Alright @Torq, enough said about the SR1a, I get it - financial crisis inbound once again! Lol.
Thanks for the very detailed first impressions of this masterpiece (I love the look)…I can’t wait to read the full review. Do you know if headphones.com will carry them?
Most importantly @Torq, what does the wife think about the stylish fashionable looks of the SR1a? 
These are sounding pretty amazing. I hope I get a chance to listen to these at some point in the near future.
I don’t.
I’m not sure if RAAL-requisite are even considering a dealer-model. They’re just sold direct right now. And I’d expect that, unless they planned to go the dealer-route from the beginning, if they did now then the price would go up to accommodate the dealer’s margin.
Her first comment …
“Those are much less ‘Cyberman’ looking than these [points to the Abyss]. It’s more sort of a ‘Borg’ thing now …”
‘Resistance is futile’. This kind of thing springs to mind every time I see headphones and all its related gear.
They better not go the route that will lead to a price increase!
Is the SPL Performer S800 speaker amp on your list of amps to try with the SR1a? I’m thinking about sticking to SPL amps for now (blame it on the Phonitor X) and if or when I acquire the SR1a I would like to drive it with the Performer S800. The spec sheet shows 2x285W into 4 ohms / 2x185W into 8 ohms so it should be more than suitable to drive the SR1a with authority.
I highly doubt they’re going to do anything but sell direct, so I wouldn’t worry about the price.
The SPL Performer s800 was actually the first amplifier I wanted to try with the SR1a. Unfortunately when there was a black s800 in stock in the US I didn’t have the SR1a, and now that I have the headphones, we’re looking at a month of lead time on the s800 (in black at least, but I don’t want silver or red so …).
Though now I’ve heard the SR1a, even with modest amps (so far), and had a little time to think about what they mean to the rest of my headphone collection (and how much smaller that is likely to get now), I may go much further up the speaker-amplifier ladder as a final solution.
Also, it’s interesting to note that the difference in amplifier power seems to have as much, maybe more, of a qualitative effect than a level/drive authority one. The s800 is going to be more than enough juice for them … hell, a single Vidar sounds fantastic with them.
Anyway, we’ll see on timing with the s800. I am not keen on committing to an order for something that’s a month out. If it was on an evaluation basis … where I’d keep it if I liked it and could return it if I didn’t that would be one thing … which would work if they were stock-items, but since it’s a special order that’s different. And I don’t want to saddle the dealer with a multi-thousand dollar amplifier just so I can see if I like it with the SR1a.
I will say that it is unlikely, right now, that the s800 will be featured in my main review and will be probably be something I add here, and as an addendum, just based on timing.
Nice to hear confirmation that a single Vidar works fine. @Zhamming057 mentioned on SBAF the SR1a are noticeably better using two Vidars due to increased headroom. Still not that expensive for amplification but I believe two Vidars running in monoblock mode would require a Freya for balanced input. I have been considering the SR1a but buying a more powerful Nord NC500DM amp. At $1600 the Nord is still less expensive than two Vidars + Freya.
I would imagine imaging/stage improves as well, as the cross-talk numbers should go from -95 dB or so to, essentially, infinite (or at least will be limited only by the pre-amp or source).
You’ll need some kind of pre-amp regardless of what speaker amplifier you choose - though if your source has variable level output then you can skip the pre-amp.
Vidar doesn’t specifically require a Freya for dual-mono operation, it just needs a balanced feed. I’m running mine off an SPL Phonitor X and it works fine, same directly off the RME ADI-2 DAC.
Unless I’m mistaken though, the Nord NC500DM amp is balanced-input only, too, so you’re still going to need a balanced-output pre-amp or a source that has variable level balanced outputs.
Honestly they look like they would slot in nicely in the Mass Effect universe…even the naming convention lol
My mistake since I already have a Saga and Yggy the Nord One MP entry level amps are the ones with switchable XLR/SE input. If I do buy the SR1a I would most likely just try a single Vidar first, add a second and a Freya if needed. If the SR1a really blows my skirts up I would be selling off enough gear to cover the cost. I would rather buy from Schiit than Nord TBH.
The nice thing with the Vidar is that you can have a working system with just one and then upgrade incrementally without having to sell the first one.
