What headphone own natural timbre and own a deep bass clean and with no leak in the mids and more importantly an "out of the head" speaker like impression with great hall recordings or church one for example ? I enjoy that only with my Akg K340 , none of the others headphones i had listend too ... I dislike almost all headphones... I apologize to repeat myself wanting to be clear... If someone know which headphone did the same please give me his name ... |
it is the precise reason why the RAAL is the only headphone i am interested to ... I will compare it to my K340 optimized... Out of the head impression is mandatory for me if i want to appreciate headphone... It is the reason why i am also interested by the BACCH filters ... I must add that my K340 produce deep bass listening organ for example that i felt with my body and are speaker like or at least completely different from headphone bass inside the head only... |
Contrary to you i read someone post BEFORE infering FALSE claim about it... i dont slammed you body...😁 I just make the remark that you dont have listen to my modified headphone the K340 , claiming as you did you listened to all if not most TOP one even those as you said i " could never able to afford" which is as formulated such a bit insulting... Secondly i said that AS YOURSELF , i disliked headphones and prefer speakers...If you had read my post before claiming i slammed you you would have understand that some headphones as the RAAL or my K340 differ vastly from other headphones...... The one pratronizing other here is you...I dont claim anything save to correct your claim about listening all headphones set up... This is false because it is impossible... As you i prefer speakers... But my K340 modified and optimized with his dual acoustic chamber with 5 passively tuned resonators resemble nothing you had listened too dude😊 ... And i correct you mistaking claim that headphone dont have their own room shell acoustic because it is one of the main attribute which make the K340 unique... Read before patronizing me about what i could or could not afford and before claiming you know it all ... You dont... This is my "mumblings" here as you said ... Other will read my answer and make their opinion... I give argument not patronizing veiled insult and pretentious universal claim valid for everyone... And dont insult me about what i could or not afford, and about my " mumblings", and about the fact that you never dare to read my post but you answer them in your american active patronizing discourteous way,..
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Sorry my post came out harsh. I honestly don’t read the Mahgister’s long rumblings, but I understand he slammed me big time his usual polite passive aggressive canadian way. Oh well… I am not an expert on headphones but I have owned many in my two forays in them in the past twenty years, so I have a good understanding how they work FOR ME. And me only.
Bottom line: last year I built the best headphones system money can buy. Second attempt to headphones since several years ago when my kids were born and were little and I had no choice. I found myself almost always going downstairs to listening to my speakers, rather than staying upstairs listening to my headphones, over many months. As simple as that. My listening time is limited as I work for a living. So here is that |
@soix New ones coming out soon. It is being discussed on Head-fi. The new one is a mix of the CA-1a and SR1a. There are 3 ribbons instead of 1. I will also be selling my CA-1a but that will be after the new one is released. I need a phone until then. |
@yyzsantabarbara Why did you sell your SR1a ‘phones? |
@thyname I see you commenting as an expert on phones, and also stating you have Meze Elite. As someone who at one time owned the top end Meze, I find your comments about your expertise interesting. For the rest of you. Some interesting things are happening in the world of RAAL. To prepare I bought back the RAAL VM-1a amp (getting it again on Saturday) that I sold last year. I also sold my RAAL SR1a earphones yesterday. This Saturday, I am going to do a comparison of the RAAL VM-1a with the RAAL CA-1a headphone and the following gear:
It will be interesting to see if the low-cost solutions can reach near the VM-1a level. When I did a similar test with my old VM-1a the low-cost gear came close. My new low-cost gear is even better. |
You cannot had listen mine... The AKG K340 and even if you did, they must be optimized and it takes me 6 months to do it rightfully with 6 modifications... Anyway, the ratio price ( 100 bucks used) sound quality beat anything and perhaps your own system...But only seeing an image i am pretty sure your system beat headphones...But not all , give me the BACCH filters and i will stay with them .... by the way the reason why the AKG K340 beat all headphones i had listened to is precisely the acoustic patent of the designer the two hybrid cells , dynamical and electroacoustic are distributed along the same axis in a dual acoustic chamber with 5 passive tuned resonators...And my own modifications are acoustics too ...Remember that the shell of an headphone is a room...😊 Even if most headphone designer ignore this because of cost and profit even high end one ... Kennerton representative when i ask him why they do not design an hybrid as the K340 answer to me: it is too hard to do with too much cost in research... Thats say something ... You go too fast to your conclusion... And even if you are right i am not too far behind you for a ridiculous price... Eq. is an acoustic controls i used it with my headphone optimization , I dont use it as a toy for each songs...
