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Allegri Reference mkii

Unmatched Volume Control, Unrivaled Beauty in Sound

Immerse yourself in high-resolution audio with the Townshend Allegri Reference MkII Preamplifier. Experience expansive sound stages and holographic musical images, revealing hidden details for an extraordinary listening adventure. 

Designed for discerning audiophiles, the Allegri Reference MKII sets a new benchmark in preamplifier performance, offering unparalleled purity and dynamic range. Utilising advanced auto-transformer technology, it reflects an unwavering dedication to unmatched quality. With years of expertise and innovation, the Allegri Reference MKII delivers the world’s finest volume control, heralding a new era of audio refinement.

PASSIVE AUTOTRANSFORMER VOLUME CONTROL (AVC)
The key that opens the door to such movingly involving performance is the Allegri Reference’s passive autotransformer volume control. In engineering terms, our autotransformer has low leakage inductance for incredible transient performance and a flat frequency response. With its very high input impedance and low output impedance it has much better performance than a passive resistive volume control. This translates in your listening room to music vibrant with life, rich with subtle shadings, and true to the natural beauty of each and every instrument. 
 
Every connection exposes your precious music to micro-arcing, eddy currents, and all manner of distortions, all of this coming as a direct result of the connections alone. With its continuous loop of Fractal™ wire the Allegri Reference eliminates all but the irreducible input and output. Here is a clear case of less is MUCH more!
 
The laminations are 49% nickel, 51% iron mumetal, an alloy chosen for its superb bass performance and lowest overall distortion (less than 0.001%). For once, a bottom octave that must be felt to be believed.
FRACTAL™ WIRE

This purely passive autotransformer design is wired throughout with Townshend Audio’s unique Fractal™ wire, which was developed over many years of critical listening, by the most discerning audiophiles and is audibly superior to plain copper, silver and even DCT copper wire. The result is the most accurate, uncoloured and open-sounding preamplifier possible, offering astonishing transparency and resolution of the finest details.

Why is this so important? Each and every musical instrument has its own unique timbre, its own individual pattern of overtones. Our music systems, even down to the wire within them, also have their own patterns of resonance, that we call distortion. This coloration is so prevalent, especially in the case of wire, that we often assume it is the room, or speaker, or anything other than what it is- the wire! Once removed, the combination of Fractal™ wire and Townshend Audio engineering reveals, probably for the first time, what these instruments really sound like. An unforgettable experience!

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS

The front panel design is both functional and elegant. In addition to being able to change inputs with the control on the left, you can also press it to access the display illumination options and other modes. The volume control on the right can be pressed once to mute and un-mute, or you can also un-mute simply by turning the knob. They have a deft feel to them, the perfect balance of solidity with smooth precision. 

REMOTE CONTROL
The sleek and svelte Apple-style remote control is deceptively simple, yet powerful and sensitive. A convenient magnet attachment secures the remote under the unit, out of the way yet readily at hand. While appearing sleek and simple it is surprisingly full of features.
 
One press of the volume button changes volume up or down by 0.5dB. Held down it will continue turning up or down, at a rate that increases the longer it is helping, a very intuitive feature that feels just right. 
 
Input levels can be preset through a wide range to help match levels and avoid one source being a lot louder or quieter than another. All inputs can also be set to a fixed zero dB for home cinema bypass. This feature allows the Allegri Reference to effectively disappear as it directly connects the AVR to the front left and right power amplifiers. The volume is then controlled by your AVR, while your Allegri Reference mute function remains active and also doubles as a standby control. Perfect for dual stereo/HT systems!
DISPLAY
Even something as seemingly minor as an LED display can introduce subtle distortion and noise that can get in the way of your music. The culprit is the continuously running refresh clock most common displays use. The easy to read LED we use instead is powered by interference-free DC. Another small but important “less is more” step that brings you closer to your music.
 
An ambient light sensor controls brightness, and the display can also be programmed to light for 5 seconds, or 5 minutes when the remote is pressed, or to remain off. Even when off the decimal point will still light briefly to confirm remote commands. 
CLOCK DISABLE

Digital clock oscillators introduce noise that degrades the fidelity of your fragile audio signal, so this sound-blurring internal clock is disabled when listening. The clock is only activated when the remote control or the front panel controls are operated. Seamless and automatic, another thoughtful detail that makes it even easier for your music to carry you away.

REED RELAY SWITCHING
The signal path is as simple as possible, with just four of the 102 ultra-reliable reed relays in the signal path at any one time. Reed relays are chosen for their superiority over all other switches. Ours have a life cycle in excess of 30,000,000 operations, far longer than regular rotary switches, which tend to wear through the thin contact plating after a few thousand operations. Further, our relay contacts are in a vacuum, so there is no oxidation- and there is a slight rubbing action when the reeds close, which ensures perfect contact for your music. All internal connections are hard-wired with Fractal™ wire, and there are no connectors in the signal path.
CONNECTIONS - BALANCED and UNBALANCED

The phono circuits are unbalanced for simplicity and the XLR connectors are wired in parallel with the phono connectors. The configuration is pseudo-balanced with pin 2 of the XLR signal and pin 3 ground. This avoids the use of an extra balancing transformer with all the associated complications and degradations in sound. The Allegri Reference has five stereo phono inputs and two pairs of balanced XLRs, in parallel with inputs 1 and 2. There is a 3.5mm jack socket on the front panel, in parallel with input 5. For output, it has two sets of stereo phonos and one pair of balanced XLRs. The result is a preamplifier that can perfectly match any “Red Book standard” source component to any modern power amplifier.

DIGITAL CONTROL

All microprocessor programming is designed in-house by Townshend’s digital team.

SEISMIC ISOLATION

Seismic Isolation is fundamental to the design of the Allegri Reference. Similar to that used in our Podiums and Pods, these are engineered custom matched to the weight of the Allegri Reference, integral to the reinforced and mass-tuned chassis, and achieves isolation down to 3Hz in all three planes. Blocking structure-borne vibrations from reaching the autotransformers has a remarkable effect on sound quality and one that is easily demonstrated by bypassing the suspension. When bypassed the sound is exceptional by any normal standards. But when the suspension is used the soundstage expands dramatically, with height, width, and depth being greatly increased. Individual instruments appear with more body and focus, and there is an obvious improvement in natural tone and timbre. 

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