Micro Seiki, or TW AC-1

Maril55 -
The verdier platine comes with an option to use a ball and thrust plate. Essentially this means the platter is grounded, and provides an energy path to ground for unwanted energy or resonance. In this mode the magnetic repulsion is still employed, but it means the tt has a high mass platter, but the grounded bearing only sees a fraction of that weight. This is a very elegant solution and is used in the Continuum. I prefer this mode, the grounding tightens and focus' the sound, increases resolution and articulation if applied properly. The weak point of the Verdier is probably the motor, and there are aftermarket mods available. The battery supply version is gutless.
In my own Final Audio the motor drive system uses oscillator preamplifiers that regenerate the power supply and provide precise sine and cosine waves to the 80wpc power amp that drives the ac motor & 20kg platter.
Micro ringy platter - if you look at the cross section of the Micro Seiki platter it looks like an upside down plate with a lip. ( upside down U ). This rings. The ringing is ameliorated by using a heavy copper mat - the combination of the 2 metals, gunmetal and copper, acts as bimetallic dampening. There are probably other alternatives to getting rid of the platter resonances - eg use of heavy polymer mats such as delrin or lexan for example.
The Micro 5000 is significantly better than the 1500/2000/3000 models and comparisons should not be used. I have never seen a failure in the Micro power supplies so cant comment on what goes wrong if anything.

I own the TW AC-3 as well as Exclusive P3 & P10.

There is no doubt in my mind the dd P3 has a better controlled, tighter and more coherent bass compared to the AC-3. This opens up the mids for better transparency. The AC-3 has a really nice top end with better air than the did P3.

The TW needs an effective support IMO, whereas the P3 has a sophisticated one built in. I am sure if I replaced my SRA platform (which I have been too impressed with) with something better the AC-3 might have better bass speed and control.if I got my P3 arm re-wired, the upper frequencies would probably be more extended.
I used to use the TW with the mystic mat, but now with the bare brass aka MS platter.

Which one is better - neither, they are both great tables and frankly having multiple tables is the best compromise of all. There is some music that sounds better on the TW and some the P3.

Jasper is 100% correct. The rest of the system will have a larger stake of what will sound better than perhaps what the tables will bring. This is one reason why Raul does not like the MS imo. His system is all ss, so MS is too revealing.
My all tube system may also be the one of the reasons why I feel the TW bass is a bit slow.

There are no bad products at this level, only good or bad matching with the rest of one's system.

Btw copper platter, not brass, before anyone corrects me :-)

Pani, as a matter of clarification:
You said: "There is a "rush", a little too
much leading edge and not enough time to bloom. There was
also a colouration in the timbre of the instruments as if to
artificially make it sound "rich". Basically it
felt like I am hearing something cooked."
And then you also say: "Even simple Norah Jones track
sounded zippy. I even
took my AKG headphone setup to the dealer to clarify
this."
From other posters I kind of had an impression, that TW is
somewhat dark and warm sounding TT, but you obviously heard
coloration, that is usually associated with bright sounding
components.
I read in some older TW posts, that "naked" TW
platter does indeed emphasizes the leading edge, and using
mat could alleviate it.
Could you extrapolate on this issue, please?

Maril555, it is good to know that you have auditioned the TW
already and not exactly going to buy purely based on the
outcome of this debate:).

Regarding your question whether TW sounds coloured as in
bright, the answer is NO. It is not a bright TT at all. As
you said it is rather somewhat dark but not overtly.
Colouration can be on either side of the spectrum. The
timbre colouration was towards the richer-darker side. But
more than tonal colouration (which is there in many hifi
products), it is about the construction of the music note.
It feels that there is less time for the note to get
properly constructed, so before you could enjoy the note, it
has passed.

Secondly, I said it sounds "cooked". Think about
it, what does a chef do when he has messed up a recipe he
was cooking, he tries to manipulate by adding other
ingredients so that the flaws in the taste becomes less
prominent or gets diverted. To me, the TW sounded something
like that. First there was too much leading edge, to
compensate that there was some warmth "added", but
the warmth should not eat into the highs so the body was cut
short so there is less bloom and so on and so forth. In the
end a dose of richness was added so that all this together
feels tasty. It is somewhat like telling one lie to hide
another. This is not natural sound to my ears. I would not
have bothered so much if it was digital playback, because in
digital there is always some cooking up. But if analogue
playback is manipulated this way then the purpose of
listening directly from the record groove is lost.

Pani, with no ill will or bad feelings intended, I don't hear certain things the same way you do with Raven. At least you indicate "...somewhat dark but not overtly." I've read comments from a few others on Agon where the description they have given has simply been "dark", as in a blanket sense. Perhaps that is exactly what they've heard in a particular system configuration. Frankly, I've not heard any significant degree of darkness in my system. Maybe a touch, but that's all. And a touch is okay with me since I slightly prefer that. Some call dark romantic, but to me the Raven sound tends more toward "neutral", a term I've never been particularly fond of in audio, because I hear coloration not just in reproduced but live music.

Otherwise, you say,"It feels that there is less time for the note to get properly constructed, so before you could enjoy the note, it has passed." I hear the opposite, and for what it's worth, so do a number of others who have reviewed the Raven in various configurations. Just offering a different view here. In any event, I do wish you the best of luck and enjoyment with your personal choice of table[s].