[Aleksandar R.]

Will the Immanis be delivered with a Star-8 cable "umbilical" cord, the cable between the interface and the headphone amp?

No, there is no need to use STAR-8 cable topology for that purpose.

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Yes, I know. But @MokhaMark wrote that he got the Magna with a Star-8 "umbilical" cord. I expect that cable to be better than the stock RCD-XLR. So it should be an upgrade option at least.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/raal-ribbon-headphones-srh1a.890603/page-517#post-18044378

No, what Mark assumed it's a STAR-8 "umbilical", it is not.

 

[BassicScience]

No, there is no need to use STAR-8 cable topology for that purpose.

Thanks for that clarification. I understand both ends of this cable are terminated with 4-pin XLR. Are the connectors male or female? Also, can you confirm that the same cable is shipped regardless of the specified input impedance of the transformer? (I assume yes.) Finally, is the 32-ohm transformer more linear (or otherwise preferable) to the 8-ohm version?

We appreciate (even more) your time on a holiday weekend!

 

[Aleksandar R.]

rlawry´s comparison of the the Raal stock umbilical cord with a cheap Pine Tree Audio cable let me wonder if there is a weak link in the Immanis-package
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/raal-ribbon-headphones-srh1a.890603/page-517#post-18044001
But maybe Alex can give us more information about the Immanis umbilical cord and if it is different from the stock cable of the SR1A.

I haven't heard any meaningful differences between Amp-to-Interface cables, especially at that length.

SR-1a is not a good reference for tracing cable year and type, as Amp-to-Interface cables belong to the Interface, and we had Resistor and Transformer Interfaces in the lifetime of SR-1a.
But if we're talking about RAAL 1995 RCD-XLR cable for Transformer interface, it is the same wire as the new SATIS headphone cable that comes with Magna.
It is a slightly improved version of the ITI-XLR cables that were coming with RAAL-requisite products and will have different jackets.

For practical reasons, all the cables that were at both Shows (Heidelberg and CanJam NYC), were from the old RAAL-requisite lineup.

However, the new ones are not much different. If you feel that experimenting with other XLR M4-XLR M4 cables, is worth pursuing, you should explore that.
That cable has no special requirements like a headphone cable, so you can try literally anything you can get your hands on.
Whether that will bring anything to performance, I am very skeptical about that, but that's just me.

In any case, I must provide a cable in the set with headphones. My choice being Satis Copper type of wire (no Silver plating, coaxial topology), that is also used as a headphone cable fro Magna.

 

[MokhaMark]

No, what Mark assumed it's a STAR-8

Apologies all, I assumed from the cosmetics. My error.

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Thanks for that clarification. I understand both ends of this cable are terminated with 4-pin XLR. Are the connectors male or female? Also, can you confirm that the same cable is shipped regardless of the specified input impedance of the transformer? (I assume yes.) Finally, is the 32-ohm transformer more linear (or otherwise preferable) to the 8-ohm version?

We appreciate (even more) your time on a holiday weekend!

You are most welcome and thank you!

The connectors on both ends are male.

Yes, same type for both 32 and 8 Ohm impedance options up to standard 1.5m (5ft.) length.
For greater length than that, we are using different topology cable with larger cross-section of Copper, as we need to keep resistance low enough for transformers to work properly. We can do up to 6m. (20ft.)

Both transformers have the same bandwidth (linearity). The parasitics in those transformers are governed by the secondary circuit and we just use the primary to multiply that by a desired ratio, so as we multiply impedance, we also multiply the parasitics by the same ratio, so the influence is proportionally the same and no difference in bandwidth.

However, keep in mind that there is no need for more than 4-5 Watts developed at either impedance by the amp.
So, if you have a powerful speaker amp (of linear electronics kind), use 32 Ohms as it will develop 4x less power at 32 than on 8 Ohms, so the headphones will be in less danger. transformers will start to saturate in low bass at over 6w and provide some protection, but that is not as effective as being mindfull with the volume pot.

Class-D amps are different. Their output filter is designed to see 4-8 Ohm loads (normal speakers) to be effective in cleaning up the switching noise.
So, for those, use 8 Ohm Inetrface, but really be careful with all that power available.

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Apologies all, I assumed from the cosmetics. My error.

No need for any apologies, please!
Actually, it is my fault for providing the last line of RAAL-requisite cable cosmetics for the Shows, and you were not aware that we were offering those lately for R-r products.

Once everything is ready, there will be official photos on the website, showing the final looks and what's what.
For Singapore CanJam, we will have the final aesthetics and types of cables on display, but photo session will be done after I come back home.

