Raven Audio/nighthawk or Osprey

Here’s my 2 cents on Raven:

I had previously had a Primaluna Prologue preamp and a Hegel H20 power amp and was looking to go with an integrated tube solution that gave the magic of tubes. I gave Raven an audition, but it fell short in driving my Dynaudio Contour 20i’s (86db; 4 ohms) to their full potential. It lacked a bit of oomph and didn’t play that loudly without saturating (~77 DB).

I was disappointed in the instruments value/quality for the price which isn’t any real value!

The first thing I noticed is how light it was compared to my old Primaluna preamp. Granted weight isn’t everything but it’s directly related to the size of the transformers which means a lot with tube designs. I noticed when inserting the AC power cord into the IEC connector that it was very flimsy, and the entire connector wobbled loosely in the chassis. So it appears to be a cheap press-in style fitting.

The AC power cord that they provide didn’t perform as well as a basic Pangea AC14 cord, it was dull and lifeless in comparison.

The high pass cross-over switch seems to be too high at 80hz, it didn’t seem to blend well with my system I felt it should have been made to go to about 50 hz which would allow it to blend with a larger variety of speakers. When I used it, it made it obvious that I was only using one subwoofer and that it was in the left side corner.

Overall, the amp sounded like a nice tube amp, probably best mated with more efficient speakers.

For the money there are a lot of better offerings IE: Primaluna, Line Magnetic, Doge 10 MKIII, Willsenton R8 & R800i that are of much better quality and out perform the Raven Black Hawk, and at a significantly lower price point!

Don’t let their 45 day Risk Free business model fool you! It will cost you over >$450.00! just to demo the amp, in which I was told it would drive my speakers just fine. Raven charges you 7% plus for the initial shipping plus you pay to ship it back to them, so that’s shipping both ways.

All I can say is to think twice before plopping down a huge sum of money for a Raven amp.

Made in America doesn’t always mean quality....

Watersidedave...thanks for the update.  I was just going to email you.  My Reflection is still purring like a cat!  

djfst - I have the latest version of the SF Amati Homage Tradition.  I have a super large room.  My normal power on the Raven Reflection is just above the 1/4 point ( like 10 o'clock on a watch).  The reason I want more power is to support the great Raven sound at lower levels.  My wife thinks I play the music to loud.  LOL

Willgolf,

Which Sonus Faber speakers do you have that the Raven Integrated drives well?  Curious, because I always read that SF speakers need a ton of power to drive well.  

Hang in there Will, I am working on a solution for you.  Unfortunately the Mirage Integrated will not be out of development until next year.  (If you can't open the link go to our Raven Audio Facebook page and scroll down to Dec. 5th). 

It will feature a bank of KT150's and push out approximately 150 watts it looks like.  It's proving to be a rather difficult beast to tame though, and I want our Raven Audio amps to all have that great openness and delicacy as opposed to brute force.  So we are currently working on that.  She's going to also be a completely different style chassis from the current Raven Audio stuff. 

Start working out, she looks to weigh in at about 140#~!  Since the cables come in at 45 degree angles its easier to put her against the back wall too.  A better design for a better amp, if you love power.

Willgolf/ I am afraid your reflection is probably out of my range.. 

Dave is a great guy. 

mrdon - if you wanted a significant upgrade from the Nighthawk or Osprey, I might be amenable to selling my Reflection.  The only reason I would do that is I would have Dave build me a new one with more power.  

I have yet to come across a negative opinion of Raven Audio gear. I doubt you can go wrong with that choice unless you have very inefficient speakers.

As for customer service, Parasound is also excellent. I've received thorough replies direct from Richard Schram, during the weekend.

To answer helomech/willgolf, i did contact Schiit and since the Vidar is under warranty (only a few months old) i am shipping it back to be check out... Also, Dave of Raven Audio answered a few emails from me and i was impressed with his follow thru. His responses were personalized and in depth and he seemed to be impassioned with his products, ideas and goals. I don't think many owners (if any) would take the time to draft a lengthy and personalized email to answer a question on an entry level product. After the Vidar is given a clean bill of health you just may see it on eBay... I understood Dave to say his is going to announce the arrival of the Nighthawk III in a few weeks.... Is it a bird, is it a plane, no, its super Dave.. come on guys, that was funny..        

I can't speak for the Nighthawk or Osprey as I have the Raven Integrated Reflection MK2.  I can tell you that it is outstanding.  Mine delivers close to 73 wpc and drives my Sonus Faber Speakers like a symphony.  Dave Thomson is a super guy who has some of the best tubes out there.  He also totally stands behind his product.  I am hoping he can build me a 100 wpc amp later in the year.  You will be super happy if you decide on Raven.  

It seems quite a few folks have had trouble with Vidars. Are you sure it's not the amp?

PS, Dave, owner of Raven Audio said they are announcing The Nighhawk MKIII in a few weeks, anyone else hear about this news?