Just a single Vidar into the SR1a plays very well - at least relative to other headphones. I still have travel on the volume dial by the time I get to “too loud to stand”, even with tracks that only peak at -9 dB or so. And I like the result better than with the slightly more powerful Parasound (150w into 8Ω, so half as much again as Vidar there, but only 25w more at 4Ω, since the Vidar manages 200w vs. the Parasound 225w).
It’ll be interesting to see what actual changes occur when there’s a large excess of power on tap.
After a morning of particularly exuberant, and bass-heavy, tracks (mostly major pipe-organ pieces, which are often FULL of sub-bass energy) I start to wonder about the Aegir … even in dual mono-mode.
My expectation is that, for things like jazz, pop/rock and most orchestral works, the dual Aegir’s may be all that’s needed, or perhaps even slightly pull ahead of a pair of Vidar. BUT … given how warm it is, and where my volume dial is currently, on a single Vidar (which has more power than a pair of Aegir’s), bass-heavy music, be it EDM, other electronic pieces, darker orchestral pieces, Aegir might not quite be able to “deliver the goods”.
And … I won’t say that a single Vidar isn’t doing a sterling job here … it absolutely is. But my general experience has been that a big excess of power tends to result in more effortless delivery, and will be surprised if that’s not the case here … at least with content that has lots of very-low-frequency energy.
i’ve been experimenting with twin vidars, really enjoying it. i like the aegir sound a little more, but the vidar power makes a significant difference.
I think it’s going to come down to a genre-focus. But I haven’t tried the Aegir in any form, yet - so it is hard to say. But I suspect that consumers of primarily-non-low-end-focused music (e.g. acoustic jazz) are going to gravitate towards Aegir, and anyone with a bent towards more bass-centric pieces are going to need at least one Vidar, maybe more.
That is, of course, without considering any of the nominally “higher end” (which might just mean “more expensive”) options.
that makes perfect sense…
Greetings! Two weeks lurker, first time poster 
Thank you so much @Torq for making me aware of this innovative gem, it had slipped my attention - yet this is exactly what I was looking for for a long time.
Regarding amps: allegedly, Alex developed the SR1a using the Benchmark AHB2, so that would certainly be interesting. Yet Srajan Ebaen in his two recent 6moons reviews had suggested the JOB 225, and having read up on it a fair bit that to me really sounds very attractive - although the supposedly all-neutral/analytic combination of JOB 225 and the new JOB Pre2 with my Meitner MA1 V2 DAC might be a bit too much in the end. Anyway, I‘m traveling until the rest of the month and upon my return will give the SR1a with JOB Pre2 and JOB 225 a try.
Reviews of the JOB 225 certainly seem positive (though I can never really follow quite what 6moons/Srajan is trying to say …). I have to say I’d be a bit concerned about the thermals on it though. It’s about the same size chassis as the Vidar, which means, at best, that heatsink on the back of the thing is 1/4 the size (and with less than 1/4 the available surface areas as far as I can tell) than Vidar’s. Based on a single Vidar into SR1a I would either expect the JOB 225 to run pretty damn hot, or not be biased very far into class A.
Of course, I’d have to try it to know if/how hot it really runs.
Based on a single Vidar into SR1a I would either expect the JOB 225 to run pretty damn hot, or not be biased very far into class A.
Of course, I’d have to try it to know if/how hot it really runs.
Yes, valid point for sure. Will be happy to report on this once I have everything here shortly.
I now have a pair of Vidar in mono-block configuration driving the SR1a.
The first few tracks I’ve run through this configuration are demonstrating better imaging, an increase in bass level and impact/slam and articulation (a very low-level bass-follower rhythm that was hard to make out before is now very audible) and improved mid-range-through-top-end detail vs. the single unit.
The level of apparent treble also seems lower (which is probably just a psychoacoustic reaction to the greater bass level).
I won’t try and estimate “how much” better this is right now, but it is an audible difference. Enough that is has required another adjustment to my bass-lift EQ (bringing that down further, so down about 1.5 dB from where it started).
But I will say that I was more than happy with the performance with a single Vidar, so that would be an absolutely viable, and very compelling, entry point - and still delivers on driving the SR1a in a manner that has a good chunk of my headphone stable looking very worried right now.
Oh, and the volume dial is still a good way around to the right here … past 12:00 … so there’s plenty of travel available even in this over-powered configuration.
More to come after I get some more time on this configuration …
Curiosity finally won me over. I will have sr1a incoming sometime next week or so. As someone who gave up k1000 and sr009 respectively before, I am both excited and concerned now. 