Amplifiers designed in the West and built in the East account for much of that bounty, so I was intrigued by the offer of a review sample of the opposite: a 300B amplifier designed in Korea and built in the archetypically American state of Texas. The [Raven] Spirit 300B Reference Stereo amplifier, designed by S.E. Han and built by Dave Thomson of Raven Audio, came my way in January, and has made an indelible impression.
But it didn't happen just like that.
This review began with a different Raven amp: the Spirit 300B Reference Monoblock—two of them in fact. They arrived in ostensibly fine shape, but when I installed them in my system, something happened that I had not, in 30 years of writing about hi-fi gear, experienced before: After powering them up and waiting about 20 seconds, during which I heard intermittent buzzes and hums from at least one channel, I first saw and then smelled acrid smoke rising from the amps. (The amps were both on the hardwood floor, quite close to each other, so I can't say for sure if the smoke was coming from both, though I believe that it was.) I quickly powered-down the Ravens and disconnected their AC cords, then rushed outside for fresh air.
A smoking amplifier is, it seems, an invitation to self-doubt—a feeling I dispatched with a few basic checks. Yes, the Spirits were indeed marked for 117 VAC operation. Yes, although neither amp was accompanied by an owner's manual—toward the end of the review period, I received, as a pdf, a manual for the Raven Spirit—I had correctly followed the tube-installation chart sent to me by Raven's publicist, in response to my request for same.
There followed, as one might expect, strings of e-mails between me, Raven Audio, their publicist, and editor John Atkinson.
Stereophile's
policy requires that a product review, once begun, be carried to its conclusion, come what may: In the event of product failure, the reviewer is directed to request another sample. I did so, and was informed that the most recent production run of monoblocks had been sold out—and that restocking would not be soon in coming. I was then offered the chance to review the stereo version of the very same amp. (I was also told that I would eventually receive a postmortem on the departed Spirits, so that I can report on the cause of death, footnote 2) Because I'd already invested some time and effort in this project, and because it had become part of our editorial planning for this issue, the sideways step to a different model was approved. And so . . .