@Pale Rider, thanks very much for your terrific review of the Primavera amplifier. I was going to post these questions/comments with that review, but then realized it is 99% a Raal headphones post/question so I moved it here...
Background info below, but I think I have two questions:
1) How much better are the Raal headphones with the Raal HSA-1a amplifier, compared to the SR-1as with the Jot-R (the Jot-R being 1/4 the price of the HSA-1a)? I guess a follow up, does the SR-1a paired with the HSA-1a amplifier pretty much sound better than when paired with most any high-powered (and high quality) regular pre-amp/amplifier combo + interface box, regardless of price? Or, at least any amp/preamp combo under $10K?
2) Paired with the MicroZotl MZ3 amplifier, or some other boutique amp like the ecp DSHA-4 or ecp L-3, or Apex Teton, what do you think about the MySphere 3.2s compared to the Raal headphones paired with the Raal amplifier? Or does it come down to this: As long as one eliminates the Raals from consideration, then the "no-brainer" is the MySpheres with a really good amplifier, if one can afford it?
3) I lied about there being only two questions. Are there upgrades people have found that "help" the HSA-1a? Or, is the only "upgrade" replacing one headphone output for the SR-1as with a "normal" female four-pin balanced output so the HSA-1a will work with regular headphones.
4) So, I'm thinking now is the time to pull the trigger on the Raal combo and I go to their web-site and look at photos of the HSA-1a. What the heck?!!! The RCA inputs are right next to the IEC power input, pretty much as close as they could possibly be without touching! For many of us these are the only two connections on the back that will be used, and they are way too close to each other for comfort.
5) Maybe this is why I haven't bought anything yet; I cannot be pleased...
Background, if it matters:
I have been working on an "end game" headphone setup for a couple of years now; I have most everything in place except headphones and amplifier. Sounds backwards, but there have been a lot of headphone developments in the last few years!!! For the better. Currently I am listening to two components I picked up as near-new, as a "stop-gap" measure: Ether2 headphones driven by Pass Labs' HPA-1 headphone amplifier. The result is pleasing, but (for more $$) there is better to be had. The problem is, the landscape keeps changing!
I'm finally getting anxious though, and wish to soon sell my current amplifier and headphones and "graduate" to something better. But, two pieces of something better need to cost less than $10K, hopefully by a good bit, so this eliminates the Susvara headphones paired with suitable amplifier.
Here is a description of my journey so far:
Currently own Mr. Speakers Ether 2 headphones and the Pass Labs HPA-1 amplifier (along with A LOT of ancillary equipment).
Two years ago I thought the HiFi Man HE-1000 headphones were the answer, then the v2 came out, then I read about dependability problems; then Raal and MySphere entered the picture.
In-between, I graduated to what I then thought was "the absolute final answer", Stax SR-009 (the s model had not been released yet) paired with BSHE or KGSSHV Carbon (although the Carbon doesn't utilize tubes it surely is spectacular, but I don't need to tell you). But a lot of people said the Stax electrostatics are a bit clinical and I got busy with some other business... so I did nothing for a little while longer.
Then I became aware of the MySphere 3.2 headphones, and about eight months ago demo-ed a pair, powered by my Pass Labs amplifier and also a friend's (very good) meticulously-built Dynahi amp. Well, here's the ticket, anyone could purchase the MySpheres and pair them with the right amplifier and be happy for a long time. (That is probably still true today, especially in the under $8K for headphones and amp category.)
Of course, by this time the Raal SR-1a headphones had been getting good reviews so I started looking at tube-hybrid integrated amplifiers that didn't cost an arm and a leg to go with the Raals (with interface box) - but then the Jot-R came out and now finally the HSA-1a is out (kind of).
I woke up this morning thinking: "It's time to make a move," so a set of MySphere 3.2s paired with the LTA's MicroZOTL MZ3 amplifier might be the ticket, as I've always liked tube pre-amps/amplification. If I go with conventional (planer or dynamic) headphones, I'm determined to power them with a tube-base headphone amp.
BUT, every time I think I'll do something like what I suggest above (whether with MySpheres or Focal Utopias or Stax SR-009s), I do some reading.