 

[BassicScience]

However, keep in mind that there is no need for more than 4-5 Watts developed at either impedance by the amp.
So, if you have a powerful speaker amp (of linear electronics kind), use 32 Ohms as it will develop 4x less power at 32 than on 8 Ohms, so the headphones will be in less danger. transformers will start to saturate in low bass at over 6w and provide some protection, but that is not as effective as being mindfull with the volume pot.

Class-D amps are different. Their output filter is designed to see 4-8 Ohm loads (normal speakers) to be effective in cleaning up the switching noise.
So, for those, use 8 Ohm Inetrface, but really be careful with all that power available.

Thank you for the detailed response! Actually, Bruno Putzeys' Hypex- and Purifi-based class D amps are designed to be completely agnostic to load impedance. I have quite successfully used each type (Hypex/Purifi) to drive estats through an iFi iESL transformer interface which can be configured to present an input impedance of 16, 24, 64, or 96 ohms to the amplifier. FWIW, the sonic differences between these various impedance settings are relatively minor (to my ear), although the required amplifier gain is obviously impacted.

Given the above, I will request the 32 Ohm transformer to start with. My current speaker amp's gain can be adjusted between 12-30 dB, so I'm optimistic I'll find a setting that allows me to operate my preamp in my preferred volume range. If not, I have other options with less power. As I've mentioned elsewhere, the Immanis sounded tremendous to me at CanJam just driven off an iFi iCAN Pro through the transformer, quite surprisingly so given the amping requirements of your previous ribbon headphones.

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Thank you for the detailed response! Actually, Bruno Putzeys' Hypex- and Purifi-based class D amps are designed to be completely agnostic to load impedance. I have quite successfully used each type (Hypex/Purifi) to drive estats through an iFi iESL transformer interface which can be configured to present an input impedance of 16, 24, 64, or 96 ohms to the amplifier. FWIW, the sonic differences between these various impedance settings are relatively minor (to my ear), although the required amplifier gain is obviously impacted.

Given the above, I will request the 32 Ohm transformer to start with. My current speaker amp's gain can be adjusted between 12-30 dB, so I'm optimistic I'll find a setting that allows me to operate my preamp in my preferred volume range. If not, I have other options with less power. As I've mentioned elsewhere, the Immanis sounded tremendous to me at CanJam just driven off an iFi iCAN Pro through the transformer, quite surprisingly so given the amping requirements of your previous ribbon headphones.

Wow! I can only imagine how clever and ingenious the solution must have been to solve the filtering problem with Class-D that wouldn't care about the load impedance!
Kudos to Bruno Putzey! ( where is that deep worshiping bow emoji when you need it!?)

It's cool that you know your gear and what it likes!

 

[Aleksandar R.]

About supply timeline, nothing is firmly known yet.
The last remaining parts will be delivered to us while I'm at CanJam SG.
Then those parts need to be polished, plated or anodized and go into assembly, if they are dimensionally correct in the first place.
If they are all OK, we will order more...

Things are moving, but I can't promise the dates, just a rough timeline.
We are currently finishing the Show-demos for CanJam SG and we will need to do the same, but in double quantity for Munich Shows.
And there are scheduled reviews that are long-overdue, so that has to be taken care of between SG and Munich.

So, once the Munich is over, we will breathe much easier and get a chance to work on pieces that so many people are waiting for to be delivered.

As we go, we will send small shipments out, so people that are waiting for longest, will be supplied as soon as possible, and then down the waiting list...

 

[Aleksandar R.]

The fruits of collaboration with Viva Audio are ripening!

 

[Aleksandar R.]

No hurry. Alex has worked hard the last months. I hope he get some rest these days.

No Sleep 'til Hammersmith...or Singapore...or Munechen

 

[Frankie D]

The fruits of collaboration with Viva Audio are ripening!

What is special about this vs what comes with the Immanus?

 

[number1sixerfan]

With all the talk of how much more optimally raal ribbons perform with the VM-1a, I don't think I've heard much in this thread about upcoming amps in progress for the immanis and current ribbons. Is this a no-talk about subject?

 

[Hiker816]

With all the talk of how much more optimally raal ribbons perform with the VM-1a, I don't think I've heard much in this thread about upcoming amps in progress for the immanis and current ribbons. Is this a no-talk about subject?

It sounds like there aren't any direct-drive amps in the offing, though I think that's at least in part because Aleksander believes they don't offer any benefit over a good amp+interface box. But he's mentioned here and in the 6moons article (e.g., https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/raal-1995-magna-immanis/3/ and https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/raal-1995-magna-immanis/6/) a few stellar tube amps for use with the interface. Including an upcoming Solaja Audio SET 300B driving 300B. 300B by the VM1a's designer and manufacturer sounds pretty epic. Though a quad of 300B sounds pretty epic in price, too. And then there's the collaboration between Viva Audio and RAAL 1995 that Aleksander's been hinting at.