By the way i always disliked all headphones... Till i was in the obligation selling my house to use one before setting my small speakers right ...Now i love headphones at least mine ...And remember it is recording dependant, but the K340 is able to reproduce the acoustic atmosphere of the recording ...The sound of many albums is out of my head speaker like so much i keep my eyes open to "see" the musicians... I only need the BACCH filters as upgrade to refine that... Anyway at 100 bucks i am envious of no one... Even of the headphone you claimed i could never afford...😊 With your budget you could not do what i did even with a pair Of K340... They are not ready out of the box... We must learn how to use them... An astute headphone critic of stereophile do a negative review bec ause he did not understand what they are and how to optimize them... It is the most complex headphone designed...
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Yes. Pretty much. By ownership over decades and headphones meetups. Including those (you will never be able to afford). And also pretty much every single highly rated headphones amps. Because? Life… and convenience. Headphones are way more convenient and cheaper than speakers. So …. To answer your question. YES
Pretty much irrelevant with headphones. Room excluded. So other than little mods on the caps (Believe me I have tried them all), not much left. And EQ? 🤯🤯🤯😂😂
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I have several Sennheiser Grado Audio Technica and Sony (used to have Stax as well) and EQed they all sound nice but each a little different
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it is true ONLY if you compared with headphones where the sound STAY in the head...Most headphones ( But not mine ) And most speakers/room are not acoustically optimal, even if yours is by the way... 😁
And if you have a TOP speakers/room anyway have you heard all headphones ?
If i add the BACCH filters i will rival your speakers/room if i did not rival already it with a 100 bucks headphone ( AKG K340 ) ...Not bad ... By the way the bass is so good i felt it with my feet (bones conduction ) . Perhaps you go too far here about ALL headphones... In truth it is up to budget and creativity... All speakers/room are not equals nor all headphones... The only factor that rules audio is acoustics not gear choice claimed as the only meaningful choice for all... We dont need a pope ... 😊
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yyzsantabarbara soundqcar
Thanks... Your impressions help me a lot to understand ... I dislike headphone... The only one i enjoy is my modified AKG K340 with which i had all characteristics i dream of... My question was motivated by the fact that my AKG K340 is old ... If i lost it tomorrow i buy what ? My soundfield is out of the head speaker like and any other characteristics is there too... What can i do if i lost it ? i am afraid to buy anything else , but your two impressions give me the assurance that i could buy something rivallling my experience ... Thanks a lot... you described what i did not read in other reviews so clearly ... The Raal is my only other headphone solution....
