"I find much to admire with the Raven gear. However, more than one person has commented about a hum problem they could not get rid of. Might want to talk to Dave about that before you pull the trigger."
Yes, I experienced hum from a well-used Blackhawk. It wasn't in the signal, it was transformer self-noise. I could clearly hear it from my 12 feet away listening position and it was enough to dissuade me from buying. The amp had been returned for evaluation on this issue, without solution. I did think the amp was superb though, in terms of sound quality. Quite special. However, I won't tolerate any noise of any kind from a tube amp or preamp. It's just not necessary. I've had similar experiences with the first generation of Rogue Cronus too. I hope that was subsequently engineered out of their products. Perhaps that's now the case with Blackhawks....I hope so, they deserve success with their designs. Myself, now I live with utterly silent Van Alstine and Quad tube equipment.
Yes, I experienced hum from a well-used Blackhawk. It wasn't in the signal, it was transformer self-noise. I could clearly hear it from my 12 feet away listening position and it was enough to dissuade me from buying. The amp had been returned for evaluation on this issue, without solution. I did think the amp was superb though, in terms of sound quality. Quite special. However, I won't tolerate any noise of any kind from a tube amp or preamp. It's just not necessary. I've had similar experiences with the first generation of Rogue Cronus too. I hope that was subsequently engineered out of their products. Perhaps that's now the case with Blackhawks....I hope so, they deserve success with their designs. Myself, now I live with utterly silent Van Alstine and Quad tube equipment.