[jlbrach]

I am a bit confused, I just read the headfonia review on the RAAL website regarding the sr1a/b and the review says the best results he got using the adapter for the amp was with the feliks envy...but the other day I read the RAAL team suggesting the envy which I happen to have and use with my planars wouldnt work properly with the RAAL HP's...very confusing to me,what gives?

 

[Aleksandar R.]

We had very few moments with it, at shows, during booth setup, rushing around...
Maybe there's a setting we haven't tried, or something else happened.

Best if you try it, since you own it, and tell us what's it like.

 

[jlbrach]

will do

 

[jlbrach]

just gave it a quick listen and my envy does quite a nice job with my sr1a,I havent tried the ca-1a but dont see why it would be different...plenty of volume with a very large sound stage...quite good upon initial listen...perhaps it has something to do with the tubes used...I am using the WE300b..actually I am pleased to see it is another option..you must have had some sort of issue because it is doing a very nice job of driving them...I am using the mitch filters so I do not need the barrel adapters for what it is worth

 

[Aleksandar R.]

just gave it a quick listen and my envy does quite a nice job with my sr1a,I havent tried the ca-1a but dont see why it would be different...plenty of volume with a very large sound stage...quite good upon initial listen...perhaps it has something to do with the tubes used...I am using the WE300b..actually I am pleased to see it is another option..you must have had some sort of issue because it is doing a very nice job of driving them...I am using the mitch filters so I do not need the barrel adapters for what it is worth

Wonderful!

Which setting did you use?

Can you, please try other settings and report which makes the most (cleanest) power?

thanks!

 

[jlbrach]

I am using high gain....seems to work best for me...the envy outputs quite a bit of gain....I am using a chord dave into the envy....I am enjoying it quite a bit it gives the VM-1a a run for its money...I am glad I tried it I wasnt going to given your earlier comments but the review piqued my interest and it turns out the reviewer was correct...good news for anyone using the envy which is an outstanding tube amp and again perhaps the tubes make some sort of difference as I upgraded the tubes to the WE300b..medium gain works but to my ears high gain is best

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Awesome!

OK, so high gain, check!

XLR or RCA input?
Which impedance setting?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Awesome!

OK, so high gain, check!

XLR or RCA input?
Which impedance setting?

The Envy only has a gain setting, which used to be an impedance setting back then.

Maybe their also were some internal changes for that.

I'm very pleased about @jlbrach report

 

[dude120]

Awesome!

OK, so high gain, check!

XLR or RCA input?
Which impedance setting?

based off his post, tried with my chain:

Holo May (xlr) -> Envy (high gain) -> xlr to the ti1b (32ohm Hi z input) -> CA1A.
Sounds really good. bass response is quite good. Sounds full and highly textured.
Havent tried the SR1A/B yet with this and its been well over year since I've heard the VM1A(canjam) but this is the best I've heard the CA1A sound since then

 

[Aleksandar R.]

The Envy only has a gain setting, which used to be an impedance setting back then.

Maybe their also were some internal changes for that.

I'm very pleased about @jlbrach report

Aha...so maybe they changed the function that this setting does and now drives 32 Ohms no problem.
Very interesting!
So, there it is, another high-end amp that can easily drive our thing...VERY COOL!
I like that very, very much!
Kudos to Felix brothers!

 

[Aleksandar R.]

based off his post, tried with my chain:

Holo May (xlr) -> Envy (high gain) -> xlr to the ti1b (32ohm Hi z input) -> CA1A.
Sounds really good. bass response is quite good. Sounds full and highly textured.
Havent tried the SR1A/B yet with this and its been well over year since I've heard the VM1A(canjam) but this is the best I've heard the CA1A sound since then

Yeah..300B SET will do that texture thing superbly!

 

[jlbrach]

Awesome!

OK, so high gain, check!

XLR or RCA input?
Which impedance setting?

they changed impedance setting to gain at least on my unit...so it is now only gain setting..I am using the RCA input but the XLR works fine as well and gives me a bit more volume which isnt needed....it is quite good, I have been singing the praises of the VM-1a for some time now and I love it but the envy is now an option that does some things even better...not suggesting it is better overall but it is throwing off a huge soundstage and is really outstanding...very pleased especially since the initial reports kept me from even trying it!

 

[nfandi]

they changed impedance setting to gain at least on my unit...so it is now only gain setting..I am using the RCA input but the XLR works fine as well and gives me a bit more volume which isnt needed....it is quite good, I have been singing the praises of the VM-1a for some time now and I love it but the envy is now an option that does some things even better...not suggesting it is better overall but it is throwing off a huge soundstage and is really outstanding...very pleased especially since the initial reports kept me from even trying it!

I was wondering if you live within reasonable distance of your hi-fi dealer? It would be great if someone like yourself who owns and appreciates the Raal-Requisite phones and amps could try the SAEQ Hyperion GE.

 

[Polygonhell]

Aha...so maybe they changed the function that this setting does and now drives 32 Ohms no problem.

Assuming it's just a transformer tap, all it's doing it reducing the step down, and the load on the power tube. So assuming you have enough gain and can supply the current it's less of an issue than you might think.

When building an amp, given what I knew of load lines and tubes, I had assumed radically changing the load line would be entirely obvious and it really isn't as obvious as you might think. My current experimental amp has an impedance matching switch where and changing the load from 8 Ohms to 300+, even though that changes the anode load from 2500 Ohms to 94K Ohms listening to the amp it's surprisingly subtle. It is a bit softer with the correct load, since increasing the load increases the "linearity".

And using high impedance out into a low impedance load will do the opposite, it'll drop the anode load, which will soften things in a similar way, and possibly increase the bass response, though the latter is heavily dependent on the transformer and the size of any coupling caps.

I think the reason the changes are so subtle is because DHT's are so linear to begin with, the dominant 2nd harmonic distortion is extremely low at headphone levels, even with a poorly set load line, it doesn't rise enough to make a big difference.

 

[Kiats]

I was wondering if you live within reasonable distance of your hi-fi dealer? It would be great if someone like yourself who owns and appreciates the Raal-Requisite phones and amps could try the SAEQ Hyperion GE.

Yeah... the SAEQ Hyperion Ge is an excellent amp. Powerful yet nuanced and lush. I love it not just with the RAAL ribbon HPs but also with dynamic and planar HPs. It is not just great with the Abyss 1266, HE-6, Susvara, LCD4, D8000 but also with the ATH woodies.