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Let me first say I am not a huge fan of headphones because I dislike the in your head soundstage. However, I love the RAAL SR1a because it does not sound like headphones. The only traditional headphone that I liked was the RAAL CA-1a. It is saved by the RAAL ribbon. Otherwise, the sound is pretty much in your head. I am selling the CA-1a to raise some cash not because I do not listen to it. The SR1a is unlike traditional headphones. That is why they are called earphones. It is like having a 2-channel speaker hanging next to your ear. You end up looking like Princess Leia with the SR1a on your head. A lot of folks who use the SR1a use it for Classical music because the sound stage is projected out of the headspace, and you can visualize the source of the instruments in a similar way as 2-channel. I know people who have contacted me saying they sold their Magico speakers and went all in with the SR1a. I can see that. No 2-channel speaker I had owned in the past could beat my SR1a at 2-CHANNEL. That is until I got the Yamaha NS5000 speakers with a CODA #16 amp. That beats the best setup of the SR1a I have had. It is not easy to beat the SR1a even with 2-channel gear. With headphones, for my ears, it is not even a contest. Best place to learn about the RAAL. Alex and Danny from RAAL and Requiste Audio help out with questions. Raal Ribbon Headphones - SRH1A | Page 483 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
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In my experience, in my system....it will give you what is on the recording. If it's a closely miked recording, it will be upfront and personal...yet still in front and away from the circumference of your physical head. With recordings that show the depth, and breadth of the performance, you get it all.....and with exquisite detail. Also, I want to add something here....I know some dismiss the bass on these as unsatisfactory. Unless it's ones goal to overemphasize the low end above what's on the recording, and rattle ones fillings, this headphone does bass RIGHT. You can easily....and even eerily, hear the pitch changes on instruments such as an upright bass, a cello....and details of drum kits you'd only hear from properly setup system, in a well-treated dedicated room. This is what I hear. |
I just read a review about the Raal: timbre, bass, highs, imaging and soundstage everything as usual... The reviewer mention anything save the only thing that matter to me... For classical recording because i listen them most, Is the soundfield or soundstage of the Raal stay in the head ? Or have you the impression to be projected in the recording acoustic as if you were there... Or have you the impression that the recorded atmosphetre fill your room and do you keep the eyes open to see the instruments? All headphones soundfield soundstage stay in the head, i want one with a soundstage "out of my head" ? I want to have the impression to listen to speakers with deep bass ? Is the RAAL able to deliver that?
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I also had VM-1a + RAAL SR1a + Lumin X1 = fantastic. I sold the VM-1a + Lumin X1 to buy speakers and a 2-channel amp. Today, to run my RAAL SR1a, I use the following: RAAL TL-1b amp interface box | Schitt Mjolnir amp | Schitt Aegir amp This gets me to about 90% of the VM-1a. This weekend someone is going to bring a VM-1a to my place to do a head-to-head with the following (for the SR1a):
vs the VM-1a. The VM-1a should win but that CODA setup code steal the win. I have a feeling I will buy the VM-1a the guy brings over. My Schitt YGGI+ LIM DAC has 3 outputs so it will be easy to add the VM-1a to my office setup (which uses 2 outputs already). BTW - I am going to be selling my RAAL CA-1a soon.
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😊State of the art sound for a relatively low cost is one of my headphone systems:
Hidizs dac+equalizer+battery= 200 bucks...( low noise floor) Sansui alpha 607i = 300 bucks ( one of the best amplifier ever designed by Sansui) AKG K340 the only really hybrid headphone ever made ( the electrostatic cell is not a super tweeter as in the Dharma case) = 100 bucks ... The K340 optimized( it takes me 6 month to figure out his working) can give an out of the head speaker like experience with natural timbre perception and deep bass ...
At 600 bucks i beat everyone ... It is my main audiophile system ... Even if i like the small speakers system i own ( low cost) which modified beat all headphones i ever listened to save the K340 .. I apologize to yyzsantabarbara for my irresistible urge to bragg about my own low cost high end system ...😊 I am sure he will laugh and forgive me , thanks to him ... I am certainly curious to listen to the Raal ... I will be afraid to buy one without listening before so astounding are my K340 the best headphone in the world in 1978 even better than Stax because of deep bass and out of the head experience with more natural timbre thanks to the passive internal resonators of Dr, Gorike and his complex dual acoustic chamber accomodating the two cells dynamic and electrostatic one behind the other ......
