Tried them at audio-video show. From distance they indeed look like something 3D-printed in your garage, but in your hand they feel firm and rather high quality, comfort is on point too. SR1a is just a meme, but I enjoyed CA-1A paired with Ferrum stack more than most other flagship headphones.
A lot of the structure in planars and other similar technologies, is just stuff that holds magnets in place. And in fact some planars have had serious issues with magnets repelling eachother over time, eventually separating critical parts!
So, I've been developing my own true ribbon headphone and have gotten to a point where I've managed to create a nice (to me) sounding true ribbon headphone prototype with the power conversion done right inside the headphone itself. This means it runs straight off a 3.5mm jack or whatever physical connection I want to put on it. It has the qualities you describe with the CA-1A like a very strong sense of space and fast response. Do you think the type of people buying true ribbon headphones would find it a big deal to be able to plug it straight in without a box, and as an extension of that question, do you think it's worth it for me to continue development until I reach a point where I'm ready to sell fully finished versions of it? It would be the more "traditional" type of open back headphone, probably not quite up to the audio quality of the RAAL as I'm new to building ribbons, but definitely a more convenient package.
Seems like the high-end headphone world got real interesting real quick. I'm too lazy to check this exactly but seems like, something like, 10 years ago there was only a few headphones above £1000. Now, that's mid-tier. Arguably low end of mid-tier. And back then there was basically dynamic drivers and a few planars. Now there's horn loaded drivers, dynamics, ribbons, dual planars, all kinds of craziness. Good stuff. Now if they can just trickle down the tech a bit to a lower price.................that would be even better.
Can you guys review more headamps and DACs, this will be helpful to know the synergies of various audio gears as you guys have access to lots of equipment, i in particular will be very interested to see a review of the Violectric V550 and the Bakoon headamps.
Interesting. As an engineer I would think that the ribbon driver would be very high velocity, quick on the percussive impulse attacks. I have full length ribbon on my Magnepans and they were a monster step up over the earlier all 'quasiribbon' high frequency performance, both in sound faithfulness and actually extending the frequency response...the earlier Maggies sucked at both ends, but the ribbons are very easily damaged, grill cloth vacuum cleaners prohibited. I would love to hear these. I've got some DIY hybrid electrostatics mostly finished, the Sanders design with the Dyneaudio inhabited TL beam splitters, and am really looking forward to hearing them. Not headphones in either case, so sorry for the excursion (see what I did there?)...oh, and I have some Stax SR5s coming today which I'm really looking forward to hearing, as well. Supposed to be some legendary legacy phones, as I understand it, and my Audio Technika TK33 electrets have long since gone the way of dying electrets...I think I will try to 'recharge' those sometime, but I need to build a well controlled oven to do it right. I enjoyed your review here, especially pointing out aspects like the ultra low distortion even at very high levels, in essence usable headroom for tweaking. I was graduating high school about the time those SR5s came out, so it is also nice to see digital EQs that are actually beneficial, unlike their horrendous unusable cousins. I'm one of those guys that preferred to turn off the preamp tone controls even with decent electronics, like the Hafler DH110.
Inb4 people complaining about the materials used when the only thing that matters is sound and comfort. If you use TOTL headphone like chew toys, then thats a you problem. I care more that it cost $2500 instead of price crawling like all the other TOTL manufacturers are doing.
My vote is go with the SR1A use the adapter and get a Soloist 3GT. Use the sub out and voila you've filled in the bass. Ultimate speaker like presentation without all the problems of the room.
The whole package sounds like some surgical procedure nobody discusses but Wow! This may be the most interesting product of 2022 👍🏼 Is the brick included?
It looks like these will need about 4-5db boost in the upper mids for me. What sort of output power does your amp need to have in order to run these 4-5db above hearing level without running into heavy distortion? If I have something that, say, puts out about 6W into 32 ohms (and I think 9W into 16 but I'm not entirely sure) will that be enough? The amp already runs quite hot, is thermal stability going to be an issue? (it's a Lyr 2 with LISST). How's the midrange tembre after EQ? And how are the technicalities compared to electrostatics? I.e. if I already have a solid electrostatic rig, does this do anything different? $2500 is a lot, but also a lot less than some. If it keeps up, that's actually quite compelling.
