The Raven Audio Blackhawk LE~!
Rear Panel
The Raven Audio Blackhawk “Limited Edition”
Integrated Vacuum Tube Amplifier:
Specifications:
Output: 20WPC
Frequency Response: 20Hz ~ 20KHz
Tubes:
12AT7 - 2EA - Preamplifier Stage
12AT7 - 2EA - Power Amp First Stage
12AU7 - 2EA - Phase Inverter & Driver
6L6GC - 4EA - Power Tubes
Speaker Terminals: 4 & 8 Ohm
Six Inputs: RCA Unbalanced
Alps Black Motorized 20 K Ohm Volume
RavenCap – Silver Foil & PTFE High Quality Audio Capacitors
Recommended Speaker Sensitivity: 90dB - 96dB
The Blackhawk Limited Edition is Raven Audio’s elite version of the celebrated
Nighthawk Integrated. It is manufactured using 14 ga. Carbon steel for the main
cabinet and has an aircraft grade aluminum faceplate and preamplifier tube plate.
The handles are manufactured out of schedule 20 carbon steel pipe and the knobs
are machined out of aircraft grade aluminum as well.
The power input is a French manufactured IEC terminal with a 3 amp slow burn
audio grade fuse built in. There is also a spare fuse inside the IEC input behind the
plastic fuse plate. Use a screwdriver to pull the tray out and you will see the spare
fuse hidden in the square black tube. Simply swap places with the one in the
holder.
The speaker binding posts are also US made products. The RCA inputs are
unbalanced Japanese grade gold plated.
Even at this price you will find that the tube sockets are top end Japanese made
ceramic and are well anchored to the inside of the cabinet instead of only the PC
board. This makes breaking the solder or wiring much more difficult.
The Blackhawk Limited Edition Integrated Amplifier is a highly souped-up highly
customized version of the Nighthawk MK2 Integrated. It is self-biasing, so you do
not have to worry about inserting different sets of power tubes, however, you
should only use matched quads of the 6L6GC power triode type. This makes less
of a strain on the auto biasing circuitry in your amplifier. There are many new
manufacturers offering 6L6GC tubes now, so feel free to try any of them.
The older 5881 and EL34 tubes are not recommended unless we completely
modify the plate voltage on your amplifier for you before it leaves the factory.
USE ONLY 6L6GC power tubes in this amplifier.
All of the other smaller tubes (the preamp 12AT7, first stage 12AT7, and phase
inverter/driver tubes 12AU7) are ready for rolling. So feel free to experiment
using new generation or older, harder to get NOS/OS tubes such as Amperex,
Mullard, Valvo, Tungsram, Philips, Sylvania, etc. the possibilities are endless.
It is recommended that you go online and Google “Joe’s Tube Lore” for a quick
education in NOS tubes of these types. But never consider this the only source for
these 9 pin tube types. For instance, you can exchange the 12AT7 tube with a
6414 for a slightly different, much sweeter, or fatter sound.
The 12AU7 vacuum tube has many many variants, all of which will easily work in
this amplifier. It is probably not a bad idea to Google this tube as well, or go online
to Ebay (but be careful here, not everyone is honest on Ebay) where many sellers
will educate you on how many similar styles will match this tube. Feel free to
experiment and depending on your speakers, the cables, etc. you will be able to
find something that you like better than all others.
And this is one of the main reasons tube amps are so darn much fun!
Thank you so much for purchasing your new Raven Audio vacuum tube product. If
at any time you wish to call and talk about it, please do!
The Blackhawk Limited Edition is not our “entry level” amp, it is the ultra-custom
ultra souped up version of the Nighthawk MK2. If you are just learning, let me
help you out with your new hobby. Beware though!!! It can absolutely be
addicting, and completely enthralling. Get ready to get in trouble with the spouse!
Using Your Blackhawk LE:
The Blackhawk Limited Edition can be hooked up to just about any type of low
output signal device. You need to be careful that you do not use an amplified
signal though, such as another amplifier’s speaker terminals. This will immediately
damage the amplifier.
SUB OUT:
The sub-out RCA output is designed for active subwoofers. Your sub must have an
internal amplifier for this to be a viable choice to use. Otherwise it can be used as
a preamp output. The output is designed as a full-range output so that you can
adjust your own sub frequency and volume using your sub-woofer’s internal
crossover and amplification. It is now controlled using the main Alps motorized
volume control on your integrated amplifier – on all the new 2016 versions!
APPROVED INPUT DEVICES:
Any CD Deck, Personal Music Player, HDCD, or DVD or Blue Ray player that has
RCA stereo outputs can be used, as well as any cassette or reel to reel tape player.
The cartridge on your phonograph/record player may also be used as long as you
have a phono preamplifier system. You must match your phono preamp to the
cartridge that you have. In some cases you will have to use a step-up transformer
as well. It all depends upon the type of phono cartridge that you own. So if you
are thinking about purchasing one, you should inquire about this.
