Brinkmann vs TW Acustic

Philb7777,

As for the bearing. My Raven AC was one of the earlier units. The bearing was convex on top. Similar to the BN. So is my BN. I think the diameter might be different. Both Dead quiet. Maybe 10 years ago there was a different type of bearing. But as the Phantom had a 1,2 Supreme and upgrades within the designation of each TW has done upgrades as parts have changed availability. This is the same in any industry. I also know that as items are in the market over time feedback will lead to design changes and upgrades. Also manufacturing will evolve as demand changes. A good company will work as such.

Dev,

To answer your question about the motor controller. The Raven 1 had a different style motor controller with a flip switch. Then came the upgraded controller that many people purchased including myself. More elegant and a bit better sonically. Those are the only 2 I know of of the non battery varient. I know the buttons have changed due to changes in availability but nothing major.

As for the original battery PS mine needed to be upgraded as my batteries would no longer hold charge for more than 4 hours. I had my BN for 3-4 years. They were 6 hours originally.

Dev,

You purchased a second hand unit. And had no direct dealer support. Not from Jeff and not from TW. So your batteries were already old. Anyhow, I changed my batteries but at the same time changed the board. I heard a notable improvement and tested it on my Spectrum Analyzer. It was spot on 33.33. Sound was impressive. I decided to do a battery run down test. Next day it is still going. Finally I did it again. Same thing about 20 hours (I think). I emailed TW about all. His simple interchange is yes, batteries last much longer. Which is excellent. I then said it sounds better. He then answers, he learned a few new things. Enough said.

To Answer Your other questions and get everything in context,

I bought my table from TW directly. Been to his house. Heard his system : Amazing Cessaro Horns system that reveals everything. Wow. Saw his office, factory you name it. He has some customers with high end systems that are beyond anything that you would see on Audiogon. Massive horn systems, top of the line dynamic speakers. He knows how his turntable sounds by listening to it in multiple environments with purpose built state of the art systems.

This was several years ago, but years after I purchased the turntable. I went to the Munich Audio Show and visited TW, and did some sight seeing in Europe and visited my other halfs family in Holland which was very close to TW's office.

Dev,

As for the calibration of my custom made suspension for my turntable. One thing I want to emphasize is that once I changed from the AC to the BN I needed to make more space on my rack. I had to remove some devises I had on rack that acted as a ballast and really brought the resonant frequency very low. It involved some major changes. I was able to remove and add springs in different locations to get it correct but it took some effort.

Similar to matching a tonearm to a cartridge to get the resonant frequency in the right range.

It doesn't sound like your Minus K was optimized for your BN. Sorry. That is how I see it. No insults, I just bet your AC worked better than your BN based on your descriptions.

Dev, if I remember correctly, you mentioned once that you bought a Minus-K that was customed ordered to fit Raven AC-3. When you bought BN, Minus-K was too small and you had to add a larger platform on top to accomodate BN. I don't remember all the detail now but that's what I remembered. Raven AC-3 is 49 kg not including controller unit. BN is 60 kg not including controller unit. If you have to add a bigger shelf, overall load is going to be quite a bit higher. Standard Minus-K usually has on specific weight range of around 10-15 kg max so it may be possible that BN may not be ideal match for your specific Minus-K. I don't know if you account for the weight difference already or not.

Dev,

Now for the wonderful watch story. I never bashed the dealer on this one although I was very unhappy that the cartridge in question had a compliance that varied from sample to sample. I had a loaner sample from a friend that worked perfectly on an SME V and was just magical. It was resonating at 10Hz. Can't ask much better.

So I made a deal. The one I received was completely different in terms of suspension and didn't work well in my SME V. I was very disappointed. I never bad talked and I am still not. Anyhow, the deal wasn't smooth. Namely the watch he wanted only came on leather strap and expected it on Alligator. But it just doesn't come that way and was never alluded to coming that way. And furthermore, it could not be ordered as they don't make it. And everything was brand new.

I have sold a few friends watches. After I purchased equipment from them. I do believe that fine watches and analogue kind of relate. Don't you?


Maybe you understand this and maybe you don't. Lashon Ha Rah won't get you anywhere.

I can give you several experiences where manufacturers have not lived up to all my expectations. But some have exceeded them. But I don't make it my mission in life to Bad Talk.

On a very positive note, I bought a Harmony One remote. The Lithium battery died and swelled up inside so I couldn't change it. I called them to see if I could send it back and pay to get the battery changed. They told me 3 things. They mentioned had my remote for 3 years. It was no longer under warranty.

AND the third thing, They sent me a new remote free of charge. What amazing service. My VTL preamp and my Apple TV remote and my EMM all are controlled by it. Great company. I hear they aren't doing that well with the remotes anymore. But so few of us take the time to mention anything good, just the bad.

So people wonder why TW owners defend their product so highly. I guess it is due to the excellent service from the people at the top. The forum that allows people to exchange ideas. They create a loyalty by providing an excellent product and service to go along with it. Unfortunately some people seek to destroy this and of course it would be upsetting.