Well I certainly have a "Townshend Audio Comes
Through" story.
Ordered a set of Size 2 Seismic Bars with D Load Cells. It did take over
2 weeks before they shipped which was kind of a bummer, but these things
happen. When they arrived, the first speaker (B&W Matrix 801 Series 2
with North Creek crossovers and 22lbs. of bass bin loading, about 150 lbs. all
told) sat perfectly level with all the load cells at about half compression,
perfect! Happily, the bars at maximum shortening are the perfect length
for the big B&Ws. The second set didn't go so well. Long story
short, one of the load cells, although labeled 'D' was in fact a C Load
Cell. It got completely squished under the speaker.
So I called and left a message for John at Townshend Audio. He called back right away. He indicated that such a mistake was “extremely rare”, which, as I’m like the Grand Pooba of the FHS (Fallible Human Society), I had compassion for and believe to be true. John indicated that a replacement D Load Cell would be sent out, and sure enough, the next day I received notice that the shipment was on it’s way. He also indicated that he’d give me a discount on a future purchase which I thought was cool. Once installed, the replacement load cell made the second set of bars work perfectly, just like the first.
So, now I had a lone C Load Cell. What to do. Use it somehow. Our preamp is a 2006 Dodd Audio Battery Powered Preamp. It’s got 4 x 5Ah SLA batteries at the back of the preamp which makes the back of the preamp weigh about 25 lbs. The front of the preamp contains mostly air, along with 2 x 6N23P tubes, a couple of bypassed 2.2mF caps, some wire and 3 knobs, weighing about 5 lbs. So a really uneven weight distribution. Anyhoo, I placed the ‘C’ Load Cell under the middle of the back of the preamp and then a Nobsound spring footer (with only 4 springs/footer) under each front corner and the preamp was dead level. Sounded cleaner too. I emailed John asking him what he could sell me 2 x AA Load Cells and a Pod Cap for the lone C cell. He wrote back that he would send them free of charge. Wow! That was unexpected and awesome!
The end of the story is that they arrived yesterday and the preamp is dead level under the 1 x C Load Cell at the center back and the 2 x AA Load Cells at each front corner. And yes, the sound is noticeably cleaner yet again! Nobsound footers are now under the turntable though destined to be replaced by something Townshend Audio…
Lotta nice folks in the boutique audio world, but I certainly view John and Max and Sue Townshend to be among the nicest.