Testimonials

I wish I’d done it years ago . . . .

I write with a well overdue testimonial and my thoughts on Matt McNulty’s recent work on my Townshend Rock Three Turntable, note that I’ve only had it back for three weeks or so, so I may have to expand on this at some point.

Dealing with Matt was a complete pleasure, from the start of our conversations to picking up the finished deck and aftercare, he was always friendly, respectful and generous with his time, we had many long conversations with loads of detailed advice.

And detailed it has to be, as there are an amazing amount of things which can be done . . . or sometimes need to be done. Add to that additional quirks which need to be considered and even some manufacturing differences from year to year of the same model, sometimes these only become visible once Matt has evaluated the state of the deck.

Possible upgrades and choices were clearly described and elements had their characteristics laid out, and prices discussed from the outset, together with positive and negatives of each option where appropriate.

We discussed a variety of tonearm and cartridge options and Matt was exceedingly patient with me when it came to making choices.

Matt was also adept in keeping me updated on progress at each stage and I knew that a phone call or video call was only a day or two away if I had any further thoughts.

It’s also fair to say that my particular deck had some rather unique attributes, we think that it served as a prototype or testbed for new ideas for Max, and this added greatly to the problems that Matt faced, and manfully resolved. So in the end my turntable needed, and I chose, quite a bit of work; new tonearm, new cartridge, new motor, new air tube, bearing work, work on the power supply board, custom respray, acrylic cover, set up and fettling. Of course the cost was significant, but I could have spent less too. And here is a valid point, in life you get what you pay for and real value is not about the cost. However you quantify things, the peace of mind in dealing with an expert, the added enjoyment of music and the positive mental state that gives you, in my opinion, is priceless. Having said that Matt is always sensitive to budgets and had a number of lower cost options up his sleeve.

The Results;

Looks - The appearance is to die for; I am now the proud owner of a unique bespoke turntable, light years beyond the black industrial finish it had before. An article of beauty, poise and grace, a treasure.

A one-off gloss ‘purple midnight’ paint finish perfectly complements the new chromed Transrotor TRA 9 tonearm I had selected, with attention to details with some parts resprayed black and some chromed bolts and knobs.

Music - Playing records was always a joy on this deck, but now it’s taken several notches upwards. And what a difference! It’s a hell of an upgrade, have you ever heard of marginal gains? The idea in sport science was that improving lots of minor details can combine to make huge performance gains. Here several ‘minor’ issues Matt addressed have added up. Then add the big upgrades, the stellar Tonearm and cartridge and the deck has gone up several levels.

Music replay is an absolute joy, it easily fills the room with living breathing engaging music; there is grace, space, dynamics;  soundstaging and placement are, well, rock solid! Bass performance was always a forte of the Rock 3, now it’s taken a leap forward. Bass is now incredibly stable with texture, weight and body, raspy effects from bass guitar or synth bass do something physical, ‘grunty’ where needs be. But it’s in context, I don’t get a woolly-warm bass everywhere presentation, it’s a ‘tight ample bass if it’s in the grooves’ style of replay. Voices and acoustic instruments sound natural, genuine and human.

It’s actually a very calm, quiet, refined, low noise kind of hi-end sound. I don’t mean there is no energy or high frequencies either, stick on something edgy or raw and you will find it, but it doesn’t ‘overload’, sound harsh and grating like some record decks. Nothing seems missing in replay, and even when the music gets messy or complex, there is an order and structure.

I’ll put a record on for one track, and end up letting the whole side or album play. Playing 50 year old records from my stepfather’s well kept collection is a revelation. Yes, there can be a bit more surface noise, and the odd crackle but the music always shines through, some records have left their tune in my head for days. Newer, fresher records are even more impressive, with outstanding back to front depth and still, stable imaging and some have no perceivable surface noise. My digital front end, which is not shabby at all, is not getting that much use at the moment.

Bravo Matt encore encore!

My advice is simple, if you have a Townshend deck which Matt has not revised; do it, do it now!

Whether you think it needs it or not, Matt will find more performance, from your deck.

My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner, ladies and gentlemen, don’t hesitate!

Thierry D (January 2025) - via The Townshend Rock Record Player group on Facebook.

