[genefruit]

Because a handclap to sound correct is more difficult?

 

[nwavesailor]

Now I need to play the end of that track with my Sus.............

 

[yyzSB]

I’ve spoken with others who thought the Immanis was off. Specific, handclaps didn’t sound correct. Hotel California from Hell Freezes Over at the end of the track for reference. Just the messenger. I’m on the list for a pair but I want to get them on my system before making any purchase decision.

On my Yamaha NS5000 speakers many things sound different than what I heard with my older speakers. Now which is correct. I do not know but I do know what I prefer (and by far).

BTW - I think the NS5000 is better than the Immanis, but I am a speaker guy.

 

[jlbrach]

Regarding no reviews with critiques, here's the review from @simorag where he says too much treble in the Immanis makes it edgy and unforgiving. He also used the words dry and emotionally detached. But this was fixed with changes to his chain.

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/simones-tale-in-three-parts/2/

ah yes, thank god some criticism lol

 

[jlbrach]

OK, I'm being a bit of a smart A** here.........
If most (or all) of Hotel California sounds right and the audience clapping at the end of the track didn't sound 'correct' should I care?
I DO want the awesome intro to that song to sound correct!!!!

I do love people who hone in on handclaps...that is actually funny

 

[jlbrach]

I do love people who hone in on handclaps...that is actually funny..personally for me it whistling of fans during a live show...has to be proper lol

 

[genefruit]

I'm not sure this thread is ready for criticism yet. The few instances where anything has been said have been turned into ad hominem responses. In a few months after the FOTM has worn off, we'll all have a better idea of whether this is the chosen one.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I'm not sure this thread is ready for criticism yet. The few instances where anything has been said have been turned into ad hominem responses. In a few months after the FOTM has worn off, we'll all have a better idea of whether this is the chosen one.

Next to nobody owns them yet.
Long term ownership will show wether they hold what the hype promises

My money is on "yes they will" which is why I preordered them

 

[chrisnyc75]

I was very surprised about the even Split between those that preferred Tubes and Solid state.

I belong firmly in the tube camp

I think it depends very much on what you are listening to. I am *usually* firmly in the tube camp, except when I'm listening to modern electronic music where I want sharper transients and sharper definition. I've personally come to believe that it's not headphones that align with tubes or solid state, but MUSIC. Except Utopia. Utopia DEMANDS tubes under all circumstances.

To me, that's what gives me pause about these headphones. Consider me unfair, cynical, or both, but I don't trust a product until I see one not-glowing review. Until then, it's just the latest hype train. I don't need a negative review, just one that goes "this is nice, but..." A review that brings up potential downsides or simply things that people might not like about a headphone.

I think that's a very reasonable attitude/approach, ESPECIALLY when we're talking about a product in the $10k neighborhood. No one should be blind buying either of these unless they are superfans of ribbons to begin with. For the rest of us, it seems reasonable to wait until there are more balanced reviews and/or we get a demo unit in our own hands.

That's fair but I would also say there's headphones out there that simply don't have bad reviews. Susvara, Shang Sr, HE-1, Aperio I don't think anyone has ever found them to be bad. Pointed out areas for improvement or flavor preferences, sure, but I don't think anyone has ever outright not liked them, at least very few people have.

I don't know, I've heard a LOT of people complain that Susvara and Utopia are "too bright" and Shangri-La is "squishy". I don't agree with either characterization, but I don't think it's right to presume everyone thinks they are "good". In any case, I suspect time will show that Immanis (and Magna?) is a seminal release that is pushing the goal post forward, challenging if not outright denying e-stat supremacy.

 

[KaiSc]

There‘s such a great variety of things that influence how headphones are perceived by various individuals:
Ear shapes (very important), preferred music styles, listening levels, expectations on sound, … , …, … , …the list is endless.

There are certain ‘phones that fit a majority of people, like i.e. Susvara, because they are quite balanced.
Immanis is such a balanced ‘phone too, maybe even more neutral in a positive way.

Magna isn’t, it has it’s own characteristics and opposed to Immanis it’s sound balance even depends on head positioning by some amount.
In exchange for that it adds some grip, punch to the music.

