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Build Quality, Design, Comfort, Isolation
The Magna weighs 530 g and is made of a 10 cm diameter fiberglass-aluminum composite with a hard-waxed American walnut veneer and an anodized finish. The grille on the back of the driver is made of etched 3-phase stainless steel, the bracket is made of titanium aluminum nitride and brushed stainless steel. The skin side of the headband is padded with non-slip suede and the head width adjustment has a five-position grid.
The memory foam ear pads are covered with lamb suede on the inside and perforated leather on the outside. The round ear pad opening should also provide comfort for large ears. Conventional 3.5 mm TRRS sockets are used as connections. The twin ribbons on the Magna 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).
At this price point you expect the very best, and I have to say that RAAL 1995 really delivers when it comes to build quality.
The 3.5mm TRRS connectors, silver grill with the name, the perforated lamb suede covered pads, the wooden cups and headband all look incredible. The SATIS copper cable and RCD Interface also have the very best build quality, using excellent materials. Ok, there is a typo on the SATIS cable, but let’s forget about that. I know from Aleksander that producing all these materials in a perfect way is quite challenging, but it is what RAAL 1995 stands for. 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 (This might have been rectified in the meantime though).
Looking at the Magna’s design, the opinions are divided, but I personally quite like the way it looks. While the Magna (and Immanis for that matter) now looks like a regular headphone, it does stand out from the crowd with an attractive and flashy headband combined with the silver grills on the side. I also like that the interface was designed as a headphone stand.
These headphones use a mix of glass fiber, aluminum, and a finishing touch of hard wax on American walnut veneer, highlighted by a striking gold-plated grille.
Comfort wise we of course can’t ignore the 515g this headphone weighs, but I do have to say I find the Magna to be quite comfortable. For comparison, the Immanis weighs 610g .Yes, there are lighter and more comfy reference headphones, but I do find the headband (cushioned with suede and stitched in a stylish diamond pattern) to do an excellent job distributing the weight. The side pressure for my head is good (making it safe to move around), but I can see how it would be too tight for some of you. Of course there are ways to stretch out the headband. The fancy silver-like adjusters on the yokes make it easy to perfectly adjust the headband and earpads.
While I have no real issues with the Magna, I at the same time am happy to take it off my head after a long listening session, the weight really is the biggest challenge here. At the same time, I like the tilted 3.55mm connectors which are pointing to the front. They really help in making the cable disappear. Next to that I would love to have seen easily detachable and replaceable pads, but I am sure there’s a good reason for them to be the way they are now (glued). Talking about the pads, the memory foam pads (covered with lamb suede on the inside and perforated sheepskin leather on the outside) feel soft and comfy, even offering excellent ventilation. My ears never touch the sides of the pads (74mm opening) and my ears never feel warm.
Isolation wise the Immanis of course is a fully open headphone and as such sound will leak in and out, it’s that simple. To get the best experience you need to use this headphone in a quiet environment. 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.
Sound – Intro
In this introductory chapter on sound, we usually check out how the brands describe the sound of their own gear. As RAAL 1995 doesn’t have their site up yet, I only found this brief statement on the German distributor’s page:
MAGNA (dual-ribbon) is ideal for those seeking authenticity of timbre, scale & proportionality in mid-size and smaller ensembles, regardless of genre. String quartets, piano trios, singer/songwriter, classic jazz and blues, all presented with stunning clarity of space, while kicking like a mule, when the music calls for it.
I have been using the Magna a little over 6 months now and I have hooked it up to a wide range of amplifiers, both tube and solid state. The DAC used mostly was the Aquarius R2R and music came from Tidal being streamed via ROON.
Sound – General
To start, I want to make it clear that ribbon drivers just like Dynamic, Orthodynamic and AMT drivers have their own typical sound. I have used a series of amplifiers to assess the Magna, but I mostly used the Auris Audio Headonia 300b amplifier in combination with the Musician Audio Aquarius R2R DAC.
The Magna will certainly blow you away if this is your first experience with ribbon headphones. The clarity, tightness and speed form the ribbon drivers is something unique. Sound stage wise the Magna performs very well, though improvement still is possible in all directions(Immanis). That said the layering is quite good in the bass and mids area and the stereo image is a pleasure to listen to.
I have found the ribbon drivers to be very precise and revealing, and that also is the case with the double drivers in the Magna. You get a really good level of detail (in all areas), note extension and tonal decay (but here the Immanis is superior). The Magna sounds open, but the Immanis takes it a notch further with more air and additional width/depth.
The Raal 1995 Magna is a full sounding headphone and both the bass and mids have good body, though that’s also amplifier dependent. I never found the Magna to sound too weighty, all is natural here. The bass is more mid bass, but it is fast, punchy and it has good impact in the delivery. The sub bass performance and presence is more limited however. That said, the layering and precision is good.
Magna’s mids are a pure pleasure to listen to. The mid spaciousness and separation is excellent, and the overall mid timbre is pure musical bliss. The vocal presentation is some more focused and to the front but it matches with the tuning and it is never position in an exaggerated way, it’s all natural.
Magna’s top end is lively and energetic, and it extends well. It has a nice top-end sparkle without ever sounding harsh or aggressive. It nicely contrasts the full mids and punch pass, making this an exciting headphone to listen to
All-in-all the RAAL 1995 Magna is a very dynamic and energetic sounding headphone. The delivery is engaging, highly musical and it has you tapping your feet in no time. Note that the Magna, like the Immanis, is a transparent headphone, so you will definitely hear what the rest of your setup is bringing to the table. And that brings us to the next chapter.
Sound – Synergy
For this section I have selected the following amplifiers: The Auris Audio Headonia 300b, the Feliks Audio Envy, the SAEQ Armageddon and the Niimbus US4+. The DAC used is the Musician Aquarius and everything is connected in balanced mode.
The Auris Audio Headonia 300b is a real high-end amplifier with a typical 300b sound. The amplifier’s sound has good weight, excellent speed and top level dynamics. Precision and detail wise this amplifier is really good, though I feel the 2A3 version was even better (think extension and tube flavor). Anyway, it is a great match with the Magna, making it sound precise, yet musical. You get a revealing, very dynamic sound with good weight in the bass and mids. Bass is tight and punchy, the vocals energetic and the top end lively and extended. The stereo imaging is a pleasure to the ear, while the layering on the other hand could have been better (Immanis). I can listen this dynamic and engaging setup all day long. This combo works really well for all types of music and you with this amp can even drive the Magna and Immanis at the same time without breaking a sweat.
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