One tempting reason for going for a second AHB2 is that running two in dual mono offers a tangible improvement over just one with the SR1a, IMO. I wrote some quick impressions a while back here.
Raal Ribbon Headphones - SRH1A
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I agree with @rkw
Plus, most people (of the few who have access to them) who have tried the SR-1a headphones with extremely expensive and/or powerful two-channel amplifiers suggest there seems to be no limit to the improvements heard - so having a "great" amplifier should give "better" results. Simplistically, $10K amplification (and pre-amplification) sounds better than $5K, $15K sounds better than $10K, and $25K sounds better than $15K. And 300wpc or 400 wpc (into 6 ohms) is better than 150 wpc.
Therefore, it seems
a) the 600wpc Macintosh should give a good result, we'll await your report!
b) you probably cannot damage the Raal headphones using your 600wpc amplifier during normal (sensible) use without first experiencing a lot of pain, and then going completely deaf?
EndGameSearch
500+ Head-Fier
Thanks, that idea had not even occurred to me. I'll read your impressions but hope you didn't cost me another 3k. My two rigs are in different rooms so a 2nd benchmark for the SR1a's would still lead to the purchase of a 3rd amp to cover all my needs.
From only reading threads here, two Benchmark amplifiers was my first thought also.
Another option, which requires yet more patience since both Raal products are on backorder: seemingly the pairing of SR-1a headphones and the Raal HSA-1a amplifier (which costs "only" $1000 more than the Benchmark) sounds better than almost any combination of expensive amplifiers receiving their input from the interface box. Let's say this holds true up to $20K? (Either one or two Benchmark amps will requires utilization of the interface box, whereas the HSA-1a amplifier does not, maybe saving an additional $500.)
Pale Rider
1000+ Head-Fier
I apologize for not seeing this sooner. I've been off Head-Fi for a few days as I've been spending more time with my speaker system. In my view, you simply cannot go wrong with the SR-1a, whether with the JotR or the RAAL HSA-1a. Do I think the HSA-1a is 4x better than the JotR? No, and that's just one reason the JotR is an amazing bargain. Do I think it is .5x better? At least. But SR-1a and JotR is truly TOTL quality, and for the price, you just can't beat it.
I'll throw in a couple of observations here. I have tremendous respect for Torq. He's probably forgotten more headphone knowledge than I will ever know. But I must respectfully disagree with his assessment that bass with the SR-1a is qualitatively better [my term] than the Abyss. Yes, what bass the SR-1a has is faster than the Abyss could ever hope to be. But to my ears, and I am not a fan of the Abyss, the Abyss has legitimate deeper bass. But forget the Abyss for a second. The Susvara has more bass than the SR-1a. Does it matter? It does to me, and I listen to almost no hip-hop and only a smattering of electronic. But I do listen to classical, and many other genres that have legitimate bass in them. There is an authority in the Susvara on the Trafomatic that is absent from the SR-1a. Does the Sus have the same speed? Nope. And if speed and transients float your boat, as they do mine, then you will love the SR-1a.
While I applaud others who have addressed—notice I did not say "solved"—the thinness of bass by adding subs to their room, that's not an option for me. The very purpose of my headphone rack is not to share any sound with the rest of the house. A live sub would defeat that purpose. I also have a hard time believing that either the Rhythmic [I've owned their stuff, and it's good] or the Tzero can keep up with the SR-1a.
Not sure why you're adamant about powering your headphones with tubes. Don't get me wrong. Between the Trafo, the T2, and the LTA Z10E, I've got plenty of bottle rockets in the rack. But tubes were not a goal; music is the goal. That's one reason this is a great hobby; we each get to choose.
Not sure why you're worried about socket placement on the HSA-1a. I used the XLR inputs, but unless someone can demonstrate a noise floor or loop problem with the socket placement, I just don't see why it should matter. My HSA-1a has zero discernible noise.
Good luck to you! You've got lots on your plate to soft through.
Kirklandia
Head-Fier
I apologize for not seeing this sooner. I've been off Head-Fi for a few days as I've been spending more time with my speaker system. In my view, you simply cannot go wrong with the SR-1a, whether with the JotR or the RAAL HSA-1a. Do I think the HSA-1a is 4x better than the JotR? No, and that's just one reason the JotR is an amazing bargain. Do I think it is .5x better? At least. But SR-1a and JotR is truly TOTL quality, and for the price, you just can't beat it.