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State of the art sound for a relatively low cost is one of my headphone systems:
This above setup is so good that I threw out all the shipping boxes. I live close by to RAAL and Schitt if service is needed. I cannot easily sell this gear now. I also use the more expensive RAAL SR1a phones with the above setup. |
@freediver Sounds like you found a great match, and I’m obviously with you on the Hifiman sound. Congrats and enjoy! Oh yeah, and most importantly, thank you so much for your service!!! |
I was a soldier all my life & now retired so I've never had deep pockets for audio gear & being a firm believer in trickle down tech I have always looked to the manufacture's for the best value in their product lines.After extensive demos of the TOTL from Audeze,HiFiMan,Focal,Sennheiser,Grado & AKG I discovered I like the HiFiMan house sound,settling on the Sundara for exotic driver tech & the absolutely amazing iBasso SR-1 limited editions(500 pair)for dynamics... |
By "hard to drive" i refer to not only amplification qualities, but also to the source... The right pad is mandatory....I tried 5 types of pads before the right one... Right thickness and one with the hole vented for me... Right amplification , not only powerful but with a very low noise floor ... I must have changed my beloved sansui Au 7700 to use a very more refined Sansui Alpha with a more clean less tube-like sound... Right source : i must change my beloved tube-like NOS french dac tda 1543 , for a cleaner less noisy more cold Hidizs ap 80 pro dac ( not connecded to the grid and with battery too ) .. i throw off the internal plastic grid.... I put two kind of vibrations control materials inside and outside... I used equalization to go nearer the Harman curve and increase the Db level around 1,200 hertz...And at the two extreme point of the scale... After all that i can say that all my 9 others headphone sound as unnatural , with an "inside the head sound" impression , and like "plastic" artificial sound so much i NEVER used them again... And will never do...There is even 2 Stax models ... After the optimization the K 340 is unbeatable on all acoustic factors...I discovered tuning my room at the times 4 factors of the soundfield , not two, i did not count "timbre" as a factor of the soundfield ,it is the fifth factor timbre is the fundamental tree and the soil at the same time , the other 4 factors are like the ground...We test a fertile ground by observing the tree growth and varying the ground composition ... 1) Imaging differentiation of each sound sources... 2) Soundstaging VARYING dimensions according to each recording encompassing all sound sources ... 3) Holographic volume of each sound sources... 4) Listener envelopment born from the right ratio between sound sources and the imaginary listener position in the soundfield "outside the head" most of the time to varying degree accordingly to each recording trade-off ... These 4 aspects of the soundfield were there in my speakers/room acoustic control relation , and they were there with the K340... No other headphone gave me that... Perhaps top omega Stax i listened long time ago but never own...The "timbre" experience of the K340 is so natural , that the only adjective i can use is realistic...Not one of any other adjective used by reviewers about voices... Realistic , not gorgeous, not beautiful, not the " most extraordinary mids voices ever" etc Only natural... 😊 For example my Stax sr5 -gold seems to gave the most beautiful timbre of voice possible , but not so natural and evident as the K340... Realism is the most important quality for a timbre the most difficult and only necessary one ... I cannot fault the AKG K340 on any acoustic count... If something beat it it must be costly and because it is an hybrid with 5 tuned passive internal resonators , his soundfield is so unique , nothing will crush it to pieces... But "right of the box" i could have faulted it as some reviewers did , unable to understand how to optimize it... There is NO MISMATCH between the drivers for example, this impression may come because of all the necessary modifications that must be implemented i listed above.... This is a very hard headphone to figure out... I even read his patent and ittakes me 6 months of experiments to optimize it to this point... I will never upgrade it... Why ? It is the stronger link of my system and his back bone... I consider my system now top high-fi because of the K340... I could not say this with my acoustic room /Mission Cyrus 781, because of the limitations of the frequency response of the Mission Cyrus speakers so good they were, they were not top high fi product... AQcoustic control of the room so important it is does not change a component quality but just put it at his highest potential working level ...
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I agree with Mahgister, the AKG 340 simply does it for me. I keep reading that it is so hard to drive, but mine's plugged into my McIntosh C15 preamp and works great. Not sure what all the fuss is about on that issue. Mine is the "gray" model meaning it is the "neutral" version; it has plenty of bass also. |
The Hifiman HE1000v2s are the best sounding phones I have ever used/owned and they were not the most expensive ones either, once you put them on you just listen to music. They are fairly easy to drive, drove mine with a Dennis Had Inspire tube headphone amp as well as other tube amps in the same league as it, my draw back with the HE1000v2s are they did not weather well, the tan leather head band got limp and stained quickly as well as other issues with build came up so I moved on as I did not or could not spend $3,000.00 again on a headphone with a short life span. I have settled in with the Hifiman Edition Xv2s and my original planners Audeze LCD2s which are both best buys in my opinion. Enjoy the music |
Try to compare your impression of the Raal with other headphones you listened too , qwhat are the differences... It is not simple to put in words... What past headphone3s you owned and the RAAL beat and why ? Thanks for your time...