If you have a money-tree in your garden, I suggest to get both, they complement each other.
For us normal people auditioning them is advisable.

 

[Aleksandar R.]

I'd be the King of The Universe if I knew how to make a product liked by everyone!

All I can do is add to the headphone audience another view of how a headphone should sound.
If you share with me what I value in sound, you are my audience and that's all there is to it.

IMHO, all existing headphone driver technologies have matured long ago and filled up the margin of quality for a given tech.
I'm a speaker guy and I know very well what dynamics and effortlessness really is. Smooth and pleasant or not, better or poorer frequency response, but some speakers do it really well.

Ribbons are still maturing as a headphone tech and the way I set them up is for dynamics, life in sound and a proper tone balance. I will sacrifice some aspects of standard measurements perfection for a "living voice" any day of the week, as we're still not measuring directly for "life and effortlessness".

My goal for Magna was to sound like a correct, good sounding medium sized floor-standing speaker.
The goal for Immanis was to sound like a big speaker.
(I'm not talking about the sub-bass here. You will rarely find even a big speaker that goes below 30Hz, I'm talking about the presentation of sound, large scale of things...)

As I've said before, don't believe too much in what anyone says, but I'll also say that the hype is here for a good reason, it's not unrealistic, if you don't mind me saying so myself.

 

[crazyhank]

hi, sorry I'm a bit late to the latest from Raal...when are the magnus and immanus coming out?

 

[rlawry]

hi, sorry I'm a bit late to the latest from Raal...when are the magnus and immanus coming out?

The below information was posted by Aleksander of RAAL on April 16. It should give some sort of idea of what currently is in the production pipeline.


So far we've shipped 13 Immanis and 4 Magna, either as sale units or demo/review units.

We'll ship another 7 Immanis by mid next week for sales/demo/reviews

That leaves us with 7 leftover Immanis, plus 3 Magna, that we need to finish as demo units for High-End Munich and Hifideluxe.

By the time I get back from Munich, all the surface treatment trials will be over and all the parts will be surface treated and ready to be assembled.

From then on, a steady flow of headphones will start to get shipped out, gradually, spread proportionally between distributors, dealers and our direct sales, according to the waiting list(s) priorities.

From the first batch, 14 demo units must be made to cover show, distributor/dealer and review demos.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I absolutely don't believe in a "King of the Hill" when it comes to headphones whatsoever. There is no one perfect headphone that most will simply universally like. And even the most expensive headphones have tradeoffs, that much immediately reinforced when I tried the Aperio at the same show I heard the Immanis. Primary reason I will never own less than three TOTL cans if I can help it.

The challenge early on is that we're all listening primarily in sub-optimal (meet) conditions. The show I was at was pretty noisy. I could tell that I enjoyed them and that they were in a similar top tier a few other TOTL headphones (x9k, probably the Shang Sr. etc). I didn't find the highs offensive and the lows seemed sufficient, but I could be wrong on that initial assessment to a degree, but we'll see. I don't think it's much about hype, rather it will take better conditions and time to better understand things most may not love about them.

But the highly positive impressions are just too consistent, and from a lot of people that have heard many of the top offerings out there. Even before I heard them, that + the fact that I've owned the Sr1a/CA-1a and have familiarity made it a no-brainer purchase.

 

[crazyhank]

The below information was posted by Aleksander of RAAL on April 16. It should give some sort of idea of what currently is in the production pipeline.


So far we've shipped 13 Immanis and 4 Magna, either as sale units or demo/review units.

We'll ship another 7 Immanis by mid next week for sales/demo/reviews

That leaves us with 7 leftover Immanis, plus 3 Magna, that we need to finish as demo units for High-End Munich and Hifideluxe.

By the time I get back from Munich, all the surface treatment trials will be over and all the parts will be surface treated and ready to be assembled.

From then on, a steady flow of headphones will start to get shipped out, gradually, spread proportionally between distributors, dealers and our direct sales, according to the waiting list(s) priorities.

From the first batch, 14 demo units must be made to cover show, distributor/dealer and review demos.

Thank you so much!! And what amp is recommended? anything new? or the old models Raal always had?