sme 30/2 or TW Acustic Raven AC3

Grossly unfair to characterize the SME 30 is "uninvolving". I have some of the most sumptuous, hypnotic playback I have ever heard with my SME 30. Auxiliary electronics, perhaps? I don't like to enter the "brand wars" except in cases of gross misstatement. Most advice tends to be militant, self validating cant from individuals who own the products, anyway. The more militant, the less credible.
The TW may be all that everybody says, I have never heard one, but it seems that it has become popular to bash the SME 30 by comparison as a sour grapes.
The best way to find out, as stated above, is to hear the two either in a similar system or in your own system to determine if the price difference is worth it to a particular individual.

Dear Cjfrbw, I take your remarks to heart. You make some excellent points. You aroused my curiosity about your own system, so I went to your site. How on earth do you get all those tube amps, particularly flea-power SETs, to drive your 4-ohm ribbon speakers? Sorry for the OT comment.

Lewm

Yes, it was a dilemma that took a while to resolve. I use active crossover and pass the signal below 80 Hz to a separate pair of subwoofers with SS amplifiers mediated by a tube rectified preamp. The ribbons themselves are motivated by four channels of 50 watt Wavac SET amplifiers MD 572. The small foil supertweeter array is very efficient and is over powered with a 7 watt single ended el 84 amplifier. With the efficiency savings from the active crossover, i estimate the effect is about equivalent to 200 watt per channel SET driving the ribbons. SET's do not have problems with moderately low impednce, they are much more stressed by COMPLEX impedances, they see ribbons as static resistors.

It is unfair, to characterize the SME 30 as uninvolving but I am talking from my experiences. These are opinions, and yours may be different from mine but neither should be taken as gospel. It is just a hobby after all.

Pcosta,

It's always a good thing to hear from people who have had both components in their systems under similar circumstances. As I recall, however, when you sold your SME 30, it was with regret. You implied that you regarded the TW Acustic as sort of an "acceptable downgrade" or at best a side grade that allowed you to free up funds that were tied up in the SME 30 and purchase better electronics.
Your recollections of the SME 30 seem to be increasingly jaundiced with time, what's next, "dull and lifeless"?
Maybe you should at least get an SME 30 into your system again with your upgrades rather than recollect the SME 30 from memory in your previous less upgraded system.
That is why I regard the comments as being unfair. At least draw your comparisons again on equal standing on the same turf.
I have also upgraded my electronics with the SME 30 and have found it to more than keep up, it is a deep and stable vinyl platform.