From the inventor of the world's first practical equipment and turntable isolation devices, the first practical and most utilized ribbon super tweeter, the most effective turntable/tonearm design with both isolation and active tonearm damping, and probably other "firsts" I am unaware of, comes the first totally passive audiophile preamp (no power cord, no tubes, no transistors). The Allegri+ is a true breakthrough design and musical triumph. At $2995 and only single-ended, its performance will captivate and thrill any listener in any system where RCA terminations are all you need.
Allegri+, welcome to America!
I replaced my reference E.A.R. 834L linestage, tube-rolled with NOS Mullard tubes, and connected the 6 sources to the Allegri+. I connected one output to my subwoofer and one to my E.A.R. V12 Amplifier. It sports 6 inputs addressable on a front selector knob and 30 discrete gain positions on a selector knob as well.
Also on the front is a useful mute switch, and a 3.5mm input for digital audio players (DAPs)! The entire package is finished in silver, compact and elegant in every way.
Specifications
- Frequency response: 8Hz‐100kHz +/‐ 0.1dB
- Distortion: Less than 0.01% at 400Hz
- Input impedance: dependent upon the load impedance and gain setting.
- Inputs: 6 pairs of phono sockets (gold plated) plus one 3.5mm stereo socket on front panel.
- Outputs: 2 pairs RCA phono sockets (gold plated)
- Width: 5.3”
- Height: 2.1”
- Depth: 12.8”
- Weight: 4.4 lb.
My Thoughts
In over 50 years of audiophile exploration and music listening, I have never found a passive preamp I could abide at any price. The last one I experimented with was the pricey SMc by Steve McCormick, which was very good, but not really passive, just low gain. Before that, I listened to the Adcom 750 designed by Nelson Pass for Adcom. It had a switch which eliminated all the active circuitry and converted the unit to passive. Unfortunately, the switch also eliminated the highs and most of the impact of the music.
Without buffering the output, the impedance of your source components will probably not be correct to run an amp. In this case, a typical passive line stage will sound muffled and polite. With conventional buffering of resistors/capacitors etc., you lose output rather dramatically. Since you have only a volt or two from the source, any loss is tragic to the music. I would estimate a 25% loss from typical passive setups with conventional circuitry. You cannot achieve full output from most amplifiers or extended frequency response, even, if your impedance is corrupted with conventional passive designs.
Enter Townshend Allegri+. Its use of fractal wire to create the proper impedance, over 800 feet of it in this small unit, gives you perfect impedance, and only reduces the voltage from source components by about 5%, not 25%! Welcome to the 21st Century!
Fractal wire is so cutting edge that JPL Labs in California experimented with it and decided not to pursue it in their own designs, claiming it was too difficult to do. Not Max Townshend in England. He did it and did it right.
The Sound
It has no sound of its own. I heard no real or imaginary effect of the Allegri+ on the output. Volume and dramatic impact are unaffected. Nothing polite here. Even my 1959 Scott 350 Tuner drove my amplifier exceptionally well, as did every source I had. My Astell & Kern &ultima SP1000 connected via the 3.5 input jack in the front was fantastic with all hi-rez material. Most—maybe 95%—of the noise, colorations, golden glow, haze, crispness, and lack of musical textural nuance I blamed on the amp, was in fact the reference active preamp or my choice of cables. I switched to my best UITAudio Cables, Kubala-Sosna, and Kimber Select and WOW! Extraordinary clarity! You can hear to the rear and sides of the studio with no haze or glaze at all.
Width and height of the soundstage increased significantly. In addition to extra clarity of images, distortion of every variety was reduced dramatically. This was not subtle improvement my friends. You hear MORE music with LESS grunge.
I had a visiting "Audio Guru" over for a visit recently and played the system with the Allegri+ on board. He was shocked and stunned by the definition, musicality, and utter lack of distortion. He made it clear he needed an Allegri+ as soon as possible. I did not even give him a comparison, the performance of the Allegri+ was that fantastic.
There may be a system that passive does not work. If you have a DAC with at least 2 volts output, phono stage with 2 volts out, tuners with 2 volts out, or DAP with 2 volts out, try an Allegri+. You can beat the performance of the Allegri+ with my reference E.A.R. 912 and get balanced facilities and tons of features, too.
It is only $9000 more than the Allegri+.
Breakthrough
I would normally just call improvements to methods for reproducing music in the home an achievement or tweak. The Allegri+ is not that. The Allegri+ is a breakthrough in design as much as ultra-linear, FETs, DSD, or the like. Fractal wire impedance control is hard to implement. No one has ever tried to do it before now, or even thought about trying. All I can say is the Allegri+ is a stunning marvel for our audio age and a bargain, too.
Quibbles
Though small in size, you should be able to easily access the rear RCA plugs. I was able to fit all cables with very big audiophile connectors, though you may struggle a bit. On the visual side of things, I cannot read the lettering or numbers on the front controls which are silver on silver. I won't be the only one who has this problem, either.
Max, how about black lettering on silver?
Summary
The Townshend Audio Allegri+ Preamplifier's U.S.A. premier opens a whole new category for audiophile line stage owners: exceptionally high-quality Passive System Control. With the use of outstanding new wire technology, the Allegri+ Preamplifier is the world's first honest-to-goodness high-end audiophile passive line stage. You have no power cord to choose, no tubes, and no transistors. With no describable sonic weaknesses or colorations, it provides a flexible controller for your finest gear to produce their true musical excellence.
After months of listening I cannot and will not do without the Townshend Audio Allegri+ Preamplifier. Though it sounds like nothing at all, it allows everything else to shine! There's nothing like this on the planet—until now.
My highest recommendation!
Townshend Audio Allegri+ Preamplifier
Retail: $2995
Distribution
E.A.R.-USA
Dan Meinwald
1087 East Ridgewood Street
Long Beach, California
90807
562.422.4747 (Pacific Time)
