Article: Taking the RAAL-requisite SR1a Headphones To Another Level

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[mitchco]

Thanks Chris, that was a lot of fun!

 

The website will take a bit of time to get setup. In the meantime, people can contact me at [email protected] and purchase the RAAL requisite convolution filters for US $250.00 via PayPal. Each filterset includes sample rates from 44.1 kHz to 384 kHz as stereo .wav files. As Chris described, there are 3 filtersets in this package. One neutral, one with bass extension and one with both bass and treble extension.

 

Kind regards,

Mitch

 

[AudioDoctor]

So Mitch... When can I send you my Susvara to measure?  

[mitchco]

Hi @AudioDoctor please send an email to [email protected] and we can work out the logistics.

 

Kind regards,

Mitch

[The Computer Audiophile]

37 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

So Mitch... When can I send you my Susvara to measure?  

 

1 minute ago, mitchco said:

Hi @AudioDoctor please send an email to [email protected] and we can work out the logistics.

 

Kind regards,

Mitch

 

This is getting good already :~)

[AudioDoctor]

36 minutes ago, mitchco said:

Hi @AudioDoctor please send an email to [email protected] and we can work out the logistics.

 

Kind regards,

Mitch

 

I will, but we have to make them sound better than Chris's RAALs...  ;-)

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, AudioDoctor said:

 

I will, but we have to make them sound better than Chris's RAALs...  ;-)

Ha! Not possible!

 

:~)

[ted_b]

I don’t understand enough about the filters and HQP to understand why separate ones for each sample rate, etc. 

[yyz]

I also asked Mitch to create some filters for the SR1a, just for fun. I have a perfect setup right now. However, I am very happy these filters were done. 

 

I am a huge fan of the SR1a. I have now got almost all the gear in place for my SR1a system. Over the past 6+ months the following was used with the SR1a trying to get them to sound perfect. I tried each for about 1 week or more

 

- RAAL HSA-1b amp | AudioMirror Tubadour III SE tube DAC (AMT3SE) =  I was only able to use RCA wire and not XLR  [9/10]

- Benchmark AHB2 x2 | Benchmark HPA4 preamp  | Benchmark DAC3B  = 7/10

- Benchmark AHB2 x2 | Benchmark HPA4 preamp  | AMT3SE  = 7.5/10

- CODA CSiB integrated | AMT3SE = 9.5/10

- KRELL K-300i integrated  | AMT3SE = the most bass, smooth 9.5/10

- CODA 07x preamp | D-Sonic M3a 800s (400 watts) | AMT3SE = 8.5/10

- CODA 07x preamp | Benchmark AHB2 | Gustard X26 Pro DAC = 9/10

- CODA 07x preamp | Benchmark AHB2 | AMT3SE | Audience Conductor SE speaker cables = 9.5/10

- CODA 07x preamp | Benchmark AHB2 | AMT3SE | Audience  FrontRow speaker cables with SpeakON termination = 10/10

 

I am going to replace the AHB2 on the 10/10 setup because I need the amp for a mono setup in another room. I am looking to get a VTV Purifi amp and get it modified to sound as close to the AHB2 (much cheaper and curious).

 

The CODA 07x preamp has dual XLR outputs so that makes it a breeze to have a dedicated amp for the SR1a and also 1 for my floor standers.

 

My best DAC is the Gustard X26 Pro but the AMT3SE tube DAC is the best on the SR1a.

 

My streaming is done from a Ubiquiti Network Switch to a Sonore OpticalRendu (2 of them) with LPS.

[Jean Paul D]

"Rather than using a handful of parametric eq’s (PEQ) that don’t adequately smooth the response, I prefer the high-resolution approach of making a large number of small adjustments in the frequency domain" : is it correct then to conclude that your eQ (mainly between 4 K and 20K Hz here) is made of a large number of NARROW Qs PEQ ? And how narrow (> 10? even larger ( narrower) numbers? do you advocate using when correcting headphones? loudspeakers?

[PeterG]

Thanks, Chris; and CONGRATULATIONS, MITCH!

 

I hope that someday you are able to develop a hardware solution to enable your software on systems that are not open access PC-based.  (I use a Naim Uniti Core, just for example, and there are many others)  Perhaps this would sit between the source and the pre-amp?

[Hiker]

This is all so new to me and so fascinating , I can’t yet wrap my head around this technology,,.Reading other topics here on this great site I’m starting to wonder if I should of spent $9000.00 on a server , ripped CDs sound darn good even better from memory of a EMM Labs sacd player I had though I don’t stream any of my music yet I find other comments by seemingly completely sane people of the Pi2aes streamer incredible ...