I'm running it with a Jotunheim 2 which is also rated 6W at 32 Ohms, sustained - though Jason has said it's 7.2W in reality but he prefers understating the numbers. It has no problems driving the CA-1a through the TI-1b, dial's at 2-3 o'clock for a reasonable volume on high gain so it's using a lot of that power. In terms of PEQ or "the curve", suggest looking at Accurate Sound's convolution filter for the CA-1a instead. Gives you a flat neutral across the board and sounds fantastic to my ears. Brings out even more detail and makes the wide soundstage even clearer. Just set that up yesterday and blind A/B testing it was pretty easy using their Hang Loose Convolver with a trial license - was surprised at how much of an impact it has. Look it up if you're even mildly interested in these. I know the looks are polarizing but I'm actually a big fan of it - appreciate the emphasis on function while pursuing a different design and look. They are also very light and sturdy as a consequence. Would have no qualms taking these on travel if it didn't need extra weight for amp and interface.
in moving mass, they can in theory match in weight, given that the diaphragm can stand on its own without conductive traces, relying solely on in estat's case, metal staters and in ribbons, magnets, however, just like planars, estats move towards and away from its staters, where ribbon drivers operate within fleming's left hand theory
The pads make it look like it's unfinished :/ i'd like to see how they compare to leather pads, even heavily perforated.. I just don't think those pads will last long enough
YES!!! There is such a thing as a CONDENSER HEADPHONE and they have been around for awhile!!! STAX and AUDIO TECHNICA both sold ELECTRET CONDENSER HEADPHONES, DECADES AGO!!! STAX ------- SRr84 Lambda Juniors Electret Condenser Headphones (Which I owned as my first pair of HIGH-END HEADPHONES in the 1970's) and AUDIO TECHNICA ELECTRET CONDENSER HEADPHONE MODELS: ATH-6, ATH-7, ATH-8 and AT-705. ELECTRET CONDENSER HEADPHONES are similar to ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONES, but have PERMANENTLY-CHARGED METAL GRID PLATES (being PASSIVE), instead of needing an external ENERGIZER BOX to ACTIVELY CHARGE THE METAL GRID PLATES. ELECTRET CONDENSER HEADPHONES .come with an IMPEDANCE MATCHING BOX, to connect to a STEREO AMPLIFIER'S OUTPUT TERMINALS.
i have these and for about a month i ran them straight through a pair of Schiit Tyr monoblocks with no TI-1b transformer box - the cable provides a 2ohm load to the Tyr - it was so smooth and sounded amazing - the comfort is off the charts - ignore the "build quality" it doesn't matter - now i want another pair of Tyr just to run these - with the cayin ha300b-mk2 off the speaker taps with the box its also amazing
Build quality doesn't matter? Right, have fun buying new foam earpads at hundreds of dollars when these get gross, or disintegrate with age like Grado pads.
@@michaelp.3485 $35 for replacement ear pads, and the whole thing is modular. The cups can be run over by a car without being damaged. It's actually built very well.
lcd-r is really just a low impedance planar magnetic. ca1a is a true ribbon you can see no bar magnets in front of it because it doest have trace patterns like a planar. the driver is enirely aluminuim and its impedance is like a wire. lcd-r is closer to audezes other headphones just with 2ohm impedance.
These sounded amazing at CAF. However, the build felt like it was built by someone in their house with a 3D printer and materials they had on hand, not by a company that sells expensive headphones. If they weren't $2000, I would consider them, but as is, it just doesn't feel like a $2000 headphone
Personally, I love the minimalist industrial design. They can back up most of their design decisions with the listener receiving more audible benefit from them (pads, for example).
