The Townshend Audio Allegri Reference is certainly the most unusual preamplifier I have ever reviewed. It may surprise you to know that Max Townshend considered the Allegri to be his greatest achievement, rather than his legendary Rock turntable or pioneering work on acoustic isolation.
Like every other audio component Townshend has ever made, the Allegri Reference is a wildly unconventional design. Nearly every high‑end audio preamplifier in the world employs either valves or transistors to amplify audio signals. The Allegri Reference doesn’t.
Let’s start by examining the role of a preamplifier in an audio system, which is to provide switching capability and variable amplification. Switching is the easy part, but different manufacturers take two main approaches to amplification.
The most common approach is to use active electronics—transistors, valves, power supplies, and the like—with a potentiometer for volume adjustment. This provides lots of gain but also involves routing the critical signal through a motherlode of circuitry, all of which has the potential to degrade the signal. This is the approach favored by the hi‑fi firms you know and love—Audio Research, Naim, Quad, D’Agostino, and Gryphon, to name but five.
A less common approach is to employ a passive preamplifier. The most common implementation is to use a potentiometer (variable resistor) to simply attenuate the source signal. This offers a cleaner signal path than an active design, but is sensitive to impedance matching between the source and amplifier. Think of firms like NVA, Music First Audio, and the amusingly named Schiit Audio for examples of such components.
Technical details
Townshend took neither of these approaches. The Allegri Reference is an autotransformer volume control (AVC) preamplifier. The dual AVCs at its heart are constructed with a single, continuous winding of Townshend’s proprietary Fractal wire around a high-performance ferromagnetic core:
- Autotransformer design: Unlike a conventional transformer with separate primary and secondary windings, the AVC uses a single winding. This design results in a smaller core size and lower leakage inductance, which improves transient performance and provides a flatter frequency response.
- Winding material: The transformer winding is made from a single 260m (853′) length of 0.1mm (42SWG) Fractal wire, a specially treated copper conductor with a unique geometry claimed to minimize signal distortion.
- Core material: The laminations of the core are made from a 49% nickel, 51% iron mu-metal alloy, which is chosen for its ability to provide excellent bass performance and minimal distortion (less than 0.001%).
- Volume control mechanism: The volume is controlled in 129 precise 0.5dB steps. This is achieved by having 48 taps looped out from the winding to 102 aerospace-grade, hermetically sealed reed relays. A microprocessor controls these relays to select the desired attenuation level, effectively creating a stepped volume control without a conventional mechanical switch in the signal path.
- Isolation: The chassis features a constrained-layer damping structure and is supported by four air-damped isolation feet, which block structure-borne vibrations from reaching the sensitive autotransformers and degrading the sound quality.
- Passive design: The “preamplifier” function is solely one of signal attenuation and impedance matching, not active amplification. Because it contains no active components (transistors, vacuum tubes, etc.), it introduces virtually no noise or distortion into the audio signal.
In theory, this unique construction enables optimal impedance matching between source and power amplifier, wide frequency response, and exceptionally low noise and distortion. The specified bandwidth is very wide, at 8Hz–80 kHz (±0.1dB). I’m struggling to think of any other preamplifier with such a broad and precise frequency response.
The four Townshend Seismic support feet look almost comically large compared to the compact dimensions of the case, which measures 9.2″W × 3.9″H × 15″D. The front panel is a model of simplicity, with a rotary controller on the left selecting between sources and one on the right adjusting volume. Between the two is a large, easy-to-read LED display denoting the selected source and the volume in dB. On the lower right is a 3.5mm input jack, presumably for attaching a source like a portable audio player. Despite its modest size, the Allegri weighs a substantial 19.8 pounds. The nicely finished casework is hewn from aluminum, and is available in satin black or brushed aluminum anodized finishes. Pricing at the time of the review was £13,786.80 or US$15,379, in either finish.
The rear panel has five pairs of gold-plated RCA inputs. Two pairs of XLR inputs are in parallel with inputs 1 and 2, and the 3.5mm input jack on the front is twinned with input 5. Outputs comprise two pairs of gold-plated RCA sockets or a single pair of XLR outputs.
Any one of the inputs can be assigned a unity-gain function to provide integration with a home-cinema system. I am one of the few high‑end reviewers who run a fully integrated two-channel setup and Dolby Atmos home-cinema system. This configuration allows me to use my high-quality, two-channel amplification (Naim) to drive the front left and right channels, with an Emotiva MR1 A/V amplifier driving the center and surround speakers and sending line-level audio to the subs, in a multichannel cinema system.
One feature which is sadly lacking on the Allegri is a balance control, which is undeniably helpful to those forced to listen in asymmetric rooms, or where it isn’t possible to sit centrally between the speakers. It is also useful for audiophiles who suffer from hearing loss in one ear. I am inordinately sensitive to imperfect balance—as we all know, some recordings tend to favor the left or right channel, which I find irritating. I missed the ability to occasionally compensate in these situations.
