My nighthawk

Really glad you love your Nighthawk. I had been a solid state guy most of my life until I heard a Raven Audio Blackhawk at another amplifier manufacturers office. That's right, I was at another VERY popular Solid State amp designers office and he had one of Dave's Blackhawks. He turned it on and I was amazed. I had never heard anything so smooth and full of life. He raved about the tube amps Dave was building. Needless to say... I had to have one.

I received my Nighthawk yesterday afternoon and was anxious to see how it measured up to my vintage Fisher tube amps.  I was comfortable, knowing that I had 45 days to decide if I was going to keep it or return it.  First, let me say you/they are not getting it back.

It not only measure up to the vintage gear, it far surpasses it - simply astounding and in my mind hard to believe, but I hear it and know it's true.  Outstanding job Raven Audio.

So glad to hear you are enjoying the Nighthawk MK3. It truly is a very special amp. There's just something magical about its ability to reproduce frequencies that are lively and musical. We really appreciate the post and Welcome to the Raven Family!

I may or may not need to use my small REL subwoofer, depending on which speakers I settle on - in the event I do decide to use it, I have a question.

1.  REL recommends connecting their subwoofer via their High-Level Input (Neutrik Speakon Socket) which on the amp side connects directly to the speaker taps.  * this is the way I've connected it in prior use*

2.  The Rel has a Low-Level input which in turn connects to a preamp/integrated amp.

The Nighthawk MK3 has the sub out which I assume would connect directly to the REL Low-Level input.

 So, the question is:

1.  Is either method ok?  Which is preferable from the Nighthawk pov?  Is either to be avoided?

Hey Don,

We have a lot of customers who use our amps with REL subwoofers. Honestly, either way will be sufficient. If you choose to use the low-level subwoofer out on the Nighthawk, you will be able to reduce the base reproduction on the tube amp using the high pass crossover on the back of the Nighthawk. This will make the amp work less.

Also, if you looking for the very best speakers to pair with your Nighthawk, you should consider auditioning a pair of our CeLest' Towers. I know you love your Nighthawk and I'm certain you'd feel the exact same way about the CeLest'. They are truly amazing speakers and the value is astounding. 

Hi Don

Before ordering the Corvus Towers, which have powered subs, I had a pair of REL S5SHO’s I used with my Blackhawk. I used the High Level outputs and that worked fine for me. 

Thanks MrGrey - I will try connecting both ways and see if I can tell any difference.  In my small space, I'm not even sure I'll need the sub - again, that probably depends on the speakers I choose.

Thank you also Bryant, I know the CeLest' speakers are very good and I wish I could use them, but in my small 12x12 room I can only accomodate stand mounted bookshelf sized speakers.

The CeLest actually has a very small footprint. I'd argue that they are equally as small as a stand with a bookshelf speaker on it. The base of the CeLest' is only 7.7" x 12.2". That's about the size of a sheet of paper. @MrGrey owned a set of the CeLest' as well (before upgrading to our Corvus Reference Towers). Maybe he could chime in on their size for a 12'x12' room.

Due to the weird and inflexible layout of my room, my current stand mounted speakers are just in front of closet doors behind which are all my cables, tubes, and misc audio gadgets - I access these closets fairly often and have to move the speakers to gain access.   50lb floor standers would just make that more difficult   -- I know - weird right?  Believe it or not though it all sounds really good at my listening position

I do understand that. Seems like we all find ways to make the best of what we have. I will mention one more thing... We are about to release a new bookshelf speaker that has a very similar sound signature to the CeLest and Corvus. You would need to pair them with a sub. In any case... they are absolutely AMAZING. Sound stage and accuracy are both remarkable. You may want to email James Connell for more info. I know for a fact that we have several pairs available right now.

Thanks again Bryant - I am working with James on that, just wasn't sure if I should mention it publically though.  He is going to bring a pair over for me to try hopefully sometime next week.  He assures me they will out-perform my LS-50s and I'm excited about that.

That's Great News! We always have new products in the works and we LOVE it when we can get them in the hands of customers. This often happens way before the "Official" launch. I'm glad you're working with James. He's an awesome speaker designer. I can't wait to hear your feedback.

Posted by: @bwilson

We have a lot of customers who use our amps with REL subwoofers. Honestly, either way will be sufficient. If you choose to use the low-level subwoofer out on the Nighthawk, you will be able to reduce the base reproduction on the tube amp using the high pass crossover on the back of the Nighthawk. This will make the amp work less.

 

From this, am I to understand that the "high pass crossover" only works with the low level subwoofer out?

That's correct. Speaker out on the Nighthawk is always full range.