My New Tube Integrated- Way Under the Radar (Raven Audio Nighthawk) *

Avian Series. the Eagle (50wpc) and Golden Eagle (75wpc)

 

Well Everyone,

I wish I didn't have to say this, but please be patient. The Eagle and Golden Eagle will fly soon. Right now there are only a few of them, and there is a LONG line of people waiting patiently. As soon as we get the first 100 of each of the new Nighthawk MK3's, Blackhawk MK2's and Osprey MK2's out of manufacturing, the Eagles will be next. It's even been difficult to find this many of the right tubes for all these amps, but they are coming.... I promise.

 

Role call! How many still own and are still enjoying their Raven amps?

I am. Have been steady with no changes since pairing with Legacy Audio speakers. No tube changes. No change in performance. The Legacies could do with a high power amp though.

I keep meaning to look for a spare set of 6L6s to have on hand, but dread that experience.

My only current dilemma is whether to run the Oppo into my M51 DAC to the Raven for stereo; currently, I only use the Oppo for multichannel which is its main role. Not really sure whether the M51 would improve or not.

 

The Oppo may have a higher gain also, providing the amplifier with a greater volume and power. Your Oppo has a decent DAC in it, but you will not hurt running it through the M51 unless it is of a lesser quality. I am unfamiliar with it unfortunately. If you get new power tubes for your amp, get the 7581A's. These will provide you with a higher output. Another good choice is the 6L6G Tung Sol, which has a fuller sound and more punch. It's a completely different sound. Finally, as soon as we are finished with the final touches on the new MK2 Eagles, I will bring you yours. I have not forgotten it. Two weeks after RMAF I am bringing it to JWM Acoustic's new shop there in Austin. You will be able to take it home from there. I will give you an invitation and let you know the address as soon as I get it. So sorry for the delay, but you know what's going on with Raven now... and all the new amps coming out. I believe our new partners called you if I am not mistaken. So very soon you will have triple the power of your Blackhawk LE.

 

That’s all exciting. I was looking back on your posts on the 7581A’s.

Two potential sources for matched quads: Amazon.com: Buying Choices: Tung-Sol 7581A, Matched Quad (4 tubes)

And this one that’s may have been referenced earlier as an Ohio-based seller: Tung-Sol Factory Platinum Matched Quad 7581 7581A (6l6 type) tubes 24hr Burn-in | eBay

For clarity for others: I don’t really want to change the sound of my Blackhawk (tube-wise), hence my reluctance to have to shop for a backup set; also it’s certainly loud enough. But 4-ohms into the Legacy is a little warm. Haha, I’m never the one to enjoy tweaking.

 

Congrats on the new Eagle!

 

Dave - I hear good things about Gold Lion from time to time; any experience with the KT66 tubes? I know the eBay seller has those as well....

 

Gulp.

 

i wish i still had mine. panicked and returned to dealer. bad move!

 

and a new website coming soon too! congrats and much success!

 

I'm still flying high with my Osprey! Looking forward to see what Dave has in store for Raven Audio in the future.

 

Come back in!

 