I'll throw in a couple of observations here. I have tremendous respect for Torq. He's probably forgotten more headphone knowledge than I will ever know. But I must respectfully disagree with his assessment that bass with the SR-1a is qualitatively better [my term] than the Abyss. Yes, what bass the SR-1a has is faster than the Abyss could ever hope to be. But to my ears, and I am not a fan of the Abyss, the Abyss has legitimate deeper bass. But forget the Abyss for a second. The Susvara has more bass than the SR-1a. Does it matter? It does to me, and I listen to almost no hip-hop and only a smattering of electronic. But I do listen to classical, and many other genres that have legitimate bass in them. There is an authority in the Susvara on the Trafomatic that is absent from the SR-1a. Does the Sus have the same speed? Nope. And if speed and transients float your boat, as they do mine, then you will love the SR-1a.
While I applaud others who have addressed—notice I did not say "solved"—the thinness of bass by adding subs to their room, that's not an option for me. The very purpose of my headphone rack is not to share any sound with the rest of the house. A live sub would defeat that purpose. I also have a hard time believing that either the Rhythmic [I've owned their stuff, and it's good] or the Tzero can keep up with the SR-1a.
Not sure why you're adamant about powering your headphones with tubes. Don't get me wrong. Between the Trafo, the T2, and the LTA Z10E, I've got plenty of bottle rockets in the rack. But tubes were not a goal; music is the goal. That's one reason this is a great hobby; we each get to choose.
Not sure why you're worried about socket placement on the HSA-1a. I used the XLR inputs, but unless someone can demonstrate a noise floor or loop problem with the socket placement, I just don't see why it should matter. My HSA-1a has zero discernible noise.
Good luck to you! You've got lots on your plate to soft through.
Well, I appreciate more info and I took a trust plunge a month ago and ordered the SR1a and HSA1 to replace the headphone tube amp and Utopias. It may be mid-summer before I receive the RAAL stuff, as I have no idea of the ETA.I apologize for not seeing this sooner. I've been off Head-Fi for a few days as I've been spending more time with my speaker system. In my view, you simply cannot go wrong with the SR-1a, whether with the JotR or the RAAL HSA-1a. Do I think the HSA-1a is 4x better than the JotR? No, and that's just one reason the JotR is an amazing bargain. Do I think it is .5x better? At least. But SR-1a and JotR is truly TOTL quality, and for the price, you just can't beat it.
I'll throw in a couple of observations here. I have tremendous respect for Torq. He's probably forgotten more headphone knowledge than I will ever know. But I must respectfully disagree with his assessment that bass with the SR-1a is qualitatively better [my term] than the Abyss. Yes, what bass the SR-1a has is faster than the Abyss could ever hope to be. But to my ears, and I am not a fan of the Abyss, the Abyss has legitimate deeper bass. But forget the Abyss for a second. The Susvara has more bass than the SR-1a. Does it matter? It does to me, and I listen to almost no hip-hop and only a smattering of electronic. But I do listen to classical, and many other genres that have legitimate bass in them. There is an authority in the Susvara on the Trafomatic that is absent from the SR-1a. Does the Sus have the same speed? Nope. And if speed and transients float your boat, as they do mine, then you will love the SR-1a.
While I applaud others who have addressed—notice I did not say "solved"—the thinness of bass by adding subs to their room, that's not an option for me. The very purpose of my headphone rack is not to share any sound with the rest of the house. A live sub would defeat that purpose. I also have a hard time believing that either the Rhythmic [I've owned their stuff, and it's good] or the Tzero can keep up with the SR-1a.
Not sure why you're adamant about powering your headphones with tubes. Don't get me wrong. Between the Trafo, the T2, and the LTA Z10E, I've got plenty of bottle rockets in the rack. But tubes were not a goal; music is the goal. That's one reason this is a great hobby; we each get to choose.
Not sure why you're worried about socket placement on the HSA-1a. I used the XLR inputs, but unless someone can demonstrate a noise floor or loop problem with the socket placement, I just don't see why it should matter. My HSA-1a has zero discernible noise.
Good luck to you! You've got lots on your plate to soft through.
deafenears
500+ Head-Fier
The SR1a's, being open baffle, would already leak sound, no?
Thenewguy007
Headphoneus Supremus
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It does leaks sound, but I feel it's much less loud than the Sennheiser HD800 & HE1000 to other people.
When I took it off my head, the loudness was closer to a semi-closed back headphone. You hear sound, but it isn't blaring throughout the room.
The HD800 & HE1000 on the other hand were as loud to people around you as they are on your head.
...While I applaud others who have addressed—notice I did not say "solved"—the thinness of bass by adding subs to their room, that's not an option for me. The very purpose of my headphone rack is not to share any sound with the rest of the house. A live sub would defeat that purpose. I also have a hard time believing that either the Rhythmic [I've owned their stuff, and it's good] or the Tzero can keep up with the SR-1a.
