[adrianm]

I must admit I am surprised to hear that it is possible that the VM-1a will no longer be made...as one who loves the sr1a and ca-1a I just recently received the VM-1a and find it to be brilliant..hard to imagine it being much better so I wonder what alternatives could equal or better such a great direct drive

I'm curious here, how do the Raal amps compare to flagship amps + the newest interfaces? By that I mean... how transparent is the TI-1b to the amp driving it? Also curious how well they drive normal headphones compared to them.

 

[jlbrach]

I have both options and while my CFA3 with the interface is quite good to my aging ears the VM-1a is far better but that does include a tube vs SS discussion as well..I find direct drive much better with the Raal HP's

 

[Aleksandar R.]

@Aleksandar R. would the TI-1C allow the SR1a to work with an amp that is about .5 watts? I would love to hear what the SR1a sound like with my Ampsandsound Kenzie Encore if that were possible.

Unfortunately, 0.5W isn't enough, especially for SR1, as the Open baffle Compensation EQ eats up around 4dB in the sense of loudness, so that makes it even worse.

For SR1 we recommend 4-6 Watts.

 

[cAsE sEnSiTiVe]

I must admit I am surprised to hear that it is possible that the VM-1a will no longer be made...as one who loves the sr1a and ca-1a I just recently received the VM-1a and find it to be brilliant..hard to imagine it being much better so I wonder what alternatives could equal or better such a great direct drive

I too, am surprised and a little disappointed by this, although I certainly understand Raal's position. In the here and now though, I am curious regarding any future warranty/non-warranty services going forward, as I have an HSA-1b that has noticeable noise for me since day 1. I'll preface this by saying that I utilize Leedh processing through my Lumin X1, and as a result, leave the volume on the HSA-1b at unity gain (all the way up), while adjusting through the Lumin. The only way I've been able to mitigate it to my liking, is to turn the gain internally inside the amp to its lowest level (-10db)....which unfortunately now leaves me short of volume on a few of my recordings.

I was considering contacting Danny to see what, if anything could be done, but maybe I've missed the boat? I'd likely just live with it rather than sending it overseas. I'm loving the sound of my rig far too much to potentially be down that long.

 

[normie610]

i have an airtight atm 300b set amp.do you still plan to produce an TI-1c adapter for this amp or should i order theTi-1b.the amp has about 6-8 watts of power, but it drives my audeze lcd-4 /chord dave set up easily.

Wow that's one beautiful amp (and the sound must be amazing as well). I think Alex mentioned that TI-1c is their new product so I guess it will be produced just like TI-1b.

Just curious, do you connect the LCD4 directly to the speaker posts using an adapter, or are you using Airtight's adapter box for headphones?

 

[GOKYO]

Wow that's one beautiful amp (and the sound must be amazing as well). I think Alex mentioned that TI-1c is their new product so I guess it will be produced just like TI-1b.

Just curious, do you connect the LCD4 directly to the speaker posts using an adapter, or are you using Airtight's adapter box for headphones?

Thank you .I have the lcd4 connected directly to the speaker binding post on the AIRTIGHT amp.No adapter of any kind needed.The Airtight has volume control for each channel.So,no preamp needed.
I originally used the speaker cables connected to the lcd4 for AKG 1000 headphones which I used with CARY 805 c monoblocks.That was a beautiful setup as well.

 

[GOKYO]

Thank you .I have the lcd4 connected directly to the speaker binding post on the AIRTIGHT amp.No adapter of any kind needed.The Airtight has volume control for each channel.So,no preamp needed.
I originally used the speaker cables connected to the lcd4 for AKG 1000 headphones which I used with CARY 805 c monoblocks.That was a beautiful setup as well.

Pic of airtight/lcd4 connection

 

[GOKYO]

spoke to aleksander .I will be reserving a ti-1c interface via danny at RAAL.I should be receiving one in 2-3 weeks!!!

 

[Roasty]

it's a bit disappointing to read the vm1a will potentially be discontinued. I had all but given up on the sr1a after owning it a while back with the original ribbon interface. but after seeing pics of the vm1a and reading its reviews, it sparked interest back in the sr1b hp and I'm extremely glad I bought the combo.

if production/sales are continued by Solaja/Saeq, I do hope it'd be close to the overall end user experience if it was handled by Raal/Aleksandr/Danny.

 

[jlbrach]

to be honest I bought my VM1a almost exclusively because of my dealings with Danny, he is a prince...it would be a big disappointment to have to deal with an overseas entity

 

[Litlgi74]

Melissa Menago - Little Crimes.

Since you mentioned it... I decided to listen to the album with my SR1a before bed on Sunday night. My wife was lying next to me and over heard the audio.

She said... "Oooh... Who is that?" So I showed her the iPad and gave her the Raals. She normally wraps her hair up into this thing she puts on top of her head. So getting the SR1As to sit right took a little doing... Especially since I usually wear the strap that goes around your head... There was some negative comments about the fit.

