puppyt:
I have two questions for @millercarbon:
1. How do you clean your records and what equipment do you use?
I use the Walker Enzyme 4step -
1. Normal detergent type wash.
2. Walker Enzyme wash.
3-4. Rinse, rinse.
This was recommended to me by Tom Port. This is what he uses on all his records. Main difference being he uses a very expensive RCM while mine are by hand. I do use a VPI 16.5 but only to suck off the final 2 rinses. The process I use does include a rinse between the washes but it isn’t really a true rinse just tap water so I don’t count that. Also wipe partially dry with a clean towel after each of the first two steps.
Before this I used Disc Doctor. Walker is quite a bit better and if I am honest probably accounts for a fair amount of the difference between a Hot Stamper and any normal audiophiles good clean record. Nowhere near to what some have claimed, that this is all it is, but it is there.
The Walker system is expensive if you buy the full kit. Refills are much cheaper. So I bought the refills, use my own brushes, use my own distilled water, and get virtually all the same results as the kit for a fraction of the price. I am way more frugal than anyone would ever expect of a guy willing to spend $400 on a record. I will spend- but only when I have to, and only when it’s worth it.
2. You’ve mentioned Raven Audio and I am very intrigued by that company. I have a Prima Luna Dialogue HP Premium integrated that I have really enjoyed. Recognizing that Prima Luna is Chinese made while Raven is U.S. made, what are some of the other differences between comparable models from each company? I would prefer to buy U.S. made but that factor alone is not enough for me to switch. Would love to hear your thoughts and those of others.
Without hearing them side by side it is hard to say exactly how they differ. I can tell you though I do not prefer Raven simply because they are made in Texas!
There is a tendency when looking at tube amps to focus on the tubes. Everyone does it. Until you mod a few and then gradually over time determine what really sets them apart is the transformers. The one thing nobody can do anything about and yet it is the beating heart of a tube amp. I don’t know for sure about PL but would bet you a bundle theirs are made in China. The Raven on the other hand are built here in the USA and if you watch the video you can see the look on Dave Thomas’s face when he talks about how this was the one thing he knew they had to do was use those transformers.
So that’s one. Here by the way is the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcd76DZmbdY I will summarize a few of the high points.
Next to transformers we have connections. Amps made in China are hand soldered. Hand soldering is a skill. It looks simple but it takes great skill to perform a quality solder connection. There’s a point, if not this video then another, where Dave talks about the different levels of quality and what it costs at each level. The really high quality work is more expensive even in China.
Then there is the solder used. People prefer silver solder because of the sound. But consider what this means- even solder has a sound! Use the same solder everywhere and this sound imparts to the component. So Raven uses silver solder, but different types, not all the same solder throughout the amp.
Same for resistors. They use all the same top brands as everyone including PL. Very good high quality resistors. That each impart their own sonic signature. Dave has found by listening that using the same brand resistor three times in a circuit begins to color the sound. So he mixes them up.
At this point I have to ask, have you ever even heard a manufacturer of anything talk about their obsession with sound quality and going into such detail? I know from talking to Keith Herron and some others that it is done. Not saying Dave Thompson is the only one on planet Earth doing this. Which one of the haters will leap at in an instant. Not saying that at all. Just pointing this out as something I consider highly relevant in deciding what to buy.
We’re talking tube amps here so we have to talk tubes. Dave Thompson has socked away a huge collection of very high quality NOS tubes. He is the tube equivalent of a vintner with the finest wines from all over the world stashed down in his cellar. Listen to the part of the video where he talks about how they thought it would be one tube but listening tests led them to select another. Compare to PL where they treat tubes as totally interchangeable.
That right there is a key difference. I’m no amp designer but I know enough to understand there are tradeoffs in everything. You build an amp to allow plugging in any tube any condition anywhere you pretty much automatically build an amp that is not optimized for any tube any condition any time. Raven does make the Osprey for people who want to try tube rolling - and with Dave’s extensive selection you will not be shooting in the dark but with his sage guidance. The Osprey can be user-modified to run a lot of different tubes, something Dave can help you do over the phone.
What else? Powder coating. Hard to tell on video but those who have seen them in person are impressed.
Maybe one of the biggest reasons I would go with Raven is I know who I’m dealing with: Dave Thompson. No it is not exactly a one man show but basically it is Dave Thompson. Who is PL? Does anyone even know? Are they Belgian? Chinese? Kevin Deal? Face it, PL is a multi-national corporation with so many layers you never will know.
So like I said before, I do an awful lot of research and due diligence before putting my hard earned dollars on the line.
Not asking anyone to switch. I myself have a Melody, same deal, designed in Australia, made in China. Bought 15 years ago, before the narrative was totally discredited. Now fortunately there’s ample reasons of pure sound and build quality to choose Raven. Being made right here in the USA is just the icing on the cake.
