RAAL-requisite SR1a - Earfield™ Monitor/Headphone - Official Thread

In case you didn’t follow the link (or see the wink emoji), my reply was meant to be somewhat humorous.
I’ll leave it up to you (and others) to determine whether it actually was.

But as you mentioned it, I honestly didn’t pick up on your offer to make switch boxes for others.

I suppose that’s why I found the comment somewhat humorous, considering the cost of most the gear under discussion in your posts :wink:

BTW I enjoy reading your impressions. Whether I can afford the gear or not is irrelevant.
I was fascinated by and loved the K1000 years ago and am happy to see that implementing the concept of “ear-speakers” hasn’t been abandoned. And also, that it had been implemented so well with this new generation of the tech.
I couldn’t afford the K1000 either but the K340 (which I did buy) was also great when properly amped. And I imagine a similar dual driver “electret” headphone would also cost a fortune today.

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I got the humor, and appreciated it!

I just realized I may have been too subtle in my implication that I could he persuaded to built such boxes for other.

I do like the K1000 … but I came to do so a good while after they were discontinued. And most of the used units I’ve come across for sale have either had issues, or comedy-pricing. If I ever found one that was the right mix of version, condition, and price, I’d snag it.

I’m also interested in the spiritual successors, the MySphere 3.X. Enough so that I paid to get a demo set … which I am now waiting on, as it might be a good can-run-off-a-conventional-source complement to the SR1a.

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I really like how Vidar improved SR1a experience (over JLH).

Indeed the amp difference isn’t that big. Bass difference is huge, but in other region, it’s almost on par or give & take. Perceived gain includes a tad more details, grunts, and perhaps slightly better transients.

But again, SR1a bass now got really, really improved.

Listening to Beyonce’s Partition, with Vidar, synth bass movements at the intro sound very articulated and well-defined. Both frequency-wise and amplitude-wise changes are heard so vividly. With JLH, it isn’t that bad… but roll-off at sub bass starts earlier AND steeper.

Now it’s interesting to hear how this specific track sounds differently between SR1a, Verite, and Auteur – I like all their bass reproductions for different reasons respectively.

  • SR1a: as described, every step of movement is clearly defined and texture is presented in a somewhat analytical and clinical way.
  • Verite: one or a couple of ticks behind SR1a, but frequency transition feels smoother and coherent without being overly blurred. It’s more like anti-aliasing filter applied.
  • Auteur: auteur sounds different from the other two. Each note pretends to have its own weight and unique texture (although it was indeed synthesized and tweaked tone). Obvious coloration but in a very tasteful way. Downside is it sounds the most blurred among these three (not dull by any means).
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Woo had them in their listening area…and a couple young kids (early 20’s) had them around their knecks roaming around. Looked interesting but I didn’t get a chance to hear them… actually just didn’t want to at a convention… Lol

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It would certainly be nice if there was more opportunity to hear these great headsets.

Especially here in Canada, where there is a relatively sparse population, headphone meets are few and far between (if they happen at all within a reasonable distance).

And with our dollar worth 75 US cents (if that) for some time now, it technically puts buying TOTL products out of reach for yet another 25% of the population.

Although, if one can afford $7000 for a headphone set up, you’re probably already not the average person with a regular job, a family and limited funds to explore/own such luxuries.

Hearing them, just to experience what’s been achieved, would be a huge treat in itself. It could also possibly be an indicator of what might “trickle down” to the “man on the street” over the years; as has happened with much other technology over recent years/decades.

With many things, the more people who can experience something = more interest = more sales = higher volume = lower cost.
It takes time, but these days it seems to take much less time for tech to move forward. It appears to also often move down in price more quickly (in some cases) so the general population can enjoy it, as new tech becomes available in brand new TOTL products (or in some cases FOTM gear ).

I guess time will tell if too many manufacturers of certain products (and too few with others) will keep the prices too high on most products even approaching TOTL .

