TW Raven One vs. Nottingham 294?

Good to hear, Scompracer. I have a feeling that, although excellent as is, the Raven One can't be 2x better than the 294, especially if you equip the 294 with a superior arm as an upgrade later. 294 seems the better value, no?

I believe the Space 294 is a great value, especially if you can pick one up used or get a dealer demo like I did. You can always swap the arm out later if you want to change how it sounds.

I’ve never heard a Raven, but have heard more expensive tables/arms and didn’t care for the way they presented the music. Who knows, I might feel differently in a year or two. Vinyl is highly subjective and the best thing is to demo them, if possible.

Vinyl can be a deep, dark rabbit hole. I have been through a few tables and spent way more than I planned to be happy. Good luck in your quest!

Picking up the thread a little bit late. I own a 294 and it seems to me it's the best value in the Nottingham range. Like Scompracer, I would recommend using a Boston Audio Mat and most of all, to not use the Space Arm, which is not very good (if still musical) and quite poorly made. Any quality tonearm will elevate the 294 performance to a whole new level. The table in itself will give you amazing back for your buck.

C: The Raven AC was purchased by a friend who has upgraded the power supply, motor housing & chip. In his case he uses a Schroder Ref. Tonearm and a Shelter 9000 w/ Soundsmith upgrade. Nothing on this planet sounds better and we have heard them all. Save your money buy a Raven and upgrade as you can, you will never buy another turntable. The Raven One is about 90+% of the upgraded AC out of the box , sans Tonearm & Cart.

I agree with Charlie (Crem) - BUY A RAVEN!!
WHY? It's a known entity and it will be the last TT you EVER buy!! And...if not... there will be a long line of folks that will want to buy it from you if you ever decide to sell it!!
Try THAT with an N-A product!
As an acid test (no not the LSD type!) ask yourself this......
If the N-A is soooo good why do they need to keep changing/upgrading it?
Downside: No instant gratification with the RAVEN - TW can't keep up with demand (another clue!). So you will probably have to wait a bit to get one.
I know, it's CUBIC MONEY...but in this case it is worth every penny of the investment to get a known, solid performing turntable in your system instead of a passing "trendy" turntable that you will probably end up wanting to sell off in 5 years or less and take a huge financial hit on.