Tube integrated amps -- new Value Leaders?
Has anyone compared either the Raven Nighthawk or the most affordable version of Primaluna, Quicksilver, or Rogue Audio integrated amps against the new value leaders from China -- Wilsenton, Cayin, Doge, Muzishare, BoyuuRange, etc.?
Especially Wilsenton and Cayin have been the rage lately thanks primarily to YouTubers like Jay (that young guy, not the slightly out of shape body builder), Thomas & Stereo, Steve Guttenberg and a few more. If you listen to these guys, you start wondering why you should pay twice as much for the Ravens and Primalunas of the world. I wonder how much of it is typical Youtube sensationalism/shilling vs. objective comparisons without ulterior motives. I have never heard any of these brands, nor do I have any affiliation with them. Just curious.
Secondly, there is another brand called Rogers that seems to fly under the radar. It’s also made in the USA, build quality looks fine, and is competitively priced with Raven, Quicksilver, etc. I would love to try one of their amps some day. But they don’t seem to get much love on these forums. I wonder why.
I would like to hear from someone who has compared the new value leaders with the established ones in the tube integrated amp segment.
I understand Prima Luna amps are made in the same Chinese factory as Cayin. One point not in consideration- When China takes Taiwan this year after the Olympics, will anyone want to own the Chinese gear? Yes I have a Chinese DAC so the finger points both ways. +1 on Line Magnetic. Comparable to Audio Research in SQ. |
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. They're playing on your patriotism by saying Made in America, but that doesn’t always mean better quality.... |
@bob7296 why are you pasting the same message in every discussion? |
@jerryg123 Black Ice Audio is not owned by Underwood HiFi; Underwood is one of their many dealers. Please stop posting disinformation. |
