Townshend TA565
The TA 565CD redefines the meaning of what is “High-End”.
Purely as sound, in absolute terms, the TA 565 Universal Player takes
sonic performance to new heights of realism and musicality irrespective
of price. In relation to cost it delivers unrivalled High Value at a
down to earth price. The TA 565CD uses a Pioneer chassis as a foundation.
Modern production engineering, with its reliability and precision, provides
a bargain launch pad for the stratospheres of performance. In-house experience
and the fresh insights which come from continuing research allowed new
designs to be created for power supplies, associated digital phases and
critical audio stages.In terms of sound - a revelation ! In terms of
economics - a revaluation of what High End performance in monetary terms
should be.
Townshend Audio TA 565 CD ‘Silver
Award Best DVD Player over £2500’ HiFi Choice
CD Player
Considered purely as a CD player the TA 565CD surpasses those in its
price range and indeed CD Players costing many times more. Many a “vinyl
only” listener has already found that though remaining different,
the sound of CDs from the TA 565CD is now comparable to LPs in the sheer
excitement and enjoyment which well reproduced music can bring. The large
CD catalogue that already exists and is added to weekly beckons like
a new world.
DVD-Audio and SACD, stereo or multi channel
As a CD Player the TA 565CD really comes into its own with the new high
resolution formats of DVD Audio and SACD. Call it what you will but when
confronted with something that is so much like the real thing we are
stunned. The sonic realism possible with a good recording, in either
of these two formats is simply amazing. TA 565CD reproduces both formats
in either stereo or multi channel.
Other formats
Other formats include, of course, DVD-Video.
It is also compatible with recordings made on
DVD-R and DVD-RW discs (both in ‘Video’ mode and ‘VR’ mode),
‘DVD+R’ and ‘DVD+RW’ discs,
CD-R, CD-RW,
compatibility includes not only ‘red book’ CD-DA but also
MP3 compressed audio files and JPG/jpg and EXIF
2.1 slide images.
Video CD (VCD),
Super Video CD (SVCD).
The TA 565 reproduces in both stereo and multi channel and has built-in
Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround decoders.
One may take any disc, pop it into the machine and it will just play!
The TA 565CD and Home Cinema
Most home cinema systems provide good picture quality. However it is
not matched by their sound systems which are often simply appalling!
Play a CD - when our attention is not riveted by image and motion – and
it becomes clear that even the best cinema systems are a long way from
High Fidelity. Not so with the TA 565CD. It brings High Fidelity sound
to the world of Home Cinema as a matter of course. An audio system
with either two or multi channels adds truly wonderful sound to the
picture. The movie experience is lifted onto another plane of action
and excitement. Looked at from the other starting point: with the TA
565 at its heart and superb amplification a great Home Cinema system
is in fact a great HiFi system.
TA 565CD – the physical units
Physically the TA 565CD is embodied in two brushed stainless steel or
black “crinkle” polyester finish units. The Player unit is
placed above and the DC Power Supply below. The Power Supply now incorporates
Townshend Audio’s newest Seismic Sink precision damped spring vibration
isolation mechanism to isolate the all the equipment from external vibration.
Filter
Balanced multiple feedback Butterworth set at -3dB 80kHz for the steepest
roll off with phase shifts way outside the audio bandwidth. This has
been chosen as years of “Golden Eared” listening has found
this as easily the best sounding filter configuration. To ensure that
we achieve the desired performance, we have chosen Ultra Precision 0.1%
metal film resistors with a miniscule 15 parts per million per degree
Celsius temperature coefficient. The filter capacitors are precision
film and foil
polypropylene.
Power Supplies
For ultimate audio and video performance it is vital to have the purest
possible DC supply to the critical digital circuitry and to all the analogue
circuitry. The voltages must be very stable with the lowest ripple and
lowest noise possible. After serious investigation of switched mode supplies,
conventional transformer/bridge/capacitor/regulator supplies and the
latest proprietary supplies designed to be totally independent from mains
borne noise, we have arrived at an optimum solution in all our listening
tests. We re-engineered the conventional transformer/bridge/capacitor/regulator
supply concentrating on high frequency noise rejection up to 40,000,000Hz
and the supply of absolutely pure current to drive specifically the class
A analogue circuitry with a completely separate supply for the digital
circuitry.
A separate case, located below the player, contains switching, fusing,
mains filtering and the external DC power supplies. These are connected
to the player by a short cable with multipole connectors along with filtered
mains in a separate lead to power the player. Two conventional E/I laminated
mains transformers drive dual Schotkey diode bridge rectifiers which
in turn feed a dual three stage multiple ladder network optimised to
provide a very low ripple DC supply with extremely low harmonic content.
Conventional transformers are used because of the superior mains borne
noise rejection compared with toroids. Low equivalent series resistance
(ESR) and low equivalent series inductance (ESL) electrolytic capacitors,
high frequency polyphenylene sulphide premium capacitors and precision
metal film resistors are used throughout. Once inside the player, all
DC supplies are further filtered and precision regulated by proprietary
design discrete component regulators utilising zero global feedback technology
for wideband operation. There are separate supplies for the main clock,
the digital-to-analogue converters and the analogue circuity.
Review
"This
means that the TA 565
sounds amazing, whatever type
of disc you spin. It’s staggeringly
detailed, grabbing untold levels of
information from the disc, yet it’s
also extremely musical. Rock
music becomes all the more
foot-tappy, classical becomes
intellectually more satisfying and
jazz just makes you want to wear
a goatee and a beret. You would
never guess that there is a yearold £200 player under the case.
Video performance is almost as
impressive, although it’s not quite
in the same league as the sound.
Pictures are vibrant and exciting,
but do not look startling better
than from entry-level players...
Deep impact
Delve deeper and find difficult
passages of a film however –
like the moody just-broken-up-withgirlfriend
part of our Shaun of the
Dead test disc – and you’ll realise
that the lack of blocky artefacts
and sheer depth of the picture
makes the player’s price almost
seem justified. The pictures boast
smooth gradations across skies
and sunsets, and realistic skintones.
In fact, there’s an HDMI-like
precision to things, despite the
lack of a digital output". - WHC January 2005
