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

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

  1. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Holy God. If Utopia has a perceived warmth then Raal will make my ears bleed. I'll stick to my warm pile-o'-poo
     
  2. Rthomas

    Rthomas Friend

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    LOL

    I don't think the Raal is spiky like the HD800 was. Just a leaner presentation than the Utopia.
     
  3. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    IME when you've got a mostly peakless response and no huge deviations from a compensated slope, general tilt of FR will be indicative of a thicker or thinner, heavier or more nimble sound moreso than 'bright' or 'dark'. Isolated peaks and dips or uncontrolled ringing can throw that off though.

    Net slope of Utopia is flatish or slightly down (compare 100hz to 10khz level). SR1a slightly up. Borealis slightly up (vague resemblance to SR1a tonality and speed). HD600 flatish or slightly down (vague resemblance to Utopia's tonality and speed).

    Of course apples and oranges with different driver types and arrangements and whatnot, but I'd say my feelings of 'speed' and timbral leanness do correlate directly to net slope of these 4 headphone I mentioned specifically. I've auditioned SR1a three or four times for maybe 15 minutes each, but never heard on a synergistic home rig so take this with a grain of salt.

    SR1a has a nimble footed, 'fast', 'liquid' sound with a diffusive sense of dynamic energy despite the excellent imaging. But it doesn't feel bright because there aren't any huge peaks or dips unlike with many other headphones. For example, despite something like HD800 having more relative bass vs the upper midrange level, it feels brighter at first listen because of the localized peak. I despise brightness but felt the SR1a was very smooth and more tonally agreeable than my modded HE6 despite the SR1a looking more tilted up on the graph.

    TL;DR don't be afraid of SR1a if you're treble sensitive but find it an attractive option for other reasons. I'd take the SR1a over any stat I've heard, but ultimately like a heavier, thicker, more forceful sound and the conventional fit of a more 'normal' headphone.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2020
  4. abraxas666

    abraxas666 Friend

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    Sharing my current experience with the SR1a, which I have owned for at least half a year.
    All my listening done through a Gungnir MB A2 with Unison USB.

    When I first listened to the SR1a it was kind of hard for my brain to fully grasp the sound coming from the Ribbons. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to the way the sound stage was presented. This is probably due to me listening to headphones mainly for the last 20 years.
    The first amp I used was a Vidar, and I must say that the one take away I still remember from the short time I had the amp was that female voices were great and had me teary eyed in more than one occasion. It was for sure a warmer amp.
    Then I listened to dual Vidar's at a friends house which was definitely an improvement in all aspects, super engaging with different genres.
    Currently the SR1a are being driven by a Jot R, and once in a while I get hints of sibilance in some tracks. Some old school rock\punk and electronic music sounds amazing though. Some songs do make me lower the volume but it does not happen often.

    My journey got me to the point where I am wondering about just getting dual Aegirs, to change the tuning for when I want to listen more to singers voices. But perhaps my approach and way of thinking will not yield the expected results. Only one way to know.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2020
  5. spartacus

    spartacus New

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    the sr1a will literally let you hear albums you have listened to for years as if for the first time...you will hear things you never heard before...it can be kind of startling at times
     
  6. Khronos

    Khronos New

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    Does anyone have the specs for the HSA-1B? It mentions an Output impendance of .3 O while the Raal has a mentioned imp of .2 O and it doesn't seem to be a current amp design.
     
  7. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Paging @Collusion ...
     
  8. Collusion

    Collusion Friend

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    This is the spec sheet that can be found from their website.

    There's nothing about output impedance though - only a load impedance range is defined.
     

    Attached Files:

  9. mdr30

    mdr30 Acquaintance

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    Any impressions from long time users?
     
  10. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    f'ing phenomenal still.
     
  11. iFi audio

    iFi audio MOT iFi Audio

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    Say no more :headbang:
     
  12. spartacus

    spartacus New

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    without the profanity I second that!
     
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  13. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    This was sometime during the COVID blur that is still going on...

    I had a chance to listen / compare the RAAL SR1a and the Sennheiser HE-1. Technically, the SR1a was the better headphone. The HE-1 was very close to hiding what type of drivers it had, but ultimately revealed itself somewhere in the midrange. If they were both $1,000 - I would choose the HE-1 - it is a very 'safe' tuning with very good technical ability. Unfortunately it is overpriced by 10 x $5.5k

    For the SR1a....considering that ear speakers are an entirely different sub-species, it is a hard sale at any price for me. I am into headphones for when I want to lay on my back instead of sit up. I have speakers for when I want to get vertical.

    IMG_0189 (1).jpg
     
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  14. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    Yeah, the RAAL is kind of like those hybrid motorcycle/car 3-wheeled vehicles where you end up with the worst attributes of both car and motorcycle (or speakers and headphones, in this case). Technicalities notwithstanding, you don't get the spatial resolution of a proper speaker soundstage nor the ability to bob your head to music or lay back/lie down with them on.
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2021
  15. Rustin Cohle

    Rustin Cohle FKA jazztherapist

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    FWIW, I'm coming up on a year with the RAAL and it's the first year since being in this hobby that I've actually not looked around seriously at other HPs. And having now added the Lokius, I'm not sure when I will. The RAAL solved a big, unexpected problem for me. I had dreams of a dedicated listening room with our new house and, ultimately, I just couldn't negotiate it. So I was left figuring out how to have a speaker system in a 10x12 home office that didn't produce speaker-level volume. If that is your situation and you're willing to invest, I see no better solution.
     
  16. spartacus

    spartacus New

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    I own and have owned most all of the TOTL HP's including the sr1a...I will not say that the sr1a is the best HP because there is no such thing and everyone hears things differently and has different preferences...that said , I will say that it is the most revolutionary HP product I have ever heard and the only HP that is truly different....it is the most detailed and lifelike presentation I have ever heard and literally takes some time to adjust to..it is truly special
     
  17. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    The Audeze LCD-R has taken the spot of "least problematic" for me. The SR1a is right there and I hope the circumaurual is also a success. At that point, I only need 1 amplifier for all my stereo needs.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Dual Aegir is my preference. The rounder Continuity presentation serves it well. X2 for more oomph. Pass XA25 also really good if don't want to do monoblocks. JotR is a bit relentless.
     
  19. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    more info please! Exciting!

    edit: I found this great video interviewing one of the founders of RAAL about their upcoming circuimaural headphone. It's one of the best interviews with a headphone designer I've ever heard. These guys are really smart. Extremely intelligent people are able to talk about complex things in simple terms, and this guy does that so well. RAAL is my new favorite headphone company. I seriously want one of these headphones. They're really thinking about the acoustics of the new headphone in a deep, intelligent and informed way. I think it's going to sound really good. I've never heard a headphone manufacturer talk about acoustics like this.

    available in October! Max price 2,500$. They're not even assholes on the pricing.
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2021
  20. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    I'll need to keep an eye on this thread for when the circumaurals come out. I'd be very interested in trying them out.

    From my memory, the SR1a still does things better than the LCD-R, but it's not a 1:1 comparo. the SR1a and the LCD-R are the closest I've heard to 'no headphone'. The K1000 is pretty darn good also with the right system, but that's something else also.
     

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