Raven Audio, Mytek and Having It All | FLAX 2020

I’ve gone on and on about my long history with Raven Audio, back to when they were the big fish in the small pond that is the Lone Star Audio Fest. In fact, I’ve just finished my review on the inexpensive but thoroughly capable Soniquil cables and found myself very surprised at the level of performance I experienced at a cost that’s almost free in the world of high-end audio. At the 2020 Florida Audio Expo I was treated to a room that was almost all manufactured by Raven Audio–speakers, amp and cabling.

Sponsored by Core Power Technologies A/V — Florida Audio Expo 2020 coverage sponsored by Core Power Technologies A/V

Sponsored by Living Sounds Audio — Florida Audio Expo 2020 coverage sponsored by Living Sounds Audio

Raven Audio presented to complete systems in one room, one that was affordable ($7000 for everything) and one that really showed what this Texas-based company can achieve purely on their own, with the lone exception of the digital playback from Mytek. Of particular interest were the new Raven Audio speakers, the CeLest, at $3995/pair and the Corvus and Corvus Towers ($7995 and $12,995/pair, respectively). Both speakers had a gorgeous finish to them, courtesy of Steinway, the piano builder.

Both systems were capable of playing deliriously loud without distortion, so much so that I felt the need for a tight grip on the armrests of the chair where I sat. You don’t often think of tube-based amplifiers of delivering such pulsing, authoritative sound, but that’s one of the advantages of designing amplifiers and speakers together. It’s that feeling that “we can do anything we want!”

I can’t help but feel a little bit proud of how Raven Audio has emerged as a major player in the world of high-end audio, and how they seem to be showing at nearly every big show now. Even though their LSAF beginnings were relatively humble, they always had the biggest room at that show in Dallas. (A show, by the way, that has extended an invitation to yours truly this year, and I’m actually looking forward to attending that show for the first time in many years.) Best of all, Raven Audio has amassed quite a following among audiophiles–the room was full of enthusiastic fans of the brand that were excited to hear the new expansion of their line.