordings XLLP 121] "Firestarter". There is a huge ability to play complex music in layers that with normal cartridges in anything near this price band would be mushed together resulting in an inaccurate sound. On this particular track the multiple bass rhythms normally combine into a single rhythm, the London totally unravels this into multiple rhythms. (Editor's note: Prodigy's Fat of The Land is perhaps one of the most challenging vinyl albums within my humble 8,000 record collection. Between the tremendously fast bass notes to the intricate overall explosively dynamic electronic instruments and what-have-you… this alum is a must-have if you really want to hear something that challenges even the very best systems in the world).

The dynamics due to the cartridge are such that I found I often listened to music less loudly than is usual for me. There is nothing about the Londons that prevents you from whacking up the volume, it is just that with lesser cartridges the temptation is to listen loudly in an attempt to reinforce dynamics. This is not necessary with the hugely dynamic Londons, although you can turn it up and enjoy!

I found that the ability of the Super Gold to so faithfully follow the LP groove made great music, it seems to play everything the groove has to offer. This does include any dust or dirt. The cartridge is not especially unkind to surface noise but it is not sympathetic to imperfections or dust in that a scratch or dirt can cause the stylus to leap out the way. Once the offending detritus had been cleaned I found no more problems, so this mostly a one-time detail to attend to providing reasonable care is then taken to ensure records are played largely dust free. This is no bad thing as playing dusty records does nothing for the life of the record or stylus. So the Londons force me to take better care of my records. This is rather like not being able to drive off-road in a DB9, it's simply not designed for it. Likewise the Londons don't do badly scratched and dirty records. Overall my impression of the London Super Gold is that compared with similarly priced "normal" cartridges music is much more vivid and vibrant, individual instruments "talk to you".

Enter The Jubilee
I was so impressed with the £599 ($1260) Super Gold that I had to understand in what way the £1299 / $2,875 Jubilee could be better. The Jubilee looks like a much more substantial cartridge, initially it looks to be made out of a solid lump of metal but is in fact two pieces of CNC machined aluminum. It is finished in brassy gold and exudes a quality feel that has a Super Gold making a few excuses.

 
London Jubilee

I found the Jubilee output to be about 2db lower than the Super Gold, otherwise it was a direct swap for the Super Gold. I had a small hum issue to resolve with both cartridges (marginally worse with the Super Gold), the resolution was simple; grounding my arm to my phono power supply chassis instead of the separate main phono chassis. It may be that the Londons are pickier about hum issues than some other cartridges but given that my solution was so simple I do not believe this is anything other than the cartridge ensuring you have your setup perfected.

London Jubilee

My immediate impression of the Jubilee that it is from the same stable as the Super Gold but that the Jubilee is more mature. I compared the two Londons on Diana Krall Girl in the Other Room [Verve B0002DSUES] "Temptation". There is no doubt about the extra bass from the Jubilee at the beginning emanating from the double bass. There indeed extra bass quantity but also extra detail too. Drums, ohh those drums…. Sonny Rollins / Saxophone Colossus [Fantasy OJC-291] delivers mega impact, definition and dynamics. With percussion driven music in particular timing takes on an attitude that forces you to move with the music, very infectious. You can also clearly hear how hard the drumheads are hit and the specific part of the drumhead the drummer is using, i.e. the centre or towards the periphery. Certainly these drum effects were obvious in the case with the Rollins LP and another stand out in this respect was The Traveling Wilburys Volume One [Warner Bros 925 796-1]. The Wilburys album like many was also incredibly clear, open and lifelike. Vocals from Lefty and Lucky (Orbison and Dylan) had fantastic presence in the room.

One of my standard LPs I use to check out sound is Dire Straits Brothers in Arms [Vertigo VERH 25], I find the frequency balance good and am familiar with the details held in the grooves. On the first track "So Far Away" for the first time I could hear the bass guitar strings vibrating, not just a simple bass note but a varying sound as the string transitions from apogee to perigee. "Ride Across The River" is another track from Brothers in Arms which I use as more of a bass extension test, this was passed with flying colours; not only great extension but definition, timing and 3D effects in the case of the higher bass.

