Raven Blackhawk LE... am I going to be disappointed?

The entertainment value never seems to stop!

"My 25 watt tube mono blocks can hang with ANY 100wpc consumer grade receiver."
Good to know, since I don't use a POS consumer-grade receiver. I use a high-current amplifier; not relying only on wattage specs.

And then there's poor old MC, confusing watts with current, and a general lack of being able to read all of the posts ("how about reading the actual listener comments"; how about reading all of the posts smart-guy?).

The OP indeed was able to achieve "openness, bloom" but ran out of steam beyond that, as noted by his comment of "missing dynamics/slam". As correctly pointed out by someone else, this is indeed due to lack of current to drive the low-end and areas of low impedance. Again (for dense members and/or lack of thoroughness when reading posts), there was indeed a lack of "something".

@chicagoblue1977,

I  am tubed out with the Quicksilver Integrated and the Blackhawk 3.1. None of them touch my Simaudio 340i.

I suspect that the 340i also sounds "different" than the tube integrated's, with Sim's high S/N ratio and channel separation creating a black background with excellent imaging and soundstage.

But, considering the other tube-vs-SS qualities, how did they compare and why did you lean towards the 340i? Which speakers did you compare them on? The tubes were warmer? Soundstage depth any deeper with tubes?

Thanks for any info. I'm a fan of Simaudio's products and sound, but would like your take on their comparison to the Raven and Quicksilver, and am aware that speaker match is a major factor too.

Seems that one of my posts yesterday (now removed) was a bit too strongly worded for some people, or they didn't realize some of the interactions in the thread.

I was defending another member that was being attacked for providing reasonable input, and did not appear to be offensive (maybe I missed something). Sad part is that I was dragged through the mud by people that didn't connect the dots first to understand things.

I have always found very helpful information on this site, and appreciate that people are willing to take the time to share their experiences, knowledge, etc. The members that do this are helping far more people than they know; I wonder how many people read/research/learn here versus post.

Sad that people from other countries come to this site for info and have to see the carnage in some of these threads. Makes no sense that some people are unable to disagree without being rude... but I guess it's not that simple when you consider things like mental health issues, personality disorders, etc. Or maybe someone is just having a bad day? But the repeat offenders... they are not in a good light, just low EQ and unaware of themselves in social situations. Some people actually don't know when they cross the line; completely unaware of it. The ones doing it on purpose are just plain sad.

She’s just funnin’ with everyone. Soon she’ll get bored and go back to her room and play with her coveted Barbie doll collection!!

Probably not meant to offend anyone other than the person they are responding to, but the irony is incredible. Long-time members were just pondering a week or two about why there aren't more women participating on this site, yet go on like this, or the thread the other day about whisky and waking up with women in Mexico. Then we'll start over next weekend wondering why this or that person doesn't feel comfortable here.

b_limo,

Thanks for sharing your experience!
Good info for many, as I am considering the move to a tube integrated myself. I hope the sub-out vs. volume control has a reasonable solution.

Does the amp give off much heat?