Lyr 3 Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by neogeosnk, Mar 20, 2018.

  1. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Urgently tried to find any reasons to justify myself to order lyr3.. but I've just found another good reason for myself to wait more.

    Not BLACK yet.

    Ok, I recovered my peace of mind.

    EDIT: I am more interested in AB or shootout among lyr3, vali2 and mcth. Anybody who heard all these?
     
  2. TurbinoZ100000

    TurbinoZ100000 Acquaintance

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    Can't wait for Amir to shit on this!


    No but srsly guys, I would be ever grateful for some Lyr 2 comparisons.
     
  3. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    1. If it’s the best Schiit amp, would you say it even surpasses Ragnarok (which is over 3 times expensive) purely in terms of headphone amp performance?

    2. And as a preamp, would it also surpass Saga in sonic performance (ignoring the fact that Saga has remote functionality and a possibly better volume pot)? Meaning I would have better results with Lyr 3/Vidar than Saga/Vidar?

    3. The previous Lyrs tilted toward a warmer sound sig, if not a bit too warm. Based on your enthusiasm I’m guessing the Lyr 3 isn’t as warm to the point of sounding congested, but how would you describe its tonality? The Jotunheim was definitely on the bright side.

    4. My current rig is Liquid Glass/Code-X. Code-X is one of the less efficient phones but not to the point of HE-6 inefficient. On paper, the LG (and Liquid Crimson) has slightly more output power than Lyr 3, and both are SE hybrid amps. While you may not have compared them side-by-side, would you say Lyr 3 rivals Cavalli’s LG or LC in performance?
     
  4. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    Don't say Amir's name three times. If you do, Amir will come. And Amir will shit upon thy schiit with shotty measurements and lack of engineering expertise.

    ...wait, I said his name three times, f**k!
     
  5. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I am also assuming the same thing.

    Lyr 3 product page says "AK4490 G2 DAC module"

    There is no other AK4490 DAC module.

    I just wonder if the other AK4490 is even on or in the audio chain when connected to the Lyr 3. Let us know what you find out.
     
  6. Carlos CPA

    Carlos CPA Friend

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    Nice! This looks awesome!

    @purr1n, thanks very much for weighing in with your thoughts. Your gear recommendations have never led me astray.

    @schiit, I just have one question:

    [​IMG]
     
  7. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    There is a bunch of upside on the Jotunheim in terms of bass/slam, treble sparkle, and over all liveliness. But the congestive staging was just a turn off for me (the headphones I like are not the broadest in terms of staging).

    Has the Lyr 3 addressed that issue?
     
  8. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

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    @Elnrik @rtaylor76 @slankoe

    https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-2029#post-14117044
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2018
  9. Friday

    Friday Friend

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    To add on to songmic's questions, in what ways does the Lyr 3 excel against Valhalla 2, especially as V2 used to be your favourite amp for HD650K @purr1n ? Apart from tube-rolling that is.
     
  10. KurtSvensson

    KurtSvensson Friend

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    Can we expect a balanced version of this in mjölner 3 then down the line?
     
  11. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I'm resting my finger nervously over the "buy it now" button. A few questions...

    1. How does the lyr 3 fair against something like mjo2? I'm very familiar with that amp and this comparison would really help put the signature and performance of the amp in perspective for me. The lyr and to a lesser degree the lyr2 was more about power than finesse. Hence my next question....

    2. What is the lyr3 about? Is it a finesse or a power amp? Can it deliver that wonderful organic tone like CTH? Or is it more about dynamics like lyr and mjo? Can it be the perfect combination of both?

    I don't like the fact that this is a 3/4 chassis design like the Jot. At this price it should be a full chassis like the lyr/lyr2, seriously. And where the hell is the black option?

    3. Lastly, where are the multi-paragraph impressions from the Senior members here?
     
  12. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    You guys and your black chassis... =P
     
  13. Sanlitun

    Sanlitun Acquaintance

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    Well this is good, and I wonder if the success of amps like the MCTH have had a hand in this. If I hadn't just ordered the MCTH last Friday this is where I would be. For me the Lyr was a literal hot mess of grain and popping, so anything that puts it in Jotuntube territory is worth a listen.
     