In lieu of a custom remote control, the Allegri comes with an aluminum Apple TV remote. At this price level, I would like to have seen a larger and more comprehensive remote control, although it must be said that the supplied remote offers extremely reliable operation with impressive line-of-sight communication. One neat trick is that the remote magnetically attaches to the bottom of the Allegri Reference chassis, which should help to minimize the risk of it being lost or misplaced.
The Allegri comes with a discrete linear power supply, but this is purely used to power the front LED panel and control circuitry. It isn’t used to power devices in the signal path (as a passive preamplifier, no components in the signal path require power).
Setup
I was supplied with a complete set of Townshend F1 Fractal interconnects to link sources to the preamplifier, and also to connect between the Allegri and my reference Naim NAP 350 monoblock power amplifiers. Townshend Audio was at pains to point out that all internal wiring in the amplifier uses the firm’s Fractal wiring, and it regards the F1 Fractal interconnects as an integral part of the system if it is to deliver maximum performance.
F1 Fractal is Townshend Audio’s ultimate interconnect, employing an advanced cryogenic treatment that is unique to Townshend. All the interconnects and cables are made by hand. A key element of the design is the minimal contact between the conductor and the insulator. The signal travels through a very thin, enameled, and polyester-coated copper wire, which is spiraled around a much thicker, bare-copper ground. By mounting the signal and return conductors in close proximity, external electrical interference is all but eliminated, blocking RFI and minimizing hum in the amplifier chain. As the signal conductors only come into occasional contact with the inner of two concentric PTFE tubes, degradation due to dielectric mass is kept to a minimum. The PTFE tubes are in turn placed inside a clear PVC outer.
All F1 Fractal interconnects come terminated in Neutrik Profi RCA phono plugs, which have a spring-loaded ground collar. The balanced version incorporates two strands of the ultra-fine enameled copper conductor spiraled with a parallel drain wire, but no shielding. It is terminated with Neutrik XLR plugs.
These interconnects have a very peculiar appearance, which may be off-putting to those who like their high-end cables to look expensive or pretty. The firm is aware of this and is considering having the cables braided to make them look more conventional. What I liked about them is their flexibility; they’re easy to bend around racks or corners without feeling as if they are putting a strain on connectors. What I didn’t like about them is that the plugs and terminations are quite long. Given the depth of the Allegri chassis, this gave me some problems fitting it on the lower shelves of my rack.
With everything wired up, I was keen to see how this autotransformer preamplifier would sound in my system. My system is in the midst of a number of upgrades at present. Naim’s latest-generation NAP 350 monoblock power amplifiers have replaced my long-serving NAP 250 stereo power amplifier, which had been in the system for a couple of decades. The NAP 350s are immensely powerful and controlled and drive my ATC SCM40 loudspeakers with far greater ease than my old power amplifier did. I would argue they are cleaner and more neutral, while the combination of RCA and XLR connections make them compatible with a wider range of preamplifiers.
There was a time when nobody would ever mix and match Naim amplifiers with those of another brand, but I feel that this is no longer an issue with the firm’s new 200- and 300-series amps, thanks to their superb transparency and wide bandwidth. Sources remained as usual: the Naim NDX2 streaming DAC; Emotiva-powered home-cinema system; my recently acquired SME Model 35 turntable and Series Vi tonearm; as well as my trusty Michell GyroDec, equipped with SME Series IV tonearm. I used my Lyra Kleos SL cartridge with both ’tables.
Sound quality
Shortly after the Allegri arrived, I received a copy of the Rhino High Fidelity pressing of Buckingham Nicks (LP, Rhino RHF1727705). What a sonic delight this record is! The songwriting and production had me feeling like I was at LA’s Sound City, wearing flares, back in 1973. Mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, this reissue is like discovering a completely new Fleetwood Mac album from the band’s glorious 1970s heyday that you’d never heard before. The Allegri Reference portrayed this seminal album with a gorgeously liquid sonic signature, which managed to sound both transparent and smooth. The absence of the glare of transistors was very noticeable, but what was also immediately apparent was the world-class soundstage.
On every record I played, the sense of the performers being in the room in a defined position—with both depth and width—was utterly captivating. This is probably the most three-dimensional preamplifier I have ever heard.
As if that wasn’t enough, Lindsey Buckingham’s sublime guitar mastery on “Django” was scrupulously delineated, rich with timbre, and impressively dynamic. The whole album is a very solid collection of beautifully recorded songs; indeed, Keith Olsen was in the engineer’s chair and he’s the guy who recorded Rumours with Ken Caillat. “Races are Run” very effectively demonstrated the Allegri’s facility with harmony vocals, enabling the individual contributions of Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to be appreciated fully, without compromising their blended harmonies. Other instruments, such as the drums, were also portrayed with excellent power and depth, if a little less speed in the deepest bass region than I am accustomed to.