That is the correct Raven Audio quick supplier, Warren over in Ohio. He sells for the same price as we can, and he has the ability to ship out much quicker because its all he does. Sometimes we are under water here with all that's going on right now especially. The new MK3 Nighthawk, MK2 Osprey and Blackhawk, MK2 Eagle and Golden Eagle are all going to hit the ground before Christmas if everything goes according to plan. I stayed up all night last night watching while the new faceplates and preamp bonnet plates were machined. The new knobs, remote control housings, etc. All are being machined in Point Blank, Texas (now THAT'S a real Texas town name for ya!) and the powder coating is being done on the chassis up outside of Dallas, and the new much heavier, redundant 3 oz. traced PC boards and wiring harnesses are being stuffed and built as I am writing this, in College Station, Texas where the final assembly will all be done. These amplifiers are 100% Texas built, manufactured, and wired etc. NO overseas work at all anymore. Before some of the machining on the Elite Series and some of the chassis work was indeed done in Korea, but the assembly was always done here. Finally being able to build our amplifiers 100% in the USA has been a dream of mine since Raven's inception. Now it is a reality. Also, the new Avian Series amps are a little larger, a little cleaner and punchier, and they all have new subwoofer output systems. There will be an attenuator on the rear panel and a little PC board inside that regulates and separates the Sub Out completely allowing the new amps to work completely separately from the sub outputs, which makes them seem about 3-4 times as powerful as before. The new technology involved is thanks to our new engineer Bill Baker of Purity Audio and Response Audio fame. We are about as excited as we can be about these new versions of the Avian Series amps. The old ones were so good... but as always, progress must occur! And as soon as we finish with your Eagle, I will turn it over freshly upgraded~! The greatest thing about this whole story is.... there is so much more to it than I can even write down right now. Stay tuned to the temporary page on our website location - the new website will appear right before RMAF with new information about the new Raven Audio and all its new stuff! And we are completely new.... new partners, new designs, new engineering team, new marketing team, and a whole lot of brand new Raven stuff is coming. Stuff you will never believe is coming from this highly purist tube audio brand! Things are about to change completely.... for the future, for the better~!

 

Joe, not sure yet about the Gold Lion KT66's yet, but I promise you we will let you know as soon as we get the chance. As long as the specifications are the same as the 6L6GC's and 7581A's I see no problems with using that tube.... but historically the KT66, 5881, 6L6W are a different animal. I will give it some research time to let you know soon. See ya next year at AXPONA Joe ~! And anyone that is around Denver the first weekend of October, we will see ya at RMAF, and again in Washington DC in November. We are also going to Florida in February so there's a lot on the Raven plate~!

 

Amazing update, Dave. Happy for Raven!

 

This does all sound great Dave! What an accomplishment... and blood, sweet and tears... I'm sure. Already looking forward to Axpona.

 

It's curiosity at this point. I've had success with the NOS options I've been running for the past year or so.

 

All very exciting stuff there, Dave! Looking forward to seeing you at RMAF and learning more.

 

Very seriously thinking about one of these Raven amps to replace a Rogue Sphinx with my B&W 805 D3's. Have been wanting to go all tube with these speakers for a while now.

 

We are getting close to the MK3 release on the new Nighthawk, Blackhawk and Osprey MK3 integrated amplifiers. After17 chassis revisions we have finally settled on the new anodizing for the aluminum, the new handles and preamp plates are done, and the new, larger chassis and transformers have been approved.

A very large last-minute change that includes new 2-setting high-pass subwoofer filtering system with shelving at 80 and 100 Hz now completely frees up the amplifier allowing up to 4 times the power when using a separate subwoofer or active bi-amped speakers. This innovation alone makes a HUGE difference in the MK3 amps power output - and it also allows the use of much tougher-to-drive speakers. We are seeing wonderful success with some very large floor-standing multi-driver complex speakers in the 85-86db range, as long as the filter is engaged and a sub system is used. The difference is staggering.

What was once somewhat difficult, seems to work much easier now... and though all of this seems like such a bold of a claim... this upgrade is (even for such an economical integrated amplifier line) really quite a simple one in concept. And we have now perfected the new system to where it just works incredibly well~!!!

Unfortunately all of this last-minute innovation comes with some caveats, which is the delaying of the assembly line while the newly revised prototypes are revised again, fully tested and listened to carefully on about a dozen different speakers just takes so much additional time. The new circuitry required that the inside of the chassis be made 5mm taller, and about 2.5Cm deeper as well. That is what added the longest time delay - as we completely trashed the old CAD drawing submittals to the machine shop in Dallas, and also changed the speaker terminal and input locations, as well as the changes in all of the aluminum faceplates. Everything is now completely different, even if the change is only by 2mm, that requires a complete re-draw because of scale required on all of the drawings.

