What lies between
Interconnects
F1 Fractal Interconnect Cables
£925.00 – £3,253.00
Additional information
| length | 1 to 1.5m, 1.5 to 2m, 2 to 3m, 3 to 4m, 4 to 5m, 5 to 6m, Up to 1m |
|---|---|
| Type | Phono to phono, XLR to XLR balanced |
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Interconnects are a limiting factor in many systems. With this in mind the engineers at Townshend Audio, Jack Dinsdale, Geoff Mead and Max Townshend, have been investigating the sound of conductors in high fidelity systems since the introduction of the LP in the 1950’s.
The design they engineered has proven so successful, that aside from incorporating new developments in metallurgy and materials it has remained largely the same for almost three decades. Exhaustive research went into that definitive design. As Max relates, “We have listened to every form of signal carrier we have been able to acquire: copper, silver, silver-plated copper, carbon, mercury, wireless and even wet string! “
“At audio frequencies copper cables, be they interconnect or speaker cables, are good but sound a little dull and grainy, silver can sound much clearer and a little bright, and can save a dull sounding system, but it is not right and is very expensive. Silver-plated copper also sounds a little bright, but very detailed as it is usually paired with PTFE insulation which is much better than horrible PVC, the most common insulating material. Carbon conductors sound very smooth and pleasant, but a bit distant. Mercury is now illegal; wireless is only suitable for low-budget low-fi, and wet string dries out!”
Max goes on to explain, “There are myriad ways of making an interconnect cable. The choice of conductors, the plating, insulation and the geometry of the cable all have the potential to change the sound. In high end audio it is a major tone control tool. This is evidenced by the huge variety of cables, even from the same maker. They can’t all be “correct”.
At Townshend Audio, we have spent years researching and developing cables to make a cable that does not change the sound and have arrived at our Fractal F1 cable. This is easily proven by comparing a 0.5 metre length with a 10 metre length where the sound remains unchanged. Try this with other cables and the sound will change dramatically with length. If your goal is a transparent High-Fidelity system, the more accurate the components are, the easier it is to achieve the goal. We only make two interconnects, the top being the F1 and the second, the more affordable, similar-sounding DCT 300, which is very close to the F1.
The numerous reviews tell it all.”
M.Townshend
Fractal Interconnect
Each Fractal-Wire™ Interconnect is made by hand because this is the only way to build a cable with the insulator’s absolute minimum contact. The signal travels through a fragile polyester coated enamelled copper wire, which is spiralled around a much thicker bare copper ground. Because signal and return conductors are tightly spaced, external electric fields cannot get in. As a result, these cables completely stop hum in valve amplifier setups whilst blocking radio frequency interference (RFI).
As the signal conductors only come into occasional contact with the inner of the two concentric PTFE tubes, degradation due to dielectric mass is kept at the barest minimum. The PTFE tubes are, in turn, placed inside a clear PVC outer.
Fractal-Wire™ is terminated with the industry best Neutrik Profi RCA phono plugs with a spring-loaded ground collar. The balanced version of Fractal-Wire™ incorporates two strands of the ultra-fine enamelled copper conductor spiralled together with a parallel drain wire but no shielding. Also available with Neutrik XLR plugs.
Isolda DCT 300 Interconnect
The DCT 300 Interconnects have been winning awards since 2002 for its open, uncoloured sound and world beating transparency. The secret is the 99% air insulation. All insulation materials add distortion to the signal, so we place bare copper strip conductors into walled PTFE tubing where only the edge of the strip is in contact with the insulator.
The topology of the entry-level Isolda DCT Digital Interconnect maintains the precise, sharp transition of the digital signal so that no jitter is added.
If the high-frequency S/PDIF signal in a digital connection arrives intact and without any echoes of itself caused by impedance variations, it has to be sent down a 75-ohm conductor. Therefore, we have stuck to a classic coaxial topology with the Isolda DCT Digital.
DCT Digital Interconnect
Max Townshend and Professor Jack Dinsdale with ‘THE ROCK’ Record Players they developed utilising the unique front end damping ‘trough’ for ultimate vinyl playback
Designers
Jack, Geoff and Max
Established engineering methods are the norm in most other fields. Nevertheless, ironically, not so much in high-end audio where the minutest amount of distortion will alter the fine details that we, as music lovers, get our greatest joy. Thus, using all their knowledge and experience from decades of engineering, they developed and discovered numerous novel solutions integrated into the Townshend cable designs.
These two images compared easily show how the DCT (Deep Cryogenic Treatment) changes the lattice structure of copper completely changing the sound of treated cables. Fractalization takes the copper processing even further!