@@acurattack I think you can get those benefits without looking like shit. I think if you're paying $2000, they should make the headphone look like they cared about the design, not just slapping shit together. The OG design wasn't perfect, but I could at least understand why it was priced so highly. This, however, just feels like you're only paying for the sound, which doesn't sit right with me. I think every aspect of the headphone should be nearly flawless at this price point.
@@acurattack Ryan from Modhouse (the guy who does the Argon mods for T50 and T60) made a more appealing design and is even going to charge less once it releases (it also sounds comparable)
@@TheLeftistOwl That is several of your opinions on the design packed together as an attempt at an objective statement. Unfortunately I don't know of any "flawless"-ly designed headphones at any price point.
You can cut half the run time of your videos, by directly speaking about what you intend to talk instead of throwing 10 warnings, you are going to speak about this first and then about that and then about something else.
One thing I forgot to mention, while the CA-1A is a circumaural headphone, it is still open-back. So sound does leak in and out, for those wondering.
Did you try these with the convolution filters? They fix some of the phase alignment stuff and make these a much easier req imo
Tried them at audio-video show. From distance they indeed look like something 3D-printed in your garage, but in your hand they feel firm and rather high quality, comfort is on point too.
SR1a is just a meme, but I enjoyed CA-1A paired with Ferrum stack more than most other flagship headphones.
Great show! Very well produced.
Loved the music. Please carry on!
I made this driver type for an assignment. It was annoying to keep the magnets from slamming into each other. Looks really cool though
A lot of the structure in planars and other similar technologies, is just stuff that holds magnets in place. And in fact some planars have had serious issues with magnets repelling eachother over time, eventually separating critical parts!
So, I've been developing my own true ribbon headphone and have gotten to a point where I've managed to create a nice (to me) sounding true ribbon headphone prototype with the power conversion done right inside the headphone itself. This means it runs straight off a 3.5mm jack or whatever physical connection I want to put on it.
It has the qualities you describe with the CA-1A like a very strong sense of space and fast response.
Do you think the type of people buying true ribbon headphones would find it a big deal to be able to plug it straight in without a box, and as an extension of that question, do you think it's worth it for me to continue development until I reach a point where I'm ready to sell fully finished versions of it? It would be the more "traditional" type of open back headphone, probably not quite up to the audio quality of the RAAL as I'm new to building ribbons, but definitely a more convenient package.
That is absolutely sick, I would love to see more of it
Ohhhh nice, new headphone vid to watch at lunch! 😊
How is the punch and slam?
Seems like the high-end headphone world got real interesting real quick. I'm too lazy to check this exactly but seems like, something like, 10 years ago there was only a few headphones above £1000. Now, that's mid-tier. Arguably low end of mid-tier. And back then there was basically dynamic drivers and a few planars. Now there's horn loaded drivers, dynamics, ribbons, dual planars, all kinds of craziness. Good stuff. Now if they can just trickle down the tech a bit to a lower price.................that would be even better.
Can you guys review more headamps and DACs, this will be helpful to know the synergies of various audio gears as you guys have access to lots of equipment, i in particular will be very interested to see a review of the Violectric V550 and the Bakoon headamps.
Interesting. As an engineer I would think that the ribbon driver would be very high velocity, quick on the percussive impulse attacks. I have full length ribbon on my Magnepans and they were a monster step up over the earlier all 'quasiribbon' high frequency performance, both in sound faithfulness and actually extending the frequency response...the earlier Maggies sucked at both ends, but the ribbons are very easily damaged, grill cloth vacuum cleaners prohibited. I would love to hear these. I've got some DIY hybrid electrostatics mostly finished, the Sanders design with the Dyneaudio inhabited TL beam splitters, and am really looking forward to hearing them.
Not headphones in either case, so sorry for the excursion (see what I did there?)...oh, and I have some Stax SR5s coming today which I'm really looking forward to hearing, as well. Supposed to be some legendary legacy phones, as I understand it, and my Audio Technika TK33 electrets have long since gone the way of dying electrets...I think I will try to 'recharge' those sometime, but I need to build a well controlled oven to do it right.
