[Audiosaurusrex]

Hi everyone,
Getting the tube itch as I have never owned one. The closest I have now is my Modwright Pioneer LX500 which I love. I was looking at driving my M3's with the Raven Osprey and was looking for some thoughts. Will the 30 watts cut it for a 16x18 room and listening not more than 85 db. I'm about 2 meters away from the speakers. Don't really know much about tube stuff so any expertise would be appreciated.
https://www.ravenaudio.com/product/osprey-mk3/
Output: 30wpc
Frequency response: 20Hz ~ 20kHz
Speaker terminals: 4 and 8 ohm
5 single-ended RCA inputs and 1 single-ended RCA sub output
Recommended speaker sensitivity: 85dB - 95dB
Dimensions: W 15.5" x D 14" x H 6.5"
Weight: 35lbs
Tube Complement
2 x 12AT7 - Preamplifier stage
2 x 12AT7 - Power amplifier first stage
2 x 12AU7 - Phase inverter/driver
4 x 6L6GC - Power tubes
Auto-biasing (Typically does not need adjustment but can be for vintage tubes)

[musicdre]

i've used several tube amps with my M3s.  all lower power rated than 30wpc.  all have driven the speakers well and sounded great.  30wpc is well above the spatial-specified minimum for the M3s of 12wpc.   

have even gone under 12wpc with a 2A3 tubed SET amp and its been fine.

imho, that amp should be more than fine in your set-up.   if you buy it new, try to get a 30-day audition period, just to make sure that you like it enough in your room and to your tastes.

have fun!

[Audiosaurusrex]

i've used several tube amps with my M3s.  all lower power rated than 30wpc.  all have driven the speakers well and sounded great.  30wpc is well above the spatial-specified minimum for the M3s of 12wpc.   

have even gone under 12wpc with a 2A3 tubed SET amp and its been fine.

imho, that amp should be more than fine in your set-up.   if you buy it new, try to get a 30-day audition period, just to make sure that you like it enough in your room and to your tastes.

have fun!

Thanks for that info. I am shopping for Tube Amps and liked the look and reviews of the Raven. Also looking at the LTA Z40 but that is a lot more $$. Raven offers a 45 day trial period which is cool. Being always into SS I just wanted to hear what the M3's will do with tubes.

[loki7177]

I have used two Luxman tube integrateds with my M3S.  The SQ-N150 is 10W into 6 ohms and the LX-380 is 14W into 4 ohms and both drove the speakers to loud volumes with chest thumping bass.  I am currently using a First Watt SIT-3 which is about 30W into 4 ohms and it is a great pairing.  In my experience anything with 10 quality watts or more will drive the M3S well.

[Emil]

I have used two Luxman tube integrateds with my M3S.  The SQ-N150 is 10W into 6 ohms and the LX-380 is 14W into 4 ohms and both drove the speakers to loud volumes with chest thumping bass.  I am currently using a First Watt SIT-3 which is about 30W into 4 ohms and it is a great pairing.  In my experience anything with 10 quality watts or more will drive the M3S well.

The sapphires are often paired with this 10 watt LTA integrated at shows
https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/products/z10-integrated-amplifier
https://www.stereophile.com/content/spatial-m3-sapphire-loudspeakers-linear-tube-audio-z10-integrated-amplifier-lampizator-amber

[jjss49]

The sapphires are often paired with this 10 watt LTA integrated at shows
https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/products/z10-integrated-amplifier
https://www.stereophile.com/content/spatial-m3-sapphire-loudspeakers-linear-tube-audio-z10-integrated-amplifier-lampizator-amber

i personally would advise moderated expectations of the 10 wpc LTA driving the M3 Sapphires in a typical spacious listening environment

hifi shows are held in hotel rooms -- see pic in the reported article -- that room is not large, speakers close to walls and to each other straddling a just single-wide equipment rack... certainly the LTA being output transformerless and with Bernings trick power supply may be suitably able to drive the 4 ohm 4x 15 in woofers, but i would NOT expect the run of the mill 10 wpc tube amp to be able to handle them too well

depends on how loud you play it and how well you expect the woofers to be controlled - bass output being the m3s's great strength... even mediocre woofer grip exerted by the amp sounds fairly decent, but nowhere near what it could be

otoh my 45 wpc zotl 40 does just great... 