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I went to CANJAM 2022 in NYC and listened to ALL of the TOTL headphones and ended up buying the RAAL SR1b with their VM-1a Tube amp, For me the only other headphone even remotely close was the Abyss AB-1266 |
I posted earlier in this thread about the RAAL SR1a and the VM-1a tube amp as being the very best I have heard. That is still the case, but I was flipping a coin this weekend as to whether to sell the VM-1a tube amp. I am not selling it. The reason being that I burrowed the RAAL Tl-1b box ($800). I plugged that into my CODA #16 amp and wow, it was ALMOST as good as my $7K VM-1a amp. In the past, nothing came close to the SR1a and VM-1a combo. However, now for 2-channel people with great amps, you have a solution to drive the SR1a. I am getting a Peachtree GAN400 amp this week on a home trial and I will use it for both 2-channel with my office Magnepan LRS+ and the RAAL SR1a via the Tl-1b interface box. I think it will also be excellent. Another great thing wit this Tl-1b box is that I am able to use a 25-foot cable from the amp to the TL-1b and then use the expensive RAAL Star 8 headphone cable to the SR1a. I am able to listen in my guest bedroom while connected to the 2-channel system in my office. The long cable does not degrade the sound. BTW - a few years ago there was a thread on the BACCH system. I posted something about getting that system setup for about $5K if you are able to install the software yourself on a MacMini.
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@mahgister Yes!!! YESS!!! U nailed it there man. The BACCH system is THE most interesting thing I’ve heard about or would like to hear either in headphones or in a stereo system, period. I’m right there with ya. I’m just afraid that once I hear a BACCH setup I’m totally busted for life. In a good way, but totally busted. I’m totally with ya dude and thanks for bringing it up. You wonderful bastard. Yet another audio rabbit hole I know I will inevitably need to crawl down and be wrecked forever. Thanks for bringing this up my friend. NOT!!! I think I hate u, but in the most beautiful way possible. Thank u for u being u, and keep bringing it!!! |
@soix - I can drive my Susvaras perfectly fine with my Eddie Current Studio B and my Donald North Audio Stratus tube headphone amps and they are delightful to rock out to. Sure, you can scale up and get even more, no question, but you can say that about just about anything; my speakers would sound better with a pair of Boulder monoblocs, but ya gotta stop somewhere! 😀 |
Thanks Soix... Three geniuses interest me in audio now... I know only one by his product... The three are physicist loving music, and in two cases two acoustician... Dr. Gorike is an underestimated genius who designed the best of AKG because he founded the company after the second world war... His K340 is the most advanced design since Stax... He patented his acoustic specifically tuned resonators grid creating a dual acoustic chamber making the headphone Speaker like in sound... I even read his patent... He used Helmholtz principle of resonators as i did my way with 100 in my room... :) Dr. Gorike located them at a specific location around the dynamic driver behind the electro-acoustic cell... so with this dual chamber he fooled the brain with the back wave incoming in differential timing with the direct wave of the two drivers helping the brain to recreate a 3-D speaker like impression in a room... And it was way better than even my two Stax or my planar experience or better than any dynamics i owned ... No comparison...But this K340 was terminated because too costly to made and too complex to figure out right by most consumers and very picky to drive, more hard than the HE 6 and hard to optimize at an era where headphone amplifier for portable headphone emerged ... It takes me 6 months to figure out how to optimize them .. Dr. Choueri created virtual room acoustic with his patented BACCH filters ... it is a revolution which make headphone or speakers optimal for localization without loss in timbre quality...He works in plasma physics but listen too much music all his life... Acoustic bein g his hobby...His dac is the ultimate dac... Dr. Berning a physicist who revolutionized tube amplification completely... I dont understand why people stick to hot tubes with short life in the old tube technology... He worked as physicist but also loved too much music and coupled it with his physics knowledge to redesign amplification from ground zero...
