[Kiats]

you can use the adapter cable out of the Raal HP output for hard to drive planars and you can use the regular output for easier to drive HP's...actually works very well with all HP's it is a great amp and very versatile

in the HSA-1c, they go one step further: you just plug it in the regular output for HPs. And there is a switch at the back for direct drive, -6 db and -10 db.

Agree that it is a great and versatile amp.

 

[jlbrach]

that is a nice convenience, on my hsa-1b and my vm-1a my only complaint is the lack of similar gain switches

 

[nojwe]

So what's the best tidal streaming solution for Mitch's CA1a filter set? HLCon, the only option other than roon from what I've seem so far.

JRiver with the WDM driver would work

 

[yyzSB]

FYI on a new DAC I have hooked up with my VM-1a and SR1a (have not tried the CA-1a with it yet).

The best DAC I have had on the VM-1a was the Lumin X1 followed by the Benchmark DAC3B. DACs that were warm or smooth, such as the Musetec 005, did not work for me with the VM-1a. Though the Musetec 005 was great on my 2-channel system. I used the built-in fibre streaming for the X1 and Sonore OpticalRendu for the DAC3B. I also used the X1 as a streamer for the DAC3B.

Last week, I bought the Schiitt Yggdrasil+ and paired it with my fibre optical streamer (Sonore OpticalRendu). I got the Less Is More version of the Yggi. This is the WORST measuring of the 3 Yggi options. This DAC sounded a lot like the $15K Lumin X1 (now sold). In fact, it is even better on the VM-1a than both the DAC3B and X1, which makes it the very best DAC I have heard on the VM-1a.

It is not rounded off on the top as the X1 nor as bright as the DAC3B. The fact that it does all of this at $2300 makes it a great buy in my books.

 

[ardbeg1975]

FYI on a new DAC I have hooked up with my VM-1a and SR1a (have not tried the CA-1a with it yet).

The best DAC I have had on the VM-1a was the Lumin X1 followed by the Benchmark DAC3B. DACs that were warm or smooth, such as the Musetec 005, did not work for me with the VM-1a. Though the Musetec 005 was great on my 2-channel system. I used the built-in fibre streaming for the X1 and Sonore OpticalRendu for the DAC3B. I also used the X1 as a streamer for the DAC3B.

Last week, I bought the Schiitt Yggdrasil+ and paired it with my fibre optical streamer (Sonore OpticalRendu). I got the Less Is More version of the Yggi. This is the WORST measuring of the 3 Yggi options. This DAC sounded a lot like the $15K Lumin X1 (now sold). In fact, it is even better on the VM-1a than both the DAC3B and X1, which makes it the very best DAC I have heard on the VM-1a.

It is not rounded off on the top as the X1 nor as bright as the DAC3B. The fact that it does all of this at $2300 makes it a great buy in my books.

Yggy LIM is a great DAC at a very attractive price. I used to own one and ultimately sold it due more to desktop footprint size than sonics.

 

[nojwe]

Yggy LIM is a great DAC at a very attractive price. I used to own one and ultimately sold it due more to desktop footprint size than sonics.

That’s what’s holding me back from getting one. BF 2/64 seems to get very close in terms of performance though.

 

[rlawry]

I have the same issue with my Bricasti M1SE DAC/streamer. Its dimensions are 17" wide x 12" deep x 2" high so it takes up a lot of desk real estate (1.4 square feet). Since my desk sits next to a wall I solved the problem by standing the unit on its end against the wall so that it now only pokes out from the wall by 3 inches. So far I have encountered no issues.

 

[BPED]

After some days of tests, I confirm my good first impressions of Mitch’s filters for the SR1b. I prefer the neutral one, with the addition of a 1.5dB low shelf.

All tones seems week integrated, bass is present and defined and it doesn’t blur into the mids, highs are controlled natural and non fatiguing.

I compared it with some other PEQ curves found on the net, some kindly shared by members of HF (thanks!). In the end I always went back to the convolution filter. I may loose some air on the top end but overall it is a more natural presentation for acoustic music.

