Article: Review | RAAL-requisite SR1a Earfield Headphone Monitor

[MarkS]

Great review and so interesting.  

 

I like headphone and find them a lot of fun.  I also live in an apartment, so headphones are required at times.  I am fortunate to have a bunch of great conventional headphones and a pretty high end headphone amp and dac.  I dont have any electrostats because I dont listen to headphones enough to justify tWo separate headphone systems, but I think the top Stax and latest Mr. Speakers sound incredible with the Blue Hawaii amp (actually prefer this setup to my conventional rig, but do concede the electrostats  are slightly less dynamic and punchy at the bottom end, but magical)

 

When I went to CanJam NYC in February, THE product I wanted to hear was the RAAL’s.  I couldn’t wait and was first in line at the Schiit booth for a demo.  I was totally disappointed.  Frankly, I thought they sounded awful.  I’ve never disagreed with Chris much before.  Maybe these phones just weren’t my cup of tea.  I cant even recall what I listened to, but after a few tracks I left.  I do recall thinking the RAAL’s lacked bass and dynamics and sounded horribly scratchy on top.  I came back later to try again and left after half a track.

 

Maybe I just got a bad demo, bad associated equipment, bad Schiit amps or maybe Chris’ superb setup brings out the magic from the RAAL’s, but to me on the setup at Can Jam NYC, they didn’t do it.  It almost reminded me of the controversial Audeze thread where the reviewer thought the headphones might have been malfunctioning. I did have a buddy with me who agreed with my view.  

 

Based on this review, I now want to give them another shot!!!

[MarkS]

Could definitely be the case.  I wanted to love them too.  I will give them another shot.  Great review!!

[MarkS]

2 hours ago, isquirrel said:

I have a SR1-a and the matching amp the HSA ordered and arriving in the next 2 weeks. My current favourite Headphones are the Abyss Phi TC's driven by a custom MSB Dynamic HP amp, with an MSB Select DAC and the Taiko Extreme. After having read your review and being a Wilson guy myself I cannot wait for them to show up!!

 

I will report on the sound of the matching HSA amp when they arrive. Better start a Thread on this ASAP, thanks Chris.

 

PS Also getting a custom set of DHC (Double Helix Cables) made up for the SR1-a's they need to be the same impedance as the standard cables.

what dac will you be using to feed the HSA amp?

[MarkS]

20 hours ago, KDinsmore said:

Chris!!!!!!!! I just bought Meze Empyrean+Chord Hugo TT2. You're supposed to give me a "heads up".

Dying to experience these. 

Excellent review. Honestly I want to read superlatives if its warranted.

At least you could still use the great Chord TT2 to feed the required amp for the SR-1a.  😉

[MarkS]

Really now more than ever think I need to give these headphones another try.  I seem like the only one who didn’t like them on a short initial listen at CanJam NYC with the Schiit amp using the built in dac.  I wonder if my initial unfavorable impression might have heavily been influenced by the dac inside the Schitt amp???  Maybe the amp is good and the dac is so-so (or worse)??  Has anyone listened to these headphones with the Schitt amp using the built in DAC and/or done a comparison using alternate DACs?  

 

I think my use case would likely involve a Hugo2, but it would be interesting to go balanced into the HSA amp (or rca into the Schitt) using a very high quality dac or a set up using high quality tube amps into the amplifier resistance adjustment box.

 

Does anyone know how a potential buyer can get a demo?  Guess I can just email the company in the first instance unless someone knows a quick source (e.g., The Cable Company??).  Plenty of time to test headphones these days 😂

[MarkS]

16 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Listening to them now as I type this. Using the same APL DSD-SR DAC that I used for much of this review and the Schiit Jotunheim R headphone amp. The Schiit amp I received doesn't have an internal DAC. I can say that the sound is very good and nothing like your experience at CanJam NYC. Sure, it's a bit different without the built-in DAC, but the major difference is likely the environment.

 

I'm going balanced out from the DAC to the JR amp. All powered via 512 Engineering transformer. 

 

Getting a good demo is difficult during normal times, but now you're kind of on your own. Have to hope someone will ship to you and accept the risk of having it turned into B-stock if you don't like it. 

 

As much as we want to listen to flagship headphones, DACs, and amps at an audio show, and get results that mean something outside the show, the environment just isn't like our homes. it leads us to conclusions that may not be valid outside show conditions. 

 

I've long thought that CanJam exhibitors should contract with a soundproof booth company to bring in a bunch of booths to use as listening stations. I've taken a couple hearing tests in these booths over the years at audiologist's offices. They are great and really keep out the noise. There are portable versions as well. not sure if it makes financial sense, but it would certainly lead to great demonstrations of their gear. 

 

I am sure you are correct on the demo.  Incidentally, I did reach a dealer within 1.5 hours of NYC (my home), and can likely demo in a few months (Covid issue) with the Schitt amp, then sometime thereafter with the HSA-1a, which the dealer anticipates ultimately having in store.  I’ve done a lot of reading since your review, and folks who own the HSA-1a speak very favorably about it as exceeding other amps (with and without the impedance box) by a substantial margin.

 

I am also interested in effecting some EQ for low bass and sub bass frequencies, which seems to work with these headphones. Aside from Roon and HQ Player, I am not sure how to do that, which is not ideal for me because I would be using this setup with a transportable rig (Hugo2 and 2Go as source) so no Roon server and no computer to run HQ Player.  Any ideas??

 

Bottom line is that if these things made you like headphones, they must be good 😂