Maximum Super Tweeter

The Townshend Audio MAXIMUM Ribbon Super Tweeter is designed to extend the response of conventional loudspeakers to 100kHz. Adding the Super Tweeter to your audio system allows you to experience the advantage of the extended frequency response delivered by the new digital audio formats (DVD-A, DVD-V containing 96/24 stereo PCM audio, and SACD) and to fully utilise the 30kHz-plus frequency response previously only available from high-quality vinyl reproduction. Another bonus is that CDs, as well as Dolby Digital and DTS compressed digital audio formats, are also greatly enhanced.

Just as the subwoofer fills in the bottom end, the Maximum Super Tweeter fills in the top end. It makes the music much more real! All Instruments - even double basses - take on an extra clarity that is neither bright nor brash. In fact, the sound is both clearer and smoother. The really surprising thing is that when the tweeters are played alone, one can barely hear a thing. Remarkably, however, all listeners - even, for example, those having no sine wave sensitivity above 10kHz – experience the same enhancement when the Super Tweeters are engaged. Super Twetter users describe the sound of their audio systems as more natural and more comfortable to listen to.

Embodying super-powerful neodymium magnets and an ultra thin (eight micron) pure aluminium ribbon, the Super Tweeter offers outstanding performance in an easy to drive, compact package. The low frequency -3dB point of the first-order crossover is 20kHz. Output may be set to suit speakers with sensitivities from 80dB to 110dB, adjusted in steps by an eight-position switch on the rear. The correct setting is easily found by trial and error. Input connectors are 4mm banana sockets. All copper conductors, including the matching transformer windings and the aluminium ribbon, are deep cryogenically treated (DCT) for unrivalled fidelity. Pressure relief vents in the sides of the case are provided to allow the air pressure on the ribbon to equalize in the event of sudden pressure changes.

The Super Tweeter may be connected directly across the output of amplifiers up to 350W. An automatically resetting fuse prevents ribbon damage in the event of overload. The Super Tweeters are best placed centrally on top of existing speakers. The supplied DCT 1.5m cables are connected to the main speakers' tweeter terminals or directly across the power amplifier. "Piggy back" banana connectors are provided to facilitate connection.

Specifications:

Frequency response: 20kHz to 70kHz, -3dB/12kHz to 90kHz, -6dB Sensitivity: Adjustable to suit speakers with sensitivity from 80dB to 110dB
Impedance: 6R, 20kHz/30R, 100kHz. Power rating: 350W+ Dimensions: 50mm (W), 30mm (H), 100mm (D) Case: Stainless steel (mirror or titanium finish)

$1500 per pair

Isolda Interconnect Cable

All audio cables are adversely affected by the insulating material ("dielectri"’) in which they are sheathed to prevent short circuits. The best insulator of all for an audio cable is a vacuum, but of course this is impractical. Next best is air, followed by PTFE, polyester, and polyethylene. PVC, the most widely-used cable covering, is one of the worst-performing dielectric materials. To reduce the influence of the dielectric to a bare minimum, Isolda Deep Cryogenic Interconnect Cable uses a novel form of construction in which 3x0.1mm copper strip conductors are threaded through 3mm internal diameter PTFE tubing. Because the copper strip only touches the inside of the tube along its edges, the effective dielectric is about 95 per cent air, 5 per cent PTFE–a major improvement over conventional cable construction where the insulation is moulded around the conductor.

Two of these threaded tubes are laid side by side and then enclosed in a tough polyester braid to form the complete cable. Use of a flat strip conductor minimises series inductance, while the wide spacing of the conductors minimises shunt capacitance, so the cable imposes negligible filtering on the audio signal, whatever the output impedance of the signal source. As a result of this thoughtful construction, Isolda Interconnect has a uniquely "hear through" sound quality, devoid of the fuzziness, tonal imbalances, and graininess which afflict other interconnect cables. But we’ve now found a way of making it even better!

As with the Isolda Deep Cryogenic Loudspeaker Cable, the copper strip conductors are subject to deep cryogenic treatment and post-tempering prior to being assembled into the finished cable. The copper is slowly cooled to about -190 degrees Celsius, held there for a number of hours, and gradually returned to room temperature. Then it is warmed to 150C before final slow cooling–an important extra step that can only be applied to bare copper. Normal insulation would melt at this temperature, so finished cables cannot be treated this way. DCT is proven to improve the lattice structure of copper, eliminating small "dislocations," and has an amazing effect on the cable’s final sound. Dynamics are improved, clarity is further enhanced, and the sound takes on a difficult to describe but immediately recognizable naturalness that untreated cables cannot match.

