In this review we look at the RAAL 1995 Magna headphone. The Magna starting price is around €5.399 Euro.
Disclaimer: I received the Magna from RAAL 1995 directly. RAAL is not related to Headfonia in any way.
Intro
We have covered the Raal Requisite SR-1b and RAAL 1995 Immanis headphone already. If you’re not familiar yet with RAAL or the ribbon technology, I suggest reading up on them first.
The RAAL Magna headphone has been with us for quite a while already, apologies for the delay in publication of this review. In the meantime, we – as said – have published the Immanis review and that headphone won our Recommended Buy Awards, as well as our 2024 Best Headphone Award.
One thing is for sure, the Magna’s big brother is one of the best headphones on the market. Can the RAAL 1995 Magna convince us as well? We’ll find out in this review. Some parts of this article might look familiar as they have already been published before.
RAAL 1995
Quite a bit has changed since I wrote my initial article on the SR-1b. Where we then were talking about RAAL Requisite, we now with RAAL 1995 have a new name and company. Aleksandar Radisavljevic still is the man in charge.
Aleksandar explains: RAAL-requisite introduced the true-ribbon technology to headphones, pioneering its way into Head-Fi. Our goal at R-r was to offer great sounding, yet sensibly priced headphones and ancillary parts. RAAL 1995 is here to unleash the full potential of the technology and expand its performance to the next level.
Why then RAAL 1995 I hear you ask? Easy! Aleksandar’s first finished speaker was publicly shown back in 1995, so he’s going back to his roots with the naming. RAAL 1995 is focusing on a higher-end headphone segment, of course still using ribbon drivers.
If you’re not familiar yet with RAAL Requisite’s iconic SR-1b headphone, I advise to read up on the SR-1b article first, you can find it here:
RAAL 1995’s website still is under development after all this time, you can find it here. For now they only have their inactive Facebook page, as well as the US distributor’s page. In this regards the company is a bit strange, they just don’t seem to care. They in example never responded to winning our Best Product of the Year Award, which is the highest Headfonia award to get. But ok, let’s move on and hope they are doing well.
Ribbon technology
Before continuing with the review, let’s quickly discover the True Ribbon technology.
From Wikipedia:
A ribbon speaker consists of a thin metal-film ribbon suspended in a magnetic field. The electrical signal is applied to the ribbon, which moves with it to create the sound. The advantage of a ribbon driver is that the ribbon has very little mass; thus, it can accelerate very quickly, yielding very good high-frequency response. Ribbon loudspeakers are often very fragile—some can be torn by a strong gust of air. Most ribbon tweeters emit sound in a dipole pattern. A few have backings that limit the dipole radiation pattern. Above and below the ends of the more or less rectangular ribbon, there is less audible output due to phase cancellation, but the precise amount of directivity depends on ribbon length.
Ribbon designs generally require exceptionally powerful magnets, which makes them costly to manufacture. Ribbons have a very low resistance that most amplifiers cannot drive directly. As a result, a step down transformer is typically used to increase the current through the ribbon. The amplifier “sees” a load that is the ribbon’s resistance times the transformer turns ratio squared. The transformer must be carefully designed so that its frequency response and parasitic losses do not degrade the sound, further increasing cost and complication relative to conventional designs.
I first experienced the Ribbon sound when I listened to the SR-1a in combination with the VM-1a tube amplifier, and it seriously impressed me. When I finally found some cash for it, I bought the SR-1b version and it has been with me ever since.
RAAL 1995 Magna
Where the SR-1a and SR-1b had only 1 ribbon, and the Immanis has 3, the Magna sports two. The design has comparable to the Immanis and like its big brother, it looks like a regular headphone. More on that later in this article.
Make no mistake, MAGNA is not a detuned, compromised version of IMMANIS.
