2. amps-preamps
  3. 167012-24

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

Only reason I ask is because it will be pushing Salk Veracity Ht2-TL’s...  Im coming off a Belles Aria, which was fantastic, but wanted to try something different.  My concern is the low wattage of the Raven and low sensitivity of the salks, but my Belles 75 watts sounded better than 3 other nice 225 watt integrateds.  
So, anyone with experience with the Raven Blackhawk LE pushing somewhat low sensitivity speakers chime in and let me know.  



128x128b_limo
jerryg123's avatar
jerryg123
3,429 posts
 
Wow you all sound real old.
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jerryg123's avatar
jerryg123
3,429 posts
 
You are old
willgolf
933 posts
 
arafit
"A friend of mine recently switched from Blackhawk MK3 to Qualiton A50i. According to him, there is no comparison. The Qualiton is at an entirely different level".

Your post intrigued me.  You are right there is no comparison.  Class A vs A/B....more power  and over double the cost.  So, I would expect it to be better.  It probably is a great integrated tube amp under $10k.  What is the OPS budget to drive his Sonus Fabers?

IMO, there is no game changing integrated tube amp under $3.9k.    Raven is a great product and I owned a Raven Reflection.   Can any sub $4k tube amp drive the SF's?  I think they can.  I also had my Raven Reflection drive SF Amati Tradition Homage speakers with ease.  But then again, The Reflection provides much more power.  

I guess I am a bit more adventurous with audio.  If I buy a component and I feel it does not work well with my system, I sell it and move on.  Even if there is a restocking fee, Raven gives you a 45 day trial.  That in itself is worth the trial.  You would only lose shipping costs.  

Good Luck b-limo

arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,599 posts
 
@willgolf -- I want to (re) emphasize that the Raven Blackhawk is an excellent tube amp in the sub $5k category. I also readily admit that in my case, it’s my speakers that are not a good match. It is not my intent to knock on the product. I do, in fact, plan to replace the amp with something which is going to be a better match for my speakers. I was almost sold on trying an SS amp like Naim Supernait 3 or Hegel H390, but my friend’s experience with Qualiton is making me wonder if I should try a more powerful class A tube amp before giving up on the idea. I’m going to take my time to find the right one.

My previous posts were a reaction to the misperceptions that have been perpetuated on this site for far too long -- (a) Blackhawk is better than amps costing twice, even thrice, as much, and (b) Blackhawk’s 20 watts are better than 100 SS watts. In my experience, this is simply not true.


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