Top 3 Headphones

I am not a headphone guy, but I think I have 2 of the very best headphones at any price. As I write this, I am listening to my hard rock headphones, the RAAL CA-1a with the SR728 Silver RAAL cable (it matters). I have 3 amps (soon to be 4) that I can use with this headphone.

- Schitt Jotenhiem R headphone amp ($500 discontinued)

- RAAL VM-1a headphone amp ($7000)

- Benchmark AHB2 monos

- Peachtree GAN1 (delivery next week)

I only use the CA-1a with the Schitt and VM-1a. Both are very good, with the VM-1a able to provide the best rock and roll listening experience I have ever heard. That is using the VM-1a in PENTODE mode (there are 2 other modes). The only minus is that the CA-1a has a sonic profile like traditional headphones though the VM-1a elevates that sound to the extreme.

The better headphone is the RAAL SR1a, It is not as hard hitting as the CA-1a so that is why I call my CA-1a the rock and roll phones. However, the SR1a is mind blowing great, especially with the VM-1a amp. The sound is unlike other headphones and more like 2-channel sound.

I listen to the SR1a with 3 of the amps listed above and when the 4th amp arrives, I will use that in a room where I can lay down and zone out.

I used to own the Meze Empy headphones with the Benchmark HPA4 headphone amp. I thought it was rather good but not something I would take over 2-channel. The 2 RAAL phones I have are equivalent to my 2-channel setup. I am not downgrading when I use them late at night (like right now). Cranking some April Wine on the CA-1a with the VM-1a headphone amp.

BTW - if you live in a big city see if you can check out the next CanJam show.

Events | CanJam (canjamglobal.com)

BTW - Stereophile is supposed to do a review of the gear I listed above. It will Shirley be a rave.

I just saw this review for my rock and roll headphones. The reviewer does not use the best amp for it, the RAAL VM-1a, and his comments about the headphone running a bit hot are surprising. I purposely use a hot DAC, the Benchmark DAC3B, with the VM-1a because my smooth DAC is not a match with the VM-1a. My DAC3B is too hot with my 2-channel setup.

(47) What’s a RIBBON headphone? RAAL Requisite CA-1A Review with Resolve! | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

I do have a different view of the 2 RAAL headphones from this reviewer. I am a 2-channel guy so the SR1a is the holy grail while the CA-1a is incredible in-spite of the fact that it sounds more like headphones. The reviewer liked the CA-1a more because he was not into 2-channel audio.

The reviewer really has not heard the best from the headphone using the amps he tried. He also explains why I call them rock and roll headphones.

@bound4h My Focal and Meze Empy dealer told me to buy the cheaper Meze over the Focal. He said was tired of doing the paperwork for the Focal warranty work. He said they have a lot of issues (you may want to Google this to confirm), I spent less money with him buying the Meze Empy paired with the Benchmark HPA4.

The Meze is a warm headphone and the HPA4 is a very neutral headphone amp. It was the reference headphone amp for Sandu at soundnews.net (same as link above). I loved the HPA4 as a 2-channel and the headphone part was a bonus, so I got into the world of headphones with the Meze Empy.

The dealers reference headphone is the Susvara.

The SE-Master 1, tuned by Tim Vine-Lott (former Technical Director at AIR Studios is the most resolving open-backed headphone I’ve ever owned/heard. It’s very much like listening to tower speakers in a control room. Minimal EQing is required to get them just right, so they’re almost exactly like a closed-back SE-MJ591..except they create the illusion of listening to speakers in a large room.

@mastering92 Some headphone people do not like that type of sound. I am not one of them. Have you compared the SE-Master 1 to the RAAL SR1a, which are revealing and sound like speakers? I am interested in headphones that sound like speakers.

@mastering92 If you are adventurous, you should consider having Mitch Barnett of AccurateSound.ca create a convolution filter for your headphones. You would have to send it to him if he does not already have it. He is a DSP star and is now well known for the convolution filters for the RAAL SR1a. I have them but do not use them since I have the SR1a dialed in perfectly using gear.

Convolution filters are easy to use if you use ROON or JRiver for streaming.