Raven Black Night

Dgad you forgot to mention the ceramic main bearing.

Sonofjim,

I don't doubt the Galibier tables are very nice. But there are a few major differences. These include material selection, certain motor calibration and syncronization differences, and lastly the main point is the bearing. TW uses a very different bearing than every other table that I know of. Also, the adjustable VTA is critical for me. This will help w. some tonearm that are difficult to do repeatable VTA or any VTA such as SMEs, Schroder loses a bit of HTA on adjustment, and my Ikeda which is so difficult to do as it is just a locking collar to move up & down freely.

Pcosta,

I understand the bearing to be mostly similar on the Black Night w. a slight change to accomodate the increased weight. I know the inner part of the bearing is changed compared to the Raven AC. The part inside the platter. I forget what material is used.

Also voicing of the turntable has a lot to do w. cartridge selection and phono stage, preamp etc. I am in the middle of a love affair w. the Colibri.

Dgad,
I realize my comparison is simplistic and unscientific. I'm just a kid with a crayon connecting the dots before I can see the whole picture. No disrespect for TW Acustic is intended at all. In fact, the pictures of your setup make the Raven look very good indeed. I can't help making comparisons between TW and Galibier because they're the two companies my search for a "last" table has led me to. No doubt there will be more differences than similarities. (Sorry, but don't the chief designers for both companies spell their names T-H-O-M?)

Sonofjim,

Since I have never personally compared the two tables I would have no comment about anything other than basic engineering principles and design. That is why I consider the Galibier nice. No criticism intended.

My love of TW is based on how it sounds in my system compared to my previous turntable. Also, how easily I hear the differences between cartridges and even the slight changes in VTF, VTA etc I make. Also, multiple comparisons of Mats, arms, cartridges between me & some friends w. the same turntable often came to similar conclusions. These comparisons have allowed me to form my own conclusions about what I consider to be a good product without even listening to it. Of course I love the looks and design etc. It is all about what suits you the consumer.

Mind you, even for amplification, tonearm design etc. etc, a lot con be determined by knowing a bit about the companies sonic bias / house sound and what approaches they use in their design. If you know that it suits you then often you will like other products from the same company. Also, you might like products that from other manufacturers that they use as well. But... there are times where an upgrade isn't necessarily an upgrade. I have experienced that a few times and have learned from it. Quite often in cartridges and more often in digital. The upgrade is just different. The product that lets you hear those differences is critical.

Hello together,

living with the AC for four months now, I am very happy with it.
Some days ago I had the chance to see and hear the RBN.
What can I say.
The look is stunning, much better than on the photos. Unbelievable craftmanship.
The sound was very clean and fast. For me it is THE step forward comparing it to the AC.

I have no idea if there are similar good TT around, because there are not so much chances to hear the other brands.

If the machine has crossed the big water, try to get an audition at HWS and you will know what I mean.

All the best from Germany

Wini