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I'm just wondering if anyone owns the RAAL-Requisite SR1B Ribbon headphones. I just received the April Stereophile, and these headphones were given an "A+" rating in Stereophile's Recommended Components. They cost just under $4,000 and they seemed rather interesting to me.
Apparently, they need to be connected to a power amplifier, so I was wondering if anyone who owned them could comment on what amplifier they're using and whether they've tried different amplifiers to determine how that affected sound quality.
Another interesting aspect of these headphones is that they sit away from the ear instead of being cupped around the ear like virtually all other over-ear headphones. I have a feeling this might create more holographic imaging than normal headphones. Of course, I've never heard them, so it would be great to read the comments from someone with direct experience.
Thanks!
John Elison
Follow Ups:
Stereophile reviews haven't been credible for decades.
Buyer beware, the brand new Raal 1995: Magna and Immanis are almost out.
On the other hand, I personally seriously doubt I would prefer the traditional on-head design over SR1a/b adjustable open-baffle design (a la AKG K1000). Raal SR1 is the only non-speaker I prefer over my various electrostats btw...
Like you, I was interested in the RAAL Requisite SR1-B mainly because they were an off-ear design. I thought they might image better than cupped over-ear headphones. Then it occurred to me that bass response might not be acceptable with that off-ear configuration. Anyway, I'm just trying to figure out whether I want to spend any more money on headphones. I just bought the new STAX SR-X9000, and I was disappointed with its bass response at first. Now, it seems be coming around. Perhaps the break-in phenomenon is real after all. ;-)
Thanks for the excellent information!
Yeah, I have a set of SR1-A in the house being driven by the Schiit Jotunheim-R, a special version of their Jotunheim headlamp specially developed for these headphones. This is a great pairing, and I greatly enjoy the setup. The SR1-B is essentially the same headphone, with cosmetic changes.
You can also drive these cans directly using a conventional speaker amp. They reward using the best quality you can afford. You can find extensive experiences with this headphone and different amps here:
Cerebrate!
How does the RAAL Requisite SR1-A do with bass. Are you happy with its bass response? I kind of get a kick out of the low frequencies.
Thanks!
John Elison
Yes, out of the box the SR1-A needs baffle compensation for the sake of bass. The Jotunheim-R has a switch to turn on this feature. When using a conventional amp, one uses an "Interface" box between the amp and headphones that provides this baffle compensation/bass eq. I think that the new SR1-B has inline filters that do this, but not certain.
RAAL offers transformer interface options for low-power SETs and "conventional" headlamps to drive the phones.
Some people enjoy using their favorite eq software to do this adjustment, and tweaking response to taste. There are many examples in the thread I pointed at.
No headphone totally satisfies me with respect to bass -- there's no "body feel". With that said, I love these "head speakers". It is really like sitting in a really extreme nearfield setup. :)
Cerebrate!
.
Gsquared
That looks very interesting, and also quite inexpensive.
Thanks again!
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