What power cord are TW Acustic TT owners using?


Hi guys! I ordered a Raven One from Jeff at High Water Sound and it should be arriving soon. I've had no experience with power cords for turntables as my previous ones have all had captive cords. System is CJ-PV5 preamp, Belles 300A power amp, Unity Audio Sig One speakers, Wadia 830 cd player, Analysis Plus Oval-9 speaker wires, Harmonic Tech Pro Silway-3 interconnects. Any thoughts on PC's in the $300 to $500 range would be gratefully appreciated. Oh, the Raven One will have a 12 inch Ortofon arm and Dynavector 20X cart. Thanks in advance!--Mrmitch
mrmitch
I think this money could be better spent on a better Dyna cartridge or others to show you what your Raven One and Ortofon RS-309 are capable of or other things like Mint Best tractor, etc. I use a Raven One but i don't put too much thought into power cord, especially one to a small motor controller.
Jaspert is right. I think the money on a "better power cord" should be used towards a better cart. It will be a more obvious and direct improvement considering what your are using it with.
I agree with both responses above. I have had my Raven AC for 9 months and I did not know that it came with out a power cord when I got it. I used a basic cord I had around. Three months ago i made my own with quality 14 gage wire and Wattgate connectors. could not tell any diff.

Save power cord upgrades for later and get the best cart you can now.

Very happy with the Raven AC.

Terry
Thanks for your responses so far! I had been thinking along the lines that a power cord for a non-high current piece of equipment shouldnt matter that much and you've pretty much confirmed that. Budget constraints mean I will have to go with the Dynavector cart for now, but when more funds are available, a better cartridge is on my list. Thanks to Ebm too for his view of Electraglide.--Mrmitch
Hi Mrmitch,
If you do want to try some accessories that will improve the performance of your Raven One, please do consider TTWeights's excellent peripheral rings and record weight/clamp combination. I got one recently and it's great for those less than perfect records which is getting more common by the day unfortunately. Good value and obvious sonic improvement to ge gained.
Lastly, enjoy the new rig and spinning records.
Thanks again for your replies! And thank you Jaspert for sharing your knowledge and experience. I had read your experience with the ring and weights in another thread, sounds like something to investigate. Jeff e-mailed me yesterday to tell me he is throwing in a power cord gratis, you can't beat that. My experience with him so far has been nothing but exemplary.--Mrmitch
I tried a few power cords on my One and like others, found no difference. In the UK, the One used to come with a Millenium record weight. The UK importer felt it made no real difference. Mine came with Millenium feet, I certainly found an audible improvement with Stillpoints + risers. Otherwise I feel the TW decks are so well designed, they are pretty tweak proof
Just wanted to add to the thread that I took delivery of my Raven One yesterday-Incredible! We listened to records all night and the music was so amazing. I cant thank Jeff Catalano enough for everything he did to make the experience a straightforward and pleasant one. We went to his place to pick the turntable up and he never made us feel like he was pressed for time-- we listened to our turntable there. The renovations he did himself on his place showed first rate workmanship with the same care he takes with his audio equipment and music. Thanks again for your help, and my mind has been changed on the power cord issue-using a Gutwire Jeff gave me until the Shunyata I ordered comes in.--Mrmitch
Jeff @ High Water Sound is incredible - one of the best dealer experiences so far.
Totally agree with Madfloyd and others here ,Jeffery of High Water Sound IS far and away THE best dealer experience that I have ever come across.

Whether over the phone or by e-mail Jeffery is always easily reached and pleasant to speak with ,the man has a vast knowledge of music, great attitude, down to earth and knows his product line very well.
All this and more.
Jeff is certainly not your typical audio dealer.

Mrmitch you will not be disappointed....

Also if you are not already aware ,by far the biggest bang for your buck is to Mint your cartridge.

Info at MintLp.com including a very long list of testimonials here on Audiogon.
Like Jeffery of HighWaterSound, Yip the designer of the Mint tractor is also very tentative to his customers.
I would save the money toward upgrading your preamp. I'm not sure that the CJ preamp will pass through the fast transients, linearity and nuances of which that table/arm/cartridge combination is already capable of. I've owned CJ and enjoyed it but I think your setup is capable of bringing more to the table, so to speak. Jeff
Just to add a new note, I've made a few changes since the last posting. My preamp now is a Joule Electra LA-150 Mk2 and the new Fosgate tube phono stage with Purist Audio Venustas IC's between the Fosgate and the Joule. These changes have made an incredible difference in the music! Next step is to get new speaker cables, thinking of sticking with Purist Audio as now that I have the Venustas in the chain and my speakers are internally wired with Purist, it might be the way to go. Thanks again to all who have contributed and thanks again to Jeff!--Mrmitch
I visited my dealer awhile back &much to my surprise, he did use an aftermarket powercord for the motor of the tw raven one. i couldn't believe it, but it did make a discernable difference. Unfortunately i cannot remember the make of that pc he used in there. BUT it sure made the sound more quieter, clearer and more orderly.
You should try it when you get the chance.
Does TW Acustic supply power cords? They did not 2 years ago when I bought a Raven AC. If that is still the case, there is no "stock" cord to reference too.
TD