[bluesaint]

I doubt Warwick sell much sonoma ONE's at all, people don't talk much about it. Keeping the headphone separate and let people pair their own amps will allow people to explore their own subjective tastes and optimize their chain accordingly. For example, I'm using a tube DAC source, so I can have a SS amp, but if i had a very detailed SS DAC, then i may want a warmer AMP. Just take a look at the Susvara or many years of HE6 threads, almost every other post is about the different AMP sources. It garners interest and also discoverability for users to try different things. Of course there are folks that don't like doing that, but i'd estimate most enjoy piecing their own systems together. my $0.02

 

[erik701]

Yup, that's the idea!
We're kinda' reluctant to do so just yet, as our taste in amp sound is probably going to be different...
maybe offering a few different options, but then without listening, how does the buyer make the choice...
there are things to work out with this idea before we commit.

Maybe this all in one box could have inputs, which will bypass internal amp, so consumers would be able to connect and power this system by different amp as well.

 

[Pastwa]

I want a someday project to be using a ribbon tech through a headphone jack on my cellphone!

Ask Sennheiser to come up with a design of their top electrostatic HE1 that can be run off a smartphone if you really believe this is the way to reference sound reproduction.

 

[protoss]

Ask Sennheiser to come up with a design of their top electrostatic HE1 that can be run off a smartphone if you really believe this is the way to reference sound reproduction.

I did. And they made a HE90 headphones. Stop being smart. You not helping anyone

 

[Zhanming057]

I doubt Warwick sell much sonoma ONE's at all, people don't talk much about it. Keeping the headphone separate and let people pair their own amps will allow people to explore their own subjective tastes and optimize their chain accordingly. For example, I'm using a tube DAC source, so I can have a SS amp, but if i had a very detailed SS DAC, then i may want a warmer AMP. Just take a look at the Susvara or many years of HE6 threads, almost every other post is about the different AMP sources. It garners interest and also discoverability for users to try different things. Of course there are folks that don't like doing that, but i'd estimate most enjoy piecing their own systems together. my $0.02

The Sonoma One is...well, interesting. My experience with it was not great at all. The soundstage is horrifically small - as in "man this thing almost sounds like a pair of IEMs" small. And there was very little if any bass. I criticize electrostat bass all the time but compared to the One, the 009 has far, far better bass on most of the amps I've tried.

The cans are very plastic-feeling, the amp does feel nice and solid. It's weird that they spent the extra cost on the amp chassis but decided to use almost all plastic on the cans. Easily the worst high end system I've handled in terms of finish. I demo'd the system with a friend and we just couldn't stop talking about how bad the One was. I wouldn't be surprised if it weren't selling well...

I don't feel like Raal needs to offer its own high-power amp right now - there are a couple options (AHB2, Bryston 135sst3, etc.) that are known to work really well with the SR1a's, function as great headphone amps, and are not even that big size-wise. Check out the Chord Etude or the Mytek Brooklyn amp for a really small 100w+ system.

That said, I am really interested in what Alex will come up with on the current drive side. Running off 12v or 9v 1a means that power conditioning is really easy to do, and I can take the system with me while traveling.

I did. And they made a HE90 headphones. Stop being smart. You not helping anyone

Even if you could drive the HE90 or the SR1a off a DAP or smartphone, why would you do that? The built-in DAC would simply not be able to keep up with the micro-detail demands of the cans.

 

[protoss]

Even if you could drive the HE90 or the SR1a off a DAP or smartphone, why would you do that? The built-in DAC would simply not be able to keep up with the micro-detail demands of the cans.

Senny made 300 units. And people asked to make stand alone headphones on the side and they made additional HE90 headphones alone with stax plugs. They also made an option to get a stax socket installed into their HE90V system! So all this nonsense senny cant do this and senny cant do that makes me laugh!

Why I want to do that? I want to flavor different amps! And why use it off of a DAP? why not? make it more efficient! Stop being old school! We are evolving and dap tech/ are getting better!

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Can you somehow please figure out how to make them more efficient! Like seriously. You will have a bigger and wider market and maybe even a more dominating force if you can somehow use them with a normal headphone amp.

I want a someday project to be using a ribbon tech through a headphone jack on my cellphone!

If not, I see Hifiman or Audeze might beat you to this first!

And please, for other stop justifying nonsense speaker amps. I want normal headphone amps. Don't care about speaker amps are better debate.....

I hear you! But Physics is Physics.
I'll explain.

For the next model, I can reduce the power need to 1/4. What 100W does now, 25W will do about the same and that's it, when it comes to True-ribbon transducers.
They are made of Aluminum foil only, which is not bonded to any substrate.
That means that you can't etch the leads like on Planars and Quasi-Ribbons and get the desired resistance, as the metal must remain a continuous sheet or it wouldn't push air.

