Best headphone under 10k$

Yes I will do after spending enough time on it!

I received my Sr1a on Jan 2nd.



Amplifier with more than 100 Watts for 6 ohm is recommended for Sr1a.

But I started with Marantz PM5003 which got a favorable review from Stereophile.

https://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/marantz_pm5003_integrated_amplifier/index.html


Even with 50 Watts available at 6 ohm, this one has no difficulty driving Sr1a with crisp high and reasonably tight bass.



But soundstage is not that wide or deep as I had tried with Chord Etude amplifier on last November.



I played "Autumn Leaves" sung by Eva Cassidy, " I am so lonesome tonight" by Elvis Presley

"Sound of the West and William Tell Overture " in Roundup Telarc CD and Schumann Piano Trio played by Pierre Fournier, Henryk Szeying. Arthur Rubinstein.

Also I played some old K pops that I am familiar with.

I used ripped CD's stored in SSD of Cocktail Audio X30 and Dac is Chord Dave and HMS.



Then I played same list of music using Rogue Cronus Magnum II fitted with Nos Telefuken 12Ax7 and Amperex 12Au7 (100Watts for 8 ohm)

Now Sr1a really sings with wide and deep soundstage with more refined treble.

This amp seems to work with Sr1a very well.


Then I moved to Crown XLS 2502 (This one has 775W for 4 ohm ).

I got this one to drive two 18 inch subwoofers of Scaena 3.2 speakers.

Wow this PA amp impressed me with lot of headroom and snappy transient but without hard edge.



Of course, Rogue sounds sweeter than Crown but latter does sound neutral not on the dry side.


I went back to Stax 009s driven by Kgsshv Carbon amplifier to play same list of music for comparison.

Stax give more relaxed and nuanced details although the absolute amount of details are on par with each other.

But Sr1a give much faster and open sound reminding me of Apogee Duetta Sig that I had used from 1989 to 1999.

Soundstage width is similar but Sr1a has an edge on depth of soundstage.

I think Raal Sr1a may be the best headphone under 10K$ overall although Stax 009s is musical with relaxed presentation.


Rogue Apollo monoblocks with 250 watts may work better with Sr1a with more headroom.

Also, Schitt will market "Jotuheim R", the dedicated amp for Sr1a forgoing interface early half of this year.

I will try it out with Sr1a after it is released.

#9https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-32-raal-requisite-sr1a-headphones-page-2

Nice review on Sr1a by Stereophile's Herb Reichert .

He also made comparison between Abyss 1266 Phi and Sr1a.


Are the $3500 SR1a's better than the $4999 Abyss AB-1266 Phi's?

A: No.

But they are not inferior.

The Abyss AB-1266 Phi's remain my reference headphones. When powered by the Pass Labs XA25 amplifier, the Abyss 'phones deliver the most natural, lifelike audio reproduction I have experienced. The Abyss headphones are also quieter and more transparent than the SR1a's.

The RAAL-Requisites are more conspicuously open and dynamic than the Abyss 'phones. But . . .

Please understand . . . the Abyss and RAAL headphones sound more alike than they sound like any other headphones out there


I got the similar impression between them when I tried them side by side with courtesy of Torq last November.

Abyss sounds more accurate while Sr1a sound more open and exciting.

Herb noticed clipping with Rogue Stereo 100 which I also experienced with Rogue Magnum II while playing full volume of Pink Floyd's Wall.

He must be playing pretty loud since I did not notice clipping very often with Magmum II.

It is too bad he could not try Jot R on it.

Nevertheless Herb gave highest rating A+ on Sr1a.

https://youtu.be/fsQhzutoKUc

I am listening to
Glazunov - Violin Concerto in A Minor
played by Jasha Heifetz through Sr1a.

Violin tone is sweet with marvelous details and wide soundstage.


I had lived with Sr1a for two weeks now.

This is a really amazing piece of musical instrument.

If you like ribbon speaker or headphone lover, you shall audition this.

They have unconditional 15 day’s return polity.


You need speaker amplifier over 100 watts at 6 ohm ( I feel that 150 watts is better).

I noticed occasional clipping with Rogue Cronus Magnum II (80 watts for 6 ohm) although it sounds sweet with tube amp at moderate level.

Crown XLS 2502 (600$, 775 watts for 4ohm) work well with Sr1a.

I had been listening to Raal Sr1a last two weeks enjoying its open an fast sound.

Today I am back to Stax 009s driven by Kgsshv Carbon for comparison.

009s is not a slouch in speed with more bass than Sr1a.

Both of them sound nice.

009s sound more analog with rounder and liquid texture.

Sr1a sounds more digital with lively and open signature but without harsh edge.

If I have to choose one, I will go for Sr1a.

But I will keep both since I also enjoy analog sound out of 009s.

Purist Audio Design balanced cable connected between Dave and Carbon amp help 009s sound rounder.