Conclusions
Soundstaging and imaging with both Londons are on a par with ZYX and Ortofon in terms of scale. The Londons have greater precision and individual placement within the soundstage, this is due to their superior inner detail resolution and lack of overhang to smear or hide details. I rolled a couple of tube rectifiers into my 300B amplifiers, I preferred my 274B rectifiers with their top-end alacrity to my Mullard GZ34s with their heavier and in this case ever so slightly over-rich presentation. The Londons tell you so much about the music you are listening to that small system tweaks are easy to hear and pass judgment on.

The Super Gold has a more "obvious" sound whereas the Jubilee is more lyrical. About half way through the Krall track there is a guitar on the left channel, the notes flow and float with the Jubilee whereas they are slightly more obvious with the Super Gold. As a crude comparison I would say that the Jubilee has the character of a high quality Moving Coil whereas the Super Gold is more like a top quality Moving Magnet. I must add that I cannot think of any MC or MM cartridges that sound anywhere near the quality of the Londons at or anywhere near their respective price points.

Everyone who heard the two cartridges made similar comments "ahh yes, the Jubilee is the better cartridge". It is obvious from the first notes played but at just over double the price of the Super Gold this should be expected. I have to buy the Jubilee but if I couldn't afford it I would be very happy with the Super Gold. The staggering comparison comes when I swap in my ZYX R100H or Ortofon KontrapunktB, these Moving Coils played through my rather good S&B TX-103 Step-Up Transformers are left trailing by a significant margin. This is not a matter of saying the Londons have a little better bass or definition; this is a step-change. I would not say that I find my ZYX and Ortofon unlistenable but it takes quite some time for me to re-adjust my ears to be able enjoy music played via long rubber mounted cantilevers. Even then the depth of emotion I feel is not comparable with the Londons.

If you have not heard a London you should do. You will likely come away asking; "why aren't all cartridges made this way?".

Are the Londons for everyone? First of all I must add that the range starts at £399 with the Maroon and tops out with the Reference at £2299. I would love to hear the Reference but I am avoiding it on instructions from my Bank Manager! I would say that the Super Gold is likely to be the sweet spot for value in the range although I have not heard the cartridges below the Super Gold. The more lyrical and sophisticated sounding Jubilee is definitely worth the extra if you can stretch to it but if you cannot then enjoy the fabulous Super Gold. Both Londons are to my taste tonally well balanced.  They are not shy about their treble, if you have a bass light and edgy system then I would suggest you find a cartridge on the dull side of neutral. I would not recommend the Londons to anyone who is less than scrupulous about LP hygiene, they would likely be frustrated by occasional groove jumping. If music is not important enough for you keep your records clean then live with poorer cartridges using a rubber suspension or go digital. Personally I can be bothered to keep my records clean and I will be buying a London Jubilee.

Specifications
Type: Moving magnetic cartridge for turntable
Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 22 kHz (+/-3dB)
Lateral Compliance: 15 x 10-6cm/dyne
Vertical Compliance: 10 x 10-6cm/dyne
Inductance: 130mH
DC Resistance: 2000 ohms
Input Loading: 47k and 100pF to 300pF, 33k and 220pF optimal
Output: 5mV at 5cm/s
Tracking Weight 1.5g to 2g, 1.8g optimal
Price:
    London Super Gold £599 ($1260)
    London Jubilee £1,299 ($2875)

Company Information
Presence Audio
Woodside
Spronketts Lanes
Bolney
Haywards Heath
West Sussex RH17 5SA
England

Phone: +44 1444 461611
Fax: +44 1444 461510
E-mail: presence@bdlrs.freeserve.co.uk
Website: www.presenceaudio.com