Step up above Acoustic Signature Mambo

Hey...keep me posted on the Raul per amp. This could be a sleeper story in the making!

Andrew,

I love my Raven and find it incredibly neutral. I don't know if you need to upgrade your table though. It will definitely sound different. I am waiting to find someone to compare the 2. Your table is a great table in many ways. It might benefit from an isolation base and some power conditioning. Also you can try a mat or a copper mat w. a mat on top. I swear by the outer ring as one of the most significant upgrades for the money. I also am a big fan of multiple arm and cartridges. This is where the Raven shines for me. It can be tuned for anything. I would love have a shoot out. There have been extensive shoot outs in Germany. I wonder what the forums over there would say.

Dgad,

Thanks for your comments here and before. I'm using the Boston Mat-1. I haven't experimented with the Living Voice or others. Maybe I'll give it a try.

One of the things that has intrigued me about the Raven is the high torque motor. Conceptually this seems to be the closest you can get to a direct drive by using belts. Not sure if that's important anyway. With the low torque AC motor and skinny belt that comes with the Mambo, I wonder if it does not deal with minor speed fluctuations induced by various passages as good as the high torque Raven with thick belt. Maybe the interia of the Mambo's platter addresses this.

Anyway, these are probably minor questions. Overall, I'm very impressed with the Mambo. It is hard to fault and if it is competitive with the 10K Raven then it is saying a lot!

Andrew

Aoliviero:
"Raul is coming on Tuesday to let me listen to his preamp/phonostage". Are you in Mexico or is Raul Flying ? I heard his preamp (previous version)at his place with excellent sound coming from his Allaerts, Mission "the mechanic" and Acoustic signature combo. Keep us posted about your meeting.

Would be interesting to compare Raul's hardware to Nick's Alaap hardware.