[rlawry]

Agreed with the above post. I have two pairs of Kennerton phones, the JM-modified Gjallarhorn GH50 and the Rognir Planar. Once I have gotten used to the speed, spaciousness and detail of the RAAL SR-1a/b all other phones sound slow, smoothed-over, bass-prominent, and closed-in. This is a good problem to have.

 

[nojwe]

Simply said the Raal ruined every other headphone for me. At the goes for comfort too.

Same. Upgraded from the HD800 that'd I'd had for a long time and absolutely loved. After a few days with the SR1-a the HD800 sounded like garbage. Boomy, veiled, bass heavy, and muddy.

 

[jlbrach]

be careful, any traditional HP will sound a bit boomy immediately after listening to the sr1a...nothing sounds like the sr1a...in fact when I go from the sr1a to one of my other HP's I try to give it a fair bit of time to avoid the dramatic differences being so pronounced

 

[gghirardi]

I made a video showing the procedure for removing the HSA-1b bypass caps. The HSA-1b, in the video, has 4 blue caps. If, by chance, your HSA-1b only has 2 caps, then just remove 2. If they happen to be violet and not blue, reference the cap positions, in the video. Hopefully, the cap positions, in the video, are evident enough to assist in identifying the caps to be removed. Here's the link:
If you have any trouble with the link, the video can be found on our website, under "support". Also, if you are not sure about any details, please feel welcome to contact me for assistance. Best, Danny

Dear SageM,

I tried the mod. Am I right in guessing that the overall volume of the HSA-1b has now also become quieter overall? So far I like the change but I just wanted to double check my impression is right.

Many thanks (and happy to hear other views too)!

regards,

Giovanni

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Dear SageM,

I tried the mod. Am I right in guessing that the overall volume of the HSA-1b has now also become quieter overall? So far I like the change but I just wanted to double check my impression is right.

Many thanks (and happy to hear other views too)!

regards,

Giovanni

Alex here, Giovanni!

No reason for that to happen, but it might be that the sound is "calmer" or smoother, so it gives that impression.

 

[gghirardi]

Alex here, Giovanni!

No reason for that to happen, but it might be that the sound is "calmer" or smoother, so it gives that impression.

Thank you!

 

[Arathorrn]

Hi

has anybody compared the new Stax 8 cable withe ‘old’ siilver SR728 cable? Is this a worthwhile upgrade?

Best

 

[rlawry]

I have a Star 8 cable and compared it to the stock SC2 cable and it is a worthwhile difference. I would term it an improvement in detail and spaciousness but not at the expense of brightness or edginess. The sound I thought was a little better-balanced in that there is some added bass weight and warmth, maybe in terms of effortlessness. That said, I find more significant changes in sound with better ethernet and power cables than with the Star 8. Unfortunately I have not heard the SR728 as they were sold out and Danny at RAAL recommended the Star 8 as an improvement over the SR728 and obviously the SC2. Hope this helps.

 

[SageM]

I really love my SR1a's, but I find them almost too resolving on solo classical music. Very often, I can quite clearly hear the instrumentalist breathing. With prior headphones, it was just occasional recordings that annoyed me with breathing. Now I hear it quite frequently, and it can be very disruptive.

Any ideas for how to get around this problem without changing headphones? I'm running Roon->zen stream->bifrost 2->jotr->SR1a.

About 20 years ago I realized, the better your system, the smaller your music collection becomes. By that, I mean the better the resolution the more likely you'll hear unintended artifacts of the recording itself. This could be the equalization, compression or other aspects of the recording process. Along with all the technical and musical detail comes the rest of the detail. Most often, but not in every case, people seem to like the intimacy and completeness of hearing a musicians breathe, the squeak of a chair or the turning of a page of music. The SR-1a is faithfully reproducing what the microphone heard. Hi-Fidelity means high truth.

 

[SageM]

The major first step is experimenting with the various degrees of freedom in head placement.

The short video from the Raal website is sure worth a look in this regard:



I would not call myself a bass-head, but do like solid base and fundamentals in my music.
At the same time I’m generally not listening very loud, vocals in the music are a bit louder than normal humans talking.
Typical music level ca. 65-70 dBA Leq (long term average), with peaks up to 95 - 100 dB SPL.
The power amp is not challenged much: ca. +20 dBu or 10 W / 6 Ohm Peak typically is the very highest I observe.

I love music with lot’s of dynamic, try to avoid contemporary, dynamically over-squashed remasters.


First based on measurements (on my own head, mic inside my ears), then hours of fine-tuning I made an EQ setting that adresses all mentioned Issues, without overdoing it or killing SR1a’s character.

Specially the bass becomes viceral in a way I did not expect from SR1a.

The EQ slighty addresses midrange and treble too, this is very personal I guess.
Doing more in the mid/treble range sounds too much for me.
Treble is better controlled by positional variations, than excessive EQ.

With the EQ the bass and fundamentals sound punchy, compact and present in a way I did not expect from SR1a.
The fastness stays, combined with a significant gripe on the related instruments.
No hint of tizzy or thin sounding any more.


