[KaiSc]

I have tried these a few times, but each time I quickly developed a headache due to the pressure from the pads on my temples. I must be sensitive to that. As a result I could not really get into them. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

I love the (bass heavy) AKG K-1000 on my RME ADI-2 Pro.

As I do not listen very loud in general I can use ADI-2's EQ to extend the bass down to 30Hz without running into distortion (shelving, +12dB, 58Hz, Q=0.8)
- and remove the peak at 2kHz (-5.5dB, 2.0kHz, Q=1.2).
I've angled the baffles by 20 degrees, so that there is a space of about 1cm to my ears.

The metal headband arcs I've carefully bent a bit outside, so that the little pads just fit tight enough to keep the K-1000 in place. This way it's very comfortable and I can wear it for hours, even on hot summer days.

For amplification: the AKG K-1000 loves a bit higher output impedance: 33 Ohms in line improves the sound, compared to ADI-2 Pro's native close to 0 Ohms.
I even have an OTL tube amp and a solid state amp, both specially designed for the K-1000, but the RME ADI-2 Pro's headphones out (with added resistor) drives them very, very well too.


I'll have to have a listen to the RAAL SR1a as soon as I can get one in hands, see if it meets or improves on the K-1000 qualities.
Currently there's non here around my place.

What kind of irritates me is the high number of reports about how amplifier, DAC and cable (what???!) dependent the sound quality of the SR1a seems to be.
Really bad with the "wrong" chain?!
The AKG K-1000 is not - it sounds great with whatever I drive it, as long as there is sufficient output power (~0.3W @ 120 Ohms, EQ'd - less without EQ).

 

[Sherwood]

What kind of irritates me is the high number of reports about how amplifier, DAC and cable (what???!) dependent the sound quality of the SR1a seems to be.
Really bad with the "wrong" chain?!

With the caveat that I've yet to receive my set in the mail over here, I think you can take all those reports with a large grain of salt. The SR1A is often praised as "resolving", which would imply it lets you hear not only the music but also the gear you use to listen to it.

The amplifier requirements are certainly steep. You need to use either one of two direct-drive amplifiers or a power amp that can put out 100+ watts into 4 ohms through the converter box. The resolving nature of the headphones appears to reveal faults in lesser amps to many users, but that kind of clarity is what we're paying for.

The source will mean different things to different people. The RME you list above is widely considered to be an excellent DAC, and I'm sure it would sound great through the SR1A. More to the point, as a piece of real pro audio gear, it's just the kind of thing the SR1A were made for. If you listen to a different system, you might hear differences between that DAC and others. With my current system I struggle to tell the difference between properly-functioning DACs, though, so you might as well.

Finally, the cable. The cable can absolutely make a significant difference on the sound, but in most cases that difference will be for the worse. Due to the extremely low impedance of the headphones, smaller cables (or any cable with a higher impedance) would be easily audible. I haven't heard Drew at Moon Audio's cable, but it would not surprise me if it changed the overall impedance enough to alter the sound. I'd stick with the well made stock cable; it was not added as an afterthought.

 

[makan]

With the caveat that I've yet to receive my set in the mail over here, I think you can take all those reports with a large grain of salt. The SR1A is often praised as "resolving", which would imply it lets you hear not only the music but also the gear you use to listen to it.

The amplifier requirements are certainly steep. You need to use either one of two direct-drive amplifiers or a power amp that can put out 100+ watts into 4 ohms through the converter box. The resolving nature of the headphones appears to reveal faults in lesser amps to many users, but that kind of clarity is what we're paying for.

The source will mean different things to different people. The RME you list above is widely considered to be an excellent DAC, and I'm sure it would sound great through the SR1A. More to the point, as a piece of real pro audio gear, it's just the kind of thing the SR1A were made for. If you listen to a different system, you might hear differences between that DAC and others. With my current system I struggle to tell the difference between properly-functioning DACs, though, so you might as well.

Finally, the cable. The cable can absolutely make a significant difference on the sound, but in most cases that difference will be for the worse. Due to the extremely low impedance of the headphones, smaller cables (or any cable with a higher impedance) would be easily audible. I haven't heard Drew at Moon Audio's cable, but it would not surprise me if it changed the overall impedance enough to alter the sound. I'd stick with the well made stock cable; it was not added as an afterthought.

I have the 10 foot black dragon moon audio. The treble is a little less hot to my ears....I am not a big cable guy so YMMV

 

[KaiSc]

Finally, the cable. The cable can absolutely make a significant difference on the sound, but in most cases that difference will be for the worse. Due to the extremely low impedance of the headphones, smaller cables (or any cable with a higher impedance) would be easily audible. ...

