I think it might be worth reconsidering the notion of SS treble issues being neutral. That crap shouldn't exist on any headphone, period. Nobody in the audio world ever complained about that till SS devices took over. I think the Rag redefines SS neutrality bringing naturalness back to music.
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I think the digital age has just made us reframe our perceptions to think of that typical sound to be neutral or accurate.
I've mentioned this in other threads, where the general improvement in our gear seems to be linked to striving towards achieving a full 120dB resolution in our audio playback systems.
This is a tall order, no matter how you look at it.
And not just in the DAC side but the analog amplification side as well.
And I figured with The Roks matched volume control that the bass would become much more 'real', with greater tonality, be more tangeable, with greater visceral impact, and I'm hearing all of this, and more.
The degree of 'engagement' that this elicits is easy to notice, once it is heard.
As T3 and HB&W are an automatic reflexive response to this level of SQ.
I use the term coupling which seems directly linked to bass response into the subsonic region. And once achieved you can hear how it affects just about every 'voice', regardless of what it is. Even a piccolo responds to this degree of bass capability.
IOW 'engagement' seems directly linked to the systems ability to deliver well coupled bass into the subsonic region.
The Rok has this ability to deliver 'properly' coupled bass with impact and control, much to my delight.
And I have heard this on my cheap ($40) speakers where the sound carries much more through out the house, and it's especially noticable at low volume levels.
Coupling, when achieved, is addicting and when the source material contains truly subsonic information, strange things happen, things that headphones shouldn't be able to deliver.
JJ
