Raven AC3


I am considering this table. Would love to hear from owners, current/long term. Some threads refer to the table as colored/dark - others refute. Do you think this is set-up driven or truly a reflection of the table?
adstew
The Raven is an excellent table, however, I would not limit myself just to one table as there are a few other tables which are new contenders to being some of the best sounding tables on the market:

The new Merrill Williams is dramatically less expensive than the Raven, yet can easily compete with the Raven, the recent review in the Absolute Sound was spectacular, this table employs a radical new concept instead of relying on mass use energy absorbing materials, (the entire plinth is comprise of a composite of different rubber materials and aluminium) to eliminate and dissipate the energy in the first place.

It is an amazing sounding table and an incredible deal at less than $8k! vs $20k for the Raven and it is made entirely in the USA!

The other table I would consider as a game changer is the new Kronos at $28k. This table also employs radical concept in design two platters: one which spins in a counter rotational way, the two platters with opposing motion cancel out any wobble or vibrational energy that a high mass platter would generate, and the entire body of the table is damped via a similar suspension system to what SME uses.

This table at $28k is being compared to the $90k Walker!

The other thing I would look at is upgrading to a Stillpoints rack which will make a dramatic upgrade to your system.

I am a dealer for both of these tables, which is why I know about these products, just do your own research and then let me know what you think.
Wonderful table very musical,great bass, stage, depth etc.I have AC1 battery power supply,Tw 10.5 arm etc,Dark i dont think so.Very well made with great customer support.
If your looking for a TT in that price range I would try and hear Steve Dobbins The Beat as well. The Beat would be my choice. I have only heard the Raven at RMAF. It did sound a little rolled off but that could have been the choice of cartridge or something else in the system.
I also really like my Raven AC-1. The sound character will also depends greatly on what arm you will use. I have Graham and Reed mounted on the table and they really sound quite different and you can hear the attributes of each arm clearly.
However, I did not have much chance to compare it in my system to other turntable of similar prices though.
I used to think that with Reed tonearm, it could not quite match the punch and slam of VPI Classic (both with JMW 10.5 and Reed arm using Reed arm pod) but once I have Graham arm mounted, there is definitely no deficiency there. On the other hand, it does not exactly out perform my Micro Seiki BL-111/FR64s/Koetsu combination either. By the way, I never could get Koetsu to sound great on TW for some reason.