I enjoyed your review here, especially pointing out aspects like the ultra low distortion even at very high levels, in essence usable headroom for tweaking. I was graduating high school about the time those SR5s came out, so it is also nice to see digital EQs that are actually beneficial, unlike their horrendous unusable cousins. I'm one of those guys that preferred to turn off the preamp tone controls even with decent electronics, like the Hafler DH110.
Inb4 people complaining about the materials used when the only thing that matters is sound and comfort. If you use TOTL headphone like chew toys, then thats a you problem. I care more that it cost $2500 instead of price crawling like all the other TOTL manufacturers are doing.
If Planar & Electrostatic isn't enough... we got Ribbons now. 😳
curious, what specific benefits does a 'ribbon' based driver have over say , planars or electrostatic?
My vote is go with the SR1A use the adapter and get a Soloist 3GT. Use the sub out and voila you've filled in the bass. Ultimate speaker like presentation without all the problems of the room.
The biggest problem with speakers in a room is the bass. Subs needs drastically more treatment than speakers.
Geez, just like the Susvara, for that price, that headband (in fact in the RAAL's case, the whole DIY'd headphone look...) 🤣
*wears headphone* “yo, I didn’t know there was a comic con going on in town! What are you cosplaying?”
Will it work well using a Qudelix-5K?
How are the leading and trailing ends of tones?
The whole package sounds like some surgical procedure nobody discusses but Wow! This may be the most interesting product of 2022 👍🏼 Is the brick included?
Graph is not bad except the lack of upper mids & the treble slightly elevated.
I keep hoping the Honey 70% coupon code comes up for their website, but nothing happens ;-)
It looks like these will need about 4-5db boost in the upper mids for me. What sort of output power does your amp need to have in order to run these 4-5db above hearing level without running into heavy distortion? If I have something that, say, puts out about 6W into 32 ohms (and I think 9W into 16 but I'm not entirely sure) will that be enough? The amp already runs quite hot, is thermal stability going to be an issue? (it's a Lyr 2 with LISST).
How's the midrange tembre after EQ? And how are the technicalities compared to electrostatics? I.e. if I already have a solid electrostatic rig, does this do anything different?
$2500 is a lot, but also a lot less than some. If it keeps up, that's actually quite compelling.
I'm running it with a Jotunheim 2 which is also rated 6W at 32 Ohms, sustained - though Jason has said it's 7.2W in reality but he prefers understating the numbers. It has no problems driving the CA-1a through the TI-1b, dial's at 2-3 o'clock for a reasonable volume on high gain so it's using a lot of that power.
In terms of PEQ or "the curve", suggest looking at Accurate Sound's convolution filter for the CA-1a instead. Gives you a flat neutral across the board and sounds fantastic to my ears. Brings out even more detail and makes the wide soundstage even clearer. Just set that up yesterday and blind A/B testing it was pretty easy using their Hang Loose Convolver with a trial license - was surprised at how much of an impact it has. Look it up if you're even mildly interested in these.
I know the looks are polarizing but I'm actually a big fan of it - appreciate the emphasis on function while pursuing a different design and look. They are also very light and sturdy as a consequence. Would have no qualms taking these on travel if it didn't need extra weight for amp and interface.
For measuring transient response/"speed", consider doing a cumulative spectral decay (CSD) measurement
CSD is just another way of looking at FR. Here's an explanation: th-cam.com/video/LrIoNMeo_GI/w-d-xo.html
2.5k for something that looks like it was 3d printed. for 2.5k I would want good performance and looks.
Are “ribbon” drivers different from electrostats?
in moving mass, they can in theory match in weight, given that the diaphragm can stand on its own without conductive traces, relying solely on in estat's case, metal staters and in ribbons, magnets, however, just like planars, estats move towards and away from its staters, where ribbon drivers operate within fleming's left hand theory
The headstrap flopping around like a pensioner's nutsack has me 💀
one odd observation
The pads make it look like it's unfinished :/ i'd like to see how they compare to leather pads, even heavily perforated.. I just don't think those pads will last long enough
headphones can just always be seen as reverse microphones, ribbon mics, ribbon headphones.
