RAAL requisite audio SR1a Review: HOLY MOLY! Buy this now!

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by purr1n, Jul 12, 2019.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    What specific recordings does this buzzing happen on and at what volume levels? There should not be any buzzing at moderate-high volume levels for most kinds of music. Although there are some tracks that will just explode the SR1a at moderate volume like Jennifer Warnes Rock Me Gently. The SR1a can't really get crazy loud.

    EDIT: Just saw that track you mentioned.

    --

    I always cringe a bit when I hear of people apply a bass shelf EQ on the SR1a. Maybe if you like listening to music at 50db SPL or only to classical (without low organ notes). I do bump up 50-83Hz a tiny bit, but below this I just kill the bass. The bass boost really isn't needed, but the cut does help. Simply taking care of two bumps the upper mids and the highs usually fixes everything. The SR1a will never be a bass monster.

    IMG_20200505_154353.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2020
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I can crank this up to uncomfortable levels - no buzzing - volume to 3 o'clock from MM DAC. This shouldn't be a tough track for the SR1a.

    @ChaChaRealSmooth: try this out?

    Also, when you used the EQ on the RME did you compensate by reducing overall gain to account for any boost? If you don't, you will clip the signal. When the recording hits close to 0dbFS, you are doing to hear that crackle/buzz. This is a minor downside of digital EQ. From what you describe, I think this could be the cause.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2020
  3. ChaChaRealSmooth

    ChaChaRealSmooth SBAF's Mr. Bean

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    Out of Jot R, I cranked it to uncomfortable levels (volume just under 12 o'clock from a X-Sabre Pro) with no such buzzing or rattling. Keep in mind my usual listening position is a little under 10 o'clock; I think that my source is hotter than normal.
     
  4. tusing

    tusing New

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    Do note that when I was hearing the crackling/buzzing, I had no digital EQ applied whatsoever. The clipping indicator on the RME was also absent. The buzzing was absent with any other headphones plugged into my DAC.

    It is good to know that the buzzing doesn't occur with every unit. Perhaps there is an issue RAAL did not catch with my unit, hopefully the information I provided helps them take another look at it.
     
  5. Galm

    Galm Still looking for Little Red Riding Hood

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    What in particular makes you cringe when the sub bass is boosted on the SR1a? I know a lot of people do it (myself included). I do agree that reducing the higher peaks feels more important, but I haven't noticed anything particularly wrong when the bass levels are bumped up beyond if I made the EQ too aggressive or steep or something.
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Crank it up and play Jennifer Warnes Rock You Gently. Doesn't pop the diaphragm, but yikes, that's some messed up bass. Also distortion in the rest of the spectrum when there's high excursion.

    Alternative: Daft Punk Doin' It Right. The 3rd bass drop 37Hz. Ugh.

    Already bad enough without EQ. Killing 50Hz and below actually makes everything else sound cleaner.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2020
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    With balanced output DAC, I'm usually around 12 o'clock for usual listening. I do crank it up.
     
  8. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Prob a headphone that would do with 2 sealed 18s.
     
  9. ChaChaRealSmooth

    ChaChaRealSmooth SBAF's Mr. Bean

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    I've known that I'm a soft-volume listener. Using my phone (super scientific I know), I've measured my listening levels to hit 75 dB SPL when I crank it.

    However, for the purpose of this test, I used my phone to get the SR1a up to 84 dB SPL, with peaks close to 90 dB. I found it hard to listen to on my head, but again, no such rattles or buzz.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2020
  10. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Sorry OT, but what is this EQ device?
     
  11. mitochondrium

    mitochondrium Friend

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    Says Behringer on the top but I have no clue which specific model it is.
     
  12. bengo

    bengo Friend

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    DEQ2496. One of the best bargains in audio.
     
  13. sbaf217

    sbaf217 New

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    nvm - got trigger happy. Found my answer in an earlier post
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2020
  14. Galm

    Galm Still looking for Little Red Riding Hood

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    I appreciate the test tracks!

    I gave this a try and I can hear the weirdness in the bass. But I'm not sure if I prefer removing everything down that low. It certainly works with acoustic genres, but sounds weird on tracks that were pretty heavily relying on sub bass. It makes the tracks feel empty. Doing it right with the bass removed under 50Hz sounds empty on the third hit for example. So it's an empty vs wrong debate I suppose.

    This head phone messes with me because it's finicky and uncomfortable for me, but then I play certain tracks and it just sounds goose bump inducing. But it still isn't as good at being an all arounder as Utopia.

    I do agree though, particular tracks notwithstanding, it's probably better to just get rid of those lower registers or leaving it stock. From the EQs I showed before I definitely agree about the upper mids/treble. That was far more noticeable on most tracks.
     
  15. eboleyn

    eboleyn New

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    I just recently got a set of the RAAL SR1a headphones, with the goal of getting a "peak" audio experience. Wow indeed do they sound good and they nearly match a very high-end custom active-crossover speaker setup I have (that uses a RAAL 70-20XR ribbon tweeter), with the only caveat being that the imaging is limited a bit by the fact that they are on my head. Those speakers had been a non-trivial better level of sound to anything I'd otherwise head until now.

