[jp11801]

Hi Tyler what are you using as a source for these. I recently picked up a Sonnet Morpheus works really well with the SR1a

 

[Sherwood]

Hey Nums! I remain on a never ending source quest. Currently I’m exploring pro gear. I tried a Dangerous Convert-2 and a Crane Song, both were excellent. Currently they are hooked up to an RME ADI-2 being fed up converted DSD from HQ Player which I like a great deal.

I’ve been pushing for “more detail” in my gear for years, and I am as close to satisfied as I’ve ever been.

I trust your ears implicitly, so I’ll check out the Sonnet Morpheus.

 

[jp11801]

could be a fun weekender for you and the wife, go check out the Netherlands and get a listen to the morpheus.

 

[yyzSB]

Anybody tried the Parasound A23+ amp for $1500 with the SR1a? I used to have the A23 a few years ago and it was too warm for my KEF LS50's however, with the SR1a I am thinking this maybe a good match.

 

[Sherwood]

Theoretically your AHB2 should be a perfect match, but I've not heard of anyone that tried it enjoying it. I have not tried it, myself.

The A23 could very well be better, even though on paper it's not as stout an amplifier as the AHB2.

 

[yyzSB]

The AHB2 is not ideal with a lot of music on the SR1a. If it is perfectly recorded then it is very good however, that is not usually the case. :Last night I did some listening to some early 70's rock recordings with the Benchmark HPA4 preamp and AHB2 and Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE tube DAC and it was pretty good but not as good as with other Class A amps I have had in the past with the AMT3SE + SR1a.

I found a local dealer that carries both the NAD M22 and Parasound A23+. I will see if they allow home demos. They other amplification I have tried with the SR1a (KRELL, CODA, Benchmark) is much better than the NAD or Parasound, but maybe the SR1a does not need the best amps if the sources coming into the amp is of high quality. I thnk someone posted something like that on this thread.

My all Benchmark stack (HPA4 | DAC3B | AHB2 x 2) is ideal for my tastes with my 2 channel speakers. I tried a KRELL K-300i (moved to another room) and a CODA CSiB (sold) to replace that setup and the Benchmark won out. However, with the SR1a the warmer KRELL and CODA were better.

 

[jlbrach]

the incredible thing about the sr1a is how different it is in the way it presents music than planars and other conventional HP's...after I have been listening to my susvara or abyss TC and I switch over to the sr1a it sounds like the volume is dramatically less simply because of the leaner sound signature and the way the music is presented....when I then pick up the sr1a the next time I listen to them without switching from the planars I have no volume issue and find myself listening at lower volumes...what makes the sr1a such an eye opener to me is how radically different it is...when I listen to all other HP's obviously there are differences but they are all conventional and thus sound similar with obvious subtle differecnes...the sr1a is simply a different animal

 

[Symbiose]

Does anyone here use the sr1a with a tube amplifier? how is the experience with it?

 

[yyzSB]

I was looking at a tube amp and the only one that I thought was reasonable was the BAT integrated. I forgot the model number but it is a hybrid design with 150 watt at 8 Ohm.

At the movement I am using a Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE tube DAC with 2 very neutral pieces. the Benchmark HPA4 and AHB2. It sounds very good but there is still a slight bit of fatigue. it is very minor now. However, I have a CODA 07x preamp arriving in about 2 weeks that will pair with the AMT3SE and the AHB2. I think that will remove the tiny bit of fatigue remaining. I still plan on using the HPA4 preamp since I have setup my gear in a way to quickly change XLR's to get another preamp into the flow. The CODA 07x is supposed to be very analog sounding, tubes without the tubes.

 

[Shahrose]

I was looking at a tube amp and the only one that I thought was reasonable was the BAT integrated. I forgot the model number but it is a hybrid design with 150 watt at 8 Ohm.

At the movement I am using a Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE tube DAC with 2 very neutral pieces. the Benchmark HPA4 and AHB2. It sounds very good but there is still a slight bit of fatigue. it is very minor now. However, I have a CODA 07x preamp arriving in about 2 weeks that will pair with the AMT3SE and the AHB2. I think that will remove the tiny bit of fatigue remaining. I still plan on using the HPA4 preamp since I have setup my gear in a way to quickly change XLR's to get another preamp into the flow. The CODA 07x is supposed to be very analog sounding, tubes without the tubes.

Was looking at Coda 07x to match the No. 8 as well. Still waiting for the amp. Your impressions would be valuable.

 

[yyzSB]

Was looking at Coda 07x to match the No. 8 as well. Still waiting for the amp. Your impressions would be valuable.

I just noticed you have the CODA #8, congrats. I may buy one if I get lucky with some investments. It is kind of crazy how much effort I have gone through to get the SR1a to sound great but I think they are almost as good as my floor standing speakers and worth the effort.

I can already provide you some feedback on the 07x and CODA #8 pairing. I recently sold a 2018 version of the CODA CSiB. It is not exactly like the 07x and #8 because the amp section is not the same as the #8 (but close). The preamp section can be upgrade for $200 to be the same as the latest 07x (so close again). I did not upgrade.