"I'm very happy with the work you've done on the Rock. The finish is superb, as are the results of upgrading the drive system with the new motor and flat belt conversion, converting the main bearing to ceramic ball, the new platter, and all the other work you did, arm rewire, arm bearings, spindle polishing, et al.

The performance of the deck is greatly enhanced. It is now really speed stable, both wow and flutter have been banished, and the noise floor is noticeably lower, improving the already legendary clarity and dynamics of the deck.

I feel the Rock is equal to any other deck out there at or considerably above the overall cost of the restoration and upgrade.

Anyone who has, or is considering getting, a Rock should not hesitate to get in touch with you"

Geoffrey L (Sept 2024)

"I came across Matt McNulty's work a couple of years ago. A few years after selling my trusted Rock 2 to one of my best friends (under oath that he would take the best care of it and NEVER, EVER re-sell it unless it was to me), I finally got another one for a second system, but it got here with a few issues I had no clue how to fix. Max was still with us at the time, but - with all due respect for the man, who was a genius and an incredibly likeable, larger-than-life character and with whom I've had a few memorable phone conversations - he was NOTORIOUSLY slow at responding to customer requests, and also, this was a second hand Rock so I felt bad about harassing him for answers. So I looked around for an unlikely "Townshend Audio expert" - and a lucky Google search lead me to a YouTube clip of Matt's re-built, re-vamped "Bluey" Rock, looking stunning on a Townshend Podium at a high end show, somewhere in the UK.

A few Messenger exchanges later, we were on the phone; I'm proud to say we've become mates since then although we've never physically met. But more to the point, the guy is just a LIFESAVER for any Rock owner. So if you came to this page with a Rock in need of help - you're in the right place.

Save for maybe Max himself, NO ONE knows as much as Matt does about the Rock, and what makes it not just the best bargain in high end audio, but also the most likeable, addictive, irreplaceable deck ever made. At minimum, he'll take your Rock (and / or Excalibur) and give it the TLC (and spare parts) it needs to perform to the very best of its stock form potential, and he will remote-control you to do what it takes on your end to fix whatever problem you might have.

At best, he will completely rebuild it, and take it way above its original performance level - without changing anything to its sonic signature and temperament : the Rock's master-tape like stability, deep bass, superhuman tracking, that unmistakable signature - on the slightly euphonic side of neutral, without any of the clichéd colorations you get from lesser decks, without a trace of harshness or agression, is very much there in every Rock re-built by Matt - just taken, to the next level. Not to mention the fact that, subjectively, his Rocks look so much better than the originals - the unique, quirky, loveable form factor is there, but with vintage-car-grade custom paint jobs that makes them look like something out of a mid-60's Jaguar or MG factory, with crazy attention to detail - down to matching the color of the switch to that of the deck.

On top of that, Matt's passion and enthusiasm for audio in general and the Rock in particular is truly contagious. He happens to be incredibly friendly and generous with his time and knowledge. Add to that his sense of humour and excellent musical tastes and he's starting to sound a little too perfect. Well - there's one pretty massive problem with it : once you've heard what he does to a Rock, your banker isn't going to like you very much. Not that his services are bad value for money - they're quite the opposite. But they are addictive. As in, I now have one of his fully re-built, custom-painted decks here ("Pearly", named after her pearlescent white finish, as see on the picture below), one standard-black deck returned to flawless performance after a short stay at McNulty's (new motor, new belt, new clamp, new arm board, general cleanup), and yeah, a third one on the way : a while ago I stumbled upon a REALLY CHEAP Rock 2 with Merlin, and I bought it immediately. Know why ? Because I knew that no matter how beaten up it was, I had just the guy to not only restore it to its original glory - but take it way beyond".

Michel J (via The Townshend Rock Record Player group on Facebook). 

"I purchased one of Matt's Little Treasure's and I can't recommend it enough. After choosing which finish I wanted, I received the Little Treasure in a beautiful little casket, complete with fitting instructions.  The sound from the Little Treasure was much better than I'd expected and after the initial wearing in, it provides me with superb sound reproduction that belies its price. Definitely pound for pound one of the best upgrades I've made to my system. 