With the Allegri Reference, there is no gain available as with a typical powered preamplifier, only attenuation, and this should be borne in mind when matching it to a power amplifier. If you enjoy listening at a high level, you’re going to need power amplifiers of appropriate input sensitivity and power to compensate for this. Rated at 170W, the Naim NAP 350 monoblocks I use have weapons-grade power—the NAP 350 has a claimed input sensitivity of 1V for full-rated power, and offers 26dB of gain. As a result, I could comfortably attain what I would term “session levels” with this pairing. A friend who uses an Allegri Reference partners it with a Krell KSA‑100S and big JBL monitors, and his system kicks serious ass, too.
On the title track of Duran Duran’s sole 1990 album, Liberty (LP, Parlophone PCSD112), the Allegri did a superb job of rendering Simon Le Bon’s vocals center-stage. Sterling Campbell’s energetic and bouncy drum style was projected with excellent power and drive, which I found surprising for what is essentially a passive device. Sure, the Allegri didn’t deliver bass rhythms with quite the same snap and articulation as my Naim NAC 82 preamp, but it certainly sounded less grainy. The Naim excels at speed, slam, and note definition, whereas the Allegri has other strengths, which are rare outside an extremely elite group of valve amplifiers of impeccable quality.
Turning to something more acoustic and more naturally recorded, the Allegri Reference demonstrated stunning transparency on Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder (LP, Blue Note 84157), delivering a fabulously lifelike rendition of this jazz masterpiece. There was no shortage of groove either, the drums cutting through the mix with an impressive sense of weight. Dynamics are positively explosive on this record, and were delivered with a genuine sense of being unconstrained, thanks perhaps in part to the Allegri’s extraordinarily wide bandwidth. The band was portrayed with impressive naturalness in the room—capturing and relaying room ambience and decay was a key strength of the Allegri Reference in my system. The interplay between Barry Harris’s piano, Billy Higgins’s drums, and Bob Cranshaw’s double bass was faithfully conveyed, as was the tonal character of their instruments.
Exploring my jazz collection demonstrated how incredibly quiet the Allegri was in operation; indeed, it had a vanishingly low noise floor, no doubt thanks in part to its lack of active electronics. This served to reveal room acoustics, note decay, master-tape hiss, and all manner of low-level detail; and it improved the perceived dynamics by delivering inky-black backgrounds that made the sense of live performance even more compelling.
“Saturday Night,” my favorite track from the Blue Nile’s 1989 album, Hats (16‑bit/44.1kHz FLAC, Confetti / Tidal), further demonstrated the ability of the Allegri Reference to reveal the subtle nuance in every performance. Every inflection and detail of Paul Buchanan’s voice was presented in startling clarity against a wash of backing synthesizers. This album is all about minimalism. It has a desolate, stark beauty, which the Allegri Reference presented with aching transparency. The pitch and tonal shade of even the deepest bass synths was revealed with great honesty and integrity to the source. The absence of grain again remained a key feature of this preamplifier’s portrayal of musical events. I can fully understand why some reviewers use this preamp as their main reference; there isn’t anything else quite like it in high-end audio.
In an attempt to trip the Allegri up, I put Michael Jackson’s Bad (LP, Epic 45290) on the SME 35. Mine is an original-issue pressing, not the dreadful compressed mess that is the 25th-anniversary edition. If you’ve only heard the 2012 version, you have no idea what this album should sound like! This is a fabulous Quincy Jones production, full of staccato percussion and ultra-tight drum rhythms, courtesy of John “JR” Robinson. The Allegri didn’t blunt the impact of his technique, and dug deep into the detail of the complex mix on the title track. Jackson’s voice sounds quite pinched and aggressive on the opening number, which the Allegri revealed. Bass was fulsome and surprisingly taut. There’s plenty to enjoy here, and I found myself reveling in the Allegri Reference’s ability to portray the music without ever adding grain to the proceedings.
This is a gritty-sounding record and deliberately so, but what the Allegri did was to demonstrate that fact without ever exaggerating or overemphasizing it. What emerged from the speakers was a gloriously honest portrayal of what is on the vinyl—Jackson’s soulful vocals, the amazing percussion and synths, and the syncopation of the bass and drums. The Allegri Reference remained faithful to the temporal nature of the music on this album, which features extensive use of the Synclavier and other programmed effects.
