advertisement


Raven One part II

Yes.....I'm just teasing - but the Rega implementation is quite different (how embarrassing, I can't remember how exactly the Decca worked).
 
Like everything Decca it was simple but effective. I seem to recall it was a ring magnet round the arm pillar and a couple of outriggers on the moving part of the bearing housing. I'll have to dig one out of the loft and refresh my memory.
 
Markus S said:
Price in Germany will be "starting at 3,400 €". On-the-fly VTA adjustment will be an additional 500 €. Certainly less than the Graham costs in Germany. Let's see how that translates to pricing in other countries. Graham pricing in Britain has been lower than in Germany, for example, so the new TW arm may end up costing more than the Graham in Britain.

Thomas is very confident about the sound, as seem a number of dealers and customers who have ordered arms sound unheard.
Click to expand...

Confirmed Pricing:
TW Raven 10.5 Tonearm €3400.
TW Raven 10.5 Tonearm including "on the fly" VTA adjuster/armboard €3990.

Note: the standard Raven 10.5 tonearm still has VTA and HTA adjustment.
 
hifi_dave said:
Beautiful.

Price ?
Click to expand...

Hi Dave

Confirmed Pricing:
TW Raven 10.5 Tonearm €3400 (approx £3000).
TW Raven 10.5 Tonearm including "on the fly" VTA adjuster/armboard €3990 (approx £3600).

All made in Germany and to a very high precision spec. Captive tonearm lead with RCA plugs also included in the price.
 
Only Thomas and maybe a couple of others I am afraid. Delivery of the first batch will be end of January/early February. I have been told it is very special, much better than a Breuer and the Graham Phantom.
 
Hi Graham. Thank you for the reply. Do you have any idea what sort of carts Thomas has tried on his new tonearm? TIA!
 
Cartridges I know TW has used so far are:

MC2 Finish
XV-1S
Titan i
DV 17D3
DV 20X
Ortofon Vienna, Venice, Rondo Red and A90
Benz LP
Denon DL103
Audio Technica AT180 (very old)
ZYX 4D

All worked perfect in sound, tracking and resonance frequency.

In 2 weeks a review comes out. It is in the German print magazine "LP" (from TW)

The arm has an effective mass of 14 grams so 95% of cartridges will be fine for use on this tonearm.
 
For those interested here is the new TW Tonearm mounted on a Raven AC.

Raven_AC-Var.jpg
 
Graham, have you heard the 10.5 yourself yet? If you have heard it, is it also in your opinion (like Mr TW) better than Graham Phantom II and even the best Breuer effort?
 
My TW10.5 arrives next week.

I have heard from several reliable sources who have already got theirs and who have directly compared the new TW 10.5 arm to the latest Graham Phantom and the latest Breuer. So far all have said the TW 10.5 is considerably better than both. I should be able to make an assessment in about 2 weeks once I have mine fully set up.
 
Following the setup of the TW 10.5 tonearm on my Raven AC turntable you can view my "First Impressions" in PDF format here
Alternatively you can download a copy from the "Analogue" page of my website from the link at the bottom of the TW10.5 tonearm section.

I hope you find it helpful.
 
I wonder now if TW Acustic have any turntable designs that they have done with the
collaborative help of their Tonearm guy ? That might be worth keeping on eye on.
 
Apparently TW is planning a new TT but I'm sure the guy who helped develop the arm is not involved in TT design. I think Thomas has that side of things wired anyway, it probably would not be an understatement to say Thomas knows more than most about TT design, so I doubt he'd ever get anyone else involved. Tonearm design is a different specialism, so I imagine that although TW knew exactly what he wanted from an arm, and what sort of design it would be, he designed it with input from someone who has experience with such structures.

I went over to GT Audio to hear the new arm. He had it on the Raven AC, via his Seven Phono/Line, a Tron 211 endstage and AG Trios. Cart was Dynavector.

It really is a nice looking arm - smaller and neater than it appears in the picture, and very nicely machined. In any case, how it looks is secondary, because the sound is really the thing that makes the biggest impression. Probably the best way of describing it is to say that it is very revealing and hugely dynamic - a really fast sound with great imaging. We compared it to the Graham Phantom (same system/cart, just different arm) and whilst the Phantom is a very capable and distinguished arm with a lovely sound, which I for a long time thought was kind of "ultimate", this Raven arm really creates a very involving and attention-grabbing sound. It's like there's a direct connection from the cartridge to your ear.

Yeah, I'd love one on my Raven One, but it costs about the same as my TT so dream on! Still, it was great to hear it, so thanks to GT for letting me hear it.
 
Anybody have experience listening to Raven 0.5? Seems to be an "affordable" way to "Raven family" upgrade for me
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top