Townshend Rock 7 Initial Impressions

roscoeiii · « **on:** 16 Apr 2012, 05:16 am »

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have a Townshend Rock 7 show up at my door. I will eventually be providing comparisons between it and my Well Tempered Amadeus, but for now I thought I'd give my initial impressions here. The impressions in this thread will be documenting my getting-to-know-you phase. I'll go ahead and number these impressions, because who doesn't love a numbered list?

1) This is a hefty and solid table. Weighty steel, with a nice heavy motor to boot. Yes it is a "naked" table, but one with a substantial feel to all its parts.

2) The table also has a very solid suspension, with 3 (oops orignally wrote "2") pneumatic feet. The Rock is on a table that is far, far from ideal on some springy wood floors on the second floor of an older apartment building. Brutal for a turntable, it would seem. But no, as heavy as as I step, the Rock continues to track like a champion. Maybe I will find a crap record and throw on a cheap cartridge to see how far I can push this, but for now, suffice it to say "damn."

3) As the son of a mechanical engineer (Hi Mom!), I am really impressed by some of the engineering solutions that the Rock has incorporated for optimal performance. Yes the trough gets all of the attention, but I also really like the counterweight system the table employs to get the turntable level.

4) Set-up took some time, but the manual was certainly sufficient. Within maybe 2 hours of very slow deliberate progress, I was up and running. Probably could be set up in less time than it took me, since my turntable set-up experience is minimal.

5) As a Well Tempered Amadeus owner, I am enjoying the convenience of the tonearm lift lever that is part of the Rega 301 arm that came with the Rock. With a dog that needs walking I like the ability to swing the lever to lift the needle and "pause" where I am on the LP. For those of you without dogs, this is also convenient when you need a drink/snack or when you need to go to the bathroom.

6) Not going to comment too much on the sonics here because a) I was largely spinning recently purchased vinyl that I am not very familiar with (between the Rock 7 arriving and the CHIRP Record Fair, yesterday was one of the great days of my analog life) and b) I'd like to live with it a bit longer before pronouncing sonic judgment. BUT, that being said, I will confirm what others have noted about this turntable's bass: It is pretty awesome.

OK, bedtime for Roscoe. More to come, including a head-to-head with the Amadeus. Let me know if you have any questions about the table. I will do my best to answer them.

Shakeydeal · « **Reply #1 on:** 16 Apr 2012, 11:29 am »

Looking forward to your comparison.

Shakey

Adamay · « **Reply #2 on:** 16 Apr 2012, 12:18 pm »

What cart(s) are you using? I'd appreciate hearing how different carts perform in this rig, as I have an older Rock III and am in need of a new cart. Thx.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #3 on:** 16 Apr 2012, 01:38 pm »

I am using a SoundSmith rebuilt Dynavector XX-2 MkII. It is much nicer than my other carts so I don't see much cart swapping. Unless I can find 2 identical carts for the comparison with the Amadeus.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #4 on:** 16 Apr 2012, 02:13 pm »

Knew I was forgetting something in my points of interest about the Rock last night. So to continue:

7) I find that I am listening at a lower point on my preamp's volume dial with the Rock, in my late night neighbor and roommate friendly listening sessions. Not sure if this is due to the impact of the Rega arm vs. the Amadeus arm (making the Rock actually a touch louder), or if the Rock is better at detail retrieval at lower volumes (so it seems louder since I can hear more at the same loudness). Technical geniuses please feel free to chime in here with your guesses as to why this is the case. I will try to examine this with an SPL meter at some point later too.

bernie_f · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 Apr 2012, 05:54 pm »

Great.
As a long term Amadeus user and a might be Rock 7er, im exited to get any impressions from your new setup.

cheers
bernie

code4246 · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 Apr 2012, 09:42 am »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 16 Apr 2012, 05:16 am

2) The table also has a very solid suspension, with 2 pneumatic feet.

my first thought was how does the 'table stay upright with only two feet ?

a quick google image search showed there's actually three feet.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #7 on:** 17 Apr 2012, 01:13 pm »

Wait, some Rocks have 3 feet?

That's what I get for typing late at night. Lemme go back and fix that...

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #8 on:** 17 Apr 2012, 03:14 pm »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 16 Apr 2012, 02:13 pm

Knew I was forgetting something in my points of interest about the Rock last night. So to continue:

7) I find that I am listening at a lower point on my preamp's volume dial with the Rock, in my late night neighbor and roommate friendly listening sessions. Not sure if this is due to the impact of the Rega arm vs. the Amadeus arm (making the Rock actually a touch louder), or if the Rock is better at detail retrieval at lower volumes (so it seems louder since I can hear more at the same loudness). Technical geniuses please feel free to chime in here with your guesses as to why this is the case. I will try to examine this with an SPL meter at some point later too.

