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

Quick question Marv; when you mention Saga here do you mean the OG Saga or one of the new Thunderdome Sagas?

Ooh if only we could get our hands on one for loaner.....

 

The Class AB stuff won't run hot.

OG Saga. I haven't heard the newer Sagas.

 

The K1000 have a midbass bump, and then suddenly takes a huge dump so there is basically nothing under 80Hz. If we think we are hearing stuff below 80Hz, it's the second and third harmonics. The Requisite SR1a in contrast has flatter lows with a slow roll-off below 100Hz, usable to 30Hz, where it then takes a dump, and even then, the dump isn't all that steep.

Requisite did something quite ingenious here. Unlike the K1000 speakers which are fully suspended in front of the ears with a space on either side of the driver, the SR1a rests the inner side of the baffle with a strip of foam against the side of the face, thereby increasing effective baffle width, thus extending the bass response.

I thought about a sub, but after light EQ -2.5db on 1.8kHz and -3.5db at 7kHz, I realized that I didn't need one. (Another alternative might be to use a +3b shelf below 1.5kHz.) It's all relative between highs and lows. After this EQ, I didn't feel the SR1a was bass light or bright at all. And to be honest, it's only on modern brightly mastered recordings where I feel this EQ is necessary.

The bass is solid. That third bass note on Daft Punk's Doin' It Right at 37Hz is clearly audible. I have no plans for a sub. However, the bass does have slow roll-off akin to acoustic suspension speaker designs; and any punchiness has more the result of its transient response rather than midbass boost. So if you are a basshead, or are love the sound of DD IEMs with massive forceful fuzzy bass, or want to crank up Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back, then the SR1a won't do it for you. I will say that at moderate-loud volumes, the SR1a is capable of breaking out all the low notes in Baby Got Back without a sweat. Nice, punchy, sustained. Albeit a decibel or two lower than it should be. Bottom line is that I cannot say that I am dissatisfied with the bass extension and volume.

Think of this way: SR1a has more extended bass than the HD650, less bass in terms of volume, and higher quality bass. Also, the K1000 driver can't touch the SR1a. The Sony MA900, another headphone suspended drivers (semi-suspended), has no deep bass and lacks tactility compared to the SR1a.

 

I know getting accurate bass measurements for the SR1a may be difficult, but your latest EARS measurements for the SR1a, HD600/650, etc. seem to suggest the HD650 would be better extended. Granted, I think we all know how the HD650 can mask any good bass traits with the mid-bass bloat, relatively high distortion, and not-incredibly-fast driver response in that area.

Did you happen to gather distortion and CSD results for the SR1a? Curious if they might flesh out the story.

 

I'll crank those measurements out in a bit. In the meantime, I really want to emphasize how EQ does wonders here, more than any other headphone. I've tended to shy away from EQ with headphones because it just never seemed to work totally right. It would fix some things, but still not be able to fix strange timbre, etc. I surmise the reasons for this are as follows: 1) already smooth frequency response of SR1a; 2) no internal cup reflections which cause artifacts or variances because of positioning.

What I've found that any kind of weirdness (bass light, thin, scratchy, bright, etc.) including weirdness in timbre, completely goes away with minor EQ correction. This allows a greater latitude of amplification, so it's not necessary to use amps that sound laid-back, tube-like, or mellow in the highs.

No EQ
RTA - EARS with SBAF compensation


Here are the EQ settings I used:

1700Hz -3db Q=1.5
7000Hz -4db Q=1.5
We could probably be more aggressive and use Q=1.2, but I prefer a light touch.

EQ applied
RTA - EARS with SBAF compensation


Moral of the story: Don't be afraid to use EQ. It's free if you use computer-based audio. It's much easier this way rather than finding the right "synergic" amp, preamp, or source.

 

Note: The driver is hitting excursion limits below 30Hz. This is one done at the usual levels ~100db.
The SR1a does not like to be driven loud. Note that the distortion is mostly 3rd order.


Here is a measurement at SPL 10db lower than above.

 

CSD Topview


CSD


NOTE: no cup or earpad interactions. We do get some low level "ripples" which are common to planar type drivers.

 

Burst Responses

Elex 50Hz


LCD3 50Hz


SR1a 50Hz


--


Elex 120Hz


LCD3


SR1a 120Hz

 

Elex 1.5kHz


LCD3 1.5kHz


SR1a 1.5kHz