Raven Audio Nighthawk

Why fuss with tubes in an amp?

Not sure if serious........?

Right- it's an insult not an argument.

There's no reason to "fuss". Simply use what comes, it will be fine. The beauty of Raven, if you do want to fuss (what others call tube rolling) you are dealing with Dave Thompson. Tube rolling any other way is a crap shoot. Dave though is a tube connoisseur with encyclopedic knowledge and experience and a vast store of incredible rare NOS tubes. So instead of throwing money around at random tubes you can talk and Dave can help you find your magic tubes. I mean, if the magic as delivered isn't already magic enough!😍

Has anyone actually compared the Nighthawk vs the Blackhawk?  Is the Blackhawk really worth the extra $800 or just a minor improvement? Trying to decide ....Thanks

I would imagine that the actual changes won’t be night and day but subtle. It’s up to the listener to decide if it’s “worth it”. For me, the improved parts quality, minor as it may be, and the better aesthetics was enough to pony up the extra $$.

Oz

Haven't compared the two amps but I've done the rough equivalent by going to better caps and diodes. A lot of the difference between the amps is their bespoke Raven caps. These types of upgrades are always worth it, with a significant improvement in detail, less grain, a more liquid natural sound. With Raven your extra also gets a higher quality 4 stage (vs 2 stage) powder coat finish. Hard to see in video buy I bet in person it does look better. I'm sure this is one of those things where if you can go for it, go for it. But if not, don't sweat it.

"I find much to admire with the Raven gear. However, more than one person has commented about a hum problem they could not get rid of. Might want to talk to Dave about that before you pull the trigger."

Yes, I experienced hum from a well-used Blackhawk. It wasn't in the signal, it was transformer self-noise. I could clearly hear it from my 12 feet away listening position and it was enough to dissuade me from buying.  The amp had been returned for evaluation on this issue, without solution. I did think the amp was superb though, in terms of sound quality. Quite special. However, I won't tolerate any noise of any kind from a tube amp or preamp. It's just not necessary. I've had similar experiences with the first generation of Rogue Cronus too. I hope that was subsequently engineered out of their products. Perhaps that's now the case with Blackhawks....I hope so, they deserve success with their designs. Myself, now I live with utterly silent Van Alstine and Quad tube equipment.