I suppose most casual audiophiles (like me) really don't deserve the moniker "audiophile" because as was rightly stated I had no personal experience that I could draw upon to empirically testify better upgraded parts could revolutionize the quality so dramatically. Perhaps "everything" just coincidentally got settled in at the same time AND the Blackhawk came through that time space vortex. Whatever happened (no no no I don't smoke that no mo...I'm tired of waking up on the floor) the change was worth mentioning I thought. I certainly do want to step up now knowing the "diminishing returns theory" still isn't applicable. LP's show most surprises. I believe there's more sound locked in those grooves than I realized.
Raven Audio Nighthawk VS Blackhawk
Now that I've owned both the Raven Audio Nighthawk (11 months) and the Blackhawk (2 months) I can confidently say the Blackhawk is transcendently better. I know this even though my near flagship Yamaha S2100 has been in the shop this entire time (chip delays) and I've been listening to an Oppo CD player (lower level) and a Uturn Orbit turntable , Ortofon Blue. Need I say more? Here's how I described the difference...the Nighthawk (and every system I've ever owned) seemed to present the music in a grid sound stage. Each instrument/voice would come at you through a cohesive platform. But now, each instrument and vocal appears in its own environment as the recording mics capture each unique contributor to a song. Honestly, at first, it felt a little disconcerting. All my audiophile life "my stereo" produced an homogenized package of musical sound that "represented" a musical event. But now, I feel like I've snuck into a recording session and am constantly shocked by the tangible realism of the experience. Maybe my system has finally ascended to a level commonly realized by others in this hobby, but I've been dabbling here a while and frankly never imagined a mechanical electronic device could reproduce music to this realism. Blown away, and no its not the 'adult beverage'!