If so, another of the greats now gone. Roger Modjeski (Music Reference), Tim de Paravicini (EAR-Yoshino), and now (if true) Max. Without those three I wouldn't have my system!
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Yes he sadly passed away on 31 December. A true maverick and audio genius. Cryogenic cables; seismic isolation; and front end damping production (Bugge). A straight talking - dry - always engaging. I have a few of his goodies - cables - stand and turntable. I spoke to him 6 weeks ago and he was in the process of a legacy turntable having just designed a top end passive pre last year. A very accessible and open guy. Very sad 😢 |
Yes sad to say Max has passed on to the great listening room in the sky. I was keeping quiet out of respect for the family but just got off the phone with Sue Townshend and she gave me her blessing so to speak. Max passed away almost without warning. Just recently he had called me up just to chat, and said he was looking forward to meeting me. That would have been fun. Max was a real guy, shaped by time in the bush as they say in Australia, the kind of guy you want to share a beer with. The necessity of finding and making stuff that really works in actual practice, as opposed to working only on a drawing board, was pure Max. At the same time though he had the formal training and knowledge to engineer with the best of them. Every time we would talk, I would understand quite a lot until always there would come a point he would get so technical it was all I could do to grasp the outlines. I would repeat back what I thought he said in my own words. Which probably was pretty pathetic. But if it was Max never let on, usually only saying, "That's right" before launching into even more incomprehensible detail. Max is survived by his loving wife Sue, daughter Harriet, and the Townshend Audio family. Of which I am fortunate enough to have joined just before his passing. It is never easy losing the genius and driving force, especially not one as productive as Max Townshend. But he had just recently completed some new products and has more in the pipeline so to speak to keep his team working for some time to come. So the company is in good hands, indeed has good plans for growth in the coming year. As Sue said in her typical English understatement, "It just works." Pods, Podiums, F1, they have been excellent for years already, and will remain excellent for years to come. I have no worries about that Townshend Audio will go on. Nonetheless, it is a loss. High end audio has lost some great ones lately. Something to contemplate. RIP. |
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Still got my Rock MkII with the outboard psu. The one with the visible plaster as described by @noromance - at the time it did bottom end like no other. Just like this one sans exquisite paint job. Max obtained his EE majoring in microwave technology. He also displayed a natural grasp of the core principles of mechanical engineering, which he furthered by entering into a research parnership with the Cranfield Institute of Tecnology (UK) to refine the design of his turntable. Much of this work on vibrational analysis was to translate into further commercial endeavours. Despite his globe trotting nature and recent commercial success, Max retained his down to earth nature and unique Australian wit. His passing will leave a great void in the industry, and bring great sadness to those who have been personally touched by his brilliance. |
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Sad news indeed. I first met Max at one of the London Hi-fi shows at the Penta hotel, Heathrow in the late 70's and the 80's. Always one of the rooms to visit, I heard him demonstrate his speakers (Galahad ?), Rock turntables and his siesmic sinks, which seemed to be in use accross the various other manufacturers show rooms.The other essential room was that of the late John Michell, whose daughter and son-in-law continue to produce his turntables to-day, albeit out of a smart new factory, rather than the collection of huts/sheds that was Theobold Street. Lets hope that Sue and family continue to produce Max's designs. RIP Max. |
Very sad news. I always enjoyed my chats with Max at various HiFi shows over the years and use two of his TVC pre-amps in my systems, One Loudspeaker I would love to have learned more about is the Sir Galahad. I heard them at the Penta show, must have been early / mid 90s. They were excellent with scale, dynamics and extreme bass extension. Condolences to his family and friends. RIP Max |
Very nice guy who went out of his way to listen to my exact application/environment for his seismic platform. He told me exactly how it would work technically and was very understated about the tremendous improvement his platform would provide. Shipped me new pods with lower weight capacity and didn’t even want the original ones returned! Still would have refunded my money if I wanted, but combining his platform on top of a wall mounted shelf that he recommended is I the ultimate isolation and vibration control for a Rega lightweight turntable. His was easily by far the best solution for me. Big loss for the audio world. I hope they can carry on making the current products, or maybe some other company can buy his product line and absorb it into another organization. |
OMG! This is terrible news. I just purchased a whole slew of Townshend Audio gear and John had told me that Max was having health issues but it seemed Max was on the mend. I may have the last thing that Max laid his hands on and built. I was having issues with my Rowland Model 12’s that were connected to my Allegri Reference preamp through F-1 Fractal interconnects. There was a DC ground loop where my speakers would pop when the Model 12’s were turned on. After consulting with Jeff Rowland about it, Max made me a new set of interconnects with DC blockers in the middle that he built for me early/mid December. I am so sad. He was a great innovator and great man. |