The headphones connect cable shouldn't make any difference at all, because the interface box contains resistors of 4 Ohms which the signal has to pass through before it goes through the cable.

So, if the signal goes through 4+0.3 or 4+0.4 Ohms shouldn't make any audible difference at all.

Raal did explain, that they did this ("current drive" opposed to "voltage drive") intentionally.
Otherwise they would not have been able to pass any treble to the headphones at all, because the cable's inductance would stop the treble from reaching the headphone.

I made some tests and found, that even with much shorter, 15cm interconnect to a (speaker) ribbon driver, inductance is a problem.

The interface box takes the headphones cable out of the equation, at least technically.

 

[foefoe]

I loved the HEDDPHONES and reviewed them here:

https://headphone.guru/hedd-audio-the-new-and-amazing-heddphones-yes-i-spelled-that-correctly/

Great headphones for sure! But no question, the SR1a is a top 3-4 headphone for me, yes they are that good! Soundstaging is likely the best I've come across and they are right there with my Phi TC, Susvara, and LCD-4/4z for the very best I've heard. The HEDDphones are more on the same level with the HD800S, etc... Still great headphones, just not among the top tier for me.

oh, I found them better than HD800(s), easily rivaling Utopia and ZMF Verite. Unfortunately, due to discomfort to my ears and neck I had to sell them. And the treble, yes, the treble for me was the best I have ever heard, best, most natural cymbals, acoustic guitars etc Asking about HEDD vs SR1a opinions because I... pulled the trigger on SR1a. Will be with me in 2-3 weeks' time. Really hope the treble response will be in the same league (or even better) with Raal.

 

[FLTWS]

I have the 10 foot black dragon moon audio. The treble is a little less hot to my ears....I am not a big cable guy so YMMV

I have a Dragon 10 footer also for the SR1a, I have been evaluating some other gear lately but I found nothing wrong with the sound when I got it a few weeks back. Unless your cable curious there is absolutely nothing wrong with the stock cables sound either. It's all about what you hear and what you want to hear. Different combinations of sources, and DAC's, and maybe cabling in between the two, coupled with the interface and any of a thousand power amp choices, or the Jot R, or the soon (?) to be available HSA-1, the possible combination of subtle sonic variations is dizzying!

 

[saudio7]

Is subbas a problem for SR1a do you have to use EQ, any distortions ? I notice this on one of the demo headphones and I am not sure if it was problem with SR1a or amp.

 

[FLTWS]

Is subbas a problem for SR1a do you have to use EQ, any distortions ? I notice this on one of the demo headphones and I am not sure if it was problem with SR1a or amp.

I use a Loki with my Jot R on the SE side for it's 20Hz knob when needed, and the balanced input is hooked up too; both from my Yggdrasil. Whether or not I use one or the other depends on recording qualities, some CD's, especially those sourced from analog tapes, benefit from a little bit of Loki. Many of my all digital recordings don't.

I have never encountered any distortion that was noticeable (excepting if it was in the recording to begin with), but then I don't overdrive it with an excessive input signal voltage or peg the volume control either. It plays plenty loud enough for me.

 

[JLoud]

I have experienced some bass distortion. Depends on the track. If it has bass below 30hz it will bottom out the ribbons. As the SR1A is only rated to 30hz this isn’t surprising. Of course this generally with electronic music.

 

[Jon L]

I have the 10 foot black dragon moon audio. The treble is a little less hot to my ears....I am not a big cable guy so YMMV

I just recabled Wywires Platinum headphone cable for SR1a, and this combo may please those who find the stock sound to be bit too hot up top and not rich enough in midrange.
I actually used 3.5 mm TRS plugs instead of stock TRRS plug, which works fine.
A tip for those with Hifiman headphone cables with 3.5mm TRS plugs. For some reason Hifiman wires Tip to positive and BOTH Ring and Sleeve to ground. If you desolder the wire to Ring, you can now use a Hifiman cable with both SR1a and Hifiman 'phones. (Provided one uses proper XLR adapter with proprietary pinouts for Raal).

0910201816_HDR by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[FLTWS]

I have experienced some bass distortion. Depends on the track. If it has bass below 30hz it will bottom out the ribbons. As the SR1A is only rated to 30hz this isn’t surprising. Of course this generally with electronic music.

I listen to acoustic instruments almost exclusively so that makes sense.

 

[Jeweltopia]

Man, you guys, I'm so bummed out.