Not sure why you're adamant about powering your headphones with tubes. Don't get me wrong. Between the Trafo, the T2, and the LTA Z10E, I've got plenty of bottle rockets in the rack. But tubes were not a goal; music is the goal. That's one reason this is a great hobby; we each get to choose.
Not sure why you're worried about socket placement on the HSA-1a. I used the XLR inputs, but unless someone can demonstrate a noise floor or loop problem with the socket placement, I just don't see why it should matter. My HSA-1a has zero discernible noise.
Good luck to you! You've got lots on your plate to soft through.
Thanks @Pale Rider for your reply! Looking back, I think you were the very first person I PMed, late in 2017, for some advice.
1) The only reason I would contemplate a sub, on occasion, would be because I plan on utilizing a small-ish one for the center channel of my Home Theater system and it would be pretty easy to "haul" it from my family room to my study. It wouldn't be the Tzero, probably the T/7i because it has a forward firing speaker and the T/5i does not. So I wouldn't actually be purchasing anything extra. There is a space for it across from my recliner, along with a duplex receptacle right there, so it could face me. (I know bass isn't directional, but we're talking about a sub trying to "keep up" with ribbon speakers in my headphone system, and its main purpose in the television room would be for dialogue, so I don't really need mid-bass firing down towards the floor in either situation.) And, my study is on the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms so "probably" the sub wouldn't affect anyone who is sleeping - that would have to be determined!
2) I've loved the warmth and spaciousness of tubes ever since, thirty-five years ago, my local high-fi guy ("on the curve, in Homewood", Alabama, he's actually still a friend although he moved to Home Theater well before the end of the last millennium) lent me a Conrad Johnson PV-7 to listen to with my new Mirage speakers. I've promised myself ever since that if I ever really went to spending serious $$ on a system I'd purchase a real nice tube-based amplifier. I've gotten over some of that requirement, in part because solid state has come a long way, and in part because I think the Raals will give spaciousness and accuracy, and hopefully won't be too clinical. Later I might try a tube-based preamp or tube buffer, but I'm out of rack space. Plus, each time I add a new component it costs me at least $1500 for vibration isolation, power cord, interconnects; at some point one gets tired of adding more components!
3) It is a pet peeve of mine that
a) L and R RCA input/output sockets are often placed too close to each other, many times when there is plenty of "real estate" to space them wider apart. When this is the case, it makes the use of some high-end interconnects difficult or impossible. (Very prevalent with interconnects as "quality" increases, many tend to have overly thick "plugs"; on the back of my Home Theater DAC the RCA connectors actually touch; I place a piece of cardboard between them... and
b) I'm using ribbon-based interconnects, so I have four ribbons I'm trying to keep separated from each other (by two or three inches anyway). And I especially don't want them near my power cord. Giving me a bit of consternation, on the back of the HSA-1a the RCA interconnects are extremely close to the IEC plug, making for yet another problem (photo below). There is no shielding on the ribbons; the whole point is to utilize a material that is not dielectric. (On my headphone system's digital interconnects, the Mylar-like sheathing is actually perforated to further reduce this problem.)
However, I've got the HSA-1a on order and I'll do the best I can as I try and run power cord and interconnects in a way that doesn't detract from the sound. It doesn't help that my interconnects need to run above the power cord (or below, or one of each) in order to come from my Streamer. But that isn't the fault of Raal; it is just very inconvenient for me to swap the location of my Streamer and Amplifier so the power cord could go one way and the interconnects the other - which would reduce the problem significantly.
It may be that I can run the left pair of ribbons above the power cord and the right pair below; I'll figure something out. The ribbon-based interconnects are a pain, but they sure do sound good.
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Ooooh!, @Kirklandia, I see you have the Focal Utopias (which I seriously considered) and the Dragon Inspire tube-based headphone amplifier, which was top on my list a couple of years ago (along with the MicroZotl MZ2, this was well before the MZ3 was released). I'll be very curious, after your Raal system arrives and you've broken it in for 100 hours or so, to hear your impressions. I'd imagine, for the $$, the Utopia/Dragon Inspire setup is spectacular?!
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FLTWS
Headphoneus Supremus
Thanks @Pale Rider for your reply! Looking back, I think you were the very first person I PMed, late in 2017, for some advice.
1) The only reason I would contemplate a sub, on occasion, would be because I plan on utilizing a small-ish one for the center channel of my Home Theater system and it would be pretty easy to "haul" it from my family room to my study. It wouldn't be the Tzero, probably the T/7i because it has a forward firing speaker and the T/5i does not. So I wouldn't actually be purchasing anything extra. There is a space for it across from my recliner, along with a duplex receptacle right there, so it could face me. (I know bass isn't directional, but we're talking about a sub trying to "keep up" with ribbon speakers in my headphone system, and its main purpose in the television room would be for dialogue, so I don't really need mid-bass firing down towards the floor in either situation.) And, my study is on the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms so "probably" the sub wouldn't affect anyone who is sleeping - that would have to be determined!