I've owned the SR1A for more than 2 years... And she's tried them many times. But like always... After a few moments of listening she said... "Are these new? They sound expensive!"

I reassured her once again that they were the least expensive headphones I owned.

After about 10 minutes of silence... She handed the headphones back. I asked her if everything was okay... She said, "Wow. Amazing sound. Like the singer was in the room with us! It's incredible."

I said... "Don't you want to listen to the rest of the songs on the album?" She said. " No, it's too emotional.." She then wiped the tears from her cheeks and said "And I don't want to be electrocuted!"

My wife is awesome!

PS .. try every binaural recording available with SR1a... It's worth it!

https://songwhip.com/melissamenago/little-crimes

 

[KaiSc]

Ah yes, I have almost all of Chesky's binaural albums nothing beats them in spatial rendition. My favorites are Alexis Cole - A Kiss in The Dark, Macy Gray - Stripped, Casey Abrams both albums, and Melissa Menago - Little Crimes.

You should also have a listen to Muddy Waters - Folk Singer. An old recording with fantastic reverb and sense of space. Not a binaural recording but spectacular sound quality for an album that's recorded in 1964.

Stupid David Chesky doesn’t release the stuff from his label on Tidal.
If I was a Chesky signed artist I would kick his ... for not taking the money and limit the spread.

Some, like Ana Caram, already left.
BTW, Ana Caram - Maracana is a great binaural album (on Chesky):

 

[normie610]

Since you mentioned it... I decided to listen to the album with my SR1a before bed on Sunday night. My wife was lying next to me and over heard the audio.

She said... "Oooh... Who is that?" So I showed her the iPad and gave her the Raals. She normally wraps her hair up into this thing she puts on top of her head. So getting the SR1As to sit right took a little doing... Especially since I usually wear the strap that goes around your head... There was some negative comments about the fit.

I've owned the SR1A for more than 2 years... And she's tried them many times. But like always... After a few moments of listening she said... "Are these new? They sound expensive!"

I reassured her once again that they were the least expensive headphones I owned.

After about 10 minutes of silence... She handed the headphones back. I asked her if everything was okay... She said, "Wow. Amazing sound. Like the singer was in the room with us! It's incredible."

I said... "Don't you want to listen to the rest of the songs on the album?" She said. " No, it's too emotional.." She then wiped the tears from her cheeks and said "And I don't want to be electrocuted!"

My wife is awesome!

PS .. try every binaural recording available with SR1a... It's worth it!

https://songwhip.com/melissamenago/little-crimes

Hahahaha that’s a good one! Yeah it literally gives me goosebumps whenever I listen to that album, especially on the ribbon duo.

Stupid David Chesky doesn’t release the stuff from his label on Tidal.
If I was a Chesky signed artist I would kick his ... for not taking the money and limit the spread.

Some, like Ana Caram, already left.
BTW, Ana Caram - Maracana is a great binaural album (on Chesky):

Are they available on Qobuz? I haven’t checked but some are available on Apple Music

Ah yes Ana Caram, wonderful voice. My favorite album of hers is bluebossa, also from Chesky.

It seems that my posts and others keep getting deleted. I’ll stop posting on this thread, it’s not fun anymore. There are postings on other threads that are unrelated to the topic (e.g. book quotes, pictures of food or holiday places) and never got deleted. I’m just confused as there’s no consistency in applying the rules.

 

[Litlgi74]

Stupid David Chesky doesn’t release the stuff from his label on Tidal.

Are the albums on Tidal not in binaural format? Since I own the download versions.. I never compared.

 

[jlbrach]

Since you mentioned it... I decided to listen to the album with my SR1a before bed on Sunday night. My wife was lying next to me and over heard the audio.

She said... "Oooh... Who is that?" So I showed her the iPad and gave her the Raals. She normally wraps her hair up into this thing she puts on top of her head. So getting the SR1As to sit right took a little doing... Especially since I usually wear the strap that goes around your head... There was some negative comments about the fit.

I've owned the SR1A for more than 2 years... And she's tried them many times. But like always... After a few moments of listening she said... "Are these new? They sound expensive!"

I reassured her once again that they were the least expensive headphones I owned.

After about 10 minutes of silence... She handed the headphones back. I asked her if everything was okay... She said, "Wow. Amazing sound. Like the singer was in the room with us! It's incredible."

I said... "Don't you want to listen to the rest of the songs on the album?" She said. " No, it's too emotional.." She then wiped the tears from her cheeks and said "And I don't want to be electrocuted!"

My wife is awesome!

PS .. try every binaural recording available with SR1a... It's worth it!

https://songwhip.com/melissamenago/little-crimes

thats funny, tonight I have been listening to my sr1a with my new VM-1a and I had the same reaction regarding vocals..almost spooky like...more emotion and actually easier to understand lyrics that in the past I struggled understanding..I love these HP's simply marvelous