[Jon L]

Nemal4pin4 by drjlo2, on Flickr

I had emailed Nemal support to ask if their 4-pin female adapter shell was openable, and they actually emailed me back! It is sealed with epoxy, but they were willing to build me a custom adapter with the Raal pinout at the same price! Big kudos to Nemal.
So I ordered one, and I got notified that it will be built and shipped in next 3-4 days.
Those who do not want to build their own adapters may want to order one now so they can build them all together at the same time.

Product Link: https://nemal.com/products/nemal-xlr-4-pin-female-female-adapter
Just write in the "Note" section during ordering the following:
"Raal Pinout"
Label Amp End

Headphone end --> Amp end 4-pin
4-pin female XLR female XLR
Pin 3--> pin 1
Pin 4-->pin 2
Pin 1-->pin 4
Pin 2-->pin 3

 

[thomaskong78]

I am going back and forth between Stax 009s driven by Kgsshv Carbon amp and Sr1a driven by Jot R.

Sr1a sound fast and exiting but too aggressive from time to time while 009s give more relaxed and musical tone.

Had anybody tried Schitt freya tube pre in front of Jot R?

If so, what is your impression of using it?

 

[Torq]

My finger keeps hovering over "buy it" button of HSA-1a but am waiting to hear how it does with sensitive speakers, so please do try some nice sensitive speakers on them when you report back!

If I can come up with a suitably good pair of sensitive speakers, that aren't also stupidly large (as most of the sensitive stuff I've heard that is actually any good tends to be), I'll do this. The speakers in my own speaker rig are not at all suitable here, however - so not something to hold your breath on.

 

[thomaskong78]

I also consider getting Rogue Audio Rh5 pre in front of Jot R.

Rh5 also appears to be pretty good headphone amp to drive Abyss 1266 TC or HD 800s .

https://www.stereophile.com/content/rogue-audio-rh-5-preamplifier-headphone-amplifier

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazi...5_Headphone_Amplifier_Preamplifier_Review.htm

I have had Rogue Crouns Magnum II for 8 years with several pairs of NOS 12au7 but not Rh5.

Had anybody tried Rh5 in front of Jot R?

 

[dieslemat]

I am going back and forth between Stax 009s driven by Kgsshv Carbon amp and Sr1a driven by Jot R.

Sr1a sound fast and exiting but too aggressive from time to time while 009s give more relaxed and musical tone.

Had anybody tried Schitt freya tube pre in front of Jot R?

If so, what is your impression of using it?

I did a review with the productionqualifier Jotunheim R.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-3543#post-15293517

I still prefer having the Freya infront of the Jotunheim R than the Jotunheim R by itself.

 

[terirapt]

Can you try connecting it to something else other than the DAP to see if that might be causing the anomaly? Can you hook the Jot directly to your PC?

I got hold of a Chord Hugo 2 as the source. On lineout, the crackling is terrible. Had to reduce the volume on the Hugo and crank up Jot R. With this, the crackling does decrease significantly but still there occasionally depends on the track.

i am curious if this is the nature of the SR1a (ie. it crackles when beyond certain loudness; but I thought it is rather soft before it crackles in my situation) as I don’t think I am the only one that experienced crackling, although different people listen at different loudness (perhaps I listen at higher volume than normal as I fan out the SR1a at 45 degree), or I have defective SR1a and/or Jot R?

Thank you.

 

[Khronos]

If I can come up with a suitably good pair of sensitive speakers, that aren't also stupidly large (as most of the sensitive stuff I've heard that is actually any good tends to be), I'll do this. The speakers in my own speaker rig are not at all suitable here, however - so not something to hold your breath on.

The Caintuck Betsy are an inexpensive and excellent proposal for this.
http://www.caintuckaudio.com/

 

[thomaskong78]

I did a review with the productionqualifier Jotunheim R.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-3543#post-15293517

I still prefer having the Freya infront of the Jotunheim R than the Jotunheim R by itself.

Thanks a lot for your kind input.

Could you elaborate what is the difference between Jot R only and Freya + Jot R?

 

[Torq]

I got hold of a Chord Hugo 2 as the source. On lineout, the crackling is terrible. Had to reduce the volume on the Hugo and crank up Jot R. With this, the crackling does decrease significantly but still there occasionally depends on the track.

i am curious if this is the nature of the SR1a (ie. it crackles when beyond certain loudness; but I thought it is rather soft before it crackles in my situation) as I don’t think I am the only one that experienced crackling, although different people listen at different loudness (perhaps I listen at higher volume than normal as I fan out the SR1a at 45 degree), or I have defective SR1a and/or Jot R?

Thank you.

Assuming you're not running software EQ ahead of sending the data to the Hugo 2, what you're describing is not normal.

While it's not my normal chain, I hooked up my Hugo 2, in "line-out" mode (power it on while holding down the X-PHD button) to my Jotunheim R, and turned things up until the SR1a were hitting a measured 105 dB/SPL (that's hearing-damage-in-5-minutes territory). Not a hint of crackling nor any other untoward noises.

So unless you have something else going on in your chain (e.g. software EQ that's set so it is clipping in the digital domain), then you either have a fault somewhere or you've over-driven your SR1a already and damaged them (they're rated for a max SPL of 111 dB).

 

[dieslemat]

Thanks a lot for your kind input.

