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TW Acustic Raven One owners

Hello Guys,

I have bought one month ago a TW Acustic Raven One and I have mounted a new Michell Tecnoarm I'm breaking-in with my Grado Statement Master 0.4mv cartridge
I'm very happy about the TW , for me it's a great TT telling the true not the best looking TT but surely one of the good sounding out of there.
Speaking about the arm since it was a new one and I haven't finished to break-in (only 40 hours done) I can only say it smells like a good sounding arm .. expecially good silver cabled

What your arm on this TT? .. and how about your experiences about Raven One - Arm combo?

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/1248/twyu2.jpg

Happy New Vinyl Year to EveryOne!

Gabriele
128x128curio
david12
1,454 posts
 
After discussing with Thomas at TW, I went for an Ortofon 309S and am very happy with it, mounting a Zyx Airy 3. I don't think it is far off the ultimate arms, at a fraction of the price. My Raven 1 came with stock Millenium feet and I find Standard, not OEM stillponts, a big improvement, even with a wall shelf.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Most recently here on Audiogon a fellow member has mounted a Dynavector XV-1 on a run of the mill tonearm that retails for $700.00.

In fact the retail price of this very good cartridge alone is more then his entire front end.

Any superb tonearm with any decent cartridge mounted on it will far out play ANY mediocre tonearm with any of the popular expensive cartridges of today.
True 30 years ago and truer today, specifically because today's best catridges are more revealing of flaws in surrounding components than the best cartridges of 30 years ago.

Very wise advice, and perhaps the most frequently abused/ignored/unknown.

This isn't to say don't buy an XV-1S, Transfiguration Orpheus, upper model ZYX or other top cartridge. It is to say that the rest of your vinyl front end (including the phono stage) must be at an appropriate level first or you may be disappointed.
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
I have to disagree slightly here........I mounted a $5000 ZYX Universe on my 30 year old Rega Planar 3 with Hadcock GH228 unipivot arm (total price 30 years ago $375) and the resultant sound was one of the 4 revelations of my audio life.
I now have it mounted in a DaVinci 12" Ref Grandezza arm on a Raven AC-3 turntable and appreciate the sound of the Universe to no greater degree than before?
Of course one might say that the Rega 3 and Hadcock arm were not "chopped liver"?.......but they are still available today at reasonable prices.
jaspert
157 posts
 
Hi Mark/Stiltskin,

Really looking forward to pairing the Phantom and the Raven 1 this year and I will definitely get a MintLp. Judging the feedbacks from you and Gabriele, it's well worth
the trouble for very minimal outlay.

Both Ortofon 309D and 309S 12 inch arms sounds like good pairing with Raven 1 or AC from a few users here.It would be next choice if i didn't already have a deposit down for the other arm.

Halcro,
The way i read it,it sounds like putting the top of the range Dynavector cartridge on the Raven AC-3/12 inch Da Vinci is no more sweeter than your 30 yrs old Rega Planar 3 combination which is kind of surprising. W
Very nice system BTW.
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
Thanks Jaspert,
Don't get me wrong?.......the sound of my system with the Raven AC-3 plus DaVinci and Copperhead arms is of course far more revealing and competent than with the Rega 3/Hadcock combination.
The point I was trying to make is that the beauty of an expensive cartidge can often be fully appreciated (at least in my case), with a cheap turntable and arm.
It may not be the universal recommendation?......but it also should not be universally condemned?
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