    Thanks to all in this forum for the measurements/etc. It helped me take the plunge to get these crazy headphones and I have no regrets.

    Note my biases for my commentary here: I am trying to get the absolute best sound out of them and generally like quiet listening by most people's standards.

    My setup:
    • Digital hi-res source (such as Tidal or local recordings), output at 96Khz
    • Behringer DEQ2496 (in digital domain - used for Eq)
    • DAC with 110db THD or better (I have several, but currently using Sabaj D5)
    • Amp with super high S/N ratio
      • Hypex nc400 monoblocks
      • Pass Labs XA30.8
      • Pass Labs INT-150
    • "Impedance converter box"
    • RAAL SR1a's.
    I have listened to a bunch of different kinds of music so far, and have some comments:

    First off, there have been a lot of comments about needing an excessive amount of power to drive these with the interface box, and I'm pretty sure I haven't been using even a watt in normal listening, (ok, mayyybe that with my boosted bass eq, but still very little). Similarly for how "loud" they sound to people around you. They have been quieter than my Hifiman HE-500 or HE-6 headphones.

    Second, unlike various speakers I'd used in the past, they seem to be very easy to drive. I.e. cheaper/wimpier amps sound better than I would have thought compared to the high-end amps. My thought is that the nearly completely resistive load is making them give better results to amps that don't work well with complex loads. The Pass Labs amps and the Hypex nc400's for example end up sounding rather more similar than not.

    Concerning high volume in the bass leading to notable distortion overall when playing ... I'm pretty sure I haven't been playing loud enough to be an issue, but I'll try out some of those tracks.
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2020
  16. eboleyn

    eboleyn New

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    OK, I tried the Daft Punk track out from curiousity, and I indeed noted some weird distortion on the big bass drops...

    BUT! This was due to the DEQ2496 digitally overdriving the output on this highly compressed track, and the result was clipping-like behavior (the red lights on the DEQ were firing, even if it wasn't actually clipping!). When I reduced the digital input volume but drove up the analog volume at my amp even over the level I had before, the bass drops were fine. If you have any increases in volume using digital Eq but your source gets near the max power output in bass, you will get at least line-level excursions which overdrive your DAC.

    Curious if this resolves what you were seeing purr1n, or are you also playing realllly loud and potentially getting near the excursion limits of the SR1a at lower frequencies?
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yes, any + EQ in the digital domain requires equal application of - pregain.

    I probably listen louder than most folks. My subjective impressions of the SR1a’s bass performance are in comparison to Audeze LCDr2.2 or my big JBLs with the 18" woofers. Heck, the HD650 does better on the 37Hz bass drop. The SR1a just kind of makes farts. Exaggerating the effect of course. I am probably more sensitive to bass distortion. It’s one of those things that once you hear it, it can’t be undone.
     
  18. eboleyn

    eboleyn New

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    There are 2 potential issues:
    1. Distortion caused by playing bass in other parts of the spectrum. (you'd get this by overdriving for example)
    2. Distortion in the bass itself.
    On #1, I'm moderately sure that in my listening (again, I tend to listen at low levels compared to most people) when I'm not overdriving the DAC output, it's not causing any notable distortion in the rest of the spectrum.

    As to #2... well, I'll admit that I'm no expert in what undistorted bass should sound like, so absolutely the bass itself could still be pretty distorted. Coincidentally, I'm going to be getting 2 Rythmik F18 subs (their flagship 18" driver sealed model) for a dual-listening speaker setup based on the same custom 2-way w/RAAL tweeter set I'd built, so in the next month or two I should get a chance to listen to known well-calibrated bass. :)

    Having said the above, I do listen to music on some HE-6(se) headphones, and while I didn't try the Daft Punk track on them, in general bass I was getting from those has not been notably different (to cause me to notice at least) from the bass I've been getting from the SR1a's with the Eq applied. I'll maybe try a critical listening session now that you've piqued my curiousity though.
     
  19. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    So I've been doing alot research on this as a possible next step up from what I have. But alot of split opinions of people I've chatted with privately. Some say it's the best thing since sliced bread, others don't care for it at all, or at least are very wary of recommending it.

    I wonder if it's similar to HD800, especially in the earlier days, where those who hated it were not using them with the right gear, as we all know how needy/OCD that headphone is with regard to synergy. The Raal seems to be similarly finnicky about gear from what I'm reading from people who have used them on multiple setups.

    My tastes lean heavily toward acoustic/classical/jazz/vocal... not alot of pop/electronic, but that's about 10-15% of my listening. Sometimes I can go for weeks without listening to pop though.

    I imagine Bifrost 2 would synergize well with the SR1a? The warmer source taming a bit of the tendency toward brightness? I could potentially keep BF2, keep Verite and get a more neutral amp for Verite to keep BF2 as my only source.

    Just thinking aloud.
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It depends on amp too.

    For me it's wasn't really a matter of a warmer source (I didn't like the Modi Multibit), but rather a source as far away from having "digital" highs as much as possible. Without EQ, vocals may sound shrill. Think of the tonality as similar to the Yamaha NS10.
     

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