 

To this topic here , comments like , I sit across from a $100,000 plus audio system while listening to RAAL headphones , the headphones literally change the game , even though I am self confessed technically disabled I’ll have look into all of this ,

 

 

 

[yyz]

26 minutes ago, Hiker said:

This is all so new to me and so fascinating , I can’t yet wrap my head around this technology,,.Reading other topics here on this great site I’m starting to wonder if I should of spent $9000.00 on a server , ripped CDs sound darn good even better from memory of a EMM Labs sacd player I had though I don’t stream any of my music yet I find other comments by seemingly completely sane people of the Pi2aes streamer incredible ...

 

To this topic here , comments like , I sit across from a $100,000 plus audio system while listening to RAAL headphones , the headphones literally change the game , even though I am self confessed technically disabled I’ll have look into all of this ,

 

 

 

Before you spend a ton of money on a server try using fibre optical to stream (maybe you do?). I believe the benefits of the expensive server are also provided by the much cheaper fibre. I do not have an expensive server (a cheap DELL server is what I use) so what do I know other than the stream sounds incredible. It did not before I started using fibre.

[Hiker]

This is the thing I don’t stream , I have access to a huge music library and it’s free . Perhaps someday I will stream ...

[mitchco]

15 hours ago, ted_b said:

I don’t understand enough about the filters and HQP to understand why separate ones for each sample rate, etc. 

 

Hi Ted, when the source sample rate changes, the convolver would automatically load the filter with the matching sample rate. This is the traditional approach. But if using a resampler, than most folks will choose the highest sample rate filter and leave it at that.

[yyz]

"What about those who own other headphones? This is where it gets very interesting and the future looks very bright. Accurate Sound can measure almost any type of headphone once, and have the filters available for all consumers with those headphones. I know I sound like the master of the obvious, but I'll just restate that once a headphone is measured, everyone with that headphone can benefit from the filter. There is no room or listening space to measure as there is with our main audio systems. "

 

With my Meze Empy headphones there are 2 sets of pads that came with it, leather and some other material. They sound different, especially in the bass region.

[The Computer Audiophile]

26 minutes ago, yyz said:

"What about those who own other headphones? This is where it gets very interesting and the future looks very bright. Accurate Sound can measure almost any type of headphone once, and have the filters available for all consumers with those headphones. I know I sound like the master of the obvious, but I'll just restate that once a headphone is measured, everyone with that headphone can benefit from the filter. There is no room or listening space to measure as there is with our main audio systems. "

 

With my Meze Empy headphones there are 2 sets of pads that came with it, leather and some other material. They sound different, especially in the bass region.

That’s essentially two different headphones because a major part is different. 

[ted_b]

1 hour ago, mitchco said:

 

Hi Ted, when the source sample rate changes, the convolver would automatically load the filter with the matching sample rate. This is the traditional approach. But if using a resampler, than most folks will choose the highest sample rate filter and leave it at that.

Thanks.  So, if I upsample in HQPlayer to, say, 16fs (768k) or 32fs (1.5Mhz) I would load the 352k convolution files, regardless of my source (anything redbook to DXD)?  I guess I'll ask Jussi about upsampling DSD (say DSD64 to DSD256) and whether I can take advantage of the convolver'd sound there....thx

[austinpop]

3 hours ago, ted_b said:

Thanks.  So, if I upsample in HQPlayer to, say, 16fs (768k) or 32fs (1.5Mhz) I would load the 352k convolution files, regardless of my source (anything redbook to DXD)?  I guess I'll ask Jussi about upsampling DSD (say DSD64 to DSD256) and whether I can take advantage of the convolver'd sound there....thx

Please do, and also do we need a 384k filter for the 48k rate family?

[bbosler]

Quote

Sources for this system include Roon, Audirvana Studio, and HQPlayer 

 

Chris, so related to the last few comments....  how are you implementing the convolution? As I understand it, Roon and HQP do it differently. With Roon you use a zip file that has a stereo file for each of the source rates you use and Roon selects the proper one for the file you are playing. . With HQP you have a mono file for each channel at or above the highest rate you use  I don't know about Audirvana.  HQP does do convolution and upsampling of DSD, and unlike Roon does not convert DSD to PCM to do it then back to DSD. Again, as I understand it from correspondence I've had with Jussi. I'm sure he could explain it better. 

