[jlbrach]

I'm driving my SR1a through the TI-1a with my CFA3 (32 ohm). Works incredibly well, and the CFA has so much power I'm rarely past 8 o'clock (admittedly, I don't listen very loud). I'm still evaluating, but the TI-1a driven this way seems a bit more dynamic than direct drive from the HSA-1b, but the quieter passages also seem more recessed than they are with the HSA-1b.

that is strange when I listen to the sr1a out of my cfa3 and the adapter box I have to crank it up at least 3 pm ....I am using a chord dave into the amp

 

[Hiker816]

that is strange when I listen to the sr1a out of my cfa3 and the adapter box I have to crank it up at least 3 pm ....I am using a chord dave into the amp

That is weird, as I'm using a DAVE into the CFA3, too. And I have the CFA3 on low gain. Maybe my hearing is better than I thought? Or I'm a weirdo. More likely the latter.

 

[mimaximax]

@GoldenOne If I understand correctly, it seems on the TI1b that highs are best with higher resistance/impedance if the amp is powerfull enough.

Right. It's hard to beat resistors, if at all possible by principle.

Lately, I listen to HSA-1b only through the TI. I prefer it a little compared to direct. It's a bit smoother and I can listen loud with less fatigue.
I don't know if I'm right about that, but I attribute this to 10x less current that the amp has to swing, so the distortion spectrum must be more benign and quantity of it must be lower.

The Silver cables will remain as they are. They both have very low inductance and one is low resistance (SR728, 0.18 Ohms), to utilize best low power amps, and the other is high resistance (Star67), for best highs, but requires power.

I don't know what is the resistance of that cable, but for the VM1a it shouldn't be lower than 0.18 Ohms.
That's the minimum, or the plate impedance at the primary of the output transformers will become too low.

This also goes for the TI boxes, so cables that have resistance lower than that will start softening the highs too much.

I'm pretty sure that this cable was developed for the old RI box (Resistor Inteface).

The old standard cable is 0.4 Ohms, so you will get about 50/25 Ohms at the input instead of 32/16. It's safe to use, but you will need 4dB more power than with 0.23 Ohm cable.
Anyhow, that doesn;t really matter much, as the SC2 cable comes included with the TI box.

I admit, the SC-2 cable is not the one that will show everything that SR1 and CA1 can do, but if we allow for the price diff. between Sus and 1266 get filled with our future cables, you will discover there is more to SR1/CA1 than the base offer allows for.

Can @Aleksandar R. or @SageM send you the new Star8 Ag cable for your review? Also did you tried the VM1a?

I was looking at the AHB2 and Zahl HM1 to drive my SR1a... Review will be fun! Did you tried to widen the soundstage with that stereo knob on the HM1? I would have liked being able to play with depth making the center image (and vocals) being more distant for an even more speaker-like presentation. I am currently using a Purifi speaker amp with both TI1a (32ohms) and RI (coming from tube monoblocks+ADI2) and the bass seems finally satisfying even without my subwoofer (also having the headphones sitting higher on my head helped). Now I am thinking of adding a tube pre to enjoy their tone and soundstage from time to time.

 

[lithiumnk]

How is T1B/T1A vs original interface box for SR1A?
I prefer original interface box over Jot R.

 

[Hiker816]

I have both the TI-1a and original resistor interface box on my desk here. I hope to do a more thorough comparison as soon as I have time. Preliminary impressions are that the TI-1a has a little bit more energy.

 

[jlbrach]

That is weird, as I'm using a DAVE into the CFA3, too. And I have the CFA3 on low gain. Maybe my hearing is better than I thought? Or I'm a weirdo. More likely the latter.

perhaps it has to do with the attenuation of the different amps because dukei told me when he tested my amp before shipping he was listening to his hifiman he6 at 12-2 most of the time which is where I am with my susvara...

 

[Hiker816]

perhaps it has to do with the attenuation of the different amps because dukei told me when he tested my amp before shipping he was listening to his hifiman he6 at 12-2 most of the time which is where I am with my susvara...

Do you use the DAVE on DAC mode, or amp? I usually have it at -7.

 

[jlbrach]

I use it at 0 with my blu 2 which would be equivalent to -3 with the dave alone...it has to be an issue of attenuation

 

[John Useless]

Just need to shout out Danny (@SageM) for the excellent customer service and warranty coverage RAAL Requisite provides.

