Is the Townshend Rock 7 "the" giant killer?

The whole LP/cartridge/arm/platter/table/phono-amp system is very resonant and microphonic. The Rock turntable is one approach to making it less so. Damping is and has been used in lots of LP playing products, usually tonearms, including SME, Well Tempered, and many uni-pivots. Damping incorporated into a table is far less common, and as far as headshell-located damping, the Rock is the only one I'm aware of. The Decca/London cartridge is probably the biggest challenge any tonearm can face, and the Rock a really effective partner to any arm with a Decca/London mounted on it.

I was the importer for the original Rock turntable. When I visited Absolute Sound I met with an engineer who did transcription of vinyl for the movie industry. He would transfer the record to tape via a Rock turntable. I asked him why he was using the Rock and not some other fantastically expensive turntable, since he had no budget restrictions. His answer was," No table can recreate accurate bass like the Rock"

I not only had to agree with him but added that the background noise level drops to nothing when using the damping trough. I recognized this immediately when I first heard the table at the CES show in Chicago. 

For anyone requiring help with a Rock, contact me or the Rock Doc in Britain for help.

 

 

@persiflag: The only problem I’ve had with my Rock Elite is with the plastic dust cover hinges. They are far too thin and unsubstantial to support the weight of the cover when the lid is in the fully-up position, so one of the two "arms" (into which the cover slides) tends to snap off. They should have been made of something like aluminum.

By the way, I fit my Rock with a Zeta arm, a great match for the table.