Raven Blackhawk LE... am I going to be disappointed?
If it does not work out as hoped and you want to keep your speakers, trade-up. If you like Raven, the "Shadow MK" amplifier paired with a really good preamp w/two sets of pre-outs would get the job done! AND you get to keep the lovely sounding Salk speakers. Best of Luck. https://www.ravenaudio.com/product/shadow-mk2/ |
@millercarbon I worked out the math which said I didn’t have enough power. But what I also learned was that there is a much wider range of possibilities than you would accept. There are many reviewers and forum folks have found a lot of success with speakers below 93 or 95 or higher with modest wattage amps which are well designed. You might say they haven't seen the light or don't know how to listen. That doesn't pass the smell test for me. What I’ve come to learn is that the path you proselytize for -- high sensitivity speakers driven with efficiency by lower or moderate watt amplifiers -- is indeed a very good way to go. But it’s not the only way. And once one is past a certain range of mismatch, synergy wise, a lot of other factors can make for a happy marriage. And then there are my ears -- which have found that a number of lower db speakers work with a number of modest watt amps. |
@hilde45 +1 And then there are my ears -- which have found that a number of lower db speakers work with a number of modest watt amps. Great post! In the end, we buy what makes sense to us in that given moment, the gear we are able to audition, and our listening preferences. For me, it is a learning process which I suspect will never end -- i.e. I will never be a ’know it all’ believing in ’absolute’ truths like so many on this website. And, frankly, I hope I never become like that. The point of this hobby is to experiment, learn from your mistakes, admit your mistakes, and most importantly make an emotional connection with the music regardless of the cost, medium, or topology. There never has been, and never will be, one type of speaker or any other equipment that will satisfy everyone. Some of the posts remind me of the story of the oracle at Delphi and Socrates. I quote ... "In each case, Socrates affirmed that he would rather be as he is, knowing that he knows nothing, than to be inflated by a false sense of his own great wisdom. Thus, he concludes, he truly is wiser than other men because he does not think he knows what he does not know." |
@millercarbon Sorry about the word "proselytizing." That word implies that a certain way of doing things is the only best way. So, would you agree that high efficiency speakers are only one "best" way to go? Or would you agree that moderate efficiency speakers can also be "best"? I’m pretty sure you’ve spoke about the virtues of Raven, Tekton, and high efficiency in such complimentary terms that you’re pretty committed to it being best. Viz., Buying speakers and amps is so easy. Yet it is not so easy some audiophile can't make it darn near impossible. All you do is eliminate from consideration speakers less than 92dB sensitivity. I know nothing about your speakers, except for having heard the name Magic and knowing that means they are crazy expensive and have a well earned reputation for being hard to drive. So without looking I will guess they are somewhere down in the mid to high 80's. [Fact check: 87dB. Tol ya so!] Which in itself is low enough to all by itself be a problem. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/what-is-floyd-toole-saying-about-extra-amplifier-power-and-he... It will take you a very, very long time listening to a lot of different stuff to realize this, but amplifier specs simply do not matter. Only one spec matters: speaker sensitivity. Good luck if you buy speakers with less than 92dB sensitivity. Good luck finding an amp. When you read all the problems people have matching speakers and amps first thing you should do is go look up the sensitivity of the speakers they have. Go. Look. You will see. Happens all the time. Guy just the other day took a pass on some very excellent easy to drive speakers, bought some 89dB when could have had 99dB, the ones he got will require TEN TIMES the amplifier power to play the same level. These are the kinds of things which are super reasonable and convincing but are they the only "best" way to go? Perhaps I’ve erred and there are other best ways to go and you've posted about those ways, too. But this seems like the idea you are convinced is best, and even the only really good way to go. Happy to hear what an equally good alternative is that does not involve speakers at 92 db and up that does not involve 500wpc |