I wrote a lot about my tests with the CODA CSiB, KRELL K-300i, and all Benchmark stack using both a DAC3B and the AMT3SE tube DAC.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/best-or-most-interesting-speakers

The best combo I had in the house was the CODA CSiB + AMT3SE. It was holographic, non-fatiguing, powerful, detailed and just a joy to listen to. I sold the CODA because I got the same money as I bought it for and I needed to get rid of one of my 2 integrated amps. The KRELL is also phenomenal with the SR1a. It has more bass power than the CODA and sounds buttery smooth. I cannot really describe the exact character of the CODA CSiB + SR1a + AMT3SE other than it sounded perfect. The CODA CSiB with the DAC3B was almost as good but the tube DAC was a better match for the SR1a. In all other cases with my 2 channel I preferred the DAC3B over the AMT3SE.

I have moved my KRELL K-300i to my downstairs so I am getting the 07x to pair with an extra AHB2 I had. I may sell the AHB2 to get the CODA #8 but you never know the 07x and AHB2 maybe a great pairing.

BTW - I am also from the "Big Smoke", GLG.

 

[vacsig]

I have a Black Dragon for my RAAL and it is a tiny bit more to my liking than the stock SR1a cable, and I'll revisit it at some point. (Too many cables, not enough time). Given the high frequency presentation of the SR1a I never thought about the Silver Dragon as being a good match but what happens? RAAL introduces a silver cable for the SR1a that I like best of the 3 I have for that HP and was really, maybe even more, surprised at how well it worked with my Jot R that I've been listening to the past couple of days. I like the Silver Dragon with my 1266 Phi CC and it even worked well with my Utopia when I had it. (The Utopia; another HP with no lack of HF extension). The Dragon's I've owned are well made with good connectors, reasonably priced (by comparison with many others), dress readily, are low in microphonics, and are aesthetically ok by me. Given the unique load the SR1a and the electrical characteristics mentioned for a connecting cable I was a little hesitant on getting the Black Dragon for the SR1a but never heard anything untoward. Would be interesting to see comparison F/R curves of various cables with the SR1a.

We all hear things differently and the likelihood that any two of us would have the exact same combinations of components / cables from wall socket to HP is highly unlikely.
But sometimes you just don't know until you try something and results can often be surprisingly different than I imagined they'd be based on what others have indicated they experienced.

It would be interesting to hear feedback on the Silver Dragon with the SR1a. I appreciate the concern over using silver with HPs that already excel at higher frequencies or with some solid state gear that may tend towards excess in the high frequency ranges, but I have very much enjoyed use of the Silver Dragons with JH16 IEMs and the HD800, all powered through solid state. I believe silver, which is a better conductor than copper, almost always sounds better than copper when it has been properly executed in a cable design. There’s not a lot of detail on either the technical specifics of the Silver Dragons or the new RAAL silver cables. The SDs are 6Ns silver (good), and stranded (good for flexibility but not good for highest sound quality), and they use Teflon as an insulator. RAAL says very little about their cables except that they are high quality silver with Kapton as an insulator. Kapton has a higher dielectric constant and a higher dissipation factor than Teflon, which is not good, but the devil is always in the details, and manufacturers are understandably hesitant to disclose those types of product details. So the only way to make a reasoned decision is to hear feedback from others. Could someone report back on any reactions to using the SR1a with either of these silver cables — and preferably both in a side by side comparison — together with the amplification, either valve or solid state?

 

[Shahrose]

I just noticed you have the CODA #8, congrats. I may buy one if I get lucky with some investments. It is kind of crazy how much effort I have gone through to get the SR1a to sound great but I think they are almost as good as my floor standing speakers and worth the effort.

I can already provide you some feedback on the 07x and CODA #8 pairing. I recently sold a 2018 version of the CODA CSiB. It is not exactly like the 07x and #8 because the amp section is not the same as the #8 (but close). The preamp section can be upgrade for $200 to be the same as the latest 07x (so close again). I did not upgrade.

I wrote a lot about my tests with the CODA CSiB, KRELL K-300i, and all Benchmark stack using both a DAC3B and the AMT3SE tube DAC.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/best-or-most-interesting-speakers

The best combo I had in the house was the CODA CSiB + AMT3SE. It was holographic, non-fatiguing, powerful, detailed and just a joy to listen to. I sold the CODA because I got the same money as I bought it for and I needed to get rid of one of my 2 integrated amps. The KRELL is also phenomenal with the SR1a. It has more bass power than the CODA and sounds buttery smooth. I cannot really describe the exact character of the CODA CSiB + SR1a + AMT3SE other than it sounded perfect. The CODA CSiB with the DAC3B was almost as good but the tube DAC was a better match for the SR1a. In all other cases with my 2 channel I preferred the DAC3B over the AMT3SE.

I have moved my KRELL K-300i to my downstairs so I am getting the 07x to pair with an extra AHB2 I had. I may sell the AHB2 to get the CODA #8 but you never know the 07x and AHB2 maybe a great pairing.

BTW - I am also from the "Big Smoke", GLG.

Great info/comparisons, thanks for sharing. Yea I'm patiently waiting for the #8. Mainly got them to run the SR1a but also the speaks.
The 07x sounds like exactly what the SR1a need, tube-like sound with the typical strengths of SS.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Didn't realize it would take a bit for the Raal to get to me. I am dying here lol

From more reading of this thread, it seems like the transformer + a speaker amp is a very solid option? I ask because the transformers I'm familiar with for Stats have never seemed like a good option. If so that makes me pretty open to a nice speaker amp, as the Susvara could benefit as well. The biggest deterrent for pulling the trigger for me has been adding an additional amp, but if the Susvara can really benefit that changes things quite a bit.

 

[jlbrach]

the jotr does a nice job for a very reasonable price...the hsa-1b is better and can drive your susvara nicely....