Townshend Rock Mk1 or Mk2, Whats The Difference ??

by **lionheart-uk** » 02 Apr 2009 20:08

I've just brought an early Rock turntable off Ebay and was wondering if anyone has actually owned one, I sold my Rock Mk2 a few years back and have regretted it ever since so I brought one off ebay and to my amazement the deck seems heavier, has a removable motor guard housing, a larger green on/off switch, the spindle doesn't have the thread for the record clamp and a matt finish to the deck instead of the usual piano black gloss finish. Does anyone know if this is a Mark 1 'Rock' or an early variant of the Mark 2....Any help would be appreciated.

by **JollyJeweller** » 03 Apr 2009 18:35

Green power button = mk2
Red power button = mk1

Whack some photos up here, our resident Rockist ( UKTel) may know!

by **lionheart-uk** » 04 Apr 2009 08:48

by **lionheart-uk** » 04 Apr 2009 09:21

Hi..........Thanks for the reply, I took the photo from the side to show the removable pully housing and switch. The silcon trough also differs with a chrome knob rather than the brass one of my previous rock.

by **uktel** » 05 Apr 2009 23:22

Lionheart uk
The deck you have is definately a derivative of the MK 1 rock but is not a standard version of
if what you say about the weight is true then you must have one of those in between models that is made to fulfilll a gap between the Cranfield version and the version available at the time,
Rhe green button on your Rock is not standard to any Rock that has pased my hands,nor have I seen the motor cover on anything but a prototype version of an early Rock.
My gut feeling is that you have got a very good version of a superb deck,Please let me know the other associated gear you are using with it.
Congratulations on a fine Rock
Terry cour de lion

by **lionheart-uk** » 06 Apr 2009 08:35

Hello Terry.................Thanks for the reply, on closer inspection of the deck there are another couple of differences as I recall from my last Rock, the underside of the platter shows a slightly rough cast, with the outer being of a different grade of acrylic (Harder), The motor pulley is also different, the removable housing has what looks like an 'Ayres rock' logo to the top. I'm running the Deck at the moment via a minimilist set up, using a pair of Klipsch RB81's, Audio Temple Bantam tripath amp, Audio Temple phono stage (Pre production) and that's it. The system sounds stunning to my ears and certainly the most clinical and precise set up I've put together for the replay of vinyl, it wipes the floor with my previous Linn/Quad/TDL set up at about 1/3 of the price......Cheers, John

by **uktel** » 06 Apr 2009 13:31

Hi Lionheart
My apologies for the last post and all its typos,I was a little worse for wear :oops:

It is no surprise to me that your current system wipes the floor with your previous setup,Rocks are generally very underrated and can show a clean set of heels to a great many of the more popular decks.
What arm and cartrdge do you have ?
Terry

by **lionheart-uk** » 08 Apr 2009 18:26

Hello Terry, I'm using the Mission 744 Arm that it came with and a new AT 120e cartridge, I've got a Linn Akido arm and was planning on swapping them over but the quality of sound throgh the Mission has made me rethink as a friend has offered £200 for the Linn arm....I think I'll cash in. One day I will step up to the Excaliber but for the mean time I'm happy with the Mission. Is the Rega RB300 a good match with the Rock or would you recomend something else until I raise the money for the Townshend arm...Cheers, John

by **uktel** » 09 Apr 2009 16:47

Hello Lionheart
I would say that changing the Mission arm for a Rega would be a sideways move at best.
however, If you look up a posting by member Zharca you will see a website link at the bottom of the page detailing the massive upgrade path for the humble Rega that turns it into something rather special :wink:

Second hand Excaliburs are fetching silly money at present £400/£500.
Or
If the Mission sounds good just stick with it

Terry

by **satanfriendly** » 09 Apr 2009 17:15

I see close up you have (what looks to me) a Mission 774LC which was the Jelco derivative. They are not too bad and I agree with Tel in that a Rega would be a bit sideways, unless you went for one of the modified versions. By then I'd be looking at 'real' alternatives. A Rega may offer some improvement, but probably not as much as you may wish for.

I'm using a 774LC on another deck and if anything the arm would benefit from the damping offered by the Rock TT. It's not all as bad as folk would say.

Nice deck. I am rather in envy as although not a present Rock owner (in my past, yes) it is one of those decks I truely have a lot of admiration for.