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Townshend rock?

N

new naim boy

pfm Member
I'm considering venturing into the world of Vinyl. Kids have flown, so I'm wondering whether its worth exploring the loft and fetching the records down.

There is a Technics 1210 in the classifieds at the moment which seems to have good reviews. A new arm etc will add to the cost. There's also a deck of the Townshend Rock Elite available, similar cost but no arm or cartridge on it.

Is the Rock a better TT than the Technics?

Advice welcome.

Aidan
 
If the Teccy is a stock unit then I think you have to spend some money on fancy upgrades to the psu, new feet, mat etc to get it up to "audiophile"std.
 
The rock is a very good tt indeed provided you're prepared to put up with the damping goop

The guy accross the road from me has one and it is seriously good.

It benefits from an external PS. He has the merlin, but a hercules mose would do just as nicely.
 
Are you able to set up / tweak turntables and arms yourself? If yes, then either choice will yield good results. If no, then go for something more mainstream.

Nic P
 
They are both very good. I have not heard a standard 1200 but a modified one with a good arm was fantastic, one of the best I have heard at any price. It did have a VdH Grasshopper though. I don't know how close a std one would be. Good as the 1200 sounds I would prefer the Rock as an item to own.
 
It's true both TT's seem to promise a lot if I throw money at them. I don't have many records and I'm not too familiar tweaking arms etc. So it's a long term hobby thing. I like the look of the Rock, kind of eccentric.
 
Tom Evans swears by the Rock - he says just put a Rega arm and an OC9 on and its the bets you can get for the price. Never heard one personally but I trust what he says.
 
I have experience of the Elite Rock. Very good TT. Don't spend too much, if unit only with no outer Plinth or Lid, they are worth about £250 - £300 tops. Make sure the plaster platter and plinth are in good condition and the sub platter is good with free running bearings with NO play.

You don't need to have the trough and gunk if you don't want to. Just the deck alone works well (think of it like a much better Rega) and put on a reasonable arm. A Rega 300 is fine.
 
RB 250 fettled by J7 at AO, and dump the plastic stub for J7s too. I have a Rock, bloody marvelous piece of kit, had it since 1986 and never wnted to change it, set up wise it is so easy, just level it and away you go, make sure the belt is good and keep the bearing in oil and it'll last you years. You get used to using the trough, although sometimes I leave it open.

Can't comment on the Techie, but heard good of them too.
 
Shane2468 said:
Another vote for the Rock, VERY good turntable!!!!

Good luck.
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But is it just good value, or still seriously challenging some of todays best turntables? If you compared an 86 Rock to a brand new top of the range current Linn set up for example, any predictions?
 
andrewhockley said:
If you compared an 86 Rock to a brand new top of the range current Linn set up for example, any predictions?
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I predict one of them would cost you about £12,000 and the other one £500. It's irrelevant which sounds better. Buyers of one are not seriously considering the other. The fair comparison is the 86 Rock and 80s LP12, and here they give a different presentation with the votes well divided. I was offered a Rock/RB300 at the same price as an LP12/Notts as my first "serious" turntable. I chose the Linn, it's a known quantity and having grown up in the 80s I'd swallowed the hype and it was "the best". No regrets, it was great and the Notts is a thing of beauty and staying in the stable until I die. I wiould still have liked to try the Rock though.

Having attended the TT bake off (Thanks FlatP!) and heard SME, Linn, Garrard, WTA and a variety of other lovely record decks I can report that IMO sound quality has very little to do with the price tag. Mine was one of the poor relations there on the day but even with a DL110 cartridge it wasn't out of place as it rubbed shoulders with the glitterati wearing Troikas and Koetsus. I still think possibly the best SOUNDING TT I've ever heard is the modded 1210 I mentioned earlier. It still looks cheap though.
 
stevec67 said:
I predict one of them would cost you about £12,000 and the other one £500. It's irrelevant which sounds better.
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Why is it irrelevant? You might not be interested, but that's not the same thing at all. I am interested. I agree it's not a comparison that any one is likely to make in a 2011 Linn dealer, but so what? This is actually a comparison I hope to be making in a month or so anyway, as I've just bought a Rock and have a handy fully tricked out LP12 available as comparison.
 
andrewhockley said:
This is actually a comparison I hope to be making in a month or so anyway, as I've just bought a Rock and have a handy fully tricked out LP12 available as comparison.
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Please post up your opinions when you get a listen.:) I'm not going back to a Linn having sorted out my Garrard, and on the stand next door (they call me steve 2-stands);) is a newly arrived Lenco.

I think the main draw for extremely expensive TTs like the full-house LP12, SME, Continuum Mortgage, and Avid MyWifesLeftMe (etc) is pride of ownership. Sure, they sound good but other stuff matches them for sound, if you want to spend the time experimenting.
 
I heard The Rock when it first appeared at the local hi-fi dealer where he couldn't wait for any opportunity to play it. I remember it sounding fantastic, but that was a very long time ago and it's a dim and distant memory now.

Whatever turntable you get isn't the most important thing. What matters is that you are getting your vinyl down from the attic and are about to rediscover what turned you onto all this stuff in the first place, and if you are anything like me the turntable you buy will soon be on Ebay and you'll be spending your next car allowance on the next one, with the reassurance that it'll last a lot longer than the car you are not now buying.

Sit back and enjoy, and welcome home.
 
Rasher said:
I heard The Rock when it first appeared at the local hi-fi dealer where he couldn't wait for any opportunity to play it. I remember it sounding fantastic, but that was a very long time ago and it's a dim and distant memory now.

Whatever turntable you get isn't the most important thing. What matters is that you are getting your vinyl down from the attic and are about to rediscover what turned you onto all this stuff in the first place, and if you are anything like me the turntable you buy will soon be on Ebay and you'll be spending your next car allowance on the next one, with the reassurance that it'll last a lot longer than the car you are not now buying.

Sit back and enjoy, and welcome home.
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LOL - how true. But note that some of us are working to a budget...but only because instead of it being a next car allowance, it is putting the kids through school.

Richard
 
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