I’m pretty sure I saw @Luckbad in there 
1 Like
You are a devil!!! Well I emailed RAAL Danny some questions I may purchase by end of day…but we will see who wins out (inner f’it all kid or responsible boring adult) no I won’t be going into debt or anything like that just battling the one really big toy vs many smaller cool toys lol…
3 Likes
Thanks for the welcome, happy to come aboard. 
3 Likes
Welcome seller of all things carbon and ribbon
2 Likes
@TylersEclectic Savage4 bought a few things from me and he’s a pleasure to work with (if extremely quickly in churning his gear, lol). Good price too on the SR1a’s.
2 Likes
Awesome! I actually went direct through RAAL, but I will keep your words in mind =) thank you for looking out! I really appreciate it =)
3 Likes
So it is a done deal? You pulled the trigger?
2 Likes
I can neither confirm nor deny my wanton ways
3 Likes
So … just over a month into owning the SR1a … and past the “new toy” aspects of such things … I am more enthused than ever.
It might be all I can do to finish up the pending reviews I have (including for the SR1a) … as every time I sit down to write at home, and put these things on, hours pass, eyes-closed, to a parade of pure music and absolutely sod all else getting done.
All I want to do is sit and listen.
To be fair, Vérité has a similar effect … and they’re a lot easier to use and in more situations. Stellia for close-back needs. Utopia for transportable-open-backs (e.g. on the deck with a DAP, and for the "office). Maybe the LCD-4 or Abyss AB-1266 Phi CC … or maybe not. tia Fourté for portable/travel use.
If the TToby works out with the SR1a I may just pull the trigger on a second pair for the office anyway …
Not perfect, particularly if you can’t build a system around them, though perhaps perfect for me.
Long winded way of saying “the light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train coming in the opposite direction” and “stop the world; it’s time to get off”!
5 Likes
That was me briefly at ~2:15. They sounded great, but I couldn’t do anything resembling informed listening amidst the noise of the show floor so I didn’t stick around for too long (I listened on the souped up system first then swapped over to the Vidar).
2 Likes
looking forward to your thoughts on ttoby, @torq.
1 Like
A very quick, and dirty, picture (largely for provenance, don’t expect anything “arty” for these simple headphones w/ various amplifiers shots* … I’m having a hard enough time remembering to take them in the first place) … of the SR1a with Vidar’s in dual-mono configuration …
*Trying to arrange interesting pictures, when dealing with 40+ lbs of metal, is a lot less compelling than simple headphone-shots!
8 Likes
I can see you putting together a mobile EDC pack for your SR1a’s. Nice backpack with a frame. Wet Cells are too heavy, probably 4 of the 80v Max batteries for yard equipment. 2.5 amp hours of power each. The obvious power would be class D for weight, but if that’s too pedestrian, you could probably fit some solid state AB amp and a computer fan or two for cooling. Cables can be anchored to belt loops.
Please send a picture as soon as possible. You may need an associate to help carry the photographic equipment.
7 Likes
Plus one on the SR1a perfection (for me as well).
2 Likes
This is my current desktop setup
Waiting for the Benchmark HPA4 to arrive, to replace the Schiit Freya S, then the combo will move to the rack of course.
The SR1a arrived last Thursday, so I’m three days into this extraordinary experience. And still struggling.
At first I was quite underwhelmed, when listening to some material currently in my rotation, thinking “come on, what’s all that hype about, they don’t sound that different really”. Then it slowly dawned on me, and I’m still on the journey.
Because that’s it for me, a journey. Or rather a rollercoaster, at times. The SR1a don’t sound natural to me, whenever I restart listening after a break or so. I always need quite some time to adjust to their very special way of presentation. I guess I’m just not yet used to such a dynamic, explosive presentation so close, at such a small distance in front of my eardrums? My ears still have the tendency to shut off or close, somehow, that’s how it feels, and more so with increasing volume. When I manage to listen attentively, really “into” the soundwaves coming at me, I can identify and follow the finest detail, all amazingly separated across the soundstage, but it is work for me and requires attention, at the moment.
But the longer I listen in every session, the more I “get” it, and the more I’m drawn into it. And that’s a very interesting experience that I didn’t expect - with the HD800S it was exactly the other way round, from the very start everything sounded clear and transparent and smooth and precious, but more and more into every listening session things started to sound wrong, distorted, muffled too, so I never passed the 2hr mark - with the SR1a it seems to be the other way round, starting into a listening session I need to get used to the presentation, but things more and more sound right, and yesterday evening I had to force myself away after 4hrs. Yet this morning I again started with “ouch, that’s all wrong!”… Habits, I guess.
I generally have issues with really complex material, also following a low-volume conversation in a noisy room with many people talking for instance, so that certainly doesn’t help me here. On the other hand, yesterday evening I did a session listening to classical piano solo, and that was truly breathtaking and heartwarming in its beauty, clarity, and both wide and deep and extremely transparent presentation.
Well, where I’m standing now I guess the SR1a will not be my end game cans, but rather the go-tos for most transparent, detailed, dynamic reproduction when I’m awake and energetic and ready to go for it. Yet there are many times where I just want to sink effortlessly and pleasantly into a cozy, intimate flow of sweet and shimmering musical beauty, and I’d rather reach for Verites or the new Rossons or something similar then. The HD800S will probably have to go though as the SR1a are taking their place.
By the way, I didn’t like the Vidar, too much bass with too little precision, and overall less transparency and detail I feel. I wanted a lot to like the AHB2 anyway, so probably some positive bias going on here
So that’s just a brief recap of my impressions so far if you don’t mind, the journey as always continues, and I’m all ears so to speak.
11 Likes
Congrat! and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
To me it makes great sense that SR1a took HD800S’ place. If I categorize headphones into several clusters, those two would be in the same group, probably along with something like Utopia. I consider all those ‘treble-heavy’ – some may disagree.
By the way, after my initial audition of AHB2, I heard it a couple of times more (one side-by-side comparison with vidar included), and concluded it might be the last amp I want to use in the house. While it certainly has more transparency, it came in an uninviting way – I perceived loss of information: tone richness, spatial cues, subtle nuances, and microdynamics lost. Maybe (also more likely) AHB2 is just honest and Vidar fakes certain things, as my experience resembles the presence of anti-aliasing option in video gaming.
I am ready to stretch to more expensive amps (within 4k usd budget…), but keep feeling disappointed at in-production high power SS class ABs. I want something magical like my Ravenswood does to Verite, but now I begin to doubt such plausibility.
5 Likes
Very nice. 
2 Likes
You should definitely consider trying the SPL Performer s800. I’m getting a second one to run as monoblocks in bridge mode for both the SR1a and my tower speakers.
2 Likes
I had decided to wait for SR2a which may work well with tube amplifier under 100 watts.
Although I have three excellent tube amplifiers, I am not sure they will work well with SR1a.
One 300B SET 8W, the other 805 SET 48W, the last one KT120 Pushpull 100W which may work marginally with SR1a.
I just learned from a SPL rep that the Performer s800 can’t be run in bridge mode into 4 Ohm speakers, only 8 Ohm.
Hi Marlon, please read the information at the back site of the Performer. The minimum load in bridge mode is 8 Ohm. Please do not use 4 Ohm speakers in bridge mode. This may destroy the amp. Please have a look at the Performer m1000 this device is made for impedances down to 2 Ohm
Bridge mode will only be used for the speakers.