Few days ago I had the opportunity to hear violin star Janine Jensen playing Mozart on her 1715 Stradivarius. I was on the 7th row and could hear perfectly all the shades and colors of her beautiful instrument. What I did not hear were super detailed highs, notes popping out from pitch black background and all the stuff that some of us are craving for .

The SR1b is already extremely detailed and coupled with top classical music recordings is addictive but also not always very realistic.

I think Mitch filters are a step in the right direction. In my case I also added a vintage Mullard to my AIC10 to add a touch of body and bloom.. happy times

 

[rlawry]

I agree completely with BPED's assessment of the SR-1b and the Mitch filters. The filters add some warmth and the one described as "neutral with low bass" seems to indeed add a slightly elevated low bass but little added mid- to upper-bass warmth. Hence the need to add a small 1.5 dB low shelf if you feel the need for such mid- to upper-bass warmth.

I must reiterate my earlier take on headphones that their overwhelming drawbacks as compared to speaker-based systems, which I owned for more than 50 years before moving entirely to headphone-based systems, is their failure to present the illusion of listening to live music being played in a performing space, i.e. a problem with proper dimensionality and scale. In my admittedly limited experience with headphones the ones that significantly come closest to solving that problem is the SR-1b.

 

[Kiats]

I have a pair of SR-1a that is probably coming up to a couple years old now. I am wondering how will I know when is it time to change the ribbons? I recall it is replaceable.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

@Aleksandar R. Any advice on this?

 

[jlbrach]

I am told they should last indefinitely...

 

[Aleksandar R.]

I have a pair of SR-1a that is probably coming up to a couple years old now. I am wondering how will I know when is it time to change the ribbons? I recall it is replaceable.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

@Aleksandar R. Any advice on this?

@Kiats

Other than some malfunction, or getting blown with too much power, there is no reason to change them.
They don't have a predetermined expiration date.
The ease of replacement is there just for convenience and precision in positioning of the ribbon. It also allows us to easily do the pair-matching in the third set of QC measurements over here. First we match the magnets by B in the gap, which gets us to matching L-R shells, then we match the ribbons (measuring them all in one set of magnets) and drop the matched pairs in matched shells, but if something isn't ideal, we can easily re-match the finished product by swapping ribbons left-right or use another matched ribbon pair.
So, it's more for us here than for you guys

 

[Aleksandar R.]

And the guys in recording industry just hate naving a mute-time with their equipment, and we had no idea how the ribbon reliability will prove itself "in the wild", so instead of offering quick return turnover time, we just offered field replaceable ribbons, a traditional feature of our tweeters and made everyone's life easier.

 

[Kiats]

And the guys in recording industry just hate naving a mute-time with their equipment, and we had no idea how the ribbon reliability will prove itself "in the wild", so instead of offering quick return turnover time, we just offered field replaceable ribbons, a traditional feature of our tweeters and made everyone's life easier.

Much appreciated @Aleksandar R. Very much consistent with my experience with both my RAAL Requisite HPs: built like tanks, sound like heaven.

 

[eboleyn]

@Kiats

Other than some malfunction, or getting blown with too much power, there is no reason to change them.
They don't have a predetermined expiration date.
The ease of replacement is there just for convenience and precision in positioning of the ribbon. It also allows us to easily do the pair-matching in the third set of QC measurements over here. First we match the magnets by B in the gap, which gets us to matching L-R shells, then we match the ribbons (measuring them all in one set of magnets) and drop the matched pairs in matched shells, but if something isn't ideal, we can easily re-match the finished product by swapping ribbons left-right or use another matched ribbon pair.
So, it's more for us here than for you guys

I have 3 sets of speakers and 2 headphones (both SR-1a and CA-1a) with RAAL ribbons in them, and they all still work great, even considering that I bi-amp 2 of the sets of speakers with no crossovers in them and a few times cross-wired the bass output into the ribbons! (NOTE: I don't recommend that, and panicked a bit until realizing they were fine)

For a few of these I have spares "just in case", but they've all been so reliable that I feel a bit cheated (ok, not really).

Love the RAAL ribbons!