In this High End Munich 2024 Preview 2 article, we take a look at two new products you absolutely need to check out at the High-End Munich show next week. This preview is all about the new RAAL 1995 headphones.
RAAL 1995 – Magna & Immanis headphones
I have been posting about these headphones on social media and in my previous articles, Head-Fi and social media already but both the Magna and Immanis headphones are now at the HQ.
For those of you not familiar yet with RAAL and the ribbon technology, I advise to read up on it first. You can find me SR-1b article here:
Since then, RAAL Requisite was renamed to RAAL 1995 and they are now focusing on a higher-end headphone segment, still using ribbon drivers. Where the SR-1a and SR-1b had only 1 ribbon, the new RAAL 1995 headphones now sport 2 (Magna) and 3 (Immanis) Ribbon drivers. The design has completely changed as well, and the headphones now look more like regular headphones. There actually is an excellent RAAL thread on Head-Fi, where Aleksander from RAAL is very active and answering all the possible questions related to his latest creations. Unfortunately the Head-Fi moderation team doesn’t seem to like my messages, so I will not be linking to the thread here.
For the moment there is no Raal 1995 website yet, but I hope it’ll be ready before the review. For the moment you can find all about the Magna and Immanis via Headphone.shop.
From RAAL 1995:
The Magna weighs 530 g and is made of a 10 cm diameter fiberglass-aluminum composite with a hard-waxed American walnut veneer and anodized finish. The grille is made of etched 3-phase stainless steel, the bridge of titanium aluminum nitride and brushed stainless steel. The skin side of the headband is padded with suede, and the click-stop height adjuster has five levels. The ear pads are made of memory foam, covered with lamb suede on the inside and perforated leather on the outside. The round ear pad opening is 64 mm. The input connections are 3.5 mm TRRS sockets. The twin ribbons are made of corrugated aluminum with a viscous damping skin made of “Silent Metal”, the combined surface area is 16.8 cm². The excursion potential is ±4 mm, the maximum sound pressure level is 115 dB and the impedance is 0.038Ω (0.27Ω with the 1.8 m long S2 headphone cable with XLR4 socket).
The three Immanis ribbons increase the surface area to 25.2 cm², the shell diameter to 11 cm and the impedance to 0.057Ω (0.29Ω with the 1.8 m long Star-8 MkII headphone cable). The maximum sound pressure level increases by 3 dB, the round ear cup opening increases to 74 mm, and the weight to 610 g. The grill is now gold-plated. In comparison, the Magna ribbons have almost 29% more surface area than the CA-1 driver, while the Immanis ribbons are almost twice the surface area of the CA-1 and 1.45 times larger than the SR1. Between them, Immanis offers 50% more surface area than Magna and has a larger front chamber. There are also differences in bridge details, headband stitching and supplied cables.
The interface, designed in the style of a headphone stand, includes a toroidal transformer that converts a voltage-controlled amplifier output into a current-controlled signal for the ribbons. Compatible amplifiers should have a low output impedance of less than 10mV DC offset and are now loaded with 32Ω (8Ω/16Ω on request). The single impedance interface aims to ensure compatibility with different headfi amplifiers. Compared to older models, Magna requires only 2.4 watts and Immanis only 1.5 watts, allowing for higher efficiency and wider compatibility. Suitable amplifiers, such as the Auris Headonia 10th Anniversary 300B or the Trafomatic Primavera with SV811-10, provide full power to the interface. The 100% conductivity of the ribbons allows precise control over the entire cone, resulting in fast response and impressive dynamics. The Xmax of ±4mm for the RAAL 1995 foils is exceptional for headphone drivers. The SPL capability of 115/118 dB for Magna/Immanis disproves the stereotype of fragile ribbons and underlines the performance of these Serbian ribbon headphones, both for consumer and professional applications. The curated amplifiers, including the new Auris amplifier, provide the necessary power and compatibility for the interface.
Headphone.shop also has a nice Q&A section with RAAL’s Aleksandar Radisavljevic, make sure to check that out as well to get a better insight on these headphones.
First Impressions:
Making these headphones is not as easy as you’d think and as such it’s quite hard to get hold of or even buy a unit at this stage. RAAL however is doing their absolute best to get them ready and some of the early clients are starting to receive their units already. I am lucky enough to have both units here with me and I am using one new and one old TI-1b interface from my SR-1b. The Magna is on the copper cable and the Immanis on the silver one (unless specifically mentioned).
Build wise the Magna and Immanis are more like a regular headphone. Some people really had issues with the looks and usage of the SR-1b, but I never found that to be an issue myself. Anyway, the two new headphones look, weigh and feel like a regular high-end headphone. I find them to be quite comfortable myself, but I am pretty easy for what comfort is concerned. The weight on the top the head is evenly distributed and the side pressure is cozily tight. For some with a wider head, it might be less comfortable but I am sure the headband can be stretched out. The Magna is the smaller headphone of both, and it has smaller pads. The (internal) pad diameter is smaller, so the pads are more prone to touch your ears. If you don’t like that feeling or if you know you have larger sized ears, the Magna maybe is not the one for you. With the Immanis this is no issue at all.
Isolation wise these both of course are fully open headphones and as such sound will leak in and out, it’s that simple. To get the best experience you need to use these headphones in quiet environments. Multiple people have asked me if these headphones will disturb other people and the answer is yes, they will. How much depends on your listening volume, it’s that simple.
Build wise, the Magna and Immanis both have the quality you expect from a high-end headphone. Note that the drivers/cups can easily be removed from the headband, so make sure the little rods are perfectly in place before picking up the headphones. Both headphones came in a different yet very nice case, which we’ll go further into in the full review.
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