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Upgrade from TW Acustic Raven AC-3 to what?

I have had the TW turntable (with 10" Da Vinci Grandezza arm and Grandezza cartridge) for two years. I have been happy with this TT and can live with it for a long time although i wish it wasn't as dark sounding, that the soundstage could be more spacious and the bass tighter. The upgrade bug in me is wondering for 50K ore thereabout, is there a TT that is superlative over the TW? One that would end my upgrading itch for the next 10 years?
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mosin
410 posts
 
The original topic was, "Upgrade from TW Acustic Raven AC-3 to what?"

That is the proverbial can of worms, isn't it? We can sit here ad infinitum, and discuss the merits of this or that implementation, but at the end of the day the user wants to improve upon the turntable that he currently owns. That turntable happens to be a very well-respected one, so his choice is likely to be another that is built with equal passion, but its builder will be acting with a different vision of how it should sound. The bottomline is that the implementation of the vision should be in keeping with the buyer's expectations. He wants a different sound that more closely meets what he feels is right for his particular system.

It isn't about technical merits at this point. Rather, it is more about choices that meet personal criteria because he already has a top-flight turntable.

lewm
13,440 posts
 
Stiltskin, Be prepared for a lecture.
Mosin, I was thinking along the same lines. In fact, Alectiong may have already made his choice while we've been carping. I am very curious to know what he bought, or maybe he wants to sell his Raven/Grandeeza first.
dertonarm
1,042 posts
 
I do prefer thread drive with calculated slippage over idler wheel and direct drive. This allows me to use the platter mass (static mass.... ) I want and know to be essential to go past the frontiers and I get an extremely constant (by using extreme inertia) speed for free. The high platter mass is a conditio sine qua non in my ears and eyes and sadly is contradictional to the principles of both idler wheel drive as well as direct drive. Both direct coupled drive principles imply direct control of the platters speed at every single moment. Really high inertia (I am talking about a 110+ lbs platter with 10" diameter spinning... ) is working against the control (and the needed control in these drive principles) in ID and DD TTs.
I do not question the fact that there are people who favor ID or DD and who think the sound they present is great and the best they ever heard.
Fine.
Yes, Alectiong has long moved on and our discussion is also long going in a direction which goes far beyond anything Alectiong wants to hear or talk about.
The discussion about drive principles will go on as long as TTs are build. As will the discussions about 9", 10" or 12"+ tonearms, MMs or MCs, tubes or solid state, full-range vs. multiple-driver and so on.
Everyone follows his ideas or the ideas he likes best for whatever reason.
Fine.
There is no problem at all. Some will continue with idler wheel drives, some with direct drives old and new and some with belt drive. Very few will go for thread drive with high platter mass and slippage.
Fine.
solong
41 posts
 
or maybe he wants to sell his Raven/Grandeeza first.
I guess, Alectiong has yet decided.
Until lately there was an offer of his complete Raven setup here on a'gon. Maybe it is already sold (seductive pricing).
mosin
410 posts
 
Dertonarm,

Fine, but the reality is that it isn't so much the drive method, as it is the implementation of ideas. This isn't really a debatable point. Rather, it is a question of hearing a great many turntables, and listening to them in a critical way. For a long time, I believed that one way was surely best, but then I was exposed to various turntables past and present. The surprise was that the ones I liked best did not share a similar drive method. It was more a curious case of designers who share a similar vision. A turntable is more than a collection of parts, far more. It is more like the audio chain in that it is only as strong as its weakest link. Therein lies the rub.

Best,
Win
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