questions for TW Acustic Raven One owner

yes rich, dark, full sound. it also depends on your cartridge & tonearm , phono stage of choice. it can be anything in the end just depending on your chain.
You can add quiet to that list of description of the R1.
No matt for me.

My Raven AC1 has been with me for a month but I reckon I may at best have 20 to 30 hrs of play time. So take what I have to say with oodles of salt. No changes in the rest of my vinyl chain : Transfiguration Orpheus L cart, Triplanar VII U2, Nagra VPS phonostage with the cart aligned using a Mint LP. The TW replaced a 3 year old Michell Orbe. Initially I was underwhelmed. The TW has more muscle and body and the bass is tight but it seemed to lack the top end air and sparkle of the Orbe. Over the past few days the one thing that is really noticeable is that musical notes have longer sustain and decay and there is an organic wholeness to the music that has got me seriously grinning. I have a 20 year old copy of Dire Straits - Commuique, not in great condition. No exaggeration, or perhaps a minor one,the hair on my arms was standing.
I use the supplied mat with the fuzzy side below. It was way superior to no mat or the fuzzy side up.
If you have any specific queries send me a mail for my 2 cents worth.

I will be using the R1 with ZYX airy 3 cart., Morch DP 6 arm, and Tom Evans the Groove phono. My cart and phono are extremely detailed and high resolution, this combo borders on brightness at times in which I've already tamed with my cabling. I think the R1 will fit in nicely since it has a warmer signature, mushy is not what I'm looking for. Just hoping the bass will remain tight and solid. More comments welcomed!

you can add some sparkle with an aftermaket copper mat, changing the feet to cones, using a bronze armboard. but the sound is as others describe. muscular, can be a bit thick, full but also very dynamic and somewhat forgiving. bass is deep and rich but not loose. someone else once described it as a nice warm hug.

I had a TW Raven 1 till recently and i agree about dark and slightly thick sounding description. I had tried various arm, carts, accessories like TTW copper mat,Bostom Mat 1,weight/clamp and different platforms. The last arm I tried was the Transfi T3 Pro with a custom wand with silver leads direct to phono pre and this was the best sounding combination on the R1 to my ears and in my setup, more open,better clarity and expanded sound depth and height. Unconventional pairing but It worked even better than the Phantom II in my case.

My arm also uses silver wiring plus my phono and cart is extremely revealing so I think the Raven One will fit in well. I do plan on adding the ttweights copper mat for some top end sparkle if neccessary.

Jaspert, what table did you end up going to?

I agree with the rich, musical solid sound, good base. It is certainly the best deck I have had in my system, by a good way and is here for good. I use an Ortofon 309D arm and either Koetsu onyx or Benz micro LP, both wonderful cartridges.
I am interested in comments about mats and clamps. I have'nt tried them, but was struck by the Stereo Mojo review of TTweight accesories on the Raven one, a while ago. If anyone else has advice on their merits, I would appreciate it.

I'm using a few tables at the moment including a modified Lenco,Commonwealth 12D3, Garrard 301, slate SP10 Mk2 and Micro Seiki RX-5000.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/jasnev/Hi%20Fi%20and%20Horology/SPUAReedDelos.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/jasnev/Hi%20Fi%20and%20Horology/MicroRX5000trioarms.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/jasnev/Hi%20Fi%20and%20Horology/Plinth/PlinthpostpolishSP10.jpg

Quite interesting Jaspert

those are some very SOLID turntable choices,while I remember you were a vocal owner of the TW Raven 1.By no means am I questioning your choices,I am however, curious as to which of your current tables made you sell the TW? what strengths made you move forward

-braab

Scar,
My take on the sound of the Raven One is a bit different.
The caracterization of the sound as dark & thick is too superficial a description. This table presents vocal and instrumental music as fully fleshed out. The full and complete harmonic envelope is portrayed.As a former classical musician, the Raven one is the only table that truly portrays instruments and music as I heard it on stage from within the orchestra. Dark & Thick is a coloration. I hear the Raven as truthful to the real thing.
Obviously, the system and your musical tastes will influence your assessment. The Raven, to me, is a keeper.

Thanks for all the input guys.

Jdolgin, may I ask what's your system, what table did you have before?