I'm sure that Planar-savvy people will use their plastic-metal foil and stretch it long and call it a Ribbon, as it has been done so many times before in speakers...but that would be deceiving and never have the sound of True-Ribbons.

If it will have a bunch of magnets arranged in a grill in front and behind the diaphragm, all the interference and turbulence problems will remain with it. Also, the resonances of the planar foil will remain, etc., so that would be a Planar, only a long-ish one.

If it will have magnets on the side and be clamped only top and bottom, it can be called a Quasi-Ribbon.

We will probably do it in the future, but we will call it what it is, a Quasi-Ribbon, we won't try to deceive you and slip it under you like you're an idiot

True-Ribbons actually got the prefix "true" because of proliferation of all the mimics that claimed to be Ribbons...

 

[P.Car]

They (sort of) have a $6,000 system in the AHB2. Without solving a bunch of tricky engineering challenges, any system for the Sr1a is basically just the cans plus a speaker amp. A big advantage of the standard speaker amp over a direct current drive system is that the speaker amp can pull double duty as a great headphone amp.

At some point I realized that the speaker amp world is at least as competent and far more interesting than the headphone amp world, and never quite looked back. If we're talking about the $3,000 price point, I would choose a power amp to drive just about every pair of TOTL cans outside of a few really sensitive ones.

+1

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Senny made 300 units. And people asked to make stand alone headphones on the side and they made additional HE90 headphones alone with stax plugs. They also made an option to get a stax socket installed into their HE90V system! So all this nonsense senny cant do this and senny cant do that makes me laugh!

Why I want to do that? I want to flavor different amps! And why use it off of a DAP? why not? make it more efficient! Stop being old school! We are evolving and dap tech/ are getting better!

One of the advantages of a True-Ribbon is that is has magnets on the side of the ribbon, nothing in front and nothing in the back, so the sound=path is as clear as it can be.
That means you have a magnetic gap of say 20mm wide. There is nothing old-school about it, It's just a too wide gap to get high Teslas in it. New-school is not going to change that.

So, if you want the direct sound, you do magnets on the side. If not, then you loose sound quality, as simple as that.

 

[protoss]

For the next model, I can reduce the power need to 1/4.

I knew you can do it. Later you will eventually cut that even more. And make it more efficient. You guys will eventually get these working with a normal headphome amp sooner than later! Guess its a waiting game now.

 

[minibox]

Ordered my srh1a this morning. Does anyone know how long the wait will be for shipment to the east coast of the US? Really looking forward to hearing these.

 

[HoloSpice]

The Sonoma One is...well, interesting. My experience with it was not great at all. The soundstage is horrifically small - as in "man this thing almost sounds like a pair of IEMs" small. And there was very little if any bass. I criticize electrostat bass all the time but compared to the One, the 009 has far, far better bass on most of the amps I've tried.

The cans are very plastic-feeling, the amp does feel nice and solid. It's weird that they spent the extra cost on the amp chassis but decided to use almost all plastic on the cans. Easily the worst high end system I've handled in terms of finish. I demo'd the system with a friend and we just couldn't stop talking about how bad the One was. I wouldn't be surprised if it weren't selling well...

I don't feel like Raal needs to offer its own high-power amp right now - there are a couple options (AHB2, Bryston 135sst3, etc.) that are known to work really well with the SR1a's, function as great headphone amps, and are not even that big size-wise. Check out the Chord Etude or the Mytek Brooklyn amp for a really small 100w+ system.

That said, I am really interested in what Alex will come up with on the current drive side. Running off 12v or 9v 1a means that power conditioning is really easy to do, and I can take the system with me while traveling.



Even if you could drive the HE90 or the SR1a off a DAP or smartphone, why would you do that? The built-in DAC would simply not be able to keep up with the micro-detail demands of the cans.

DUUUUUDE warwick audio is NUTS! They're coming out with another stat system and that might be priced at 24k usd!

 

[Aleksandar R.]

I knew you can do it. Later you will eventually cut that even more. And make it more efficient. You guys will eventually get these working with a normal headphome amp sooner than later! Guess its a waiting game now.

We'll see...I'll think of something adequate, I guess.

 

[Tekunda]

Alex is it possible to buy the headphones directly in Serbia?
I rather not pay the almost 25% taxes when ordering from the US.

 

[protoss]

We'll see...I'll think of something adequate, I guess.

I hope so. To expand and reach the mutitude, and dominate this space you guys have to get these working on normal headphone amps! Speaker amps are such a hassle and annoying. Average headfier are not going to get speaker amps to try these. You guys need to reach those average headifers!

If you guys dont I see this guy down below taking over and mastering ribbon tech and making it more efficient. I know he lurks here! Watching and spying on others!