[Nik]

The Børresen 01 has near the same details as the RAAL Sr1a... just near, because headphone is on the ears and speakers are in the room (even if treated...). I can compare Sr1a and Børresen 01 every day because I have both...

 

[thomaskong78]

If one live in Europe, then you can consider dropping in 2021 Munich Highend show.



The owner of Silbatone is my friend.

The sound out of his listening room is best whatsoever with palpable presence and natural dynamics.

The value of equipment in his listening room is priceless since it is vintage maybe more than 10 million $.

Although I have decent 2 channel system of Lansche 4.1 and Scaena 3.2, my system is no match to my friend's vintage system.


The nice thing of headphone is that you can enjoy similar sound quality at 1/10 th cost of 2 channel system without disturbing your wife or your neighbor.

 

[Nik]

I know very well Munich hiend and many others... I don't like hi efficient speakers... And I'm totally happy with my new speakers and new cans I bought few weeks ago... and now I just stay at home listening MUSIC !!!

 

[Thenewguy007]

I know very well Munich hiend and many others... I don't like hi efficient speakers... And I'm totally happy with my new speakers and new cans I bought few weeks ago... and now I just stay at home listening MUSIC !!!

How you holding up in Italy?

 

[thomaskong78]

I know very well Munich hiend and many others... I don't like hi efficient speakers... And I'm totally happy with my new speakers and new cans I bought few weeks ago... and now I just stay at home listening MUSIC !!!

Good for you!

Happiness lies in satisfaction.

 

[Nik]

We can't go out, just for food or medicine... very bad situation... fortunately I have the music that is my salvation in this situation... I hope USA don't arrive at this point ...

 

[Jon L]

Result of Social Distancing...

0324201533_HDR by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[Nik]

Very good result !!!

 

[Jon L]

I am surprised that more is not discussed about Raal SR1a's baffle step correction issues.
I understand this baffle step correction is being applied by Raal's interface box and Schiit Jot R.

RaalBaffleStep by drjlo2, on Flickr

Note that up to -4.2 dB of correction is being applied. Since doubling of amplifier power increases acoustic power by +3 dB, baffle step correction is effectively hobbling the amp's power by more than half. Note how many people have complained their "powerful" amp is not up to task when using Raal's interface box. I am not sure if Jot R's baffle step correction uses a different method than the interface box, thus not resulting in as much power loss, but either power loss and/or transparency loss must be giving the impression of better SQ when Jot R's baffle step correction is turned off.

Jot R is a great pairing with SR1a for most music, but when cranking up (WAY up) alternative/progressive rock like my faves Rasmus and Muse, the dynamic ceiling and/or loss of transparency/life could be felt. When baffle step was turned off, I could feel the SQ and liveliness of music improve quite a bit. Of course, this results in LOSS of bass by 4+ dB's, resulting in mid/highs sounding exceptionally free and dynamic while overall sound becomes severely thin and bright.

This will hopefully improve when Raal releases their premium amp, or an improved interface box is used with seriously powerful and clean (read expensive) amps.

Since my custom speaker setup lets me use just the bass modules via active crossover. I utilized Jot R's passive preamp output to feed my bass amp/bass modules while playing Raal full range. To blend the Raal bass with speaker bass, much experimentation including where you sit was necessary (very near the speakers). But when the sweet spot was achieved, I was able to power the Raal with Jot R baffle step correction off while bass modules filled in the missing bass. Added benefit was the physical, visceral bass vibrations that you could feel with your bones, which is a huge plus when listening to bombastic music.

I realize this is quite a complicated path, but if you already have good bass modules, it's worth checking out.

0324201855a by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[Nik]

"This will hopefully improve when Raal releases their premium amp, or an improved interface box is used with seriously powerful and clean (read expensive) amps.".

darTZeel 8550 (with gain +10) not only powerful and clean, but sonically perfect companion for the RAAL...

 

[Galm]

Has anyone had success with a more comfortable ear pad solution? I definitely seem to fall into the crowd where the top pads are squeezing which is gonna cause headaches.

 

[dieslemat]

Has anyone had success with a more comfortable ear pad solution? I definitely seem to fall into the crowd where the top pads are squeezing which is gonna cause headaches.

+1 on this

I wish there's an after market solution

 

[FLTWS]

Different heads have different issues. I always had some comfort issues with the HD600. The clamping force on mine was the extreme and I tried to stretch it out as much as possible but it had a tendency to return to unstretched status and I was afraid of snapping the headband in two with excessive force. I persevered for 4 years because the sound was so good for such a modest price but finally sold them earlier this year, sigh! The other was the Audeze LCD top of the line models of 3 -4 years ago. They had nice, plush, comfortable ear pads that made such an airtight seal on my noggin it was a greenhouse in the pocket in a matter of minutes as moisture built up even though they were open backed. The headband didn't distribute the fairly hefty models weight well on my head either. The key words here are "my head" because we're all different physically.

Also in my case, I have large ears that are not "pinned" to my skull. Meaning I can't fit them into most ear pad pocket sizes without some sort of deformation as I need not just more diameter but a deeper pocket. The reason why my HD800's, Abyss Phi, and only slightly undersized Utopia are my keepers. The SR1a of course is the ultimate solution for my bat ears. Only a slight adjustment of the band to flatten the curve at the top of the metal headband got the pressure just right and I don't even use the leather strap that goes behind the head.

I would not be surprised if eventually some home-brew mods are invented to deal with fit issues for those that have a problem. That being said, when RAAL releases their "Ribbon Circum Aural Headphone" model that may be a good solution for many. I would also venture a guess that it may not need the baffle compensation of the SR1a as I note the baffle compensation in/out toggle bypass switch on the front of the Jotunheim R and the "Ribbon Earfield Monitors / Ribbon Circum Aural Headphone" toggle switch on the back of the HSA-1a.

 

[Jon L]

I wonder if the Raal active circuitry inside something like Jot R is something that can be implemented in tube amps.

Normal Jot is rated to 7.5 watts/16 Ohms. IF it COULD deliver power into 8 Ohms, it would have similar output rating as something like a 300B SET amp, which are typically 8-10 watts/8 Ohms.

Being curious, I hooked up SR1a to my Elekit TU-8600R 300B SET speaker amp even though I know Raal recommends at least 100 watts. The amp immediately started to clip even at pretty low volume levels, at levels you would use if someone was sleeping in the room right next to you.

However, when I changed the interface box to the amp's higher impedance speaker tap, the allowable volume level increased significantly. Playing mostly vocal music like Leonard Cohen "You Want It Darker," I was able to achieve volume levels I would use if somebody was sleeping, say 5 feet away. Still way, way below normal listening levels but just enough to begin to hear that 300B texture and richness. And as 300B afacionados know, it was MAGIC.

Perhaps companies like Woo, Eddie Current would be willing to at least contemplate about such an amp as Raal sells more ribbon headphones in the future and demand goes up. I can hope...

0325201443a - Copy by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[Ciggavelli]

Are there aftermarket cables for the sr1a? I know somebody made their own cables, but are there any other companies making aftermarket cables? I wonder if it would further improve on the already great sound...