I have a Raven AC also.
It was a tight call between the Raven and the Galibier Glavia TT. Both were very intriguing to me. What it came down to for me was: comments from others on both tables (both were excellent), location of dealer and support (edge went to Raven as the dealer-HighWater Sound was in NYC where I live), style (both were gorgeous but the Raven has a smaller footprint.
The Raven replaced my VPI Aries with a 10.5 arm and Helikon cartridge (pretty good as well). I decided to use a Tri-Planer Vll arm on the Raven after reading reviews and comments form 'gones (DougDecon and many) on the arm. My choice in cartridge was a Dynavector XV-s1.
I got it up and running (great job by Jeff at HighWater) in Feb of this year and in March I lost my stylus (cleaning lady?)....ugh.
So I have been without any analog for some time. However, the good news is that I will be up and running in a week or so (Jeff will make a quick pit stop to help this "all thumbs" installer and he may bring a surprise guest with him).
The brief comments I can make are very similar to yours. Darker background etc. and a more stable soundstage with better harmonics at all levels. The bass is solid and much more: there, focused (very), but not overpowering.
My biggest problem (not a real problem) is that I cannot identify how much of the improvement went to the table or arm or cartridge since I changed all three. I am sure all had a great factor in the conclusion.
Best of luck to you and keep us informed!
Rick (RWD)