Conclusion
Since its launch in 2019, the Allegri Reference has been carefully updated over the years to widen its appeal, while still delivering world-class musicality. Thanks to its design and architecture, it has qualities that make it unique in the marketplace. It’s the preamplifier for people who love the liquid naturalness of valves, but don’t want the hassle of tube rolling, biasing, matching, or sourcing suitable high-quality NOS replacements. It’s the preamplifier for people who are tired of the grain that almost all transistor preamplifiers demonstrate to at least some degree. It’s the preamplifier for those who want to avoid the elevated noise floor that many valve preamps exhibit, because it is indeed utterly silent.
Given that I’m a devoted Naim user, my Allegri-owning friend thought I might dislike the Townshend preamp, but nothing could be further from the truth. I appreciate any component that gets me closer to sitting in on the session, brings the music I love to life, and sends shivers up my spine. The Allegri Reference did all of that. I certainly don’t want a preamplifier that sugarcoats the recording or drips it in a honey-glazed haze. The Allegri did none of that.
It has nearly everything I look for in a line-level preamp: five inputs (so plenty to cater for a wide range of sources); unity gain for home-cinema applications; and remote control, because nobody wants to interrupt the flow of the music by getting up from their listening seat. What it lacks is a balance control, but I can live with that when it offers audio replay at this level.
I have asked Townshend Audio if I can hang on to the Allegri for a bit longer, which is something I hardly ever do with review equipment. I’m normally keen to move a review sample out, for reasons of space if nothing else. The Allegri Reference conveyed music with spine-tingling intensity, but never at the expense of grain, and there was a naturalness to its delivery that was utterly enchanting.
In terms of how it compared to my existing Naim NAC 82, the Naim’s strengths are in sheer propulsive attack and power in the bass region. As a rock lover, that’s a sound I have come to love over the decades. The Allegri’s strengths lay in its incredible imaging and entirely grain-free sound. This made music feel natural and tangible in the room in a way I found sublimely satisfying.
The Allegri Reference delivered a wonderfully open window into every recording I played across all genres. I find it sad that Townshend Audio’s limited dealer network means the Allegri isn’t as widely known as it deserves. I think it’s a product well worth tracking down, because it offers something quite different to all those mass-market preamplifiers out there. Townshend Audio says the Allegri Reference has been developed to silence the noise and elevate the music, and that’s exactly what it does. If you’re in the market for a top-flight preamplifier in this price bracket, it makes for a very compelling option. In fact, it’s a compelling option at any price.
. . . Jonathan Gorse
jonathan@soundstage.com
Associated Equipment
- Turntables: SME Series 35 turntable equipped with SME Series Vi tonearm and Lyra Kleos SL cartridge; Michell GyroDec turntable with SME Series IV tonearm and Michell Cusis M cartridge
- Phono preamplifier: Trichord Research Dino Mk 3 with Never Connected Dino+ power supply; PS Audio Stellar; Michell Apollo with Muse power supply
- Streaming DAC: Naim Audio NDX 2
- CD player: Naim CDI
- Preamplifier: Naim NAC 82
- Power amplifier: Naim NAP 350 monoblocks
- Power supply: Naim HiCap
- Loudspeakers: ATC SCM40
- Headphones: Sennheiser HD 800S dynamic headphones, Beyerdynamic DT 880 Professional, AKG K701 Studio Reference headphones
- Headphone amplification: Beyerdynamic A20 headphone amplifier
- Support stands: Ash Designs Cosmic 5 and Cosmic 7 stands, both suspended on Townshend Seismic Isolation Bars with load cells calibrated for individual rack weight; Townshend Seismic Platforms used with turntable, CD player, and loudspeakers
- Power: Dedicated 100A mains spur feeding two Grahams medical-grade, six-gang power blocks. Naim Hydra, Naim Power-Line Lites
- Cabling: Townshend F1 Fractal interconnects, Chord Company Sarum T loudspeaker cables, Naim NAC A5 loudspeaker cables, Naim interconnects on most Naim amplification; Chord Co. Sarum T Super ARAY XLR, Chord Co. SignatureX Tuned ARAY DIN-RCA, Chord Co. SignatureX RCA-XLR, Chord Co. EpicX ARAY RCA-RCA; Chord Co. EpicX ARAY interconnects for phono stages, Vertere Redline RCA-XLR between HiCap and NAP 250, QED interconnects for secondary sources
- Setup tools: AVID high-precision level with 45-rpm adapter, Suaoki laser level, Rega Atlas digital stylus-force gauge, SME strobe disc, Ogeto laser measure
Townshend Audio Allegri Reference preamplifier
Price: £13,786.80, US$15,379
Warranty: Five years, parts and labor
Townshend Audio Ltd.
7 Bridge Road
East Molesey KT8 9EU
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 8979 2155
Website: www.townshendaudio.com
Email: mail@townshendaudio.com
North American distributor:
EAR-USA
1087 East Ridgewood St.
Long Beach, CA 90807
Phone: (562) 422-4747
Email: info@ear-usa.com
