Spatial Audio Raven Preamp

@fthompson251 Lynn and I designed the Raven and I have lived with all the prototypes and final version for many months and it has all the tube things you like, but is far better than any tube preamp I have ever built or heard.  It throws a sound cloud with very detailed pinpoint imaging, provided the rest of the system can do that.  Plus, it will drive the XLR inputs on your Coda amp, so if your source is balanced, then you will have a completely balanced system.  Of course the Raven will also handle rca inputs and outputs, but there advantages to a fully balanced system from source through the power amp output.  So I hope a few folks with Ravens will give their impressions on this thread.  There are a couple of prototype Ravens floating around and those folks have chimed in above I think.  There is also a Raven thread on the spatial audio lab audio circle.  I know that Spatial will be building the next 5 Ravens within 7-10 days, so hopefully a couple of the new owners will also chime in and you will have a basis for a decision based on an opinion other than mine, since I am incredibly biased:)

Thanks @donsachs  I appreciate the response. Sounds like a good match for me. 

I am looking forward to hooking up the Raven to my Odyssey Audio Khartago monoblocks. The Model 2 sounds great with them as it is. However, I do plan on getting the active ATC SCM 40A v2 speakers as they have the XLR connection.

I heard the powered ATC monitors at the last Rocky Mountain Audio Festival, and they were some of the best speakers at the show. The ATC midrange driver, in particular, is a legend in the speaker industry, and ATC did a really good job with the active crossover and the internal power amps.

The Raven can easily power 20 to 50 feet of balanced cable with its 4.5:1 step-down output transformer, so it should be an excellent match for the ATC monitors. Studio-grade Mogami or Belden XLR cables should be quite good, but there’s Cardas, Dueland, or Anticables if you want to spend more. I would stay away from high-capacitance cables that look like garden hoses. Capacitance is not your friend when it comes to long cable runs.

Thanks for the information, Lynn, especially on the cable recommendations. I can't wait to hook up the preamp.