Wonder if there is such a thing as a condenser headphone.
YES!!! There is such a thing as a CONDENSER HEADPHONE and they have been around for awhile!!! STAX and AUDIO TECHNICA both sold ELECTRET CONDENSER HEADPHONES, DECADES AGO!!! STAX ------- SRr84 Lambda Juniors Electret Condenser Headphones (Which I owned as my first pair of HIGH-END HEADPHONES in the 1970's) and AUDIO TECHNICA ELECTRET CONDENSER HEADPHONE MODELS: ATH-6, ATH-7, ATH-8 and AT-705. ELECTRET CONDENSER HEADPHONES are similar to ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONES, but have PERMANENTLY-CHARGED METAL GRID PLATES (being PASSIVE), instead of needing an external ENERGIZER BOX to ACTIVELY CHARGE THE METAL GRID PLATES. ELECTRET CONDENSER HEADPHONES .come with an IMPEDANCE MATCHING BOX, to connect to a STEREO AMPLIFIER'S OUTPUT TERMINALS.
i have these and for about a month i ran them straight through a pair of Schiit Tyr monoblocks with no TI-1b transformer box - the cable provides a 2ohm load to the Tyr - it was so smooth and sounded amazing - the comfort is off the charts - ignore the "build quality" it doesn't matter - now i want another pair of Tyr just to run these - with the cayin ha300b-mk2 off the speaker taps with the box its also amazing
Build quality doesn't matter? Right, have fun buying new foam earpads at hundreds of dollars when these get gross, or disintegrate with age like Grado pads.
The earpads are $35.
@@michaelp.3485 $35 for replacement ear pads, and the whole thing is modular. The cups can be run over by a car without being damaged. It's actually built very well.
Is it similar to LCD-R?
lcd-r is really just a low impedance planar magnetic. ca1a is a true ribbon you can see no bar magnets in front of it because it doest have trace patterns like a planar. the driver is enirely aluminuim and its impedance is like a wire. lcd-r is closer to audezes other headphones just with 2ohm impedance.
These sounded amazing at CAF. However, the build felt like it was built by someone in their house with a 3D printer and materials they had on hand, not by a company that sells expensive headphones. If they weren't $2000, I would consider them, but as is, it just doesn't feel like a $2000 headphone
Good job liking your own comment.
Personally, I love the minimalist industrial design. They can back up most of their design decisions with the listener receiving more audible benefit from them (pads, for example).
@@acurattack I think you can get those benefits without looking like shit. I think if you're paying $2000, they should make the headphone look like they cared about the design, not just slapping shit together. The OG design wasn't perfect, but I could at least understand why it was priced so highly. This, however, just feels like you're only paying for the sound, which doesn't sit right with me. I think every aspect of the headphone should be nearly flawless at this price point.
@@acurattack Ryan from Modhouse (the guy who does the Argon mods for T50 and T60) made a more appealing design and is even going to charge less once it releases (it also sounds comparable)
@@TheLeftistOwl That is several of your opinions on the design packed together as an attempt at an objective statement. Unfortunately I don't know of any "flawless"-ly designed headphones at any price point.
That graph, oof.
Multi thousand dollar headphone made of $20 worth of materials.
¿Qué?
a shame tbh, i wonder if i can re-fit the drivers it within similar dimensions, but with better overall quality
you failed to mention the thousands of hours of Research and Development, which in turn costs thousands (or even millions) of dollars. 😉
Wonder if it was meant to keep weight down
@@johnbranzuela2963100%
You can cut half the run time of your videos, by directly speaking about what you intend to talk instead of throwing 10 warnings, you are going to speak about this first and then about that and then about something else.
Ugly headphone.
$2,500 for this. Really?
How does it compare to the GL1200?