RAAL-requisite
Ventura, California, USA (Requisite Audio) / eastern Serbia (RAAL manufacturing), United States / Serbia · founded 2018
RAAL-requisite made the world's first full-range, pure-ribbon headphone (the open-baffle SR1a, debuted at RMAF 2018) and the first circumaural True Ribbon headphone (CA-1a) — a genuinely unique driver technology no other headphone maker uses, derived from RAAL's aluminum ribbon tweeters and handmade in Serbia.
RAAL-requisite is a US/Serbian joint venture that pioneered full-range “True Ribbon” headphones. It pairs the ribbon-driver engineering of Aleksandar Radisavljević’s RAAL Advanced Loudspeakers (a Serbian ribbon-tweeter manufacturer founded in 1995) with the pro-audio and go-to-market operation of Danny McKinney’s Requisite Audio Engineering in Ventura, California (also founded 1995). The collaboration debuted the SR1a open-baffle ribbon “Earfield” monitor at RMAF in October 2018 — the world’s first full-range, pure-ribbon headphone — followed by the SR1b and the circumaural CA-1a, plus dedicated amplification/interface hardware (HSA-1b amp, TI-1b interface). Headphones are handmade in Serbia by the same craftspeople who build RAAL’s ribbon tweeters. In 2024 Radisavljević launched a separate premium brand, RAAL 1995, for the multi-driver Magna and Immanis headphones; Requisite Audio serves as RAAL 1995’s exclusive North America distributor. The company is independent and family-run — not owned by any conglomerate.
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At a glance
- Type
- Manufacturer
- Founder
- Aleksandar Radisavljević (RAAL) and Danny "Sage" McKinney (Requisite Audio)
- Founded
- 2018
- Headquarters
- Ventura, California, USA (Requisite Audio) / eastern Serbia (RAAL manufacturing), United States / Serbia
- Price range
- Summit-fi
- Makes / sells
- headphones, headphone amplifiers, audio interfaces, cables
- Known for
- true-ribbon headphone drivers, open-baffle / open-air headphone design, full-range ribbon transducers, reference/studio monitoring headphones, handmade-in-Serbia ribbon manufacturing
- Website
- raalrequisite.com
Notable products
- SR1a — World's first full-range, pure-ribbon open-baffle 'Earfield' headphone monitor; publicly debuted at RMAF October 2018. Requires a speaker amp plus interface.
- SR1b — Revised SR1a with an updated grille matching the CA-1a; open-baffle true-ribbon monitor.
- CA-1a — World's first circumaural (closed-form-factor) True Ribbon headphone; 8cm full-spectrum ribbon driver, typically bundled with the TI-1b interface.
- HSA-1b — RAAL-requisite headphone/loudspeaker amplifier designed to drive the ribbon headphones.
- TI-1b interface — Transformer interface/OB-compensation barrel that lets standard amps drive the ribbon headphones.
- Magna — A RAAL 1995 (not RAAL-requisite-branded) next-gen open-back circumaural R-squared dual-driver true-ribbon headphone; Requisite Audio is its North America distributor. The task's 'Magma' appears to be this 'Magna' model.
- Immanis — RAAL 1995 flagship multi-driver (R-cubed) true-ribbon headphone with ~50% more driver surface area than Magna; distributed in North America by Requisite Audio.
Carries
Sources: Requisite Audio official site (raalrequisite.com) · Requisite Audio — MAGNA product page (RAAL 1995 distribution) · Stereophile — Gramophone Dreams 32: RAAL-Requisite SR1a · Stereophile — RAAL-requisite CA-1a circumaural ribbon headset · Darko.Audio — RAAL 1995 Magna & Immanis review · Headfonia — RAAL Requisite SR-1b review · Tape Op — Danny McKinney interview (Requisite Audio history) · LinkedIn — Danny 'Sage' McKinney (Owner Requisite Audio, Co-Owner RAAL-Requisite)