Brinkmann vs TW Acustic

No TW Turntable is neutral sounding. Based on some design flaws a lot of internal influences are reflected into the tracking process of any cartridge used. These colorations are politely ignored from all users, instead they attack those who don't share their opinion or even worse, try to "educate" them. In a way it is sad because much more clever designs are denied and the so-called "recommendations" aren't such, it is simply a owner's opinion to keep 2.hand pricing high. The Brinkmann is also not among those turntables which show design solutions which push the sonic curtain but it is a solid made unit. Sonically you will find 20 others out there which will show more or less same sonic results for much less money. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely don't care what someone owns, wants to buy or dreams about. But when the mediocre is pushed to something outstanding then this is a slap into the face of all those who do something better.
Linn LP12 is also a mediocre Design, but it is probably the most successful Turntable ever made. So, Listeners who understand what they hear, are a minority. One man's ceiling is another man's floor ...

Have not heard the Brinkman. The Kuzma XL is better than the TW also mentioned in the Syntax link.

I would like to highlight two things:

1. Even though in a TT setup the TT-Tonearm-Cartridge is considered as one system, I am sure there are ways to pin down the sound of at least the TT and the cartridge to a certain extent if one has a decent exposure to the components. For example I have heard the TW in 3 different setups and the Cadenza Bronze on two setups and the Lyra Delos in 3 setups. It is like when you listen to a system you more or less can form an opinion on how the speaker sounds and how good is the CD player.

2. Secondly we seem to use the word "neutral" far too liberally. If a component is able to show the difference between two cables it is immediately termed as neutral. Whereas if we look at how neutral the component itself is, meaning how little it alters the source, most multi-thousand dollar equipments discussed here and on other forums would not even get through the qualifying rounds, but they are still termed neutral with various justifications.

Iaxelrod, good luck with your decision. After getting back in to vinyl very few CD are played around here any more.

And for over four years the Raven AC has worked great for me. No, its not for sale.