Positioning, probably quite personal, but another person found similar settings favorable too.
• Driver flaps angle: L 27 ° R 27 ° few millimeters away from pinnae contact. I made little card-box angle stencils to set this up.
• Driver horizontal position: usually ca. 5 mm to the front from the back-most possible position, very tiny bit more forward than the upper-mid-hottest position. I do use this to regulate the treble amount.
• Driver height: center driver ca. aligned with ear-canal entrance.
• Wearing angle (seen from the side): upper part, headband, slightly backwards, ca. 10 °.
• Fit: tight fit, still comfortable, don’t need the back-strap.


Raal SR-1a EQ04
RME ADI-2 Pro.

THE EQ DOES NOT CONTAIN BAFFLE COMPENSATION as the standard SR1a amp interface already has it.
There are EQ bands left to do this, in case needed.

Gain / Freq / Q / Type / (comment)
.. dB / Hz
+5.5 / 130 / 0.8 / Shelf / (adjust gain to taste)
.. n.a. / 25 / 1.8 / High Pass / (High Q boost the lows SR1a is capable, removes below)
-2.0 / 2.1k / 1.5 / Peak / (vocal presence)
-1.0 / 6.3k / 3.5 / Peak / (harshness)
-2.5 / 9.1k / 5.0 / Peak / (Sibilants)

Thanks for your post. I have a RME ADI-2 Pro and will give it a try!

 

[Roasty]

I just received the star8 cable. ordered a 3m length as my listening chair is a bit farther away from my gear. the cable is visually appealing and comparatively thinner than the sc2 cable.

on first listen, what's immediately apparent is the star8 is definitely doing something to the treble. the top end is noticeably pulled back, resulting in a more level balance with the rest of FR. I had to turn up the volume knob more than I usually have it at to get the same "forwardness"/volume of vocals and highs compared to the sc2 cable. it's almost like there is another added OB compensation with this cable. I've bumped up the gain on my nad m23 from low to medium.

there was a bit of roughness and etchiness initially and that was a bit of a concern as I thought it was going to be a dud cable, but after a few hrs that seems to have gone away. the (comparatively) withdrawn highs and vocals allow for more volume and with the resolution of the sr1b, you can really appreciate the nuances in the vocals. the tremble/vibration of strings plucked and the texture of drums and the snap of the snares makes for a truly amazing resolution ride.

where the star8 shines is the increased stage width and the increased front back depth giving a very 3d feel to the music. Ive gone through my usual playlist, and on some songs I realize there are some parts where I have myself mouthing wow. also seems like there is an even blacker background than the sc2.

the cable is quite pricey and it shipped in a small transparent ziploc bag in a small usps box. a part of me wishes there was a bit more attention to the packaging, but at the same time I do appreciate that there isn't any added cost (to the already expensive cable) passed on to the end user for bling boxes and whatnots.

 

[Aleksandar R.]

The 3meter STAR-8 has greater resistance than SC2, so it is about 3 dB quieter, requiring volume increase.

That is why that length won't really work with the TI box, as it would take twice the amp power to compensate for that, but with excess power of VM, everything goes.

 

[Homrsimson]

If anyone is looking to unload a raal silver cable for a good price let me know.

 

[adornoWest]

Looks like Schiit is no longer making Jot R's... They have them on closeout ($300). I guess the TI killed the market for Jot R's? Unfortunately, that makes the entry level for owning a Raal product higher for those without other amps (maybe a small minority of purchasers?) since you now have to buy the TI + an amp.

 

[rlawry]

Looks like Schiit is no longer making Jot R's... They have them on closeout ($300). I guess the TI killed the market for Jot R's? Unfortunately, that makes the entry level for owning a Raal product higher for those without other amps (maybe a small minority of purchasers?) since you now have to buy the TI + an amp.

Your premise may well be correct. Before, to drive the SR-1a/b, you either had to use the resistor amplifier interface and a powerful speaker amp or purchase the relatively inexpensive Schiit Audio Jotunheim R. Then RAAL came out with the HSA-1b and later the VM-1a. All of these options were relatively pricey as compared to the Jotunheim R which fell in price over that time, making it a relative bargain although some reported that it was a good- but not optimal-sounding combo.

Then RAAL, obviously seeking to increase their footprint in the market, developed the Ti-1a/b that allowed the use of a relatively normal headphone amp as long as it produced a couple of watts into a 16 or 32 ohm load. Personally, as I love what my Benchmark HPA4 amp does, the offering of the Ti-1b allows me to use that amp with the SR-1b and I sprang for that combo finally and find it to be by far the best sounding headphone rig I have heard by a wide margin.

So perhaps the continued development of alternative options to drive the SR-1a/b have rendered the demand for the Jotunheim R insignificant and Schiit has now dropped its availability, at least according to a view of their website. They do show the Jotunheim 2 for $399 and up depending on added modules. There seem to be some used JRs available so that may be the only option for acquiring one at this point.

If anyone has other info regarding the availability of the JR please post here.