Spatial Audio Raven Preamp

I placed my order 2 weeks ago and chose the cherry base.  The build should be complete by the end of May according to Spatial.  I will post my impressions after about 20 hours of burn-in.

@fthompson251 I pulled the trigger yesterday.  If it all works out as it should this will be my endgame preamp.

@terrapin77 Please post your impressions after the new preamp has settled into your system.  Thanks!

That should be a synergistic combination so I’m anxious to hear your thoughts as well as the comparison between preamps.  Thanks!

That’s great news!  What were you using for a preamp before that you will be comparing the sound to?

@donsachs Curious if you are using your pre with stock tubes or not.  I am expecting to receive my pre by the end of May but since I chose the cherry base perhaps a little longer. On one of the other forums someone who received their preamp commented "OMFG" upon first hearing it.  Waiting rather impatiently for the follow up.

@terrapin77 Probably more than a few Don Sachs preamp owners waiting on the sidelines. No pressure!  Don't try to write a professional review, just your honest thoughts will do as it's all subjective anyway.

@donsachs My system might respond well to the Linlai tubes.

@lynn_olson Fascinating but do you ever sleep?🤔

@donsachs Hi Don. Initially the Raven will be paired with a Pass Labs X350.5 power amp.  At some point I’ll need to downsize the amp but ithe Pass drives and controls my Verity Audio Parsifal Encores very well. The analogue side is a Linn lip-12 with a rebuilt Troika MC cart into an Ayre phono pre.  On the digital side I stream or play files from a MacBook Pro running Audirvāna and Qobuz which feeds a Musetec DA-005 DAC.  CDs are spun with a Meridian 508.24 used as a transport only. While I will likely make additional changes elsewhere in my system I am hoping the Raven preamp will be an end game component.  The Raven will be replacing an Ayre K-1xe preamplifier which is itself very good.  Overall, I would characterize my system as slightly on the warmer side of neutral.  I am wondering if the linlai tubes in the Raven might be a better fit.  Open to suggestions.

Yes, that is how I currently run it.  I'll call David Whitt @ Spatial this week to inform him about the tube change.

@terrapin77 Thanks for posting your early impressions of the Raven preamp. Happy to hear you're loving it!  I'm not sure I understand the meaning of "the music floating around me" but as long as it sounds real (believable) is what's important to me. Do you mean immersive?  I can't say I've experienced this before in my system where all music is spread out in front of me and in a plane behind the speakers. I'll just have to wait a few more weeks to experience it first hand.  I look forward to reading more comments from you and others about the Raven preamp from Spatial Audio Labs.

@donsachs You touched upon the primary reason I am moving back to tubes from solid state. No question there are very competent solid state electronics that can create a 3D soundstage.  My Ayre K-1xe does a better job at this than the Ayre K-5xeMP preamp, for example.  I have been able to attain a wide soundstage that extends beyond the speakers and has good depth and height on certain recordings.  What the Raven seems to deliver as described by yourself and other users is what I've been missing.  The wait is killing me.