Part of the Revelation series, the Raven linestage preamplifier brings Western Electric technology into the 21st Century. Like the classic WE line drivers of the 1930's, it is transformer coupled throughout, input and output, and fully balanced for minimum distortion. The 21st Century enters the picture with ultra low noise power supplies for B+ high voltage and heater supplies, and the state-of-the-art Khozmo volume control, with remote control (standard) and 0.5 dB left-to-right balancing ... on the remote, so you don't need to get up to make precise corrections while you listen.
($5,495 USD)
For maximum flexibility, the preamp has both RCA single-ended and XLR balanced inputs, so it matches a wide variety of phono preamps, DACs, SACD players, and analog tape decks. Similarly, the output is both balanced XLR and single-ended RCA (at the same time!). For maximum convenience, there's also a 1/4" headphone jack for high-impedance headphones (300 ohms or greater).
Unlike other vacuum-tube preamps, there's a custom designed wideband output transformer with a 1:4.5 stepdown ratio. As the ratio implies, this multiplies the signal current from the 6SN7 more than four times, making the Raven preamp a tiny power amplifier as much as it is a preamplifier.
The input transformer might seem unnecessary with its 1:1 ratio, but it breaks any possible ground loops between multiple sources and the rest of the system. All of the inputs "float" so there is no electrical connection between the inputs and the sensitive circuits of the Raven. The only connection is the magnetic link between primary and secondary of the transformer. Transformer isolation has been the professional solution in telephone, radio, television, and recording studios since the 1930's, and applies just as well to home audio with multiple sources.
The Raven is a completely different approach than the "Golden Age" circuits of the 1950's and 1960's. It reaches back to the Western Electric of the 1930's and embraces the future with advanced power supplies and modern volume controls. We invite you to listen for yourself.