Spatial Audio Raven Preamp

As Lynn said, don't sweat long XLR cables.  The Raven will happily drive them.

Transformer coupled line amplifiers were the recording, broadcast, and television-audio standard from the Thirties through the Seventies. After that, discrete-transistor op-amps (discrete output transistors have enough power to remain in Class A with 600-ohm loads) became the industry standard.

[A bit of history: when 16 and 24 channels became the industry norm, tube line amps became impractical due to heat and size concerns. The first integrated op-amp specifically designed for professional use was the Signetics 5532/5534 released in 1979, while the discrete-transistor Jensen JE-990 became an industry favorite after 1980.]

The Raven is simply a modernized and fully balanced version of a studio line amplifier from preceding decades, with modern power supplies, computer optimized transformers, Khozmo fully balanced switched-resistor volume controls, and point-to-point wiring.

Geez,it went from $5,495 in August, to $6,395, with a proposed $150 tariff to be passed on to potential customers. $That's a $1,050 price increase in six months. 

Don and I are not part of Spatial’s pricing decisions. We just design the things and provide technical support, and show up on the forums when people have questions. He’s in British Columbia, Canada, while I’m in Colorado, USA, while the preamps and power amps are built and sold in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Like most other electronic products, the sources are global. It is impossible for any country in the world to make a 100% domestic product if it is electronic ... that’s a pipe dream. What was true in the 1950’s and 1960’s is definitely not true now.

Which means the on-again, off-again tariffs/taxes, or whatever they’re called this week, are disrupting supply chains. In the old days, manufacturers had big warehouses full of product, both for finished goods and raw parts, and that worked well with the high shipping costs back then (before containers and cheap airfreight). Nowadays, there are few warehouses, most electronic products are built on demand, and shipping is quick and simple.

But ... if supply is uncertain, and future pricing is up in the air, everyone in the industry starts to hold back, and adopts a wait-and-see attitude. Parts availability can get spotty. That’s why I strongly urged readers to buy back in December. Products that use international components are (very) unlikely to get any cheaper.

I have zero idea what pricing and availability ... of anything ... will look like six months from now. Nobody knows, from Warren Buffet on down. Supply chains could completely break down if tariff wars erupt. Or maybe people could easily adapt to a 25% premium with the resulting rise in retail prices. Or not. If anyone has a crystal ball, let me know.

@lynn_olson +1 The tariffs will be doing no-one any good at all; just shortages, inflation and ill-will.