YYZ, you post so much informative info on all your equipment. RAAL should just send you a Vm-1a for a few months review purposes.
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.
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I am going through gear faster than that the A’gon guy with the amp thread. Though my objective is to get a few home systems together for long term use. If the VM-1a amp was available last year, I would not have bought 90% of the amps I bought, along with the CODA 07x preamp. It was winding journey but fun to make the SR1a sound great with 2-channel gear, but now it is so easy with the VM-1a and sounds better than my best 2-channel gear. I actually went to RAAL HQ to get some repair work done last weekend (headphone cable). If all their available VM-1a units weren’t already sold out, I would have been given an amp to take home to try. I am definitely a pied piper with the RAAL SR1a because most people have bad rooms (like me), and families that sleep when you want to listen to tunes (like me). They also dislike headphones (like me). I think that could describe a lot of us here. |
@willywonka I could not take one home since each one in stock was already sold out. Though Danny does realize that if he did left me take one home to demo I would buy it. He wrapped me up into the RAAL ecosystem by letting me demo the SR1a for months. I have the money today to buy the VM-1a but I decided to invest that money, At the end of this year is when I will order the VM-1a. My CODA #8 | CODA 07x | Musetec 005 is like a 9/10 on the SR1a. Really incredible and the best I had heard until the VM-1a which is a 10/10. Congrats, on your new setup. It is incredible, just look out for the reviews which will be glowing. |
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. |
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