Raven Audio Nighthawk
+1 ozzy pls tell us how that raven is... so much talk and pumping about these ravens by m-c (but i don’t think he actually has one 🙄 ) am sure it is quite a decent piece, made in usa, by good guys real enthusiasts... but we are talking about a rather standard push pull 6l6 pair per channel tube amp with output trannies... how ’head and shoulders above the rest’ can it be??? don sachs kootenay van alstine ultravalve roger modjseki rm’s vaic/ayons carver crimson various cj not to mention amps with real differentiating tech like linear tube audio and audio research |
the critical success factor in owning a tube amp that makes music well is working within its power envelope and matching to speakers that highlight the amp’s strengths and don’t often remind you of its weaknesses to ask a 30-35 wpc 6l6 amp to power 86 db/w/m 6 ohm harbeth super 5’s in a large room is a recipe for a fail... but maybe a smaller room, with 8 ohm proacs or spendors? or some devores? that would be a more appropriate use case otoh... klipsch cornwalls may be a little too easy a load... ****************************************************************************************** in a sidebar comment, now here is a honest to goodness seriously lovely tube amp... https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649727980-airtight-atm-1-original-version-with-tubed-rectifiers/ |
i remember my rm9 back around 2000 with mixed feelings - just beast of an amp... built like a tank and i remember hurting my back moving it... it was so heavy and of course the weight was totally lopsided, and it was also very hard to grip the amp from underneath to move sounded very nice on proacs though! |
i would add here that i very much believe that makers of hifi gear, big or small, have a responsibility, even a duty, to their customers to design and supply excellent packaging that provides safe and trouble-free transport of their gear in this age of fedex and ups with their high speed sorting machines and conveyors, not to mention overworked and tired drivers/delivery people for amps and speakers that weigh alot, are often quite bulky, and are worth thousands of dollars, there is simply no excuse for not having a packaging design that is completely thought through and implemented without being cheap or cutting corners exemplary small biz cases of this are vladimir at audio mirror, and frank van alstine... terrific products, terrific packaging -- on the bigger end, audio research and conrad johnson set the bar for being absolutely top notch others, evidently, not so much - tis a shame and a disservice to the customer |
disturbing set of data points emerging re raven - maybe not so much the amps but the small team of folks behind them -- suspect quality or at least poor packaging leading to amps being shipped and not surviving their trips unscathed poor customer follow up is related but separate problem - these are indeed rough times for small companies, seems like raven is not immune to - still with the number of folks here citing communication issues now... not good... hopefully as the pandemic stabilizes, the company will come back onto more solid footing in terms of responsiveness (but then again, they are in texas... maybe slower there than other places for the pandemic to get under control) |
i for one would like to see the thread stay open folks like dave at raven should have the benefit of the doubt, and it would be nice to see him/raven make a rebound with customers coming back to say all is well, concerns have been addressed and they are happy - dave deserves that - keyboard warriors like us are too far removed from how hard it is to run a small business and hold it all together in these times there is one ax grinder who has posted it seems, others have posted legit issues on communications and follow up... let’s wait see all this get fixed as they should be |
@chicagoblue1977 hopefully as the pandemic stabilizes, the company will come back onto more solid footing in terms of responsiveness (but then again, they are in texas... maybe slower there than other places for the pandemic to get under control) my comment posted earlier ^^^^ about texas relating to raven (and not ag member ’skypunk’ and his attempts to sell his used raven amp, who is coincidentally also based in tx) is only to say that while texas, like michigan and florida are indeed ’open for business’, their state governments have made poor choices that have allowed what were declining numbers of covid cases to rebound, now that new more infectious variants abound, and these variants are outpacing the vaccinations being given... the implication being that businesses like raven may be ’open’ but they are limping badly compared to normal times due to the worsening covid situations in their state presently - as we can plainly see, dave @ raven is trying to operate his business but he is struggling mightily, all good intentions notwithstanding of course i don’t know the specifics but that is the assertion/supposition i made in my post |
@yogiboy The guys at Raven should ship that amp to @millercarbon free of charge. He has been Hawkin’ Raven amps since he’s been posting here. He has probably given Raven more exposure to the many that have not known about Raven products!! as i have expressed in other posts, i think this cuts both ways like a sharp sword...lol -- it amazes me mc goes on and on about raven but doesn't even have one 🙄🙄🙄 like having the idiot orange man with comb-over plugging your start-up's products, yes you may get a few hits but also a whole lotta hate... but dave at raven is not mc... so we should be careful to distinguish between the two - hopefully raven can get supply chain, customer responsiveness, packing/damages sorted out soon and gets only reports from happy customers... |
@chicagoblue1977 all 36 posts, joined 7 whole days ago, and laying down the law!!! https://www.audiogon.com/users/chicagoblue1977 😂 💪🦍 |