Incredible performance from AVRs has certainly become available to more of the general public, due largely to the sheer volume of sales and very fast implementation/adoption of new technology.

With headphones now so ubiquitous, one would hope that a desire by more of the population for better SQ would begin to bring some of this outstanding technology down to a more affordable level.
After all, it’s easy to bling something out enough so that the uber-wealthy can keep their status and bragging rights intact :wink:
Just considering the SQ of many mainstream audio components in the 70s-80s makes me think it’s not an unreasonable hope to have going forward.

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@MrCypruz If you are going to compare the SR1a’s to other headphones, the obvious first-best solution is to compare them using the same stack, with an amp that is capable of superbly driving everything from loads of 100mw to 100w. This is difficult but do-able. The best amps that I have found for this job are the Nagra Classic INT and the Accuphase E470, two super-clean integrated amplifiers with good power reserve, but is also capable of delivering with cans as sensitive as the Utopia and HD800S with good results. Specific to the Susvara and the Abyss Phi (which I own and drive with the INT) and the Phi TC, technical performance isn’t much of a contest outside of bass quantity and performance with suboptimal recordings.

The SR1a’s simply scale up better with high-level sources. Now, there are certainly things that one might prefer in a Utopia/WA33e setup or a TC/Egoista combo over a SR1a/Nagra INT combo - and tube synergy with the SR1a’s is either very expensive or very particular to genre. But the point is that yes, you can indeed have it all - at least regarding bass texture, speed, detail, imaging, staging and dynamic range - even compared to dynamics/planars being driven to the highest levels, provided that you’re willing to pay to play and invest in amps that are on the part of the performance curve that the SR1a’s can still scale up at.

With Electrostats there are no amps that allow for a direct comparison, and a second-best option might be to look at systems that match pricing. A directly price-matched competitor to the Mjolnir KGHSSV Carbon+009 combo would be something like the AHB2+SR1a, or a Pass INT150 against a BHSE. Here there’s a lot to like on both sides. The SR1a easily wins on staging, imaging and bass speed and texture, while a well-sorted 009 setup has better density, intimacy and probably more refined upper-mid presentation compared to the unmoderated sharpness and sweeping dynamics of the SR1a’s. A benefit of the 009 is that its top tier amp pairings are mostly tube-based while it’s pretty difficult to find a great sub-$10k tube amp for the SR1a’s.

Finally, at the budget level - comparing the Vidar to, for example, a IESL for the 009 or a WA3 for the Utopia, and the amp’s flaws are going to show up much more readily from the SR1a. The staging and imaging are going to suffer the least, but I think that you can drive a 009 or HD800s with $500 and, on the whole, possibly have a more well-rounded setup than anything would do for the SR1a at that range.

Ultimately, if you care a lot about speed, staging and resolution, the SR1a is a great choice regardless of how much money you put into amping it. The other aspects of performance are going to depend very heavily on the robustness of the amp. You can run it on a budget setup, but the urge to upgrade is going to be pretty strong :slight_smile:

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Here is what RAAL had at their booth… they tiered it entry to top left to right… @Torq requested it I recall…anyhow I’m crashing long day, landed back in Seattle @1030pm home @1115…the deep beckons :wink:

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@Torq I have a very early production copy of the Mysphere 3.2. I was involved with Heinz Renner pretty early on in the R&D cycle and helped him out a bit when he was trying to find Asian dealers. Having spent years trying to perfect a K1000 solution, I was pretty thrilled about the Mysphere and it doesn’t disappoint. Technically it’s not as accomplished as the SR1a but it far exceeds the K1000 in resolution, and accuracy of staging. The 3.2 can handle a bit of power - I use it at home with the same system I run the SR1a’s on - but will also pair quite well with amps as weak as the WA11. They work well with clean and neutral solid states, and since you already have the Linn I’d recommend trying the 3.2 straight out of the taps of the Linn.