Then, I come back to the Raals. It seems, now that the HSA-1a has been released, for $7K or so this system is now the no-brainer?
Background info below, but I think I have two questions:
1) How much better are the Raal headphones with the Raal HSA-1a amplifier, compared to the SR-1as with the Jot-R (the Jot-R being 1/4 the price of the HSA-1a)? I guess a follow up, does the SR-1a paired with the HSA-1a amplifier pretty much sound better than when paired with most any high-powered (and high quality) regular pre-amp/amplifier combo + interface box, regardless of price? Or, at least any amp/preamp combo under $10K?
2) Paired with the MicroZotl MZ3 amplifier, or some other boutique amp like the ecp DSHA-4 or ecp L-3, or Apex Teton, what do you think about the MySphere 3.2s compared to the Raal headphones paired with the Raal amplifier? Or does it come down to this: As long as one eliminates the Raals from consideration, then the "no-brainer" is the MySpheres with a really good amplifier, if one can afford it?
3) I lied about there being only two questions. Are there upgrades people have found that "help" the HSA-1a? Or, is the only "upgrade" replacing one headphone output for the SR-1as with a "normal" female four-pin balanced output so the HSA-1a will work with regular headphones.
4) So, I'm thinking now is the time to pull the trigger on the Raal combo and I go to their web-site and look at photos of the HSA-1a. What the heck?!!! The RCA inputs are right next to the IEC power input, pretty much as close as they could possibly be without touching! For many of us these are the only two connections on the back that will be used, and they are way too close to each other for comfort.
5) Maybe this is why I haven't bought anything yet; I cannot be pleased...
Background, if it matters:
I have been working on an "end game" headphone setup for a couple of years now; I have most everything in place except headphones and amplifier. Sounds backwards, but there have been a lot of headphone developments in the last few years!!! For the better. Currently I am listening to two components I picked up as near-new, as a "stop-gap" measure: Ether2 headphones driven by Pass Labs' HPA-1 headphone amplifier. The result is pleasing, but (for more $$) there is better to be had. The problem is, the landscape keeps changing!
I'm finally getting anxious though, and wish to soon sell my current amplifier and headphones and "graduate" to something better. But, two pieces of something better need to cost less than $10K, hopefully by a good bit, so this eliminates the Susvara headphones paired with suitable amplifier.
Here is a description of my journey so far:
Currently own Mr. Speakers Ether 2 headphones and the Pass Labs HPA-1 amplifier (along with A LOT of ancillary equipment).
Two years ago I thought the HiFi Man HE-1000 headphones were the answer, then the v2 came out, then I read about dependability problems; then Raal and MySphere entered the picture.
In-between, I graduated to what I then thought was "the absolute final answer", Stax SR-009 (the s model had not been released yet) paired with BSHE or KGSSHV Carbon (although the Carbon doesn't utilize tubes it surely is spectacular, but I don't need to tell you). But a lot of people said the Stax electrostatics are a bit clinical and I got busy with some other business... so I did nothing for a little while longer.
Then I became aware of the MySphere 3.2 headphones, and about eight months ago demo-ed a pair, powered by my Pass Labs amplifier and also a friend's (very good) meticulously-built Dynahi amp. Well, here's the ticket, anyone could purchase the MySpheres and pair them with the right amplifier and be happy for a long time. (That is probably still true today, especially in the under $8K for headphones and amp category.)
Of course, by this time the Raal SR-1a headphones had been getting good reviews so I started looking at tube-hybrid integrated amplifiers that didn't cost an arm and a leg to go with the Raals (with interface box) - but then the Jot-R came out and now finally the HSA-1a is out (kind of).
I woke up this morning thinking: "It's time to make a move," so a set of MySphere 3.2s paired with the LTA's MicroZOTL MZ3 amplifier might be the ticket, as I've always liked tube pre-amps/amplification. If I go with conventional (planer or dynamic) headphones, I'm determined to power them with a tube-base headphone amp.
BUT, every time I think I'll do something like what I suggest above (whether with MySpheres or Focal Utopias or Stax SR-009s), I do some reading.
Then, I come back to the Raals. It seems, now that the HSA-1a has been released, for $7K or so this system is now the no-brainer?