A Little Help, Talon Raven C's: Are They Keepers?

That is one fundamental difference. Mike has also, as usual, changed the crossover to achieve a little bit better efficiency. The cabinet is heavier as well, better braced, beefier. He usually offers a choice in binding posts too, and some improvement can be had there, too. If you are considering either the Khorus X mk II or the Raven C, you should ask about the latest upgrades Talon is offering. Different damping materials inside the cabinets and even greater efficiency with some circuitry changes in the crossovers again. A couple dB improvement, which would allow just about any amp to be coupled with the speakers. Unless you just want to go off the price charts, there aren't a lot of speakers out there that do what these speakers do.

What's the difference between the Raven C and the original Raven? Is it just the ceramic tweeter?

I agree. I used to own them & would still if my listening space hadn't changed. I would not hesitate to buy them again if I had the space. I'd look at Sim, Edge or Belles SS amps if I were going to do it again.

Awesome speaker. Holographic, spacious, delicate, dynamic, mesmerizing.

The Raven C are a very good speaker! Some of the best bass in the business. I have had mine for over a year now and I will hold on to them as long as I can. The C are much better then the older Ravens. If you are looking for another high end bargin ans a perfect match for Talon speakers it is Edge amps. The Raven's will also play very loud unlike must high end speakers.
Here is a very good review:
http://www.thatslifemag.com/audiovideo/ancillaryspeakercomponents2.asp

Hello,

I have owned a pair of the Khorus and Peregrine for almost 3 years now and they continue to impress me. They now are part of my HT setup. I suspect the Ravens have much the same characters of these other two Talon products.

Initially I bought the Khorus to replace my long time favorite Magnepan 3.3's. The Talons had far more dynamic capabilities, an incredible low end extension, lower level resolution and were much easier to drive. There is absolutely no fatigue in their tonality and there are no significant peaks or valleys in their response.

A year later I was wanting that awesome midrange presentation that the Maggies did like no other speaker I had heard. So I moved the Talons to the HT setup and got another pair of Maggies for the music system. But often times I wanted the Talons back for the music. Today I have much of the best of both worlds with Sound-Lab A1s, but these are not so easy to drive like the Talons.

In the HT setup, the Talons were so superior in every way to the Thiel 3.6 and 2.3 that I had been using. This surprised and greatly impressed me. And you typically pay a lot more for speakers to get a solid bass presence like you get here.

The only negative comment I have with Talon products is concerning their MSRP and how quickly these products depreciate from original cost. I think that for what they sell for on the used market, there is very little else out there that comes even close to such performance. But I suspect that many people have concerns to try or own a speaker that loses its value to its list price so rapidly. I suspect if these were originally priced at 2/3 the list price, they might get a lot more respect.

John