Thats the main revolutionary things in audio for me ... I dont know if i will be able to afford a Berning ZOTL before dying and a Choueri dac but the K340 help me to be happy so much good it is ... Then all is ok... But true audiophile always dream even happy... ;) i dream but with no frustration thanks to Dr. Gorike... My very best to you with a silent prayer for your next months...
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@mahgister I promise I will let you know as soon as I can, and thank u so much for ur kind thoughts. The sad truth is I’m using the MZ2 not only as my HeadFi amp but also as the pre in my 2-channel rig and I screwed up because I’m an idiot. I got over zealous and impatient and hooked my new MZ2 up to my big rig while I had my amp powered on and fried the MZ2. I’m hoping I just blew a fuse in my MZ2 by doing something insanely stupid, but it could be worse. Ironically I also now have a recently highly-upgraded McCormack DNA-0.5 amp that SMcAudio incorporates a lot of their mega-dollar consulting work from Berning’s top mega-$$$ projects that eventually trickle down to their SMcAudio upgrades. I’m dying to hear what this combo of several Berning technologies will yield and will let you know not only what I hear in my HeadFi rig but also in my 2-channel system for whatever that might be worth. Berning is a damn genius in our audio world, and we’re just living in it.
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Thanks very much for your kind answer... I hope all will be better for you at the end of this hard time...Sorry for you... I dont want to miss your compared impressions... Feel free to remind me about it here... I will wait... Berning ZOTL is my dreamed amplifier.... My very best to you...
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@larsman Exactly correct. You need a bonafide 2-channel amp that can drive home speakers to drive the Susvaras, and that’s an expensive and tough ask in a HeadFi setup and brings things to a much higher level in expense whereas I can easily power the HE1000SEs with my LTA or even my Singxer Class-A solid state amp. @mahgister I really wish I could help answer your excellent question, but alas I’m going through a divorce and haven’t had the chance yet to hear my MZ2 with my Arya Stealths yet, which gives me huge amount of frustration. The amp I’ve been using up to this point is the fully-balanced, Class-A Singxer SA-6 that, frankly, sounds pretty damn good through excellent balanced silver LavriCable headphone cables. I’m thinking I can get my MZ2 up and running within the next month and will definitely share my impressions, but I’m highly impressed with the Singxer SA-6 with my Arya Stealths FWIW. |
@soix - I've had both HE1000SE and Susvara (which I still have), and if they knock on Susvara's door, Susvara's not answering on my system, at any rate, as they sound a good bit better than the HE1000 SE's, which are certainly no slouches, either. By 'high-maintenance', you mean finding an amp that will have enough current and wattage? Yes, there is that. $6000 is a lot of dough, but you can find them for less than that; I got a demo pair for about half that. |
Soix please describe for me the improvement over your last amplifier ( which one ) and the linear audio MZ2 because i am interested by Berning design... Thanks very much for the trouble... I dreamed to buy one because i dont think much amplifier inder 5,000 bucks will beat my Sansui alpha...
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Currently my Hifiman Arya Stealths are my top ‘phones and I love them and love the Hifiman “house sound” and will very likely stick with the brand. As good as the Arya Stealths are, from everything I’ve read the HE1000SE is significantly better in pretty much every way (and actually reportedly knock on the door performance wise of the much dearer and higher-maintenance Susvaras), so I covet them and they’ll likely be my next purchase as I recently upgraded my HP amp to a Linear Tube Audio MZ2 so the headphones are very likely the next upgrade. I’d say possibly the “final” upgrade at least for my HeadFi rig, but we all know here that that’s just a farce. There is no “final upgrade” among audiophiles until the last nail is driven into the coffin — its just how we’re, uh, wired. No? |