Matt is always available to offer any assistance or advice which is always a plus too".

Eddie F

"My first chats with Matt came about when I was looking to upgrade my cartridge and we spoke about a very early version of what was to become the 'Little Treasure' and what a treasure it is!! 

During those conversations Matt mentioned the Townshend Rock turn table, which I'd not heard of but, with some research and chats it became my dream player. A while later one came up locally which I soon snapped up. Several chats later, discussing options for colour, spec etc. and it was sent to The Rock Doc for making as good as new. Unfortunately things with couriers went bad but, without going into details, Matt was really great supporting through this time and helped me end up with my dream!! The personal attention and ability to create what is wanted is a really high end service and gives a bespoke end product. 

I opted for Audi nardo grey with gloss black accents, with a rb300 arm and another Little Treasure cartridge and it sounds mind blowing!!!! 

I've recently added a RockDoc perspex dust cover and am now looking at arm upgrades 

I can only say that all dealings with The RockDoc have been a pleasure and from being a supplier/customer relationship, Matt has become a real Friend!!"

Lee H

"I was introduced to “The RockDoc” after I inherited a Townshend Elite Rock 2 turntable. At the time I had no idea of the history or standing of the Rock turntables other than what five minutes of googling had suggested. I reached out on the UK Audiophile Facebook group for assistance, and within short order I had multiple people telling me that I needed to speak to Matt McNulty.

So, I did!

When I got the Rock, it was was essentially unplayable. The belt was stretched, and even to my untutored eye, the arm moved in ways I was fairly certain were not as per the original design. The cartridge seemed to have collected more fuzz than you might find on your average peach, and a brief attempt to actually play something very nearly saw it landing in the nearest bin. So, I was not hopeful of much. However, I had made contact with Matt, and taken a plethora of photo’s for him to take a look at. A video call later and he assured me that there was a decent chance it wasn’t quite as terminal as I was fearing, and I was on the hunt for a box to package it up. It was duly sent to him in order that he could have a proper gander at it and provide me with some options.

Fast forward a couple of days, and Matt was able to provide me with a full analysis of what was wrong, how much it would cost to fix, and a variety of other options to consider. I went with Matt’s full custom restoration (which included a repaint to Triumph Cherry Red), a replacement RB250 arm with Michell Technoweight and one of Matt’s “Little Treasures” Shibata cartridges. The crowning jewel from all of this is that at no point does Matt try to pressure you into a particular route, he simply provides you with the options and an explanation of what you can expect from them, leaving you to make up your own mind.

Once the work was finished, Matt very graciously invited me to come down and listen to the Rock in his own system. To say I was startled is an understatement. The quality of the sound coming from the Rock was superb, and clean. It was obvious why these Rocks have such a good reputation, and even more obvious was the enthusiasm and knowledge of Matt himself, not to mention the skill level required to carry out work to such a high standard. The paint quality is of a level you might expect to find on a fully restored vintage/classic car, and the attention to detail with the replacement arm board is impeccable.

Needless to say, once I got it back home and installed into my own system I was somewhat underwhelmed. Nothing wrong with the turntable, however the comparison between my rather “budget” level setup to Matt’s rather less “budget” system was instantly discernable. Fortunately I had been expecting this, and another service that Matt offered is advice on how and where to improve your own system. With plenty of excellent advice I settled on a Townshend Allegri Pre, an EAM Labs Studio 300 Power and Vertere Phono pre. I can honestly say that without Matt’s invaluable advice and guidance it would have taken me many years (and no doubt a ridiculous amount of money) to build a system that reached the performance level of this setup. I do still have some niggles to work out, however knowing I have Matt’s advice on the other end of a call I am confident all will be sorted in due course (and of course when my poor bank account allows).

A further upgrade made more recently was the purchase of a RockDoc acrylic cover, which Matt had modified (due to the size of the Technoweight, the standard cover was too small), which does an excellent job in showcasing the Rock in all it’s glory whilst providing full protection.

The assistance from Matt throughout my audio journey has been impeccable and invaluable. What started as a dead Rock has developed into a full system, I am proud to own, and has come with the added benefit of meeting someone whom I am proud to be able to call a friend".

Phil B-T