While I am well aware of the various stances on decoction... and I think it is commendable that it is being recommended that individual brewers try it for themselves... but then in the same breath, the recommendation becomes, "Well try it, but don't bother following any of the sort of industry standard or traditional ways of doing this."
Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to try and become a champion of decoction here... for one thing, I've seen what happens to all of those folks over the years
![Tongue :P](http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/Smileys/default/tongue.gif)
(search for mashweasel and decoction on the Northern Brewer forums for instance).. but I will say this, if you're going to try and objectively evaluate decoction versus a specialty malt recipe, do yourself a favor and evaluate a classic recipe using the classic process versus a new recipe (with specialty malts). A protein rest at above 125F but below 140F (i.e. a proteinase rest) will not negatively impact the head retention or the resulting beer's body... and I believe for a simple, single malt beer, even with a "well modified" malt, the proteinase rest is crucial to getting the right mouthfeel/body. During triple decoctions, I've left the majority of the mash at a 135F rest for 30+ minutes with no resulting issues. And if you're getting significant color development from your decoction, then you need to do thinner pulls.
I think a reasonable test is a pilsner only, triple decocted Helles versus a pilsner+munich+melanoidin single infusion Helles... choose for yourself which you like best.