I recently had an issue with my VM-1a. One of the power tube sockets started red plating all the time, swapping or replacing tubes didn't make the issue move but rather it was always the specific socket. So I thought oh oh, not the tubes, must be the amp. As many of you know you never really know for sure how good a warranty is until you need service, but Danny and RAAL were fully up to the task. Once we'd connected over email he was quick to have me give him a call, talk through what I'd already tested, and to agree it sounded like a problem with the amp (auto-bias circuit issue was his thought in this case). Got a paid return label quickly and had the amp off to them after a few days delay on my side. Danny was super clear upfront they'd verify the issue, replace the bias circuit (or if the issue was something else repair or replace), and get it back to me as quick as they could. AND... that's exactly what happened. Once Danny inspected the amp it turned out it looked like a capacitor had come loose in return shipping as well and because he would have to disassemble more to repair that he decided to just ship me a new VM-1a to avoid further delay.

I'm back to listening, still loving the VM-1a, and super impressed with the service I received. No one wants to have any issue with a product they buy, especially an expensive one, but of course it's inevitable with electronics that there are occasional failures. The way Danny handled it left me more confident in buying future RAAL products and thankful that I'd decided to go with the VM-1a. I haven't been active on here lately, but felt like I just had to come share the experience as I've been left a more loyal RAAL customer and super confident in how they stand behind their products. I'm seeing a CA-1a in my near future

Thanks Danny, David and everyone at RAAL Requisite!

 

[musicman59]

Just need to shout out Danny (@SageM) for the excellent customer service and warranty coverage RAAL Requisite provides.

I recently had an issue with my VM-1a. One of the power tube sockets started red plating all the time, swapping or replacing tubes didn't make the issue move but rather it was always the specific socket. So I thought oh oh, not the tubes, must be the amp. As many of you know you never really know for sure how good a warranty is until you need service, but Danny and RAAL were fully up to the task. Once we'd connected over email he was quick to have me give him a call, talk through what I'd already tested, and to agree it sounded like a problem with the amp (auto-bias circuit issue was his thought in this case). Got a paid return label quickly and had the amp off to them after a few days delay on my side. Danny was super clear upfront they'd verify the issue, replace the bias circuit (or if the issue was something else repair or replace), and get it back to me as quick as they could. AND... that's exactly what happened. Once Danny inspected the amp it turned out it looked like a capacitor had come loose in return shipping as well and because he would have to disassemble more to repair that he decided to just ship me a new VM-1a to avoid further delay.

I'm back to listening, still loving the VM-1a, and super impressed with the service I received. No one wants to have any issue with a product they buy, especially an expensive one, but of course it's inevitable with electronics that there are occasional failures. The way Danny handled it left me more confident in buying future RAAL products and thankful that I'd decided to go with the VM-1a. I haven't been active on here lately, but felt like I just had to come share the experience as I've been left a more loyal RAAL customer and super confident in how they stand behind their products. I'm seeing a CA-1a in my near future

Thanks Danny, David and everyone at RAAL Requisite!

I agree!!
I had an issue with the step attenuator in my HSA-1b and he sent me a brand new amplifier at the latest level (with the dip switches on the pack panel).

 

[paradoxper]

Just need to shout out Danny (@SageM) for the excellent customer service and warranty coverage RAAL Requisite provides.

I recently had an issue with my VM-1a. One of the power tube sockets started red plating all the time, swapping or replacing tubes didn't make the issue move but rather it was always the specific socket. So I thought oh oh, not the tubes, must be the amp. As many of you know you never really know for sure how good a warranty is until you need service, but Danny and RAAL were fully up to the task. Once we'd connected over email he was quick to have me give him a call, talk through what I'd already tested, and to agree it sounded like a problem with the amp (auto-bias circuit issue was his thought in this case). Got a paid return label quickly and had the amp off to them after a few days delay on my side. Danny was super clear upfront they'd verify the issue, replace the bias circuit (or if the issue was something else repair or replace), and get it back to me as quick as they could. AND... that's exactly what happened. Once Danny inspected the amp it turned out it looked like a capacitor had come loose in return shipping as well and because he would have to disassemble more to repair that he decided to just ship me a new VM-1a to avoid further delay.