2) I've loved the warmth and spaciousness of tubes ever since, thirty-five years ago, my local high-fi guy ("on the curve, in Homewood", Alabama, he's actually still a friend although he moved to Home Theater well before the end of the last millennium) lent me a Conrad Johnson PV-7 to listen to with my new Mirage speakers. I've promised myself ever since that if I ever really went to spending serious $$ on a system I'd purchase a real nice tube-based amplifier. I've gotten over some of that requirement, in part because solid state has come a long way, and in part because I think the Raals will give spaciousness and accuracy, and hopefully won't be too clinical. Later I might try a tube-based preamp or tube buffer, but I'm out of rack space. Plus, each time I add a new component it costs me at least $1500 for vibration isolation, power cord, interconnects; at some point one gets tired of adding more components!
3) It is a pet peeve of mine that
a) L and R RCA input/output sockets are often placed too close to each other, many times when there is plenty of "real estate" to space them wider apart. When this is the case, it makes the use of some high-end interconnects difficult or impossible. (Very prevalent with interconnects as "quality" increases, many tend to have overly thick "plugs"; on the back of my Home Theater DAC the RCA connectors actually touch; I place a piece of cardboard between them... and
b) I'm using ribbon-based interconnects, so I have four ribbons I'm trying to keep separated from each other (by two or three inches anyway). And I especially don't want them near my power cord. Giving me a bit of consternation, on the back of the HSA-1a the RCA interconnects are extremely close to the IEC plug, making for yet another problem (photo below). There is no shielding on the ribbons; the whole point is to utilize a material that is not dielectric. (On my headphone system's digital interconnects, the Mylar-like sheathing is actually perforated to further reduce this problem.)
However, I've got the HSA-1a on order and I'll do the best I can as I try and run power cord and interconnects in a way that doesn't detract from the sound. It doesn't help that my interconnects need to run above the power cord (or below, or one of each) in order to come from my Streamer. But that isn't the fault of Raal; it is just very inconvenient for me to swap the location of my Streamer and Amplifier so the power cord could go one way and the interconnects the other - which would reduce the problem significantly.
It may be that I can run the left pair of ribbons above the power cord and the right pair below; I'll figure something out. The ribbon-based interconnects are a pain, but they sure do sound good.
I'm wondering how its layed out under the hood, perhaps a partition to block any electrical interference?
I looked briefly for a photo of the HSA-1a with the cover off, but didn't find any. I emailed Danny just in case, asking if it would be feasible to (somewhat simply) swap the balanced and SE inputs which would help me a little; he kindly replied and said there is a Daughter Board behind that makes a swap impossible.
I'm not so worried about interferences on the inside (although if the chassis was 2" wider I'd not care); I assume the guys doing the design came up with a design they are happy with (or, were they a bit restrained with the need to keep the width of their new amplifier to about 8.5", so they didn't have to re-design the carrying case!). My problem is more that my ribbon interconnects need to pass over and/or under the power cord, which is a bit of a pain. But, I'll deal with the problem and it will work out. I'm sure later this summer I'll be thrilled...
@Pale Rider Thank you for sharing your experience and perspectives!
- What do you think is a better upgrade when already owning a JotR with internal DAC : A/ buying HSA1a or B/ buying a better DAC?
- If even a Rythmik servo-driven subwoofer can't keep up, what could? Which Rythmik model did you owned? Do you think combining several much smaller servosubs with lower inertia would work better being tighter and faster? (Rythmik got a dual 8" drivers said to effortlessly sing up to 250Hz that was tempting me)
- What do you think is a better upgrade when already owning a JotR with internal DAC : A/ buying HSA1a or B/ buying a better DAC?
- If even a Rythmik servo-driven subwoofer can't keep up, what could? Which Rythmik model did you owned? Do you think combining several much smaller servosubs with lower inertia would work better being tighter and faster? (Rythmik got a dual 8" drivers said to effortlessly sing up to 250Hz that was tempting me)
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Sorry misread that, thought you were able to open one up.
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Jon L
For him, f/1.2 is a prime number
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That Omega Micro ribbon active power cord is one of my favorites.
Haven't tried the Mapleshade ribbon interconnects in photo but have tried/made many ribbon cables.
Having said that, after you try the Raal SR1a, I wouldn't be surprised if you end up wanting to try some other cables because many of the strengths of ribbon cables are actually the strengths of Raal SR1a, and many of the shortcomings of ribbons cables are the the shortcomings of Raal..
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