[PeteSTRADAMUS]

It’s analog domain isis m75d, I didn’t connect it to the mono block

Ugh, yes, I didn't pay attention to where the cables went. I would've thought those beastly monoblocks would be overkill lol

 

[fredfung28]

Ugh, yes, I didn't pay attention to where the cables went. I would've thought those beastly monoblocks would be overkill lol

I don’t have that budget so I didn’t plan to try on those.
Analog domain m75d mk2 is not cheap as well, it’s around 20-25k Usd

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

I don’t have that budget so I didn’t plan to try on those.
Analog domain m75d mk2 is not cheap as well, it’s around 20-25k Usd

Yeah... that's a little out of my budget too, lol.

 

[Zhanming057]

K


Quite a few owners of the Raal claim these headphones to be really fast, so shouldn't these headphones be better paired with amps which are known for their "speed" like Spectral amps?
Are there any members who were able to listen to the Raal connected to a fast Spectral amp?

Yes, I run them mostly off my Spectral 150s2/30ss combo. I really like it. Spectral is very in-your-face, almost an antithesis of tubes. A good Class D (esoteric) will also be fast but Spectral is fast in a way that's crystal clear that they want to make you feel this way. It's also slightly more intense in bass than neutral. I listen to a lot of synthetic music and this combo works perfectly. It's definitely a love-hate thing and most people I know personally prefer my Nagra amp.

Even with this setup, I have no issues with listening for up to 10-11 hours at my listening volume. No fatigue (head or ears) whatsoever.

 

[biscottino]

Tried Sr1a with the analog domain m75d mk2, I agree that the sound is fast and imaging is excellent. My friend and I both agree that it’s better than abyss with the imaging, but the problem is the energy is too strong which I think it’s too much for headset. Analog domain m75d mk2 has enough power to drive sr1a and I am quite sure that it’s control of sound is very flexible from all the reviews given on the website and I too listen to its higher model to drive speakers like Khama speakers.

The mid is very silky however still the energy is too strong. In the system it has a very good power conditioner from tripoint and also using the absolue creation Tim reference speaker cable, I am quite sure that the speaker cable is not the cause of too much energy and sound pressure as the cable sound signature is relatively sweet and has good comfortable sound.

Of course I will try more integrated amp to drive sr1a, but I have to say after trying one movement of symphony orchestra pieces, and I turned to play some pop song, I cannot stay with the sound pressure and energy it has for one more song, I almost get myself feeling very uncomfortable.

For now, I still prefer abyss and susvara while abyss has a bit less imaging but it gives me a comfortable sound pressure

For the bass part, I didn’t feel it is that extremely better than abyss 1266 TC while I’m using Vertere Hb double run for it, the bass quantity is less than susvara(we are talking a different system so I don’t know)

I am impress with its silk mid and great imaging plus the wide soundstage. But I think the layers of instrument is not that well positioned comparing to abyss 1266tc

Maybe the amp I tried today is not that good comparing to others, however the price of the amp is almost 20000 usd. I can’t think it’s a bad quality one base on it has good reputation in the Hifi world.

maybe I didn't understand, what kind of cable was used by the amplifier under test at the impedance box?

 

[NZtechfreak]

Very surprised that a seller has popped up with these here in NZ, should have a chance to audition them in the next week or two. They have it with the Kinki EX-M1, anyone with any experience with this pairing/comparisons?

Anyone? ^^^

Not sure if the post immediately after my original post quoted here was directed at me, but I'm not looking for advice on amping, looking for whether this pairing is fairly good, as it's the only one I will have a chance to audition these on and just wondering if I can get a solid sense of the RAALs performance here, or whether people feel like they can scale a lot more.

 

[Jozurr]

Has anyone replaced the cables from the box to the amplifier? They're too short, and Im trying to go the monoblock route, so thinking of getting longer cables. Does that impact the sound in any way?

 

[fredfung28]

maybe I didn't understand, what kind of cable was used by the amplifier under test at the impedance box?

Absolue creation Tim reference speaker cables

 

[biscottino]

Absolue creation Tim reference speaker cables

I understand, but in my opinion, it was necessary to use the original tail to consider the potential of the Raal system and only later use a different cable to have a comparison.
It may seem that the original tail is poor, but from what I could understand it is a solid copper that has a very particular way of playing, I know it very well because I use it with Susvara and I like it a lot.
I think the use of that tail was very well thought out by the guys at Raal, it is not a case that is chosen, around that material there is very little.

 

[Tsyer]

Anyone? ^^^

Not sure if the post immediately after my original post quoted here was directed at me, but I'm not looking for advice on amping, looking for whether this pairing is fairly good, as it's the only one I will have a chance to audition these on and just wondering if I can get a solid sense of the RAALs performance here, or whether people feel like they can scale a lot more.