Could you elaborate what is the difference between Jot R only and Freya + Jot R?

In my opinion:
Depends a lot on your tubes that you put in Freya. But with the stock tubes I could say that the sound that comes out from the Sr1a is a little bit less aggressive with the Freya. As you know the SR1a is very resolving and even goes well with EQ. If you want a little bit of tubeness go add a tube pre-amp.
The Sr1a is truly remarkable but less forgiving for tracks that arent recorded or engineered well. I find some Post Malone songs are better with just planars than the Sr1a but listening to Chuck Mangione in Sr1a is amazing.

If you live in the states maybe try getting the Saga+ and the Loki mini. If you dont like it get thr Freya+

That’s what I plan next, I do have the Loki Mini now I just need to find time to hook it up with the Freya + and Jotunheim R to test. but for my study room setup I am considering the Saga +

Hope this helps

 

[thomaskong78]

In my opinion:
Depends a lot on your tubes that you put in Freya. But with the stock tubes I could say that the sound that comes out from the Sr1a is a little bit less aggressive with the Freya. As you know the SR1a is very resolving and even goes well with EQ. If you want a little bit of tubeness go add a tube pre-amp.
The Sr1a is truly remarkable but less forgiving for tracks that arent recorded or engineered well. I find some Post Malone songs are better with just planars than the Sr1a but listening to Chuck Mangione in Sr1a is amazing.

If you live in the states maybe try getting the Saga+ and the Loki mini. If you dont like it get thr Freya+

That’s what I plan next, I do have the Loki Mini now I just need to find time to hook it up with the Freya + and Jotunheim R to test. but for my study room setup I am considering the Saga +

Hope this helps

Thanks a lot for your detailed notes.

I agree with most of your points about Sr1a.


I need balanced input for 20 ft balanced interconnect between Dave and pre amplifier.

Thus I do not consider Saga which does not have balanced input.

I wish to give some tube flavor for Jot R to make its sound little bit relaxed.



But it is not easy decision between Freya and Rogue Rh5 although Rh5 cost 2 and 1/2 times of Freya.

Rh5 will also drive my HD 800s very well.

I may get 1266 TC in the future which can be driven by Rh5.

I am going to try out Rh5 at local shop next week by bringing both Sr1a, 800S and Jot R, Amperex 12Au7 tubes if the shop is open.

If I am happy with Rh5, I may go for it.

Otherwise I may try out Freya at home with their 15 day's return policy.

Another option is to try out Mjonir 2 which also has pre out and use only two tubes which make tube rolling much easier than Freya which use 4 tubes.

I have several pairs of Nos tubes but only one quad set of tubes.

 

[Jon L]

I need balanced input for 20 ft balanced interconnect between Dave and pre amplifier.
I am going to try out Rh5 at local shop next week by bringing both Sr1a, 800S and Amperex 12Au7 tubes if the shop is open.
If I am happy with Rh5, I may go for it.

Assuming the 20 feet distance you need is unnegotiable, before you actually purchase the RH5, I would wait a bit longer for Torq's review of the NEW version of Raal HSA-1a.
He has said elsewhere that the new version of HSA-1a will feature a normal balanced XLR output jack for normal headphones! (presumably with all special circuits for SR1a bypassed)
I am making an educated guess from previous experiences with other class A gear, but with HSA-1a's class A 10 watts into 8 Ohms, I will bet it sounds smoother, warmer, with more bass quantity than Jot R, perhaps just enough for you not to need a tubed preamp in front of it. And it should also be able to power even Abyss 1266 into submission.

 

[thomaskong78]

Assuming the 20 feet distance you need is unnegotiable, before you actually purchase the RH5, I would wait a bit longer for Torq's review of the NEW version of Raal HSA-1a.
He has said elsewhere that the new version of HSA-1a will feature a normal balanced XLR output jack for normal headphones! (presumably with all special circuits for SR1a.
I am making an educated guess from previous experiences with other class A gear, but with HSA-1a's class A 10 watts into 8 Ohms, I will bet it sounds smoother, warmer, with more bass quantity than Jot R, perhaps just enough for you not to need a tubed preamp in front of it. And it should also be able to power even Abyss 1266 into submission.

Although, HSA-1a looks good, it does not have any tube in it, so I do not consider that option.

I have 42 years of audio history.

But during last 20 years, I had used only tube amplifiers for my 2 channel system except running subwoofers.

Before that, I had used Krell KSA 150 which is a space heater with class A operation.

After using Jot R for 3 months, I reached conclusion that I need Nos tube amplification in the chain to make it musical.

 

[Jon L]

After using Jot R for 3 months, I reached conclusion that I need Nos tube amplification in the chain to make it musical.

Can't argue with that (as I lovingly gaze at my storage boxes of NOS tubes which shall be buried with me)

 

[Thenewguy007]

Although, HSA-1a looks good, it does not have any tube in it, so I do not consider that option.

I have 42 years of audio history.

But during last 20 years, I had used only tube amplifiers for my 2 channel system except running subwoofers.

Before that, I had used Krell KSA 150 which is a space heater with class A operation.

After using Jot R for 3 months, I reached conclusion that I need Nos tube amplification in the chain to make it musical.

Sucks the HSA-1a doesn't have a pre-in option like the Jot R does, so no tube preamp can be used with it.