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Cartridge and step up / riaa for TW Acustic Raven

Hi!

I hope you all are well :)

If everything gets together I will buy a TW Acustic Raven One with a Graham Phantom II in the new year. The next step is to buy a cartridge and phono amp.

My equipment consist of Wilson Sophias II, Burmester 032 integrated amp, Burmester 061 cd player, Nordost Tyr interconnects and speaker cables, Thor powerdistributor with Nordost Brahma powerlines. In addition to this I have a Revox B77 mk2 reel to reel player.

The Burmester sound is in many ways similar to McIntosh, but slightly more on the ying side. The sound is clear and open, with a wonderful mids. The treble is smooth and detailed. The bottom is dynamic and deep, but more running with the flow than with a slam. The bigger 911 mk3 amp is more detailed in the bottom. But the price level is different too.

So I have to combine a cartridge and phono amp to this. I play all kind of music, since I am both is a talent buyer for rock pop festivals and a consultant for the national arts council regarding music (all kinds). So I listen a lot to music through the week.

I like dynamic open detailed open sound, but I do not like it overly analytical if that means too much forward in its presentation.

I like the sound in my system at the moment. However, I have to do something with my listening room, but thats another story. Its an ongoing process as we know!

My budget at this point will be approx. USD 3,000 for the phono amp and USD 1,500 for the cartridge. Maybe step later on.

The dealer of TW Acustic has reccommended Koetsu and Air Tight.

Thanks for your help!

Cheeers, ToffenG

toffeng
toffeng OP
41 posts
 
Hi!

Yes, cartridges seems to be a hot topic. I know about two-three well respected shops in Norway and Denmark, and I will try to find out what they reccommend too.

Since the funds are a little low at the moment, I will concentrate on the Raven One and Graham Phantom. And from there try to borrow some phono stages. Maybe I start with a Air Tight PC-3. According to the dealer of TW this is a good all round pickup. When I get wealthy I can buy the Ortofon A90....

Do you have any reccommendations regarding tonearm interconnects? Nordost Tyr? I use that between my Amp and CD player and as speaker cables. Good alround neutral cable. Maybe not so very exiting though.

Cheers, ToffenG
affinity
5 posts
 
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year in Norway!

JMTCW FWIW. (More than 30 years enjoying analogue playback!)

My current analogue setup - Roksan Radius 5 with Nima tonearm, Lyra Argo, custom tonearm connecting cable, modified JLTI phono stage. Modest outlay - great bang for the buck. (Why not spend more on LPs?)

My audio network hold Lyra in great esteem, across the board, over many years. One local audiophile owns both Skala and Helikon. Certainly the Skala is superb. But so is my Lyra Argo......the Lyra sonic character is more yang than yin (e.g., opposite of Koetsu which tends to ultra yin.)

Please note precise/meticulous cartridge setup is essential. Premium cabling is mandatory (after all, we are dealing with very low signal levels!).

There is always much (heated) opinion in analogue. Above all, trust your own ears. Enjoy the music!
robyatt's avatar
robyatt
55 posts
 
toffeng something to consider,the Altmann battery run phono stage, it is excellent. Price is right too! partner that with a Zu Denon 103 and you will be happy for a while. The Graham Phantom is superb with so many phono cartridges.
mrmitch
359 posts
 
ToffenG, I'm using a Synergistic Research Tricon Analog innerconnect with my Raven One/Ortofon AS 309 combo (Dynavector cart). I've had it since last April so its well burned in, and couldnt be happier (well, maybe I could if I could afford something like the Tara The Zero).Great timbre of instruments,very good detail but not overly etched, no spurious noise, silent background. Cant help but think you would be very happy with it. Happy listening with whatever you choose!--Mrmitch
curio's avatar
curio
305 posts
 
Since you live in Norway Toffeng .. just a suggestion from northern Italy .. try the Whest Audio PS30 RDT , Whest Audio sells directly when not distributed in the country .. and forget any step up ..
I use the 30 RDT with TW Raven One and Benz LP into a Pass Labs X1 .. and I'm super happy
Never heard a solid state phono stage so good in my life!
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