[Roasty]

What is your mains voltage?
No need to do all 6 at once. The back row of 4 should be done at the same time and should be a matched quartet. The two EL34, in the front row, are splitter/driver tubes. They can be changed at another time and should be a matched set (duet).
The mode select should be changed only when the VM is off. This is because the VM has a microprocessor bias control that takes 1.5 minutes to re-establish bias. If mode is switched with the amp on, the tubes will not have bias, for that time. This can cause premature ware of the power tubes (back row). Best practice is to always shutdown when switching modes.

the voltage reading on my lab12 Gordian is 239-240v.

Thanks for the info on the tubes and mode switching!

 

[yyzSB]

@SageM Danny, Merry Christmas.

Are you able to talk more about the Star-8 Pure Silver Line that you mentioned in a previous post. I am going to give you a call soon for a new cable for the SR1a and it looks like you have something new coming out.

*******************************
I find my Benchmark DAC3B the best DAC so far for the VM-1a. There is a tiny bit of treble energy that I hear but it is miniscule compared to the overall goodness of the sound, but it is there.

I had a $750 Topping D90LE DAC sitting idle with my Schitt Jotenhium R in office #2. I now use a SACD player with the JR and no streaming. I decided to test the Topping D90LE with the VM-1a system in my office #1, in the hope of moving the Benchmark DAC3B to my Livingroom 2-channel system, which is under construction. I feel the VM-1a needs a real neutral DAC, based on my experience with the very smooth Musetec 005 on the VM-1a, so I set the Toppings settings to the following:

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/topping-d90se-dac-review/ (these are Sandu's recommendations)

• If you are using the D90SE in a headphone setup or if you already own a dedicated preamp in a speaker setup, I strongly recommend disabling the preamp mode, the setting no. 3 will let you choose between DAC mode (completely disabling its volume control, keeping it fixed at full power) or PRE mode.
• If you use just a single analog output, RCA or XLR and don’t use the second one, I recommend disabling the second output – it is setting no.4
• If you don’t plan on using the Bluetooth input, or maybe you’ll use it casually from time to time, I recommend disabling the BT module – it is the setting no.5 from that menu
• If you check the user manual carefully, the FFT Spectrum will show the measured difference of those 7 digital filters, out of those Filter 3 (default) and Filter 7 have the lowest ringing past 20 kHz. This is why I recommend using filter no.7 for a smoother top end, filter no.3 for more treble presence and if you need even more treble, go with filter no.2 (I used no.2)
• Lastly, change its 0 dB level from 4V to 5V, so that you could squeeze a little more power out of your headphone amp or power amp – it is the setting no.12

The D90LE DAC does not have MQA (the D90SE has MQA) and in its place there is a mode called TRANSISTOR or VALVE. I set it to TRANSISTOR. I used WyWire "Silver" model XLR to the VM-1a. I used the CA-1a headphones over the SR1a because I wanted to hear hard rock, and the CA-1a are my hard rock headphones. I also had the SR728 Silver RAAL headphone cable. I want to get a second RAAL cable because I do not like switching the SR728 cable between the CA-1a and SR1a.

Listening to the Topping D90LE with the above settings was rather good. It was more powerful sounding than my very smooth Musetec 005 DAC on the VM-1a. The slight bit of unwanted treble energy of the Benchmark DAC3B is not there on the Topping D90LE. The sound seemed to be within the confines of the CA-1a. It was good but I recall spectacular when I listen with the DAC3B.

I put the DAC3B back into the system and connected the same cables from the Topping DAC to the Benchmark DAC. Immediately, I noticed the volume was louder. So, I adjusted it down on the DAC3B to what I thought was an equivalent level. I immediately could feel that extra bit of unwanted energy on the treble region, though it is not fatiguing. I was playing some hard rock with April Wine and RUSH, so this was not going to be a mellow listen. Ideally that extra bit of energy is not there.

The difference in sound after the volume adjustment was surprisingly large. The DAC3B had an explosive like quality to the sound. The sound seemed to go beyond the CA-1a's boundary. It was a much more exciting listen, and that spectacular quality was back.

I am going to keep looking for a VM-1a DAC that matches sonically like the DAC3B but without that slight treble edge. I am going to sell the Topping D90LE.

 

[Angaria]

I'm sure the Raal cable is great, but has anyone has tried the moon cable or anything else more affordable in a direct comparison to it?

 

[cAsE sEnSiTiVe]

@SageM Danny, Merry Christmas.

Are you able to talk more about the Star-8 Pure Silver Line that you mentioned in a previous post. I am going to give you a call soon for a new cable for the SR1a and it looks like you have something new coming out.

I took Danny's comment to mean he's talking about an interconnect cable. Could be wrong though.

 

[Rdoc]

I deeply appreciate your words. Thank you.

