TW Raven 10.5" Tonearm

http://www.gtaudio.com/temp/TW%2010.5%20First%20Impressions.pdf

Just put a black sticker over it and just peel it off when you decide to sell.

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make sure it's a carbon fiber black sticker though ;)

I m surprise he doesn't response which is very unusual. I have raven turntable for the last 3 yrs and have correspondence with him numerous times and he has always responded within hours. I ordered the raven on the strength of his reliability instead of phantom tonearm which is highly recommended by my dealer

a black sticker.....mmmm.
sounds like a good idea.

what do you think... Ortofon RS309D or Raven 10.5"?
The ortofon I can get for about $1300 used but immaculate, and it doesn't have a silly bird glued to it.

Did you ever ask yourself that if your question to TW was as rude as this post,
that this might be the reason he never responded?

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The tiny bird doesn't bother me. A 1" diameter round black sticker will take care of it and while you are at it you can poke a tiny dot on the sticker right over the pivot point so you can use it for cartridge alignment if you have a protractor.

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Hi Adog

Why on earth would you think this post is rude? Can't anyone express a dislike to detailing anymore?

I've read here that some take a dislike to turntables, cartridges, CD players, amps...well just about everything audio and there are many that name the manufacturer...so what is so different about this?

I just think the 'birdie' looks silly, I'm not saying TW looks hidious or anything. Now if I did say that, then I should be 'blasted' for it.

Perspective please.... I'm only commenting on what I think is a silly bit of detail!

After seeing the bird in question (thanks, hiho) I too can see why you're not getting a response. You wouldn't get one from me either. Talk about mountains out of molehills.

I guess you could say Raven is giving you the bird.

LOL
:>

Good one Stan.

LOL

Ah, birds everywhere - maybe due to spring time.

I just found another one on a record sleeve. Sounds good on my Raven!

Black Bird

Here's one I always hesitate to play on my Raven (I don't know if it is a bad omen):

Dead Bird

Sorry D, but why are you "considering" this tonearm at all? Because of performance issues or because of proper aesthetics?

Amazing.

You can ask Porsche to de-badge the car, change suspension, even increase power..no problem. Jaeger-LeCoultre will help 'tailor' the watch just for you. Even my electrician was accomodating with the audio side of things.

All of my 'kit' so far is bespoke (non-standard). Yes it costs extra BUT at least I get what I want and it suites the surroundings.

Don't you guys EVER want something unique?

Oh well....

How does the raven tonearm sound ?

I am sure the Raven arm is excellent, it is very expensive. I use the Ortofon 309D on my Raven One and could'nt be happier. For the price it is great value and it is the arm Thomas at TW, has been using on his Raven one

I heard the 10.5" a few weeks ago and it sounded VERY good BUT I have also heard people (as well as TW) say the 309D is only a few points away from a Graham Phantom and Triplanar!

The Raven tonearm will have to go someway to beating a Triplanar. It's hard getting to hear all these tonearms together...that's the problem.

I need to compare the TW 10.5" to a Phantom or 309D. I have seen a comment on the 309D/ PW Winfeld being a match made in heaven.

I know audiophiles are picky about appearance, but I think this is a bit over the top. If you are sitting in your listening chair can you see the bird? As downunder says - how does it sound? TW always delivers a well designed and great sounding product, and to me the sound is the most important aspect. So enjoy the music and let Thomas design and put what he wants on the tonearm.

Hi Darkstar....

I have to get up after every side and see that bloody pidgeon!
I'd rather it be a picture of it dead on its back :))

D

HI I own 2 birds think the RAVEN looks GREAT!!

Hi Ebm

Do you run the tables? I looked at the Raven AC but it was just too big a foot print for my support....I should have tried harder to accomodate it.

i have had the tw arm for several months . i had a few small issues with the arm which thomas immediately took care of. i had a graham phantom as a loaner for a couple of weeks. the tw arm killed it; it was not close. the graham is a good arm, but for me it was not in the same league. everyone who heard it in my system with the same cart agreed. thomas could paint bozo the clown on the arm and i could not live without it.

"Killed it"? Please care to elaborate a bit more on the superiority over the Phantom and what cartridge was used.

"Killed it"? Please care to elaborate a bit more on the superiority over the Phantom and what cartridge was used.

That is a normal description from TW product owners. Everything from them "kills" everything out there. Whenever I listened to one of these products I got different impressions, - FAR different ones - but I am always ready to learn.

i was using the dynavector DRT XV-1t. I, along with several other friends who listened to both arms, found the tw arm to have a much more balanced sound. It provided a more realistic presentation with a larger, more 3 dimensional sound stage. I also found it to be much more musical. For me it was not close and I was offered the chance to trade the tw for a Graham, Triplanar or Dyna arm. I have had a few issues with the arm starting with a bad experience with customs. If the 2 arms were close in performance I was primed to change. However, after living with both arms for some time, I could not switch. There have been a number of times where it has been midnight on a work night and I have trouble turning off the system when the tw arm was in place. The graham never had that effect on me. I understand that this is all subjective and the graham is a great arm--if I had never had a chance to do an a/b comparison in my system, I am sure I would be happy if I had the graham. It just did not have the same realistic presentation for me as the tw. Different strokes for different folks, but I have the arm that works best for me in my system and that opinion was shared by others who heard the 2 arms in my system. "Killed" was too strong a term as the Graham is a great arm and I am sure it is the perfect arm for some folks on their rigs. I aplogize if I offended anyone--I am just bowled over with how the tw arm/table has transformed my system. The main thing is that we all find the equipment that gives us the most enjoyment and for me it is the tw. If anyone has a chance to audition one-I would highly recommend it.

