Raven Audio and Beyond...


Hello,
I'm hearing from a couple of you all about the RavenAudio product line.
I'm fairly new into listening/building a system for audio.
My current plan/aim is to build components for "rest of life" usage.  I'm not well to do and am looking into the Nighthawk and Blackhawk integrated tube amps.  
Currently, I have a Bifrost 2 Dac, Rega P2 turntable and Dynaudio X14s running out a cheap integrated Pioneer tuner/amplifier.
As I've been considering my next couple moves, Integrated Amp and upgrade in speakers, I bounce between the "first" move being either amp or speakers.
Lots of folks mention speakers first, rest after.  Since I appreciate the X14s for the limited sound, I wonder what kind of sense it makes to bump up the amp, integrate a couple subs and seek the "finish" speakers next.  After that, play with the rest of the components.

Currently, the room we listen to music in is 12' by 25', open frame ceilings that are 8.5' high.  

My questions are this:
What's your take on taking on the amplifier first, and setting up the rest after?
Am I going to notice the X14s responding well enough to help me learn more about the direction of my speaker choice later?

If I have some time before I can fully upgrade the speakers, would integrating a sub amp with the subs be a positive move?

FWIW, I plan to keep the x14s and other requisite equipment for the most part to set up/gift to others as I can.  I am interested in long-term enjoyment for music I love and a love for exploring music yet to be heard.

Thank you

mijale

Showing 2 responses by mapman

@mijale

If it were me I would do the homework up front to identify what you envision your end system to be and then move towards that. You have prettty good speakers to work with and a lesser amp it seems. Any amp upgrade should be a step in the right direction. The amp should then be A key factor in determining speaker options. There are many possibilities depending on personal preference. The devil is always in the details. A lesser power tube amp will limit speaker choices for optimal performance but that may be fine as long as you take that into consideration.

I am in the speakers first camp. Reason being the room acoustics are the hardest thing to change/fix so you have to get the speaker room integration right first then find the amp best suited for the speakers.

Modest power Tube amps will work and may sound good but Dynaudios are not designed for use with tube amps. They tend to like beefy high current SS amps for best performance.  I’d consider any of the  various high quality Class D amps around these days as a good match with Dynaudios.   I have run that combo in my house for a number of years and can vouch for it