I have sold all of my speaker system and associated equipment and have been using my SR1A headphones exclusively for all of my music listening. Being retired I listen for many hours every day and the sound of the SR1A's is preferable to any of the high-end speakers that I have ever owned. They are just so comfortable to wear for many hours each day so much so that I sometimes forget that I have them on my head. And the sound is just so pleasurable especially with the Star-8 cable that I have no expectation of ever changing my gear! That is my opinion of course, but my question is this, should I purchase an extra set of ribbons? I am in my early 70's and of course do not know how long I will be around. With daily use, can I expect the ribbons to last 10-15 years, or would it be good to purchase a spare pair?

 

[Failed Engineer]

Does that mean the older generation of RAAL upgrade cables are not suited for use with the TI-1a/b? Referring to the Star 6, Premium, and Studio Reference?

 

[Failed Engineer]

Thank you for your transparency and willingness to share science and design philosophies. You guys set an exemplary standard for other audio firms. Wishing you guys the best of business in 2023.

 

[normie610]

Thank you for your transparency and willingness to share science and design philosophies. You guys set an exemplary standard for other audio firms. Wishing you guys the best of business in 2023.

This is very true. @Aleksandar R. and @SageM have set the bar on the those two things. It makes me love my CA1a and SR1a even more

 

[Aleksandar R.]

I have sold all of my speaker system and associated equipment and have been using my SR1A headphones exclusively for all of my music listening. Being retired I listen for many hours every day and the sound of the SR1A's is preferable to any of the high-end speakers that I have ever owned. They are just so comfortable to wear for many hours each day so much so that I sometimes forget that I have them on my head. And the sound is just so pleasurable especially with the Star-8 cable that I have no expectation of ever changing my gear! That is my opinion of course, but my question is this, should I purchase an extra set of ribbons? I am in my early 70's and of course do not know how long I will be around. With daily use, can I expect the ribbons to last 10-15 years, or would it be good to purchase a spare pair?

Dear Rdoc,

Wow! Thank you very much for saying all this!

Do not fix it if it didn't break It should last for a long time, so nothing to worry about.

Most ribbon malfunctions happen because people extract them to take a good look, but grab the ribbon frame in the middle, compress it a little, then ribbon gets a squashed edge or bulges in the middle...
In hindsight, I shouldn't have done this easy extraction, as it caused more grief than it should to the SR1 owners, that is why CA's do not have easily extractable ribbons.

Basically, keep them in there, try not pulling them out, and in something happens in the future, we'll be here to help.

Cheers,

Alex

 

[lsantista]

Hi, just received a used SR-1a with the HSA1b amp and an upgrade DHC cable from a great head-fier who surely is on vacation! The cable is ended male XLR but it came with the female to female adapter, however, unlike the stock cable that comes with the HSA which has the ends marked, I dont know which end to connect on the amp: red or no red ringed? any advice?

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Hi, just received a used SR-1a with the HSA1b amp and an upgrade DHC cable from a great head-fier who surely is on vacation! The cable is ended male XLR but it came with the female to female adapter, however, unlike the stock cable that comes with the HSA which has the ends marked, I dont know which end to connect on the amp: red or no red ringed? any advice?

For listening to SR-1a/b or CA-1a on HSA-1b, you don't need those cables.
Those are adapter cables for plugging in planar and dynamic headphones to a Ribbon output.

 

[lsantista]

thank you! However, Id like to use the upgrade cable from that I purchased with the Raal set, and it is 4-pin male terminated. To use it with the SR-1a, I still have to plug it into the "ribbon" connector on the HSA-1b, right? thus the "adapter" on the previous pic. Sorry if Im still losing something into the equation. Should I just try whatever end (red ring or no) and see if it sounds right, or can this be dangerous to the SR-1a/amp?

 

[jlbrach]

you only use the adapter if you are using another HP that needs it to work with the hsa-1b otherwise just plug the sr1a into the hsa-1b

 

[Hiker816]

you only use the adapter if you are using another HP that needs it to work with the hsa-1b otherwise just plug the sr1a into the hsa-1b

I think he wants to direct-drive the SR1a from the HSA-1b male XLR output. If using a non-RAAL-requisite cable without the female XLR termination (in other words, using a normal male 4-pin termination), I think the OP would need an adapter to convert the male XLR termination to female.

 

[lsantista]

sorry , I tried to get all in one pic now. I do have the stock raal cable and I can plug it and play on the Ribbon output and it works all good.
Now, along with the Raal set I also got this very nice DHC cable; Im aware it can be used with conventional HPs. But, it did came with the adapter - shown on the left. It seems obvious I can use that adapter along with the matching zebra cable also on the ribbon output. However, the adapter seems to be directional, which makes sense (the stock Raal adapter is and states on each end where you should connect it). It is all new to me. If someone confirms it wont hurt the equipment, I can try each of the adapter ends and see which works best, as apperantly this is very specific!
Thanks