Relatively speaking, the 3.1 is the more innovative product to me - a pair of ear-mounted speakers efficient enough to be driven directly from the SP1000 or WM1Z. As a “portable” can the 3.1 is an absolutely huge step up in staging and midrange performance from cans such as the Empyrean and Focal Stellia. With the K1000 you always had to live a dangerous life - the recommend minimum amp power rating is 8wpc, and yet you can quite easily blow the drivers with less than 2w loaded. The 3.1 will run pretty happily on a handful of mw’s which is still pretty amazing to me.

I should mention that the Mysphere’s have a strange pairing guideline (3.2 for solid states and OTL’s, 3.1 for portables and SET amps) which is actually quite true. Woo doesn’t even try to explain it at the booth, but the 3.1 is the “right” pairing for the WA8, WA22 and WA33 while the 3.2 pairs best with the WA11 and WA3.

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Thanks for sharing your experience with SR1a vs other TOTL cans within the guidelines of my statement. I won’t be able to do direct comparisons from the same exact audio chain but I’ve what I consider a decent chain for Dynamic and Planar cans (Phonitor X is the amp), Electrostats (KGSSHV Carbon) and will have a Vidar (and possibly the SPL Performer s800) driving the SR1a. I believe that I should be able to get a pretty decent picture of the SR1a performance in comparison to my other TOTL cans (Stax 009S, Utopia, Empyrean).
Susvara has been on my list for quite some time but it was scratched off mainly due to the build quality of the product - I don’t buy that “because it sounds good” rhetoric when it comes to high-end products…it’s like installing a fine Ferrari engine in a Toyota Prius and charging the full fledged Ferrari price.

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Wait. I don’t think SR1a is that different from Susvara in terms of build quality… SR1a doesn’t feel like luxurious… it looks and feels like a a little expensive plastic toy. This does NOT reach to any your belongings, not even close. Note that the other two owners above had an extreme photographing ability.

Now I see you’re a Stax owner. So let me put this way. BQ of SR1a is only marginally better than Stax Lambda. Don’t expect SR-007 or 009 quality.

Thanks for the heads up. That’s awful news because I actually dig the SR1a design but if it feels really plasticky like the Lambdas then that could be a deal breaker for me…the SR1a is the only reason for getting into speaker amps at the moment and I’m not willing to plunge a lot of Benjamins just because “it sounds good”. We will see…

I would assume that even though they might feel plasticky and cheap, their durability was not compromised having their purpose in mind - studio music production. As a former amateur drummer and bass guitar player, I’ve seen a lot of audio gear (specially headphones and iems) being thrown to tables and occasionally to the floor so I would expect that RAAL-requisite did their homework when designing the SR1a. If not, shame on them.
The Susvara feel and are in fact of cheap build quality similarly to the Stax Lambda Series…the headbands/frames of those headphones can just snap on you while taking them off regardless if you baby or abuse them - they’re simply poorly built (intentionally???).

No. It’s not like REAL field mixing headphones like Sony 7506 or Sennheiser HD280, which both are really rock-solid durable.

SR1a might be considered durable in that core parts (ribbon, headband, etc) seem replaceable. Don’t regard SR1a dropping-free or throwing-free like the two I mentioned.

Hifiman vs Raal in terms of headband and frame could be controversial. Tradeoff between adjustability versus snapping operations. Note that SR1a has only TWO levels of adjustments… Anyway both are sub-par in my book.

The large majority of all music ever recorded was produced with older, cheaper, and less technical equipment. Many landmark audio decisions were made with HD-600s, a range of modest studio monitors, and other equipment that’s now quite cheap. Yes, most of those with $7,000 to spend on luxury items would not choose headphones (or even an absolutely great home speaker setup).