I'm back to listening, still loving the VM-1a, and super impressed with the service I received. No one wants to have any issue with a product they buy, especially an expensive one, but of course it's inevitable with electronics that there are occasional failures. The way Danny handled it left me more confident in buying future RAAL products and thankful that I'd decided to go with the VM-1a. I haven't been active on here lately, but felt like I just had to come share the experience as I've been left a more loyal RAAL customer and super confident in how they stand behind their products. I'm seeing a CA-1a in my near future

Thanks Danny, David and everyone at RAAL Requisite!

Class.

 

[jlbrach]

Just need to shout out Danny (@SageM) for the excellent customer service and warranty coverage RAAL Requisite provides.

I recently had an issue with my VM-1a. One of the power tube sockets started red plating all the time, swapping or replacing tubes didn't make the issue move but rather it was always the specific socket. So I thought oh oh, not the tubes, must be the amp. As many of you know you never really know for sure how good a warranty is until you need service, but Danny and RAAL were fully up to the task. Once we'd connected over email he was quick to have me give him a call, talk through what I'd already tested, and to agree it sounded like a problem with the amp (auto-bias circuit issue was his thought in this case). Got a paid return label quickly and had the amp off to them after a few days delay on my side. Danny was super clear upfront they'd verify the issue, replace the bias circuit (or if the issue was something else repair or replace), and get it back to me as quick as they could. AND... that's exactly what happened. Once Danny inspected the amp it turned out it looked like a capacitor had come loose in return shipping as well and because he would have to disassemble more to repair that he decided to just ship me a new VM-1a to avoid further delay.

I'm back to listening, still loving the VM-1a, and super impressed with the service I received. No one wants to have any issue with a product they buy, especially an expensive one, but of course it's inevitable with electronics that there are occasional failures. The way Danny handled it left me more confident in buying future RAAL products and thankful that I'd decided to go with the VM-1a. I haven't been active on here lately, but felt like I just had to come share the experience as I've been left a more loyal RAAL customer and super confident in how they stand behind their products. I'm seeing a CA-1a in my near future

Thanks Danny, David and everyone at RAAL Requisite!

I have had many interactions with danny on the phone, just about the nicest guy in the industry...always helpful and a pleasure

 

[Failed Engineer]

I just bought a CA-1a on the forums and it got here today. One of the most fun things is discovering a synergy you never anticipated but just try it for the hell of it. It just happened. I hooked up the TI-1a to the headphone out of the soekris dac1541 and was absolutely floored by how good the CA-1a is from this modest AIO (which is far more DAC than amp). I consulted the dac1541 manual and found that its balanced headphone out is rated 3.4w into 50ohm. Great staging, treble extends but no listening fatigue, bass texture reminiscent of the SR1a, exceptional vertical headstage, begs to increase the volume. It's the kind of listening experience that questions whether I should spend more money optimizing the CA-1a. I'll see if it holds up to more extended and rigorous listening but I plan to leave it hooked up as is for at least a few weeks.

 

[ddlo]

not sure if this is the right thread for this but i didnt find a JotR specified thread so i posted this experience here. i haven't listen to my JotR and SR1A setup for a while and while i enjoyed the beautiful performance of my utopia this morning, i suddenly wished to compare the two.

i listened with tidal for a few songs (still superb performance and no less from the SR1A ) and then switched back to the utopia for an hour or so before i reached to my SR1a again. btw, i stacked my jotR under my computer monitor and above the topping A90/D90 stack (which i used for most of my overeras) for convenience (not particularly well ventilated but not closed/covered).

but when i switched again to SR1A after an hour or so, there's quite audible clipping on the treble from the right side driver! i tried different songs and switched between footbar, spotify and tidal - all the same with the "ringing" kind of clipping sound! i touched the JotR and it's quite hot to touch and it's already lunch time anyway so i turned off everything and went out. i got back home evening and switched back on the the JotR to see if it's the right side ribbon driver clipped. luckily, after cooling off, everything back to normal! gayle and jax both sang beautiful without any audible noise/clipping.

i just wonder if that's the limitation of jotR (e.g. out of the operating temperature range)? Schiit actually advised never to turn it off but i found the unit consumes the same amount of power (~15W) no matter music is playing or not so i actually turned it off most of the time as i didnt often listen to my SR1A (i personally hear no substantial/audible difference whether i warm it up or not). i guess it needs to dissipate 15W of power when idling this morning similar to a class A amp. maybe that's what caused the clipping in the morning?

 

[jlbrach]

the jotr is a fine bargain for the price but there are far better options