The amp was delivered today. I wrote up some initial observations over at Head-Fi forums. I have to get better associated equipment before I make any real statements about sound, and I should have that in place in about a month or so. I was very disappointed that this amp shipped with JJ EL34 tubes instead of the Mullards that were in the amp at CanJam. I would think that for $6500 they wouldn’t have cheaped out on tubes although, I don’t know for sure if the Mullards were put in by Headamp or if they were original.
VM-1a: New RAAL SR1a Headphone amp
I heard the new top of the line RAAL SR1a headphone amp, the VM-1a. To say I was impressed is an understatement. This amp was incredible with the SR1a. I have never heard the SR1a sound so good.
I have been championing the 2-channel approach with the SR1a over the dedicated headphone amp since my 2-channel amps sounded better to me. However. the game is over for my 2-channel amps. I used CODA07x preamp with a CODA #8 amp to drive the SR1a. I also had a Schitt Frey+ preamp and Benchmark AHB2 amp to drive the SR1a. Both systems had a Musetec 005 DAC. I had 2 RAAL amp interface boxes to accomplish this.
The new VM-1a amp will cost $6500, which is nosebleed level for me, but I am selling the CODA #8 amp and Schitt Freya+ preamp to buy the VM-1a. I have a NAD M22 V2 as a backup if I have tube issues with the VM-1a. The NAD is pretty good.
Here is a list of all the 2-channel amps tried with the SR1a.
- Schitt Jotunheim R (dedicated SR1a headphone amp, not 2 channel)
- RAAL HSA-1B
- Benchmark AHB2 stereo and mono
- D-Sonic M3a 800s
- LSA Voyager 350 GAN (modded by EVS)
- Parasound A21+
- NAD M22 V2
- KRELL K-300i integrated amp
- KRELL Duo 175XD
- CODA #8
I will have the KRELL 175XD and NAD M22 V2 left after this purge is completed.