Thanks for that Rdcline.

This is good feedback as I have a Phantom 1 on my AC-3 as well as an Ortofon AS-309-S.

was the phantom a mk1 or mk 2 that you compared it to.

cheers

Mk1. And I want to emphasize that the graham sounded very good. I just found the tw to sound even better. My friends, who have heard my system through its various versions all agreed. I am using kharma midi exquisite speakers and asr emitter II exclusive amp and asr basis exclusive phono stage so it may just be a great match with my gear. However, if you have an ac-3, which is the same table I have, I would definitely give the tw arm an audition. Good luck

Cheers for giving some context and details to your earlier statement.
Appreciate that. By being more "musical" do you think the TW arm give it a bit more bloom in your all solid state amp/phono and highly revealing Kharma speakers thus sounding more appealing?

You raise an interesting point while I thought the graham had pretty good air around the instruments. There was an ease of presentation that i got with the tw that i initially thought had more to do with the cart than the arm. However, i did not quite get this with the graham. The sonic picture was clearer with the tw and that did have something to do with bloom. On the macrodynamics both had plenty of air but the tw seemed to have much more air and seperation on the micro level. Finally, the dimensionality, and seperation of instruments from front to back was much more pronounced with the tw.

Now that are all great news for analog music lovers and I think TW should soon raise - following universal approved and agreed upon market rules - the retail price of the TW 10.5 considerably to illustrate and kind of fortify the sonic superiority of the "white Raven".

More noise from derblowhard.

More invaluable technical insight - and input - from Audiofool.

i don't make the news--i just report. i realize that some folks get offended if a fellow listener doesn't fawn over their particular favorite. that ain't me. i had several problems with the tw arm initially. it made 3 trips across the atlantic. when the dealer offered me a full refund i was dying to switch to another arm. my first choice had been a graham and i was dying to love it. i found it to be a much easier arm to set up. unfortunately or fortunately-depending on where your loyalties lie--the graham could not provide the same quality of playback in my system for my tastes. while i enjoyed the graham, I felt that the graham had a much more pronounced sonic signature. if you like that--more power to you. buy as many as your table or tables will bear and knock yourself out. Me, i like for the equipment to get out of the way of the music and be as natural, neutral and revealing as possible. on my system the tw did that in spades. like i said earlier, different strokes for different folks. i am not a dealer nor do i have any affiliation with tw other than owning an ac-3. in fact, i am not that much of a gear head. if you check my audiogon activity you will see i spend alot more time buying vinyl than debating how many angels can dance on the head of a stylus. i just felt that there were probably some tw owners like me or just vinyl lovers who would be interested in the OPINIONS (and only opinions) of someone who had actually done an a/b comparison of the tw against a very popular and successful arm. in contrast, many out there may prefer the graham--that just wasn't the case with those who got to compare in my system. what we can ALL, hopefully, agree on is that vinyl beats the daylights out of digital. at least in my case, my old rega p25 could humble my $42,000.00 plus esoteric digital seperates. so, that's my 2 cents. i have not heard anyone report on a head to head of a tw against a triplanar, origin, dyna or a multitude of other well respected arms. if anyone has done an a/b of those arms--i would be interested in their thoughts. keep buying the magic black discs--they are, after all, what all this sound and fury is really about.

There you go at it again. the Audiofilth blowing unwarranted noise again. To be respectable , post respectably

Rdcline, I m waiting for the TW tonearm which I purchased instead of Graham which the same dealer is representing. May I knw what problem you faced with the TW tonearm initially.
I agreed with you, I just dont understand why some guys just cant accept that people can have their own opinions and its not necessary the same as theirs. I suspose they felt that they have superior ears

some bloody twistarm just plain jealous with his best turntable that he dare not to response to enquiries

twistarm, to be respected , post respectfully instead of vomiting jealous all over the gon.

I meant jealousy and its nothing but plain jealousy of a fellow german manufacturer who is doing much better

Please get a life!!If you have negative things to say keep it to yourself!!!

please layoff dertonarm. can't you guys recogize someone suffering from stylus envy and short cantilever complex.

i have received a few inquiries about the problems i had with the tw arm. basically, i initially broke the white ground wire while adjusting the azimuth. it was my mistake and not a problem with the arm. this led to the arm being damaged in shipping which led to some other problems that were easily fixed. tw did not charge me to fix the arm despite the fact that i broke it. also, they changed my tone arm cable from the RCA termination i had originally requested to a XLR termination that i decided to change to for no charge. the service has been incredible and the problems originated with me. finally, i want to emphasize that the graham is a world class arm--it just wasn't the arm for me in this system i hope i did not offend anyone's system or tastes--it was not my intent.

by the way the arm is playing now--trouble free. i hope i didn't cause any needless fear about tw reliability. if the proof is in the pudding--my next purchase will be a second tw arm for the mono cart i want. over and out