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

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by purr1n, Jul 12, 2019.

  1. drgumbybrain

    drgumbybrain Science Nut

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    Sorry about the noob question, but what’s the difference between using 1 or 2 vidars to drive them?
     
  2. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    @Negura
    As my fellow AHB2 brother... do you still have the HE-6? Your post is kinda what piqued my curiosity.
     
  3. Zhanming057

    Zhanming057 Friend

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    - Amps are rated at distortion and power delivery at a given level of output, monoblock setups effectively double this compared to a single amp.

    - running separate grounds may yield better separation and noise control.
     
  4. Zhanming057

    Zhanming057 Friend

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    Check with headphone auditions Amsterdam, Stefan has one and the setup to power it. He also has the TC, Susvara and the HE1 so it might be worth a trip of its own if you're in the EU.....
     
  5. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    I doubt it.
     
  7. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Also little more than their $3.5k price since you need a speaker amp to push them. They do sound fantastic but is more end game than anything. I had a customer earlier this year say how he sold his AKG K1000 after hearing the Raal at RMAF.
     
  8. Negura

    Negura Friend

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    Yes, of course. I still have my modded 4 screws HE-6s with Audeze vegan pads. I did compare and they did not fare too well. On the positive side the HE-6 rock out of one AHB2 on low gain and they sound and measure as good as they always did. The sub-bass goes quite a bit lower. There is performance gain with another AHB2, but less so than with the SR1a and much of it is probably due to having separate channels.
    But that's about the only good news. After the SR1a the HE-6 sound slower, darkish, congested and transients are blunt (only) in comparison. They are less resolving and not as precise. I know right, these are HE-6s that we are talking about... how can this be and yet this other headphone that is brighter, faster, more impactful, more resolving is not a bright/hyterical sounding mess. The darker sound the HE-6s have in comparison is likely due the the high midrange planar dip the Sr1a dont have. Thus because or despite all that, the SR1a are one of the most transparent and realistic sounding headphones, with just the right amount of body and great timbre.

    The FR is great and pretty linear between 35-40hz and 2k, and actually very nice in the treble too, outside a couple of peaks here and there (from memory, not at home right now to review the quick and dirty measurements). But I suspect it is the transient and impulse response that are responsible for a lot of the magic.

    They are not a sub-bass monster, my Stax and HE-6 measure almost linear to 15hz or even lower. The sub-bass satisfies me more than Utopias' did by the way. The nature of open bass is different too, it doesn't have the boom associated to sealed chamber. On the flip side of that, the bass and sub-bass are faster and more precise, as long as you get and keep a good fit. The comfort is great but they can move, a bit like the Abyss and that affects the bass.

    It would be fair to say the SR1a are probably not for those who love a warmer/relaxed sound such as newer HFM or Audeze. Even those though will be intrigued hearing these, but will probably permanently dwell on trying to warm/soften these down with whatever abominable amp/dac/voodoostuffs combination audiophile business can come up with. People who love HE-6/HD800/Stax/HD600/Abyss/Utopia/Clear should definitely be interested.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2019
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Tell ya what. I'll try this next time I'm up at the Schiitr which will be soon because I want to take my family to that BBQ place.
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yes, I love McDonald's. The mobile app gives me discounts and a free mango slushy or cap after I buy five of them. I get hungry after hikes or bike rides in the local mountains (the ones that burned last year). McDonald's is cheap calories to replenish.

    The mobile app has glitches and is sometimes slow when connecting with local restaurant systems. Their IT department still needs to figure out some of this shit.
     
  11. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    I mentioned this in the other thread, but the MA252 is the ideal amp for SR1a. $3500 is not cheap by any means (it's about as expensive as an Aficionado/Studio Jr), but considering there are far more outrageously priced 2-channel speaker amps to satiate one's upgraditis, I'd say it's about as much as you could reasonably spend for a head-fi purpose. Then again, I agree that the SR1a could sound excellent from a much more affordable amp such as the Vidar, as long as the power requirement is met.

    [​IMG]

    Sound aside, I love the MA252's form factor. The adapter box rests perfectly on the top of the amp without blocking the vent holes on the sides, and the individual tube cages make sure the headphone cable don't come into contact with the hot tubes without getting in the cable's way.
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I asked Jason to add blue meters for the direct drive amp that he's working on.
     
  13. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    That MA252 is one sexy amp ... for those of us of a certain age McIntosh brings back fond memories.
     
  14. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    A new hype train generated!

    As I type this with listening with SR1a, and reflecting back to the first day I heard these ear-speakers, I have to chuckle. Getting here was much more challenging than I thought it would be.

    Speaking of amp, high power doesn't seem that necessary. Vidar's 27 db gain and rated power of 100W at 8 ohm (supposedly 150W at 6 ohm) would be just enough to almost DAMAGE the headphone (i.e., SR1a's max spl due to excursion limit is claimed as 111db SPL) with 2V at 0dbFS source and -4 db preamp gain. Double vidars may be better because they can cover louder listening levels within its class-A region though. For low spl listeners like myself (95% of my listening occurs below 90 dbspl), single vider was already good. Stereo-mode vidar was a little warm and mellow to me, and I found such characters very synergistic with SR1a.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2019
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Heh. This is sounding like the Aegir thread where it has been "discovered" that the x2 monoblock configuration isn't necessarily better than the x1 stereo, but different. Yes, not better, but different.

    I recall Jason mentioning a while back to just try a single Vidar first before going all gung-ho on x2 monoblocks. Basically he just stopped sort of explicitly saying: don't spend more money. This is the manufacturer telling us to not spend more money!

    As a reminder: monoblock using differential drive will kill even harmonics much more than that odd harmonics.
     
  16. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    3500 dollars? No wonder it's endorsed by Hans Gruber:
    [​IMG]

    Hell yeah and you can get way cooler stuff than the KH310 too:
    3000 used a pair https://reverb.com/item/25561070-hedd-type-20-pair-ex-demo
    4000ish new

    There's so much great speaker stuff in the 1500 to 10k price range both used and new that 3500 for a ribbon headphone that dust will kill is highway robbery.
     
  17. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Hmm, that is both encourage and discouraging at the same time, since I have a weirdly modded HE-6 that's probably darker than most.

    Oh well, this is all moot. There was one on canuckaudiomart, but it looks like between my last post and now it is already pending. Who wants to bet it was someone reading here at sbaf and jumping on the bandwagon?
     
  18. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    [​IMG]
     
  19. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    Should I post my WTB Verite now?
     
  20. Zhanming057

    Zhanming057 Friend

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    Different horses for different courses.

    I did room acoustic research for a couple years, I was on teams who provided input for actual music halls. To me, every small room 2 channel setup sounds weird without a lot of treatment. Some people live in apartments (e.g. me) and can't do a lot to our living rooms. Others travel a lot and need to bring most of their system with them. The SR1a isn't great for traveling (although I've brought mine on a few trips) but you can use them while working, and they're pretty nice for home offices and such.

    The $1,500 speaker needs another $500 in room materials, at the bare minimum, for most rooms to take out standing echos and add enough absorption. If you live with other people, they may object to you using speakers at night, or in the morning, or get a noise complaint from the guy next door. Headphones don't have any of those issues.

    Dust is fine for aluminum ribbons, you're confusing them with Electrostatic membranes which are actually susceptible to dust damage. And since the drivers are user replaceable, even in the worst case scenario, you're out no more than $350 plus shipping. $3,500 is pricy, but that's where the greater headphone market is at these days, and with the SR1a's you get something that's arguably unprecedented, as opposed to more limited and incremental upgrades from just about every other player in the business.
     

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