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Once all connections were made from the perfectly perpendicular table to the rest of the system, it was time for music. The first slab of vinyl was the double album Don Juan's Reckless Daughter by Joni Mitchell. This 1977 relic features Jaco Pastorius on bass. Played with the Raven as set up, the sound was very involving from the start. However, when we switched the Oyaide interconnect to the Tri phono preamp, things got better yet. With all-tube electronics following the turntable, the sound was rich and relaxed. We played vinyl straight on the platter without the Millennium mat. We found the mat to enhance vocal sibilance and sharpen the overall sound. The bare platter sounded more relaxed.


Over the Raven, the Mitchell album came alive as never before. Timbres were most revealing. Joni's trademark voice not yet too nicotine covered but beningly sharp and plentifully overtone'd beautifully balanced against Jaco's rolling bass. His iconoclastic sound from the 62 Fender Jazz bass that had lost its frets and a resistor was slung into room with such easeful dynamic power as to be almost overwhelming. This sound went deep not only in frequency but also emotion. What a difference to digital!
After four Mitchell sides, another recent trouvaille from our local second-hand record shop was a €4 copy of Joe Cocker's Sheffield Steel, probably the man's last good album before he entered more poppy areas. On the Raven the relaxed atmosphere of the Jamaica-recorded songs shone through beautifully. More emotions released into the room when we played Keith Jarrett's The Köln Concert.
ECM's original vinyl release put the size of the Steinway in the room replete with Jarrett's enigmatic moans and groans not emphasized by an additional vocal microphone. From all the Jarrett's recording we own, Köln still is the one with the most lyrical and emotion-filled improvisations. The Raven's constant speed tracking made the piano very real. Attack and decay of t strings vibrations amplified by the soundboard made us feel part of the music as though the music did not come from electronic devices in the room but from the room itself. A mesmerizing experience.

In the 'H' department of our record collection lives some Hendrix. Shelling out €35 for a pristine Band of Gypsys copy proved that not a cent had been wasted. The "Machine Gun" track is perhaps the 1969 version of the 1812 Overture. Its violent sounds of bombs are as live as it gets. Again the Raven proved to be a very musical platform that did not falter under the extremes of Hendrix, Cox and Miles.

More recent vinyl where digital recordings are merely dumped onto the black plastic did not sound better even on the Raven however. It's a fact that vinyl is hot and sales are booming. This shouldn't be license to sacrifice quality for a quick buck however. Did we like the Raven One? Most definitely. Why? First off, it is a very stable, mechanically and acoustically quiet piece of art. We heard the big Raven AC on numerous occasions though never at home for any extended period. Nevertheless we believe that the Raven One comes to within 95% of its bigger brother at a rather friendlier price.

On everything that makes a turntable a good turntable, the One scores highly. Again, motor/platter stability is very good. Timbres are extricated unaltered from the record grooves, voices have bodies of flesh and blood, strings connect to real wood, reeds are organic, not plastic. Air- or floor-born mechanical vibrations from foot falls and walls are damped such that interference with musical timbres is minimal. That's a job extremely well done.

Before the Raven One gets picked up and sent to his new owner, we shall spend any free moment we can listening to our records and perhaps even sneak out the door to get some more vinyl...

Quality of packing: Cardboard box with custom-cut foam inlays.
Reusability of packing: Yes.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: Easy.
Condition of component received: Brand new.
Completeness of delivery: Everything needed except a power cord.
Quality of owner's manual: Simple sheet.
Website comments: Informative in German and English
Human interactions: Very friendly, professional and courteous.
Pricing: Very competitive.
Final comments & suggestions: This is a turntable that will be a solid foundation for years and years of musical pleasure. It is expandable to exotic levels if desired but in its simplest form could be the new classic of the high-mass turntable generation.
TW Acustic website