[vonBaron]

Too bad my Lazuli cable don't fit in my case

 

[littlej0e]

Removed due to relevance.

 

[Roasty]

So...

I received my Raal SR1a + HSA-1b + Ribbon Silver 1028 cable last night and I've barely slept since. These things are absolutely stunning. The SR1a's didn't hit me in the feels the same way the TCs did the first time I heard them, but they still dropped my jaw straight to the floor. The 3D soundstage, clarity, and imagining on these is flat out nuts. I also discovered they EQ absurdly well and it really helps bring out the low end punch. They could definitely use some tube love to take the edge off though and I suspect pre-amping through the WA33 EE JPS will yield ridiculous amounts of awesomeness.

A couple of hours in I wondered if these would be my "go-to's" instead of the TCs, but it is clear they are just...different. I finally understand why most folks here own both. Thanks for the recommendation. Wow, what an experience...

I can listen to the TC for hours. I borrowed my friend's Raal a while back and enjoyed it but got listening fatigue really fast (that was with the jotR tho). How do you fare with it (with hsa1b) for longer listening sessions?

 

[ken6217]

I'm more of a sausage guy lol. That came out weird.

Better out then in.

 

[littlej0e]

Removed due to relevance

 

[Stereolab42]

HPA4 with Abyss great combination!

You are not kidding. First impression -- HPA4 plus Abyss 1.0 is horrifying. In a good way. It's like having some alien monster rip your head off. It's the most dynamic, forceful, and crystalline headphone stack I've ever heard. I was considering bringing up the subject again of Abyss AB-1266 1.0 vs Phi TC, but no. They got it right the first time for me. (Am I at least curious? Yes. But not $5k curious.)

 

[DJJEZ]

Thibking

You are not kidding. First impression -- HPA4 plus Abyss 1.0 is horrifying. In a good way. It's like having some alien monster rip your head off. It's the most dynamic, forceful, and crystalline headphone stack I've ever heard. I was considering bringing up the subject again of Abyss AB-1266 1.0 vs Phi TC, but no. They got it right the first time for me. (Am I at least curious? Yes. But not $5k curious.)

You should be. The differences are meant to be pretty big. Just sell your Abyss 1.0.for them

 

[littlej0e]

I've sponged so much information and recommendations from the people on this site that I figured It's high time I provide some of my own.

I present to you the "Ghetto Pad." It is my el cheapo, uber-ghetto, incredibly ugly, but shockingly effective comfort solution for headphones (see pics). I'm particularly sensitive to pressure on the top of my head and I've had to use this contraption with pretty much every pair of headphones I've used in the past 3 years, save for the Ether C Flows and SR1a. I plan to add some horizontal Velcro straps and use it in the same "suspended" configuration with the Abyss TCs as the stock strap and rubber O-rings. This provided a couple of notable benefits over the stock solution:

1. More comfortable. This is made from a 38mm (1 1/2 inch) thick memory foam bath mat custom molded to the top of my head and held to form with shaped plastic hair bands and gorilla glue. It's incredibly ghetto, but an absolute dream to wear. It distributes weight and pressure over the top of my head (specifically to the outsides and away from the center) much more evenly and effectively than anything else I've ever tried. This design is particularly useful with heavier HPs like the Abyss TCs or Audeze LCDs.
2. More stable. This helped dial in the fit of the TCs and make the "sweet spot" a bit less finicky and more repeatable. You don't have to worry about moving around quite as much either as the pad molds to the top of the head and isn't as loose or "bouncy" as the stock solution.
3. More adjustable. Tighten or loosen the horizontal Velcro straps to raise or lower the pad suspension along with the height of the ear cups. If the pad ends is too thick and inhibits a proper fit in the suspended configuration, try using a fixed configuration instead by attaching it directly to the top of the metal chassis and adding another layer of foam as needed.
4. Affordable. All in, the materials will run you about 30 USD from Amazon. You should be able to make about 10 of these from that single purchase. Material list is below.

Plastic Headbands: https://www.amazon.com/Tinksky-Womens-Plastic-Headbands-Headwears/dp/B00ORCFZHK
Memory Foam Bath Mat: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N9905UU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Velcro straps (cut into three 6.5mm/.25inch wide strips approx. 215mm/8.5inches long): https://www.amazon.com/VELCRO-Brand...ords=velcro+cable+ties&qid=1616520763&sr=8-13
Gorilla Glue: https://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-Epox...1159&sprefix=gorilla+glue+epox,aps,192&sr=8-3

Hopefully this helps someone or at least inspires you to find your own solution. Also, if you are concerned with looking ridiculous I highly recommend passing on the Ghetto Pad (also, don't get the Raal SR1a's either. My wife just dubbed them the "Tie Fighters" and hasn't stopped snickering at me since).

Happy listening...

- lj

 

[DJJEZ]

I've sponged so much information and recommendations from the people on this site that I figured It's high time I provide some of my own.