I had both raal n kinki integrated amp at home for about 1 month. The pairing is very good except for the bass output which i thought was weak. I changed the kinki integrated to the kinki monoblocks hoping that would solve the bass light situation. Later by chance i realised that it was not the kinkis that were bass light but the voltage input to the preamp was only 2volts when it should have been 4volts. On 4 volts bass was all there. Unfortunately i did not listen to the kinki integrated with a 4 volt input from dac as the kinki had left my home. I have also tried my raal with Chord Etude, Schitt Vidar. All sounded very good but Etude best, kinki int n monos next, vidars last. The raals are so transparent that you will hear the sound of each amp and as such will scale very very well. The better your amp the better the sound. For your specific interest in kinki integrated with raal just make sure the dac voltage to integrated amp is correct and you will find the sound detailed musical and real. Hope this helps.
I use over 15 headphones incl abyss phi cc, hd 800, hd800s, focal clears n elexs, audeze lcd2 but my 2 top favourites is the raal n the abyss.

 

[Articnoise]

I had both raal n kinki integrated amp at home for about 1 month. The pairing is very good except for the bass output which i thought was weak. I changed the kinki integrated to the kinki monoblocks hoping that would solve the bass light situation. Later by chance i realised that it was not the kinkis that were bass light but the voltage input to the preamp was only 2volts when it should have been 4volts. On 4 volts bass was all there. Unfortunately i did not listen to the kinki integrated with a 4 volt input from dac as the kinki had left my home. I have also tried my raal with Chord Etude, Schitt Vidar. All sounded very good but Etude best, kinki int n monos next, vidars last. The raals are so transparent that you will hear the sound of each amp and as such will scale very very well. The better your amp the better the sound. For your specific interest in kinki integrated with raal just make sure the dac voltage to integrated amp is correct and you will find the sound detailed musical and real. Hope this helps.
I use over 15 headphones incl abyss phi cc, hd 800, hd800s, focal clears n elexs, audeze lcd2 but my 2 top favourites is the raal n the abyss.

A word of caution. To recommend 4V is a bit unclear, am afraid. If you would exceed the recommended sensitivity voltage, the amplifier is likely to be clipping.

Our audio equipment’s line level input sensitivity can be measured as V-RMS, V-peak or V-peak to peak. As you can see below it’s a big difference between V-pp and V-RMS. Kinki is declaring: Input sensitivity of: 2.25Vrms - 3.6Vrms.

http://www.msbtechnology.com/faq/how-can-you-avoid-preamp-clipping/

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/tools/rms-voltage-calculator/

 

[Zhanming057]

Has anyone replaced the cables from the box to the amplifier? They're too short, and Im trying to go the monoblock route, so thinking of getting longer cables. Does that impact the sound in any way?

There's going to be a bit of influence because it's in the total resistivity of the setup. Also be mindful that the minimum recommended gauge is 18awg for short runs, and thicker for long runs to prevent overheating.

 

[Articnoise]

Tried Sr1a with the analog domain m75d mk2, I agree that the sound is fast and imaging is excellent. My friend and I both agree that it’s better than abyss with the imaging, but the problem is the energy is too strong which I think it’s too much for headset. Analog domain m75d mk2 has enough power to drive sr1a and I am quite sure that it’s control of sound is very flexible from all the reviews given on the website and I too listen to its higher model to drive speakers like Khama speakers.

The mid is very silky however still the energy is too strong. In the system it has a very good power conditioner from tripoint and also using the absolue creation Tim reference speaker cable, I am quite sure that the speaker cable is not the cause of too much energy and sound pressure as the cable sound signature is relatively sweet and has good comfortable sound.

Of course I will try more integrated amp to drive sr1a, but I have to say after trying one movement of symphony orchestra pieces, and I turned to play some pop song, I cannot stay with the sound pressure and energy it has for one more song, I almost get myself feeling very uncomfortable.

For now, I still prefer abyss and susvara while abyss has a bit less imaging but it gives me a comfortable sound pressure

For the bass part, I didn’t feel it is that extremely better than abyss 1266 TC while I’m using Vertere Hb double run for it, the bass quantity is less than susvara(we are talking a different system so I don’t know)

I am impress with its silk mid and great imaging plus the wide soundstage. But I think the layers of instrument is not that well positioned comparing to abyss 1266tc

Maybe the amp I tried today is not that good comparing to others, however the price of the amp is almost 20000 usd. I can’t think it’s a bad quality one base on it has good reputation in the Hifi world.

Analog Domain makes wonderful amps. It’s true that some amps match better with some headphones and speakers than with others. Still I would be very surprised if it was the character of the Analog Domain per se that is to be fault if you didn’t like Sr1a.

 

[fredfung28]

Analog Domain makes wonderful amps. It’s true that some amps match better with some headphones and speakers than with others. Still I would be very surprised if it was the character of the Analog Domain per se that is to be fault if you didn’t like Sr1a.

I agree it’s a great amp with speaker but I don’t know if it’s good with sr1a
So I will try again next week with zanden 100w integrates amp

 

[Tsyer]

A word of caution. To recommend 4V is a bit unclear, am afraid. If you would exceed the recommended sensitivity voltage, the amplifier is likely to be clipping.

Yes you are totally right. I used Kinki Pre Amp for the monos and 4 volts was within its input sensitivity limits. For Kinki integrated amp please match dac output to amp input sensitivity to get great sound.