Raal Ribbon Headphones - SRH1A
Oct 14, 2021 at 8:32 PM Post #4,651 of 7,750
After some exposure to music listening without encapsulating my ears the comfort of air flow is tough to beat but does put a premium on a quiet ambient environment for listening, which I do have on my upstairs rig.

I can't stress how important this is. I've learned to only listen to the Raal very late at night or early in the morning due to ambient noise where I live. Makes a huge difference.
 
Oct 16, 2021 at 7:05 PM Post #4,653 of 7,750
I do not find a whole lot of difference between outside noise between my sr1a and any other open back but I do notice a lot of difference when my girlfriend comes into the room and comments on what she can hear when I am wearing the sr1a...she starts bopping to the music lol
 
Oct 18, 2021 at 11:58 PM Post #4,654 of 7,750
I should also note that I live in a noisy neighborhood. It makes a huge difference for me, for sure. But in general that's just the nature of the headphones, by design. Owned multiple K1000s in an entirely different state, and it was the same thing in comparison to other headphones. Not a knock against them at all, I just prioritize early or late night listening for them. If wearing during louder times, typically the volume dial just goes up higher.

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Also, has anyone head any updates on the release timing of the Raal C? This is mainly the only other newer release that I'm pretty sure I have to try to own/hear. :)
 
Oct 19, 2021 at 8:34 PM Post #4,655 of 7,750
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Oct 19, 2021 at 10:11 PM Post #4,657 of 7,750
Has anyone tried these with the silver cable? Wondering if it makes a bug difference in acoustic properties?
I think it makes a nice and noticeable difference. Everything sounds even clearer (which is crazy).
 
Oct 27, 2021 at 1:49 AM Post #4,659 of 7,750
I sold my LSA Voyager 350 GAN amp (modified by EVS) that was very good on my floor standers but I did not love it on the RAAL SR1a. This was a $3500 with the mods, though I paid a lot less and made out even when I sold it.

I replaced the Voyager amp with the $2500 (used) Parasound A21+. I was reluctant to try Parasound since I had owned the smaller Parasound A23 amp long ago and was underwhelmed. Today, I am using the A21+ in my office with the very neutral Topping pre90 ($599). The Topping is very difficult to pair with amps since it plays so loud, that is except on the Parasound A21+ and Benchmark AHB2. So I am now listening to the SR1a on a $3100 system.

The A21+ is a very powerful amp with 300 @ 8 Ohm and 500 @ 4 Ohm. It runs a little toasty when paired with the SR1a. It has a little bit of warmth to the sound but it also has rather good details. The modded Voyager was a little bit more detailed. However, details are not always ideal with the revealing SR1a. The sound I am getting from this $3100 combo is amazing with the SR1a and very good on my floor standers. This amp was bought for the SR1a so 'amazing' works better for me.

The sound is extremely powerful, explosive really, I have been startled a couple of times by the explosive sound coming from the black background. Smooth and non-fatiguing and with more than enough details. This combo is in the same class as my KRELL K-300i integrated (with the SR1a) but less than half the price. The KRELL is a bit smoother sounding, which maybe a good or bad thing depending on preference. I am going to be getting my CODA 07x preamp back from repairs sometime in the future and this A21+ will connect to 1 set of XLR outputs for the SR1a and the other set of XLR outputs will have the CODA #8 for my floorstanders. I prefer the A21+ on the SR1a over the 2x more expensive CODA #8, though the CODA #8 is preferred on the floorstanders.

This Parasound is a very large amp but I will overlook that because this is a killer amp on the SR1a. Listening to Pearl Jam ' Black'. Goosebumps level sound.
 
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Oct 29, 2021 at 5:53 PM Post #4,660 of 7,750
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Oct 29, 2021 at 6:23 PM Post #4,661 of 7,750
Oct 29, 2021 at 6:48 PM Post #4,662 of 7,750
In an email with Raal, they expect December for the VM1a.
 
Oct 30, 2021 at 11:55 AM Post #4,663 of 7,750
DOH!
Also just noticed that pick is for the PD"A"-1a. Was wondering where the toobs were, but that will be the PD"T"-1a.
The PDA-1a might just be the HSA-1a minus the ribbon drive section of the amp.
 
Oct 31, 2021 at 10:24 PM Post #4,664 of 7,750
Any update on the circumaural?
 
Nov 2, 2021 at 5:58 AM Post #4,665 of 7,750
https://musicalhead.de/2021/06/08/test-raal-requisite-hsa1b/

a review of the hsa-1b...for those interested

The RAAL REQUISITE SR1a, together with the brilliant HSA1b, once again climbs the sound olympic on Musicalhead and displaces the ABYSS AB1266 PHI TC from the throne after many years of reign.

The RAAL REQUISITE HSA1b receives my unconditional recommendation to all knights of the grail of fine tones, who primarily prefer audiophile reproduction properties and an absolute maximum of authenticity in combination with the SR1a and can conciliatly do without the ultimate depth.
If one needs to use two different external amps to drive different headphones from DAVE/Mscaler, is there a way to get a high quality y splitter for the RCA cables so you don’t have to unplug and plug in to the different amps when switching between headphones. More specifically DAVE/Mscaler to Bakoon to Susvara vs DAVE/Mscaler to HSA-1b to RAAL SR1a.
 

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