Vpi vs. TW Acustic

I just went to see the Berlin Staatskapelle do Mahler #8 at Carnegie Hall. This is my reference for what a great turntable should sound like. My RAVEN AC 1 comes close to replicating the performance however no system can do this in a home setting. When I purchased my turntable from HIGHWATER SOUND I compared it to my turntable which had just been updated and also compared to another table around the same price. All tables used GRAHAM PHANTOM and ORPHEUS cartridge. I listened to RAVEN AC1 for over 2 weeks. The RAVEN AC1 in my system did everything better- bass imaging, sound stage and depth etc.At this point my dealer HIGHWATER SOUND got me a new RAVEN AC1. He (Jeff) came over 3 times to double check everthing on the table. I have never had better customer service. I am now going to update to RAVEN AC3, BLACK NIGHT Battery power supply and BLACK NIGHT Feet as soon as they are ready.I must say this turntable really helps me enjoy my large classical record collection. I also have 2 good friends with Great VPI based systems and they have even larger classical record collections and both their systems are WONDERFUL. Both of these friends do agree that the RAVEN AC1 is by far these best turntable that I have ever had in my system.

. I feel live classical music is the ultimate referance. However, a great turntable and large classical record collection are great in a home system as we can not always go to live music.

Ebm
What did your new AC1 replace and which were the other tables you mention?

I'm not sure there is any utility to threads like these. While I own a VPI Aries 2, it has seen many upgrades any there have been so many revisions to peripherals, that any comparison becomes virtually impossible. For instance, even if you were to consider the stock Aries, there is the cartridge to consider, the tone arm cable, the base the table is sitting on, whether the table is properly leveled; has the user optimized VTA and VTF; the phono preamp; interconnects; power cords; power conditoner; quality of AC coming into the house/apt; room acoustics; genre of music, preamp; power amplifier; tubes (if not SS). Truth is, it would be hard enough comparing two of the same tables in different settings let alone one table to another. I guess if you compared the two tables, VPI and Raven One in a controlled setting, in the same room, on the same platform, with the same tonearm and cartridge and run through the same electronics and same cabling, playing the same source content, the comparison might hold some validity, but of all the "this vs. that" threads we see on this site, how many have been conducted where the variables have been minimized?

That being said, I am sure both of these tables are wonderful feats of engineering and one can and should be completely content with either one of them. If you add to the foregoing the psychological affect of defending your own sizeable investment, you can see that other than the entertainment factor, there is really little to be gained by these threads.

TW ACUSTIC/VPI 2 GREAT TURNTABLES WELL MADE GREAT SERVICE BOTH WONDERFUL SOUNDING AS WELL!