Because the use of a shield has a negative effect on sound quality, Isolda Interconnect is supplied unshielded as standard, but with a ferrite sleeve at one end. In most hi-fi systems, the source impedance will be low enough to prevent hum induction, and the ferrite (positioned at the "receive" end of the cable) will be sufficient to suppress RFI. A shielded version is available for situations in which hum fields and/or RFI are an particularly severe problem. Where the source impedance is unusually high–which is sometimes the case with valve preamps, and always the case with passive preamps–use of the ferrite can cause a dulling of the sound.  In this instance a smaller ferrite can be specified or no ferrite fitted at all. A balanced version of the cable, terminated with XLRs, is available for balanced interconnections. Unbalanced cables are terminated with the highest quality Neutrik ProFi phono plugs. These feature heavy gold-plated contact surfaces where ground contact is made before signal and break signal is made before ground. Isolda Deep Cryogenic Interconnect Cable can be ordered in any length up to a maximum of 32 feet.

Isolda Loudspeaker Cable

Wherever electronic signals are transmitted by wire, be it telephone, video, digital data, radio, or TV, the impedance (NOT resistance) of the interconnecting cable is ALWAYS matched to either the source or the load, to prevent distortion. In the case of hi-fi, the most important link of all is the speaker cable–and it is here that this rule is completely ignored. The result is a grossly mismatched connection, with the mismatch being typically twenty-to-one, as most speakers have a nominal impedance of about eight ohms and typical cables a characteristic impedance between 100 ohms and 400 ohms. No wonder speaker cables sound wrong!  Townshend Audio Isolda Impedance Matched Loudspeaker Cable, which has a characteristic impedance of eight ohms, remedies this. 

To achieve an impedance match at such low impedance values, the cable must exhibit very low inductance and high capacitance. It is well known that high capacitance upsets some amplifiers, which become unstable. To counteract this, a correctly engineered, inaudible inductor, in parallel with a damping resistor, is inserted in series with each leg of the cable at the amplifier end. The two inductors also act as a filter to prevent radio frequency interference (RFI), present in abundance at the end of the cable, from passing to the circuitry of the amplifier. The very close spacing of the conductors in the cable also provides a further level of RF rejection. The result is black silence. 

What happens when the impedance between the cable and the speaker is closely matched? The sound is fast but not bright; it is clear, open, fatigue-free and grain-free. Bass notes are precisely defined, deep and tuneful, with amazing impact. The midband takes on a naturalness never before heard from reproduced sound. The treble is smooth and fast, with both brilliance and sparkle, but the cables never sound bright, brittle, grainy or spitty. They just sound "right." 

These inherent Isolda characteristics have now been further enhanced by subjecting the copper conductors to deep cryogenic treatment (DCT) and post-tempering prior to assembly. The copper is slowly cooled to about -190 degrees Celsius, held there for a number of hours, and gradually returned to room temperature. Then it is warmed to 150C before final slow cooling–an important extra step that can only be applied to bare copper. Normal insulation would melt at this temperature, so finished cables cannot be treated this way. DCT is proven to improve the lattice structure of copper, eliminating small "dislocations," and has an amazing effect on the cable’s final sound. Dynamics are improved, clarity is further enhanced and the sound takes on a difficult to describe but immediately recognizable naturalness that untreated cables cannot match. 

Construction of the Isolda Loudspeaker Cable is both attractive and practical. The two flat conductors and their proprietary insulation are sheathed in a hard-wearing polyester braid, terminated at each end with non-magnetic stainless steel cylinders. These enclose the cable transition as well as the inductors at the amplifier end. Flexible, PTFE-insulated, silver-plated copper wire tails connect to banana, spade, BFA, or Speakon connectors to complete the cable. The strip conductors are arranged to slide over each other, through the braid and through the cylinders, to minimise buckling when coiling the cable. It can be laid under carpet and folded at right angles. It must not, however, be walked upon. 

Isolda Loudspeaker Cable is sold in pre-terminated lengths. As the cables are impedance matched, the sound does not change with length, so unequal runs may be used for each channel. Bi- or tri-wiring makes a significant improvement with suitably equipped loudspeakers.

Isolda Loudspeaker Cable is sold directly by Townshend U.K. Contact us for prices and ordering information