Finally, it is imperative that you not exceed the output resistance (load) of the
speaker terminals. It is not recommended that you use more than one pair of
speakers. If you must use more than one set of speakers you must make sure to
calculate the resistance to match the speaker output terminal. A nice set of floor
standing 4 to 8 ohm speakers is what your Nighthawk is designed to work with.
The quality your speakers and input sources (CD, phono, digital storage/DAC) are
the foremost things to consider when stepping into this level of audio.
The next step is your input power cable. Using a low quality computer cable will
work but sonics will suffer greatly, so when you can please look at some of the
higher quality, more audiophile grade cables that are out there.
A quality power cable first, then good interconnects, then good speaker cables.
Using thin cheap interconnects that come with most mid-fi gear and TV’s is the
absolute worst thing you can do to your new vacuum tube stereo amplifier. At
least step up with Monster or Dayton Audio cables through Parts Express online.
For the power cables, you can always make your own also. Start with a hospital
grade outlet in your room then use a hospital grade plug (available at Parts Express)
Marinco is a good start. Order cable online too, or go to Home Depot or Lowes
and purchase the heavy black-rubber insulated multi-strand 10 or 12/2 W-ground
cable. NOT ROMEX! Make your power cables in lengths, multiples of 1.5 meter
long. Yes, you can start with a 1.0 meter length, but you will probably find that to
be far too short in most circumstances. Start considering 1.5 as a minimum.
Take a piece of this cable and hook it up to a hospital grade plug on one end, then
put a double duplex outlet box on the other. Put two hospital grade duplex
receptacles into it, with a nice wood faceplate, available everywhere - even
WalMart sometimes. This will give you a good power source for a CD player and
your amplifier with room to grow into a record player and phono preamplifier.
You can make your individual power cables out of this same type of wire with a
female IEC on one end and a male 125VAC plug on the other. Make them in 1.5
meter multiples also. This will give you an incredible upgrade in your sound for all
of your devices for less than $250.00 total. If you are crafty enough to build your
own cables you will probably be shocked to find out how much better your system
can sound as a result! Get ready to be completely surprised – after a couple days
of break-in time. It will sound edgy at first, but that will go away. Be patient!
If you are not a build-your-own type, or don’t have the tools, you will find that
purchasing audiophile cabling can easily cost you well over $1,000.00. So start
saving. Upgrading your cables is as important as choosing your components. Most
new audiophiles are surprised when they find out that cables are always
considered an extremely important component in an audiophile system.
A good place to start is either Audiogon.com. After that you can upgrade into
companies that only build high end cables like Douglass Connection, Cardas,
Kimber, Pangea, Bluejeans, etc. There are many audiophile grade cable companies
out there. But inexpensive cables can be great, don’t get oversold here!
My suggestion is to start with Audiogon for preowned gear and work your way up.
Just purchasing the amplifier is a start, but cables are nothing short of an
imperative upgrade before you go to purchase your next level of amplifier or
source (phono, CD, or of course any new high end DAC and digital storage device,
which is quickly replacing the CD player). They said the phono was being replaced
by the CD player too though remember! So when looking for a digital music
storage system, I would start with an older PC or better, any Apple computer.
Another important thing to remember is that your sound will only be as good as
your source. Never expect your I-Phone or Android to give you wonderful music.
It will vastly increase the sound yes, but playing MP3 devices with your vacuum
tube system will be like using a 35$ CD player to play CDs. Expect more noise than
music. If you listen to digital music please go with either a good CD player, or by
downloading high fidelity music only. You can easily store it on many digital
players today, but especially on your computer. Purchase a nice little inline DAC
like a Dragonfly (or many others like it!) to process the sound.
And do yourself a favor. Go right now and order Stereophile magazine. That will
get you started into our world, and educate you on what’s new in the audio world.
Not only will you receive a nice high quality mag each month, but you will get
three or four emails each month that allow you to read reviews of all the latest
CDs and more importantly the vinyl that you eventually will have to work into.
It’s not as convenient as digital, but the sound quality is unsurpassed by any digital
recording, at least so far. The differences are closing fast though as digital
progresses. Of course there is the reel to reel master tapes, which is the pinnacle
audio source. Nothing beats a “one-off copy” or “master mix tape.” This is the
last step in a studio recording and a tape deck, like a Studer is the pinnacle.
Call me if you have a question and I will always try to help.
Some important links:
Needledoctor.com
Audiogon.com
Stereophile.com
Audioquest.com
Audioadvisor.com
Partsexpress.com
Monstercable.com
Legacyaudio.com
Douglasconnection.com
Sincerely,
Dave Thomson
Raven Audio
131 Carlisle Chita Cemetery Rd.
(Physical location: Chita, Texas)
Trinity, Texas 75862
936-662-5100
[email protected]