I find that really good tables actually lower the noise floor of the record and reduce pops as well. Ever notice how one record on a cheap table sounds very noisy and the pops stick out like a sore thumb? Then put that record on a great table and the noise is cut down significantly. I'm not saying the Well Temprered is a cheap table but perhaps the Rock is a bit quiter. Could also be the Rock is more dynamic, making it seem to play louder as the transients pop out at you more. Just my guesses.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #9 on:** 17 Apr 2012, 03:34 pm »

Quote from: Ericus Rex on 17 Apr 2012, 03:14 pm

I find that really good tables actually lower the noise floor of the record and reduce pops as well. Ever notice how one record on a cheap table sounds very noisy and the pops stick out like a sore thumb? Then put that record on a great table and the noise is cut down significantly. I'm not saying the Well Temprered is a cheap table but perhaps the Rock is a bit quiter. Could also be the Rock is more dynamic, making it seem to play louder as the transients pop out at you more. Just my guesses.

Yeah, that's a possibility. Both tables are extremely quiet. Certainly there are no aspects of the Amadeus that could be called problems in my book. Like I said, for now I'm gonna just explore the Rock. I will fold in the Amadeus later on down the road (and if only I had 2 identical carts for a real easy A/B...). Based on reviews, I think it will likely come down to personal listening preferences rather than winner/loser. Little to nothing to complain about on either.

BTW Ericus, I am giving some serious thought to an Audiomods arm down the road. Do you think it would be an significant upgrade over the RB301?

Minn Mark · « **Reply #10 on:** 19 Apr 2012, 03:00 pm »

Thanks to all. Just want to say this a great thread and OP please keep it alive with updates and comments. The Rock 7 is an interesting teruntable and its always valuable to get comments from real-world users.

Best,

Mark

roscoeiii · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Apr 2012, 03:03 pm »

Will do Mark. I have been a bit slowed down in my impressions since I am working my way through a great pile of new vinyl that I picked up on the day the Rock arrived. Sounds great but I will need to listen to some more familiar recordings to provide more detailed impressions.

Shakeydeal · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Apr 2012, 11:12 am »

Any updates to be had? We are waiting.....

Shakey

neobop · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Apr 2012, 11:31 am »

Nice looking table.

http://www.townshendaudio.com/turntables/the-rock-7

roscoeiii · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Apr 2012, 12:57 pm »

Hopefully this week I will get to more impressions. I continue to get more vinyl (thanks to RSD this week) that is keeping me from zeroing in on the table with LPs I know well.

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Apr 2012, 03:46 pm »

Quote from: neobop on 24 Apr 2012, 11:31 am

Nice looking table.

http://www.townshendaudio.com/turntables/the-rock-7

+1

What does a table like that cost, if I may ask?

roscoeiii · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Apr 2012, 03:49 pm »

New with a RB301 tonearm is $3700. I believe that without arm it is $3200.

Here is the ad of the US seller who lists them on Audiogon:

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/townshend-rock-7-rega-rb-301-tas-golden-ear-award--2

roscoeiii · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Apr 2012, 03:50 pm »

Ericus Rex,

You still digging the Audiomods? That is the top of the list for potential improvements that I think I can afford at this point. Think it would be much improvement over the RB301?

roscoeiii · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Apr 2012, 04:03 pm »

OK folks. Listening to Fleet Foxes S/T now. An album I routinely use to audition gear. Good for both acoustic instruments and complex layered vocal harmonizations.

Decays on strings on the low end of things is particularly nice. I noticed this as well on the Pinback album Blue Screen Life last night as well.

And the tom-toms are great sounding too, especially when struck hard by the drummer.

Nice cymbal shimmer as well. And good decay of cymbals as well.

Voices sound ethereal as they fade out. Lovely detail retrieval there.

Like the amount of detail I am getting on the keys of a piano. Added Keith Jarrett to my to-do LP list for today.

Next up: Radiohead's Hail to the Thief, another whole set of challenges for a turntable and gear in general.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Apr 2012, 04:04 pm »

And these impressions are what are standing out to me on albums with which I am very familiar. For weaknesses, we will likely have to wait for a direct comparison to the Amadeus. Certainly nothing is standing out as a weakness at this point.