The price of the SR1a likely follows from:

  • New kid on the block in a small market without competitors 50%
  • R&D costs 25%
  • Use of low-volume components and hand assembly 10%

If they can be reverse engineered and copied, expect something much cheaper from China within 2 years…release prices are often wildly inflated.

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I’d be careful here … too much potential misinterpretation of terms and how they’re used. You’ve got different areas that could all be reasonably interpreted as “build quality”.

Is the SR1 luxurious in its build and finish?

No.

You don’t have the beautifully finished full-grain leather, sumptuous, rich, lamb-skin pads, bead-blasted metals and aesthetic design of something like the Focal Utopia or Stellia. Nor do you have the hand-figured, polished and chosen woods, with rich stains, coupled to more bead-blasted metals, and soft supple leathers you get with a ZMF product.

Is it durable?

Hard to say without actual data, but while it feels somewhat insubstantial I think this is primarily due to the very flexible skeletal-spring-steel, headband, I think you’d be very hard pressed to get anything to fail or break on it, short of poking things into the drivers or otherwise deliberately trying to cause a failure.

The whole build is carbon fiber, metal and leather. Spring steel is incredibly resilient (no way it’ll deform or break in an impact unless it was hard enough to shatter everything else first … you’d literally have to throw it hard against a wall), the carbon fiber is far more substantial than it needs to be, the covers on the ribbons look thin but they don’t flex when you press on them very firmly.

It’s built and feels more like a high-tech tool than a luxury consumer product.

It’s built to do a job, at length, without issue, and be user-fixable in the event you manage to manhandle it to death or something wears out. Materials are totally up to par for this role in my opinion.

If the headband were more conventional and rigid it’ll give off a different, if still tool-like, impression in terms of the build. But it’s flexible and spring by design.

The biggest executional weakness is in how, and how much, they can be adjusted. That’ll be a big problem for some, and a non-issue for others.

The HiFiMAN stuff looks better finished, but is far less substantial and has a history of “interesting” materials choices and assembly, and poor initial QC. HiFiMAN remain the only brand where I’ve seen headbands/yokes simply snap when someone was putting them on, and that’s just one issue I’ve experienced directly.

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I should add …

Since you’ve got a pair coming to you, you can assess them directly yourself. Which is the best way to make these determinations. Both in terms of fit, finish, build, ergonomics and, of course, sound.

As with all things, they’re not going to be everything to everyone. Hell, they may not be everything to anyone. They’re certainly not perfect. They’ll work better for some than others. Which is no different than any other product - only actual hands/ears-on experience can really tell you what you need to know.

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My expectations are aligned with your description and evaluation of the SR1a build quality - a tool to get the job done instead of a luxury item.

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Wholeheartedly agreed. This is a very unusual products best serving for unusual people. For average or traditional audio consumers (myself included), fit may vary. Even within the same person, mixed evaluation across criterion could be possible.

Anyway insightful durability analysis! My view changed a bit.
Still I am just a chicken-heart so that I pay as much careful attention as possible in handling this headphone. :wink:

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It sounds like the 3.1 would be what I’d need then, since it would be driven primarily from either my DAPs, Hugo 2 or my Woo WA234 Mk2 MONO, and maybe out of my DAVE. The demo kit, as I’m sure you know, is done so I can try both.

At this point I’m really looking at the MySphere as a way to get some of the traits of the SR1a in a package I can use away from speaker amps.

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After listening to @Torq SR1a and handling the ones at CanJam, they remind me build quality wise, of a race car and less a sports car…think F1 vs a luxury sports car, extreme example but point made.

The mysphere seems to be the more Everyman version, I would be interested in a comparison of it to the SR1a in more detail…it looked at least with my time holding the mysphere that it was more in line with the sports car saloon car quality…I probably should have given them a listen but by the time I found them at a listening station I was back on dad duty and really didn’t have time, nor did I feel like putting them on at the time (I can be weird about that sort of thing at times, especially if I saw the previous wearer, or if I’m feeling particularly sweaty lol).

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