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
@b_limo ,
 You've been here before and have been able to put together some nice systems. I'm afraid this time you'll be disappointed. Amp and speakers are not a good match.

Personally, and as someone who owns a Raven Blackhawk MK3, I don’t think it’s a good match for your speakers. It might get loud but you will miss the dynamics and bass.

I think this says it all. 




@b_limo I don’t agree with @arafiq . My Magico A3s have the exact same 88dB at 4 ohms as your Salks. I have a Blackhawk Mk3 driving them. I forget what tubes I have in it right now. I have a couple of sets. But I have zero issue driving my A3s. I have soundstage imaging and dynamics. I am thrilled with the volume. Now I play mostly ECM jazz. But today I put on Jethro Tull Minstrel in the Gallery 40th Anniversary 2015 remix. I turned it up. But not crazy loud. I want to keep my hearing. But it was loud. No distortion and no issues and I don’t think the volume knob reached 12 o’clock. Plus I had a pair of RELs attached. Though I think it’s a marginal need for the A3s. I have them around mainly for my Maggie system. But they were also connected using the Kimber REL-CU high level cable with spades off the Raven speaker terminals. So some signal is going to the REL amps. But I have had a lot of very satisfying listening with great bass, dynamics and everything with the RELs turned off. So what I am saying bass is no issue. Also for shts and giggles I am trying out a pair of Amperion ribbon super tweeters that Randy the cheapaudioman reviewed. So that is tapping signal off the A3 binding posts too. Still the Blackhawk Mk3 performed super well. I am very happy with this integrated. Of course I have invested a lot in the rest of the system. Bottomline, if you are looking to drive 88dB at 4 Ohm towers in a medium sized room, I think you will have no issues.
Sad reality, the speakers you have never will give you the dynamics and volume you want. No matter how many watts you buy. It works like this: sound and power are logarithmic.

What that means, your 88dB speakers require TEN TIMES the watts to play as loud as 98dB Tekton Moabs. What this means, my Moabs with my 50 WPC Melody will play like 500 watts into your 88dB speakers. Five hundred. You literally cannot buy enough watts to compete, and that is with just my dinky Melody at 50 watts.

And think of it, these same speakers can handle 400 watts. Yeah. Don’t even want to know how loud that is, 50 is way more than enough in my rather good sized room.

But even then, even if you do find the 500 watt amp, and take out the second mortgage to buy it, even then no way it sounds anywhere near as mesmerizingly captivatingly draw you in good as a quality tube amp like the Blackhawk. Forget about it. Not happening. Never heard one yet. Instead what you get is dreck like ML, Krell, sorry they just aren’t doing it. I could go on all day, when before the end of Side One in my room you would be on the phone to Eric. Take it to the bank. Sign it. Cash it. Spend the money.
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Lots of theory here, but talk to the maker, Jim Salk. He's been exhibiting with tube maker McGary audio. Here, the speakers are 87 db driven by a 30 watt amp.
https://theaudiobeatnik.com/california-audio-show-drews-picks-for-the-5-best-rooms/

I asked Jim exactly these questions when I bought my Salks. No problem driving them with a 30 watt tube amp, he said. At first, I was going to buy his little 82 db Wow1 monitors. He said this about 82 db monitors:

"I would look for a minimum of about 100 watts for solid state and 30 watts for a tube amp (the more the better in both cases). The reason is that the way these amps clip is different. The solid state amp will be linear until it reaches its maximum output and then clip, becoming overly bright and edgy. As you increase the gain (volume) with a tube amp, it is linear to a point near its maximum output. As you increase it further, it acts somewhat like a compressor and simply limits the maximum output. So it is “soft” clipping as opposed to “hard” clipping. For that reason, you can get by with less wattage with tube amps. People who love tube amps love the liquid-smooth midrange they provide. But they don’t have quite as tight a grip on the bass. If you want tighter bass, then solid state becomes more attractive. The bottom line, then, becomes “what is more important to you...liquid smooth performance or tight bass performance.” Other than that, as long as the basic amp design is good, wattage becomes the most important (since amps are very accurate compared to speakers)."

What this says to me about your present 88 db Salks is that you should be fine IF Raven is well made, again depending on how loud you want to go. And it may be an open question how well they grab the bass. But you have a sub, right?

Talk to Jim.