The other thing we wanted to make sure of was that all of our past products can be upgraded, so our previous customers can experience the change also. And though the upgrade boards are different, and we cannot print the chassis during the upgrade, we will still be able to provide all of our past amplifiers a way to get this important subwoofer system upgrade in their original Raven amps.

Since this is such a major physical upgrade it may take about 2-3 weeks for the techs to install them. But as a part of the process Raven Audio was always intent on making sure that this new innovation would be available for all of our previous customers too. That is hugely important to us. Anyone that gives us a try, as a relatively new company in this crowded arena, we want to ALWAYS keep rewarding you for your confidence in us.

The final result of all this time-consuming innovation will make all of this worth the wait - but for those of you that have been patiently waiting in line for your new amps, especially those that have paid early and are getting the pre-order discounts - just call me so we can discuss what we need to do to keep you happy while you wait~!

Most of all though...... Thank You "RavenHeads" for making Raven Audio successful in such an unpredictable world~!

 

Let me know how I can help you Myron... just call me when its convenient.

 

A ways back I questioned if the amp was truly made completely in the USA as you previously claimed and you vehemently denied any Asian manufacturing........

 

The Raven amps sound SPECTACULAR driving the KEF LS50s. So much sweeter and transparent than your typical "Parasound " / solid state driven system.

 

"....vehemently denied...."???? Well, I am pretty sure I never "vehemently denied" anything because, well why would I - or why would anyone else building electronics these days for that matter - especially in today's electronics manufacturing world. Raven Audio amplifiers, preamps etc. are built in TEXAS, USA. That is what I said, and that still is a true statement. Do you think ANYONE builds products here from ONLY USA made parts and components? That would be so extremely difficult, unless you are some DIY or boutique brand building wooden chassis products, or maybe only 15-20 amps per year now.

What we always did was TRY OUR BEST to make as much here as was humanly possible. But even when I wrote that last statement, we fully intended to do everything here. And in the end that is EXACTLY what took us so friggin' long - and brought about all of the months long delays. We were still trying to build everything here in the USA, and mostly in Texas. In the end, right up to the end, we still were trying until about October 27th before I had to leave for Capital Audio Fest in Washington DC. That's when we finally gave up and admitted defeat.

I guess you don't understand - nor did I admittedly - all that it takes in 2018 to actually design and economically build some of the best audio products in the world on a larger scale these days. It takes parts from, literally, all over the world. Because no single country on this planet of ours is responsible for producing the absolute best of everything - especially in today's high end electronics world. A LOT of different countries build excellent products, parts, pieces and are really good at some things - like anodizing. The truth is, some of the best technicians in the anodizing world these days, using some of the most extreme chemicals required for making the highest grades of ultra-high-quality anodizing these days are just no longer always available here in the USA. In the end this we found out, is due mostly to some of our environmental regulations.

Most of the people in my business already know this, and now so do you. It is just a fact of life. Do you think Apple anodizes their phones and laptops in the USA? In fact, do you think anyone has ALL of their anodizing done here? I did too. Some we settled that "some" but not nearly ALL of our anodizing will be done in the USA. Because unfortunately, especially with our demanding finish requirements on the Elite Series, that is now just impossible. And believe me when I say this.... we really really tried. And we still tried this year approaching this next large run of products we are building. And indeed up until last month once again - we were trying to get everything anodized here in the USA! But nobody succeeded in giving us the top end finish work we now require. They came relatively close, maybe even fairly close, but never were they "very" close. And in the end it's about the chemical process and environmental law we were told. And ALSO in the end, maybe sometimes this just might be a good thing. Maybe we don't want our children to inherit more extreme chemical waste than we already have so much of, and especially more of what is required to make the extremely luxurious finishes Raven Audio now requires for their aluminum chassis parts. But we still machine them here! Look on our Facebook page...

If you know of someone, somewhere in the USA that can do this.... please by all means let us know~!!! Because we wasted a LOT OF TIME and resources trying to find someone that could. We probably wasted a month or more on these new Avian Series finishes alone.... without success.