Development
Fractal™ wire is the crucial ingredient in Townshend Audio’s ultimate interconnect. The F1 Fractal™ treatment for the wire imbues the transformers with a characteristic of absolute silence and unbelievable purity and far superior to standard copper wire, silver wire or even our enhanced cryogenically treated (EDCT) copper wire. You had not heard a truly transparent cable until you had heard Townshend Audio Fractal™.
- DCT Deep Cryogenic Treatment
- Annealed Copper
- Fractal Treatment
- EDCT Enhanced Cryogenic Treatment
Testimonials
Annealed, DCT, EDCT and Fractal Copper: Advancement in sound history
Townshend Audio first used annealed copper in the early 2000s realizing that it embued the cables with a noticeably clearer sound. Using a blow torch to heat the thin copper to 500C, the annealed copper was then threaded through a thin-walled PTFE tube. Two of these assemblies were placed in parallel to make an interconnect cable. As the copper strips only contacted the tube at the edges, the dielectric was mainly air with just a small amount of PTFE. These treatments resulted in a then state-of-the-art interconnect.
“These multi-award-winning cables became very popular in the late 90s, as they were very clear and smooth compared with regular non-annealed copper. At this time, Keith Howard of Hi-Fi News suggested deep cryogenic treatment (DCT). So a batch was dispatched to cryo the copper to see what happened. Where annealed copper sounded marginally better, what we were now hearing with this new metal treatment had our jaws on the floor; it was so obviously better. At the time, we did the testing blind, with a, b and c, but we could pick it out easily and quickly every time, and we have used the process ever since. We have a chap called Ed Meitner to thank here; he had been treating valves with the same deep cryogenic treatments and getting great sound.”
M.Townshend
Connectors
Swiss gold plated spring-loaded Neutrik RCA phono plugs offer no compromise
Casing
Double layers of PTFE and air dielectric insures the best possible choice for sonic benefits
Treated Copper
All copper is annealed and treated with DCT or Townshend's propriety Fractal™ treatment.
“I have personally only found two other interconnects that don’t leave a musical signature – whether it be tonal or timing – this F1 was up on the top with them, and much faster than Lewis Hamilton. I rarely get excited about cables, and having initially expected these to not be anything special, going by the unique design, I have to admit I was wrong. These proved that thinking outside the box can actually be the most sensible thing to do. Something Max does every day.”
Janine Elliot – HiFi Pig
“The F1 Fractal has a ‘dark’ quality that lets you hear into the soundstage, walk around the musicians and oh-so-easily tease apart the threads of their mix. Bass sounds robust and extended, treble pin-sharp and sparkling but never too hot or fierce…
…This is a cracking set of cables… …the cable sounded deliciously smooth and detailed, and promoting the kind of easy listening, inky black backgrounds typically associated with the best HiFi systems. Go on treat your self!”
PAUL MILLER – HiFi News
“On the heels of the ridiculously superb (passive) Allegri+ preamplifier (HERE), with its secret sauce…fractal wire…comes the introduction to America of Townshend F1 Fractal Interconnects. (There are speaker cables also, but I did not have them for review.) The interconnects are extremely exotic looking and terminated in excellent shielded push-on connectors. Featuring air dielectric, they are even cryo’ed! They are neutral, open, and superbly detailed. Without a doubt, if you own an Allegri+, you’ll want these, at the very least, connecting it to your amplifier for the purest clarity possible.
I broke them in on a Cable Cooker for 48 hours, and tried them in various locations in two systems. They were immediately sonically perfect in and around the Allegri+. Otherwise, the F1 may need a bit of tube rolling or cable swapping to perfectly match their unmatched lack of colorations in your particular system. I heard no lumps or bumps from lowest lows to airiest highs with the F1. What I do hear is definition to die for, with extraordinary in-the-room realism.
These will have audiophiles going nuts for years as they grasp the earth shaking engineering and near perfection of these interconnects. All I know is that connectivity is truly the final frontier.
You must try these if you can afford $1300-$1500 for RCA/XLR for the first meter. I hope to have more to say about this obvious break-through in interconnects…and very possibly speaker cables…soon. This F1 interconnect is a superstar!”
Robert H. Levi – Positive Feedback Issue 95
Discover The Townshend Cable Fleet
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Still not convinced to buy Interconnects? Then simply try our 28-day trial. Just let us know about your system and the length of cable you require and we’ll send you a pair to try. If after 28-days you’re still not convinced then send them back to us. We’d also appreciate a review –
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