I've been following these Raals for a very, very long time. I heard them very briefly at a show and loved them. Just ordered them from Headamp after remembering the beautiful sound I heard out of these. 15 minutes into wearing them, I got a migraine from the pads pushing my temples on the side. I set them down for a bit, took some pain medicine, and came back to them. This time, 15 minutes into wearing them, I felt another headache creeping in so I put them down again. I did fiddle around with the adjustment to try to alleviate the pressure off of my temples. Finally, I came back to them again and forced myself to wear them for at least 30 minutes to see if the first two times of them making me ill were flukes. Well, I wore them for half an hour and did every adjustment I could on them (minus of modding them) and 30 minutes into wearing these, I got the worst migraine I've had in a year. Started feeling super unwell, and, my head was throbbing where the pressure points were from the pads for hours. I think that it took two hours for the throbbing to stop.

I don't like permanently modding stuff in case I want to re-sell, but, I had just gotten them yesterday and can't go through that migraine ordeal again. I sent Justin a return request message, citing that these quite literally made me extremely ill. I'll probably be able to send them back by Monday or Tuesday and get a refund quickly, but, I'm just so bummed out by this. I know that there may be mods that I could try, but, I've decided to just send them back for a refund and get a more traditional headphone. My Sennheiser HD800S and Focal Stellias have never given me a headache before. Come to think of it, no cans have ever given me a headache before. For what it's worth, I'm a female with a fairly small head, and I don't know if that somehow made the clamping force worse.

 

[makan]

Man, you guys, I'm so bummed out.

I've been following these Raals for a very, very long time. I heard them very briefly at a show and loved them. Just ordered them from Headamp after remembering the beautiful sound I heard out of these. 15 minutes into wearing them, I got a migraine from the pads pushing my temples on the side. I set them down for a bit, took some pain medicine, and came back to them. This time, 15 minutes into wearing them, I felt another headache creeping in so I put them down again. I did fiddle around with the adjustment to try to alleviate the pressure off of my temples. Finally, I came back to them again and forced myself to wear them for at least 30 minutes to see if the first two times of them making me ill were flukes. Well, I wore them for half an hour and did every adjustment I could on them (minus of modding them) and 30 minutes into wearing these, I got the worst migraine I've had in a year. Started feeling super unwell, and, my head was throbbing where the pressure points were from the pads for hours. I think that it took two hours for the throbbing to stop.

I don't like permanently modding stuff in case I want to re-sell, but, I had just gotten them yesterday and can't go through that migraine ordeal again. I sent Justin a return request message, citing that these quite literally made me extremely ill. I'll probably be able to send them back by Monday or Tuesday and get a refund quickly, but, I'm just so bummed out by this. I know that there may be mods that I could try, but, I've decided to just send them back for a refund and get a more traditional headphone. My Sennheiser HD800S and Focal Stellias have never given me a headache before. Come to think of it, no cans have ever given me a headache before. For what it's worth, I'm a female with a fairly small head, and I don't know if that somehow made the clamping force worse.

That’s too bad. There are other headphones for sure that will fit your taste and comfort level. The susvara might be one. Super comfortable and super transparent.

 

[Jeweltopia]

Yeah, for sure.

Just want it to be put on record that I didn't come in here to trash talk these or hate on them in any way. I have seen some posts discussing the potential for these to give headaches, but, I wasn't expecting it to come on so soon or so strong. I normally only get headaches if the weather changes (barometric pressure), and maybe from stress. I just thought that I'd throw this out there in case anyone prone to migraines or bad headaches was considering these. Granted, everyone's head is different. I hope to see Raal do something in the future that uses this same technology but in a design that evenly distributes the weight across the surface area.

I was considering the Abyss 1266 Phi TC, but, now it has me worrying that unconventionally designed models may not be for my head. The Susvara was another consideration. I may just end up saving for one of those because I truly don't want to go through this ever again with an uncomfortable headphone. Even the Empyrean, in the brief time that I owned it, was putting massive amounts of pressure on the sides of my head despite people citing how it was the most comfortable headphone ever. It wasn't migraine inducing, just ever so slightly mildly annoying.

 

[makan]

Sounds like you are sensitive to clamping force. It is going to be trial and error. I have the empyrean as well and it is very comfortable but there is more clamping force than the raal. Even the susvara has quite a bit of clamping. I have the TC and it has little clamping force but fit takes time. I have it at the smallest setting and so, if your head is on a small side, that may be challenging. Maybe try reaching out to dealers or headfiers to try some headphones out for a few days. Good luck.