[Confused]

With speakers, the "preferred" in room frequency response curve would drop by maybe -10dB from 20Hz to 20kHz. 

 

The correction for the RAAL's is ruler flat, which is incredibly impressive I have to say, but is this at odds with the above?

 

I'm not sure if I have missed something here?

[The Computer Audiophile]

8 hours ago, bbosler said:

 

Chris, so related to the last few comments....  how are you implementing the convolution? As I understand it, Roon and HQP do it differently. With Roon you use a zip file that has a stereo file for each of the source rates you use and Roon selects the proper one for the file you are playing. . With HQP you have a mono file for each channel at or above the highest rate you use  I don't know about Audirvana.  HQP does do convolution and upsampling of DSD, and unlike Roon does not convert DSD to PCM to do it then back to DSD. Again, as I understand it from correspondence I've had with Jussi. I'm sure he could explain it better. 

It depends on how I’m listening. 
 

Audirvana with Hang Loose Convolver accepts a zip file with all sample rates, as does Roon. HQP accepts a single filter at whatever rate one wants, in my case 352.8 kHz. 

[bbosler]

2 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

HQP accepts a single filter at whatever rate one wants, in my case 352.8 kHz. 

If I understand your statement you are saying you need to use a filter at the rate you are up-sampling to, which is incorrect. . yes, HQP only accepts a single mono filter for each channel... but according to Jussi, HQP applies convolution at the source rate, not the up-sample rate, so you only need to pick a filter at or above the highest source rate you will be using. 

 

I asked him about this when I had a DAVE. I was using HQP to up-sample to 16fs so was concerned that the Audiolense filters could only go up to 384. His response about using a 384 filter was

 

 Yes, that is fine. Output rate doesn't matter, convolution is performed at the source rate. Except DSD -> PCM case where it is performed at  1/16th of DSD rate.

 

The other part of that is HQP does not use a single stereo file. If you only have a stereo file you need to use a program like Audacity to split it into L-R mono tracks

[The Computer Audiophile]

28 minutes ago, bbosler said:

If I understand your statement you are saying you need to use a filter at the rate you are up-sampling to, which is incorrect. . yes, HQP only accepts a single mono filter for each channel... but according to Jussi, HQP applies convolution at the source rate, not the up-sample rate, so you only need to pick a filter at or above the highest source rate you will be using. 

 

I asked him about this when I had a DAVE. I was using HQP to up-sample to 16fs so was concerned that the Audiolense filters could only go up to 384. His response about using a 384 filter was

 

 Yes, that is fine. Output rate doesn't matter, convolution is performed at the source rate. Except DSD -> PCM case where it is performed at  1/16th of DSD rate.

 

The other part of that is HQP does not use a single stereo file. If you only have a stereo file you need to use a program like Audacity to split it into L-R mono tracks

That’s not what I said. 
 

I supply a 352 kHz filter because it’s the highest rate I have for filters. When using HQP I upsample to 32fs. 

[PeterG]

On 6/4/2021 at 11:06 AM, Hiker said:

This is all so new to me and so fascinating , I can’t yet wrap my head around this technology,,.Reading other topics here on this great site I’m starting to wonder if I should of spent $9000.00 on a server , ripped CDs sound darn good even better from memory of a EMM Labs sacd player I had though I don’t stream any of my music yet I find other comments by seemingly completely sane people of the Pi2aes streamer incredible ...

 

To this topic here , comments like , I sit across from a $100,000 plus audio system while listening to RAAL headphones , the headphones literally change the game , even though I am self confessed technically disabled I’ll have look into all of this ,

 

 

 

Don't be too hard on yourself, you've put your finger on two big issues here that are easily addressed without technical expertise:

 

On streaming vs ripped CDs--your $9000 server likely sounds better than any streaming source.  Streaming is super convenient, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone assert it sounds as good as ripped CDs on a purpose-built server.  I have "failed" several times in attempts to add streaming at equivalent sound quality.

 

Headphones are an extraordinarily efficient use of audiophile funds, assuming you accept that they are not speakers.  In addition to Chris's RAALs and AD's Susvara's, you might also consider the Stax 009S (my favorite), and Abyss.  Depending on personal taste, one or more of these are likely to knock your socks off for less than $8000, including the (absolutely essential) dedicated amplifier.  If your local dealer does not have demos that you can take home for a few days, you can try these from an online store while only risking a few hundred dollars in restocking fees if you do not love them.

 

Rock on!