[Sherwood]

That DIY one would have to be significantly better than the RAAL - it’s not that much cheaper is it?

It's not much cheaper than the Schiit. It is $4000 cheaper than the RAAL. I couldn't say how it compares to the Schiit, never having heard the raalopamp, but it has a strong pedigree and competition can only serve us well. I haven't heard the RAAL amp either, and I don't discount the glowing reviews here, but the circuit itself is reportedly none too special. I've yet to see photos of the inside.

 

[MacedonianHero]

is that out of the adapter or out of the regular headphone out?The adapter would provide added power I assume?OOOOPs my mistake I see you mentioned the adapter...what do you have your dave set at?....-3?

Correct...that's the adapter as it allows one to access the speaker amp's full power. The headphone output isn't as powerful. I always set my DAVE to -3dB when I use it with all of my amps FWIW.

 

[Roasty]

I tried the Raal for the first time today. My friend loaned it to me, with the JotR.

I must say, I am pleasantly surprised. I was half expecting it to be super thin, bright and sharp and no bass whatsoever.

But I'm listening to it now, and it is actually a pretty balanced headphone. Sure, it could do with some sub-bass rumble and more meat in the low end, but otherwise it is actually an enjoyable listen.

I'm playing a track which someone in the susvara thread brought up to compare bass between susvara and TC Phi (return to the sauce, by infected mushroom; I know, what a name..) and there is some really really really good bass punch and slam. The bass is so tight and fast and it slams like a mother father..

But I'm not getting that super massive soundstage or speaker like presentation.. They still sound like headphones to me, but I think that could be in part that I've had the susvara and TC for some time now.

The mids and highs are very nice. Very balanced. It doesn't sound thin or bright to me at all. I am indeed quite surprised.

So all this from a jotR has me wondering how it will fare with the hsa1b. I'm not sure if I will eventually buy the Raal but damn, things have gotten interesting. At least I have it for the next few days/weeks, so I guess time will tell.

*my goodness this thing is so damn good with electronic music

 

[Sherwood]

It's been said many times here, but I will reiterate that for extra bass grunt you should consider some EQ. The SR1a respond extremely well to EQ because they don't have to do anything to tune resonance coming from the backwave. I enjoy the stock tuning plenty, but they can do more and it's worth it.

I still wouldn't say they sound like "speakers", but they definitely don't sound like headphones. This is closer to what it would sound like to have music delivered right to my synapses electrically.

 

[FLTWS]

I've owned my SR1a for 14 months now and can drive them directly with my Jot R or EVO400 with the interface.

To my ears the SR1a sound is not like speakers, but not like typical headphones (open backed or closed) either. It's it's own species in sound presentation, more akin to the K1000(?) and current MySphere models.

Even though the ribbons are dipoles there is inadequate L channel delayed signal to the R ear and vice-versa to set up a good sound field as can happen with most conventional speakers, especially point source or line source dipoles properly positioned per room requirements. But what is there is very stable as is imaging and, I think, captures what the recording has to offer, both good and bad.

But the SR1a's other sound qualities (transparency, ability to capture recording venue ambience, air around instruments and voices - except at the very lowest frequencies, speed of transient attack impact and decay characteristics, tonal reproduction, ability to maintain control of say a 100 piece orchestra going full tilt and keep different groups of instruments differentiated without coming unglued and throwing in the towel.....just some of the things I like about the SR1a and what I think it excels at.

The loudness level of deep bass notes fades as it approaches the very bottom of the frequency range but it is highly articulated all the way down and I find EQ works very well with the ribbon. I find the SR1a can,with some recordings, generate a bit of air, but often not enough, to make say a bass drum or large tam-tam stroke approach what I feel is comparable to what I experience in the concert hall.

It takes a little time to adjust the mechanical aspects of the SR1a for best fit and sound, especially the wing flare. But once I found my sweet spot for the mechanical variables the design holds those aspects nice and tight so I'm not readjusting for every listening session.

These are extremely clean sound transducers and the tendency might be to play them louder than is safe so that is something to be aware of.

I also find it comfortable to wear, and there is no sweat inducing heat buildup to deal with.

I do look forward to putting an HSA-1b thru it's paces sometime the first quarter of 2021 and see what it brings to the overall SR1a soundscape.

 

[JLoud]

I have been using a Jot R with a Loki mini for some low end EQ. Helps to give a fuller presentation to my ears. Can be adjusted easily on the fly too. Also the angle of the drivers makes a big difference. The further they are flared out, the wider the sound stage. Or at least the more in front the sound seems. Also closer in gives a meatier sound. More bass presence. Depending on my mood and musical selection, I either love them or, Meh.

 

[foefoe]

Same here, Loki (with JotR) is the reason I decided to keep these weirdos (SR1a). Still, I think in general 1266 TC are better headphones offering better resolution and more nuanced, textured, sophisticated sound. It is the most palpable with rock and classical music. When it comes to pop/rock or folk/rock that sparkle and vivaciousness to the sound Sr1a provides make me reach for them as an alternative to Abyss

 

[trigeminalv3]

So my sr1a’s just came in. Is there some sort of lock that prevents adjustment of the wings? It seems to resist movement in any direction.

 

[Duncan_McCloud]

So my sr1a’s just came in. Is there some sort of lock that prevents adjustment of the wings? It seems to resist movement in any direction.

No locks here, but mine are stiff. Need to hold headphones with one hand and carefully turn the wing the other hand

 

[trigeminalv3]

No locks here, but mine are stiff. Need to hold headphones with one hand and carefully turn the wing the other hand

Okay that worked, thanks. No sound coming out of the right side..that's promising. What are the steps for trying to work this out?

 

[FastAndClean]

how about using them paired with a sub?

 

[trigeminalv3]

I switched around the cables going into the raal which took care of it. One is distinguished by a red band but there doesn't seem to be anything to indicate R vs. L? Oh well.

..The manual on the raal website wasn't particularly helpful.

 

[makan]

I switched around the cables going into the raal which took care of it. One is distinguished by a red band but there doesn't seem to be anything to indicate R vs. L? Oh well.

..The manual on the raal website wasn't particularly helpful.

Red is right. Make sure the plug is right into the headphone. That’s happened to me that it doesn’t go right in and no sound comes out on that side.

 

[bluesaint]

Wish Raal can spend the time to make a better interface box with higher quality components so folks still have freedom to use whatever speaker amp that they fancy.

 

[Duncan_McCloud]

Okay that worked, thanks. No sound coming out of the right side..that's promising. What are the steps for trying to work this out?

I guess you are using the Interface Box, isnt' it ?
Sorry for the obvious answer, but are you sure that the jack is well fit into the headphone. Mine was pretty stiff.
Other than that I will try to deep down starting to the amplifier from the Interface Box, checking that the both the channel of your amplifier works and so on.