I present to you the "Ghetto Pad." It is my el cheapo, uber-ghetto, incredibly ugly, but shockingly effective comfort solution for headphones (see pics). I'm particularly sensitive to pressure on the top of my head and I've had to use this contraption with pretty much every pair of headphones I've used in the past 3 years, save for the Ether C Flows and now the SRA1b. I plan to add some horizontal Velcro straps and use them in the same "suspended" configuration with the Abyss TCs as the stock strap and rubber O-rings. This should provide a couple of notable benefits over the stock solution:

1. More comfortable. This is made from a 38mm (1 1/2 inch) thick memory foam bath mat custom molded to the top of my head and held to form with shaped plastic hair bands and gorilla glue. It's incredibly ghetto, but an absolute dream to wear. It distributes weight and pressure over the top of my head (specifically to the outsides and away from the center) much more evenly and effectively than anything else I've ever tried. This design should be particularly useful with heavier HPs like the TCs.
2. More stable. This should help dial in the fit of the TCs and make it a bit less finicky and much more repeatable. You shouldn't have to worry about moving around quite as much with the TCs either as the pad molds to the top of the head and won't be as loose or "bouncy" as the stock strap and rubber O-rings.
3. More adjustable. Adjust the horizontal Velcro straps to raise or lower the pad suspension along with the height of the ear cups. If the pad ends up being way too thick and inhibits a proper fit in the suspended configuration, try using a fixed configuration instead by attaching it directly to the top of the metal chassis and adding another layer of foam as needed.
4. Affordable. All in, the materials will run you about 40 USD from Amazon. You should be able to make about 10 of these from that single purchase. Material list is below.

Plastic Headbands: https://www.amazon.com/Tinksky-Womens-Plastic-Headbands-Headwears/dp/B00ORCFZHK
Memory Foam Bath Mat: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N9905UU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Velcro straps (cut into three 6.5mm/.25inch wide strips approx. 215mm/8.5inches long): https://www.amazon.com/VELCRO-Brand...ords=velcro+cable+ties&qid=1616520763&sr=8-13
Gorilla Glue: https://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-Epox...1159&sprefix=gorilla+glue+epox,aps,192&sr=8-3

I already had the Velcro straps and gorilla glue around the house, so the Amazon links are only there for reference.

Hopefully this helps someone or at least inspires you to find your own solution. If you are concerned with looking ridiculous, I highly recommend passing on Ghetto Pad (also, don't get the Raal SR1a's either. My wife just dubbed them the "Tie Fighters" and hasn't stopped snickering at me since).

Happy listening...

- lj

How about a picture of it on your head

 

[littlej0e]

How about a picture of it on your head

Nice try, but d1ck pics are against the ToS on Head-fi...

 

[Shahrose]

So...

I received my Raal SR1a + HSA-1b + Ribbon Silver 1028 cable last night and I've barely slept since. These things are absolutely stunning. The SR1a's didn't hit me in the feels the same way the TCs did the first time I heard them, but they still dropped my jaw straight to the floor. The 3D soundstage, clarity, and imagining on these is flat out nuts. I also discovered they EQ absurdly well and it really helps bring out the low end punch. They could definitely use some tube love to take the edge off though and I suspect pre-amping through the WA33 EE JPS will yield ridiculous amounts of awesomeness.

A couple of hours in I wondered if these would be my "go-to's" instead of the TCs, but it is clear they are just...different. I finally understand why most folks here own both. Thanks for the recommendation. Wow, what an experience...

I can definitely see how they could be fatiguing and probably much more fatiguing than the TCs regardless of amplification. I find the sharp clarity and resolution can be a bit much on some tracks, especially those with high note synth. But I think running the SR1a's through a good tube amp would do wonders and likely take them to a whole new level.

I'm probably the wrong guy to comment on fatigue though. I get tremendous fatigue regardless of what I listen to due to the amount of focus required to listen to music in the first place. I have to take frequent breaks, say every 10 minutes or so. Otherwise it's too overwhelming.

As for the HSA-1b, I wish I could help there as well but I've never tried the JotR. But I will say that I ran my Ether Cs through the HSA-1b and it was like listening to a different set of headphones. It really opened them up and cleaned up a lot of things I didn't particularly like about them. Most of all, it increased the clarity, separation, and especially bass impact. The HSA-1b absolutely $h1ts on my old Pro iCAN as far as overall sound quality is concerned and considering the difference in price, it better.

Overall, I'm quite impressed with the HSA-1b thus far. It just goes to show you how much every link in the chain really matters with headphones. I'm going to compare it against the XI Audio + Powerman when my TCs arrive.

Great posts but would be better to share in the RAAL thread instead: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/raal-ribbon-headphones-srh1a.890603/

 

[littlej0e]

Great posts but would be better to share in the RAAL thread instead: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/raal-ribbon-headphones-srh1a.890603/

Yeah, you're right. I'll delete and repost.

 

[Litlgi74]

Great posts but would be better to share in the RAAL thread instead: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/raal-ribbon-headphones-srh1a.890603/

Why? He is clearly comparing the SR1As with the TCs.. and as a TC owner who is considering the Raals... I find his opinions relevant. I am not looking to be confrontational... But will he be kicked out of the SR1A thread for discussing the TCs? Not likely.

This is the 1266 thread... One should expect that in this thread, eventually all flagships will be compared to the TCs... Otherwise... this place will get very, very boring.

@littlej0e is relatively new here... And he has just started building a system most of us can only dream about. It has been a lot of fun for myself and others to experience/relive his excitement as if it were our own.

* Maybe I misunderstood your intentions... After all, even you posted a simple comparison to the SR1A in this thread... and no one asked you to take it elsewhere. You have obviously been on head-fi for a long time... Are you a moderator? I just don't understand why people who have not been active in threads... just pop in and presume to assert their authority... Sadly, it's been happening a lot recently.

 

[jlbrach]

I also see nothing wrong with discussing rival HP's in a thread..after all many of us own more than one HP and frankly I find I learn an awful lot listening to people who own competing gear

 

[Shahrose]

Agree about the comparisons being valuable. I simply wanted him to also post those in the RAAL thread.