I'll try to explain the process we followed in our quest to build some of the best products we know how to, in TEXAS, USA from parts made all over the world. We hired a well-known designer from Seoul, South Korea back in 2010 to design our products because he was one of the only guys I knew of that had always ONLY worked on tube audio designs since 1968, and I liked what I heard of his products - even though the basis for each of his designs originally came from USA made products from the 50's that are ravenously (yep, I did say that!) collected by most Asians, including Koreans. He also owns a huge repair facility that is almost always filled with old USA and European audio gear awaiting repair and upgrade. It is because of this 45+ years of repair experience that he is as good as he is... and was the correct choice to help us design our products. I NEVER tried to hide this, and it is in ALL of our reviews and literature. So.... no vehement attempts were ever made to hide anything. Because all we can do is, try our very best. Once you do that, you then can settle for the very best, no matter where you must go for it! Because in the end, it's about the product quality that our customers pay for... ONLY. And we think building these amps in TEXAS, USA is the best way to ensure the current level of quality. And we once again just increased that final level of quality several fold. The new PC boards (manufactured at ARQ Electronics in College Station, Texas) are now triple the thickness, and if aerospace quality now, and now have redundant tracing (on BOTH sides of the board) built by the same company that made the boards in the Mars Rovers, that though designed to last 18 months, are now almost through their 11th year of operation~!

Believe me, it was no small feat to get them to build our amplifiers! It was difficult, demanding, time-consuming, and if we weren't in Texas, we'd have never pulled THAT off either. We tried to powder coat the chassis too, running all over the place domestically to try to find someone who could guarantee a ceramic finish with the same mirror image that the older amps have. We weren't successful in the end. We had to go back to a high end automotive finish. But we tried~!

The truth is, Americans are hired daily all over the world for their expertise in many areas, oil and gas, security, chemical and refining, aerospace and aviation... you name it, we have American citizens working elsewhere in the world helping companies and governments do things. So why not the other way around? I was very open minded when I started my quest to find that perfect person, and in my mind - I did the right thing, in the right way, to make Raven Audio what it is today. During the prototype phase on almost every product he was hired to help us design, he had to work with parts and chassis that were available near his home before bringing all the prototypes and some finished "first-product" designs with him on his 2 to 3 trips per year back here to Texas where Raven Audio is located. But never was a single product ever built in Korea or anywhere else - completely. They were ALWAYS brought here to Texas in many many parts, and completed here at my shop, even the prototypes were finished here. And THAT is what I ALWAYS meant.

When he did arrive here, work usually continued as I took over and put my slant on what I wanted, and especially how it looked and sounded... and each trip usually lasted several months. Sometimes he was here more than home.... especially in those first few years. Each model that exists now had some of its roots in Asia, some are from other places in this planet of ours, but most of them indeed do lie in Texas. Because this is MY business, and I was quite demanding during the process. The only thing that I can say is.... the units that are sold in the USA and overseas are built in Texas ONLY - as I have always said. But some of the parts and coatings are going to have to be done overseas. We just don't have a choice.

You (and I) must now understand that in today's world, it would be impossible to build anything electronic that is 100% made in the USA because we no longer build most of the parts. A lot of our resistors are made in Japan, WIMA capacitors are made in Germany, our VU Meters are made in Korea, our speaker terminals are made in Japan, our transformers are made in Chicago, our chassis are made in Dallas, some of our Avian Series chassis feet are made in Malaysia, and some of our Elite Series feet are made in Texas some are made in Korea, some are made in Denmark, as will some of our new speaker cabinets also. The truth is, most of the best speaker drivers are made in Europe! So that's where we will go to get them.

Manufacturing now consists of a serious long-term search worldwide for the best parts that make our products sound the best we know how to, and it doesn't matter to me if some of these parts are from overseas - as long as they benefit our products and in the end our customers. Hopefully you will understand this better now.... if not, well, I tried.