[Norman Tracy]

Hi Audiosaurusrex,

Count this as another strong recommendation for the Raven Osprey Tube Amp. Past 5 years I have heard ~10 different systems using Raven amps at Lone Star Audio Fest and regardless of speaker the sound quality results have ranged from 'fantastic' up to 'holy crap that is amazing'. Also the metal work and powder coating on the chassis is top shelf pegging the pride of ownership meter at max. And as a hidden yet most important benefit Dave and the other principals at Raven Audio are reliable stand-up individuals you can count on if service is ever required or if the upgrade itch strikes and you want tube rolling advice. Two of my fond memories from LSAF are:

• Dave Thomson (Raven founder) going back and forth from one of his rooms to another exhibitor's room who was using Raven Audio amps NOS tubes in hand because Dave knew a Philips was going to sound better than the GE presently installed.
• The year Joshua Miles debuted JWM Acoustics an end of show pairing of his NET-1 with a Raven Audio Nighthawk Mk.I. Such wonderful music poured out of that system all I could think was "this is happily ever after sound just buy this and call it DONE".

[musicdre]

this thread has brought raven tube amps to positive attention.  thanks!  does anyone know if the blackhawk (one model lower in the "avian" series) differs from the osprey other than putting out less power?  if that is the primary difference, the blackhawk may be well suited for the M3s.

[Audiosaurusrex]

Hi Audiosaurusrex,

Count this as another strong recommendation for the Raven Osprey Tube Amp. Past 5 years I have heard ~10 different systems using Raven amps at Lone Star Audio Fest and regardless of speaker the sound quality results have ranged from 'fantastic' up to 'holy crap that is amazing'. Also the metal work and powder coating on the chassis is top shelf pegging the pride of ownership meter at max. And as a hidden yet most important benefit Dave and the other principals at Raven Audio are reliable stand-up individuals you can count on if service is ever required or if the upgrade itch strikes and you want tube rolling advice. Two of my fond memories from LSAF are:

• Dave Thomson (Raven founder) going back and forth from one of his rooms to another exhibitor's room who was using Raven Audio amps NOS tubes in hand because Dave knew a Philips was going to sound better than the GE presently installed.
• The year Joshua Miles debuted JWM Acoustics an end of show pairing of his NET-1 with a Raven Audio Nighthawk Mk.I. Such wonderful music poured out of that system all I could think was "this is happily ever after sound just buy this and call it DONE".

Thought I would reach out to Clayton on this and this was his response on the Osprey....
"Yes, this amp is excellent and should have a good grip on the M3s. Good choice."
I will most likely pull the trigger on this and report back to all of you. I appreciate all the input from everyone. That's why I love this forum so much 

[geerock]

The Osprey has no problem handling most anything.  Its strong right out of the gate and you get 45 days with no questions asked return policy.  6L6 are great power tubes.  If you really want to bring that thing to a "holy shit" level play with a few NOS tubes with the 12**7 signal tubes.  Brent Jesse and Vintage Tube Audio can help out and let you try different stuff.

[Audiosaurusrex]

So I just got the Octave w/ black box on a 30 day loner. If I don’t like it then I’ll probably pull the trigger on the Raven. Just love the warmth of tubes 

[musicdre]

So I just got the Octave w/ black box on a 30 day loner. If I don’t like it then I’ll probably pull the trigger on the Raven. Just love the warmth of tubes

nice!  hard to imagine that you wont like it.   its just a question of one tube amp having subtleties that you prefer over another's.  isn't it a relief to be set on speakers (spatials of course), and just dial in sonic nuances with amp(s) choice?

what swayed you to octave over raven?

please keep us posted on your impressions as the octave breaks in (and your ears break in to it).

[Audiosaurusrex]

nice!  hard to imagine that you wont like it.   its just a question of one tube amp having subtleties that you prefer over another's.  isn't it a relief to be set on speakers (spatials of course), and just dial in sonic nuances with amp(s) choice?

what swayed you to octave over raven?

please keep us posted on your impressions as the octave breaks in (and your ears break in to it).

Yes dre,
It came down to a few things, the biggest being the 7% restocking fee that Raven has, not that it would be needed. A local dealer, safeandsound.com had a extra demo with the black box and gave me 20% off and the 30 day demo to see if it worked with the M3’s. It’s basically new. Running the Sovtek 6550WE. Offers a little more wattage than the Raven and never having a tube amp I am seeing what it has to offer.
Keep you guys posted.