  14. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    I don't follow you. They have had well-priced, great performing amps long before Massdrop started collaborating with Cavalli. In fact, you could make a strong case that Schiit's success in the budget and midrange encouraged Massdrop to follow suit.
     
  15. loki993

    loki993 Facebook Friend

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    I mean there is this stuff called cerekote and durakote...if you want a black one you can make it black...or 150 different colors. Is that frowned upon around here?


    People have jobs, things take time.
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    nwavguy will say it's not tubey enough for an amp that uses tubes, or that it measures bad, or that when he turned it on, he saw a puff of smoke, but the amp continued to work.

    1. Unless you are running orthos like PM-3 or HE-6, the Lyr 3 is superior to the Rag - less veil, less soft, more even tonal balance, more texture and crisper in the highs.
    2. Saga is better for a preamp because it is more transparent as a result of a simplier ciruit that only needs to feed line level inputs.
    The Lyr 3 doesn't have the pervasive bassiness or warmth of the Lyr 1/2 and Mjolnir 2. Depending upon 6SN7, the Lyr 3 can even be less warm than the latest iteration of the Jotunheim. There are lots of 6SN7s to choose from so you can change things up a bit. I use something like Sylvania 6SN7 for LCD2C (units that have less treble peak), RCA milspec redbase for stock HD800s, TS BGRP for HD650, etc. I actually liked the new production TS stock tube. The amp performs well without the need for exotic tubes - an indicator of a good design. Still, I can see some HF boobs spending $2500 in 6SN7s for Lyr 3 when they could have just gotten a better amp. I bought a ton of 6SN7s because I fear this - the exotic or well known ones are pretty much unobtainium now.

    From memory, the bass slam warmth is a bit dialed down compared to LC, but Lyr 3 bass is maybe a bit more articulate and textured. The Lyr 3 does remind me of the LG running 6SN7s, but less laid back. The LG was always a bit too laid back for my taste. The Lyr 3 is just slightly that way. I found that I liked cranking the volume on the Lyr 3 up. The microdynamics, the dynamic contrasts almost demand that you crank it up. This is really the best part of the amp.

    The treble presentation is excellent - probably a first for a Schiit amp! By this I mean clean, crisp, and incisive, but without any hint of scratch, static, spike, glare, or hardness. As I've said before, real life sounds have a ton of high-frequency energy, but even at high volumes, it may be difficult to bear, but it shouldn't want to make you kill yourself. The Lyr 3 pulls this off. Another aspect that I think people will appreciate is the "openness" - people who felt that the Magni 3 or Jot 3 headstage was too close would be happier with the Lyr 3.

    It's not going to compete against vetted Summit-Fi gear, nor it the Lyr 3 head and shoulders above vetted gear up to $1k. The strengths of the Lyr 3 are three-fold: 1) basically ZERO fuckery (does not draw attention to itself with minor flaws or niggles); 2) microdynamics (rendering of small volume contrasts, granularity in volume levels).; and flexibility 3) Synergies that can be obtained with a wide assortment of headphones - can roll 6SN7s.

    Finally, a disclaimer: the Lyr 3 hits the spots that I care about. (Jason knew that would I love this amp / topology before I heard it because he knows me.) This may not be true for others. For example, there are amps that are a little bit zippier and crisper like the THX AAA. I say this because invariably, seven months years later, some retard is going to bitch at me for saying that they bought this amp, but didn't like it themselves. I will then point to this disclaimer.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2018
  17. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    So does the lyr 3 suffer from the smallish sound stage like the Jot? This could be the deciding factor for me. A tubed Jot with a sweeter midrange and treble could be just what I'm looking for.
     
  18. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    So the MB card is usb powered?

    Looks like this will make a wonderful bedside amp with just a pi powered by an iPower, if so.

    @purr1n what's the most ooey gooey of the cheap new production tubes? I'm not gonna go stick psvanes or expensive NOS in this. Some kind of shugang?
     
  19. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    From Marvey: "Another aspect that I think people will appreciate is the "openness" - people who felt that the Magni 3 or Jot 3 headstage was too close would be happier with the Lyr 3." I know this makes me excited, though the price is still out of my range.
     
  20. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    "Aside: Lyr 3 is a single-ended amp, so it simply ignores half of the balanced signal coming off of the cards; all cards have inherently balanced output."
     

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