RAAL requisite audio SR1a Review: HOLY MOLY! Buy this now!

Also @schiit... Exposing my complete lack of technical knowledge, but is it possible/would it make any sense to make an "interface" to also allow the Jot R to drive normal headphones in addition to the Raals?

 

From talking with Danny, he indicated he wanted to do the SR1a bundle with the Jot R, w/o interface box, and w/ Jot R+interface box. He said he was not yet set on the prices for bundles and said he would need an even bigger Pelican case for the big bundle to fit everything.

 

Someone could make a cable adapter to run BALANCED headphones or speakers, sure, as long as you don't think the Raal/Requisite pinout is pin-for-pin to a standard 4-pin female XLR (look up their specs.) Shorting the two negative terminals together (like for TRS jacks) will trigger the protection. Jotunheim R should do about 15V p-p into higher impedance loads, but we've never done any significant testing of it.

I'll leave the manufacturing of any adapters to the cable guys, it's not something we will do.

 

Why stick with the Jot-R name then?

 

Engineeringally: because it started as a prototype on a Jotunheim platform. Marketingally: To help differentiate Jotunheim in toto from the myriad of three-letter products out there, because you're not gonna get an op-amp based amp doing 14 amps of output current without lots and lots of op-amps.

 

Jot-R will also have proper XLR and SE pre-outs, right? Or will they be gimped somehow since it's made for the Raal primarily.

 

I believe that Jot R’s XLR outputs will be a passive preamp (like SYS, but balanced). In other words, even if the Jot R is powered off, its XLR outputs will still be active as long as there is an active input and effectively be a bypass line output when the volume pot is set to the max. Useful for daisy chaining amps when you don’t want to hassle with switching interconnects.

Correct me if I’m wrong, Jason.

 

Oh passive. That's nice for those who want that I guess, I personally hoped they'd be keeping the Jotunheim's pre functionality.

Thanks

 

I did this for skipping the resistor box. Contact your RAAL dealer or RAAL directly. They'll give a discount.

I didn't get a pelican case to hold the Jot R though

Waiting patiently for the Jot R to launch since it's now a brick without it haha.

 

Will Raal sell the Jot R or Schiit the Raal? Or is the package price just telling Raal you don't want the interface?

 

@netforce posted earlier that RAAL is planning to sell a bundle with Jot R and no interface box.

 

Oh sorry, that was a bit ambiguous. This is to remove the resistor box and get a discount off the SR1A price, not get a bundle discount with the Jot.

 

I'd love to hear what this approach sounds like when used in a loudspeaker. Maybe an active one that incorporates a bunch of the cool digital stuff Mike and Ivana have been working on the last three years.

 

Jason mentioned he didn't want the possibility of the current the Jot-r can make going through the pre-outs in case something goes wrong.

Sounds like a good choice to me.

 

I’m very interested in these, however, I’ve noticed a dearth of comments about using SR1a with a vinyl source. Anybody try this and can comment on noise floor perception and hearing every speck of dust & debris in the groove? Thanks.

 

Had a chance to listen to these yesterday at Bloom (thanks Andrew!) - amazing resolution and soundstage. I much preferred them to the Empyreans that I also auditioned, but did notice the SR1a’s were relatively a bit light in the bottom end. The set-up was using a Schiit Vidar through the interface box, so maybe the JotR helps here? Hoping to hear them again with the JotR at CanJam NYC... One suggestion I would make to RAAL would be to have a labeled ratcheting action for the angle of the earpieces. Anyone dropping that much coin for these is going to be at least a little neurotic (like me), and would appreciate an easily repeatable setting once you get the configuration dialed in.

 

Years ago before I was into audio, I worked with an Atomic Force Microscope. Results were always translated to visual graphs, but I wonder if converting to sound might reveal things the eyes would miss.

edit: some quick references for you guys...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_force_microscopy
http://www.nanoscience.gatech.edu/zlwang/research/afm.html

 

From my short time with the JotR i can say it definitely improves the bass compared to a single Vidar. There also some bit of warmth lost in the mids, but not detail.