The Magna, like the Immanis, uses the next generation of ribbon drivers that in certain areas parted ways with the old, but inherited the best features of the previous ones. Aleksandar explains: “We now have our new R² and R³ drivers that exploit a new idea that small differences in ribbon segments are beneficial. We tune the segments slightly differently, so they can’t repeat errors in the same way. We call it complimentary tuning. You can’t do that with a single ribbon, or any other single diaphragm, so now we are doubling and tripling them. This not just to get more SPL or sensitivity, the obvious benefits, but to add another layer of improvement in sound quality. Imperfections are inevitable. It’s about managing them in a way that doesn’t compromise other areas of sound quality.”
Between Immanis and Magna, Immanis offers 50% more surface area than Magna and has a larger front chamber. The SPL capability of 118dB disproves the stereotype of fragile ribbons and underlines the performance of these Serbian ribbon headphones.
What you need
The Raal 1995 headphones aren’t your regular plug and play headphones, and in order for your amp to work correctly with the Immanis headphone you need to use one of Raal’s Ribbon Current Drive Interfaces like the TI-1b or their newest one (RCD-32(Ohm)). Both interfaces work fine, you don’t need to buy a new interface if you have one already. The RCD Interface, featuring purpose designed, highest-quality, toroidal transformers is designed in the style of a headphone stand. Toroidal transformers convert a voltage-controlled amplifier output into a current-controlled signal for driving the ribbons.
You also need to use a special headphone cable as well as an input Cable. You can buy a full bundle with everything you need, so no worries there. If you already have the cables and interface, then you can buy the Magna only. Contrary to with the SR-1b you no longer may use the open-baffle Compensation Barrels. The barrels will change the intended sound signature but also, because of reducing the level above 2k for about 5dB, they may overload the ribbons with bass when you increase the volume to compensate for the 5dB loss. So make sure to remove the barrels from your SR-1a/b system when switching to the (Magna or) Immanis.
Basically you connect the headphone output of your amp to the (TI-1b/RCD) interface. You connect the Magna to that interface with your special cable. The volume dial used is the one of your headphone amp. It’s pretty straightforward really.
If you don’t want to use the interface, you can opt to buy one of the rare ribbon ready amplifiers on the market (like the one from SAEQ). Compatible amplifiers should have a low output impedance of less than 10mV DC offset and suitable for driving loads of 32Ω or above.
Price, Accessories, Delivery
The RAAL 1995 Magna is selling for €6.799 Euro for the headphone, interface and stock SATIS copper cable. If you already have an interface from the SR-1a/b or other RAAL headphones, you can also just order the headphones for €5.399 Euro. As you can see these are all very high-end prices, easily putting the Magna in the top-end of the high-end segment. You can buy the RAAL Magna via RAAL’s dealer network.
The RAAL 1995 Magna was sent to me in a very rigid waterproof and airtight container which has a nice cutout for the interface and headphones. If I’m not mistaken, the Immanis comes in a metal suitcase.
Accessory-wise you don’t get much but if you buy the full bundle with the headphones, cables and interface, you have everything you need. On top of that the RCD Interface also serves as a headphone stand. While I use the stand all the time myself, I have to admit it isn’t the most stable or welcoming stand for the larger sized headphone. I do recommend using a larger stand or just laying them safely on your desk. Just make sure not to pull any of the cables going from the headphone or amplifier to the interface. It could be an expensive accident.
Note that the RAAL headphones come with a 5 year transferable warranty. You can find the details about that here. If you order the full package you will receive the following:
– Headphones: MAGNA (dual-ribbon)
– Ribbon Current-Drive Interface / Stand: RCD Interface 32 Ohm (8 Ohm & Viva by request)
– Cable (Amplifier to RCD Interface): RCD-XLR (XLR4 to XLR4) 1.5m
– Cable (Headphones to RCD Interface): Satis Copper 1.8m
– Case: Waterproof Hard Molded Plastic / Foam Lined
The article continues on the second page, click here or use the jumps below.
