In the golden age of vinyl, not every audiophile could splash out on exotic exotica—but Max Townshend changed the game with the Townshend Rock turntable, transforming a pricey prototype into a bulletproof powerhouse of engineering that put elite sound within reach of the masses.
As Jonathan Gorse details in The Ear’s riveting head-to-head showdown, “Rock vs. RockDoc,” the original Rock II (launched in 1985) was born from Cranfield Institute’s clean-sheet innovation: a steel-framed, gypsum-filled plinth for rock-solid stability, a viscous silicone damping trough to obliterate cartridge vibrations while letting the stylus dance flawlessly in the groove, and the Excalibur tonearm with magnesium headshell, steel tube for rapid energy bleed, and fluid-damped bearings for whisper-quiet tracking.
Gorse captures the essence perfectly:
“The Townshend Rock then, from its very inception, became a legend because it offered absolutely top-flight sound for the everyman. It was the high-end turntable that nearly everybody with a passion for music could afford.”
This wasn’t fragile finery; it was bush-engineered resilience—measuring microscopic groove undulations with surgical precision, delivering bass reproduction that rivals today’s titans, all for as little as £1,000 second-hand today. “Purchasing a 40-year-old turntable obviously involves some risk,” Gorse notes, “but the fundamental engineering is sound, there’s little to go wrong and there’s a vibrant after-market in modernizing, servicing and enhancing these decks.”
Enter the RockDoc, a lovingly upgraded evolution that infuses this people’s classic with contemporary wizardry without losing its soul. For around £6,000–£7,000 (plus a donor deck), RockDoc swaps in a ceramic bearing, polished shaft and sub-platter, HDPE platter for superior impedance matching, a fresh AC motor with offboard power supply for electronic speed tweaks (hitting a spot-on 33.2 RPM), rebuilt Excalibur arm with our Fractal internal wiring and silver custom cable, plus a zesty orange respray that turns heads. Gorse puts them toe-to-toe in a Naim-powered rig atop Townshend Seismic isolation (because vibrations are the eternal enemy): the stock Rock dazzles with articulate, extended bass, a broad soundstage, and vanishingly low noise—”Given that a basic Rock can be picked up for as little as £1,000 secondhand its performance was nothing short of startling, and I can’t think of any other turntable at that price level that comes close”—while the RockDoc amps up urgency, resolution, and rhythmic snap, unveiling finer details in upper registers and tightening timing for a brighter, more transparent flow. Tracks like Roxy Music’s Avalon bloom with precision on the Doc, and Kenny Burrell’s Midnight Blue gains deeper timbre insight, though the original’s warmth holds its own in bass heft. Neither quite touches a £15k GyroDec setup, but at under ten grand total (with a killer cartridge like the Hana Umami Red), the RockDoc proves Max’s blueprint—damping and isolation as hi-fi’s holy grail—still slays.What elevates this tale? It’s a testament to timeless engineering over endless escalation. The Rock’s damping trough innovation, echoed in our current Seismic podiums (isolating down to 3Hz for floor-thump-free bliss), shows how “lost” arts from visionaries like Max and Jack Dinsdale can resurrect any vintage spinner to outpace glossy newcomers. As Gorse raves of the Rock’s bass prowess: “The Rock perhaps by virtue of its unique damping trough arrangement offers exemplary reproduction of bass which equals the levels of…” (the article trails off, but we know it means the best). In an era where hi-fi chases diminishing returns, the Rock lineage whispers: Affordable doesn’t mean average. Fancy a Rock revival? Pair one with Seismic, and watch your vinyl vault to the vanguard.Got a Rock in your rack, or eyeing a Doc upgrade? Share your spin below—we’re all about that groove.Read the Full Ear Showdown →
