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HiFi News Show 2014: Townshend report

Townshend brought together the complete Glastonbury Hi-Fi system for the first time.

Manufactured entirely within London, just 10 miles from the HiFi News show, they premiered the final components in the line-up.

The brand new 403W hybrid solid-state/vacuum-tube mono blocks that partner the fully Fractal wired Tor loud-speakers connected with the all new Fractal-wire speaker cables.

Digital source was the Glastonbury CD2 battery-powered universal silver disc player, with analogue via The Rock 7 Mk II turntable, the all new Excalibur Mk II pick-up arm and Merlin 4 power supply. All was connected by the Glastonbury Pre2 remote controlled autotransformer preamp.

The complete system, including speakers, was floated above the floor on TA’s proprietary Seismic Isolation devices that block the ever-present force 1 earthquake in the floor from degrading the sound.

Throughout the day, Townshend demonstrated the difference in sound quality between having speakers coupled to the ground and suspended on seismic isolation and then with no isolation, by simply placing wedges in-between the speakers where they interrupt the Seismic Cells decoupling mechanism.

Listeners were surprised with the drop in sound quality when the speakers were solidly coupled to the floor with the wedges and pleasantly surprised when the when the wedges were removed and the big open sound returned.

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