Lyr 3 Discussion Thread

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

  1. nachocheese70

    nachocheese70 Facebook Friend

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    Found it, thanks!
     
  2. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    The EC ZDS seems to be a good balance of what you're looking for - at least that's the amp I'm aiming for as it seems we're looking for similar signatures.
     
  3. quimbo

    quimbo New

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    Just picked up my Lyr 3, it is replacing an Asgard 2. Got it primarily to drive some AKG K240 Sextett (MP) headphones. Using LISST tube for now. This drives my phones much nicer than the Asgard. Need to spend the day outside and tonight is hoops so I won't get a chance to listen very much until tomorrow night. I also got the 6SN7 tube so I will play with that later this week.

    Very initial impressions is that this was well worth the upgrade. No cards as I already have a Bifrost Multi-Bit with Gen 5 USB.
     
  4. Chittagong

    Chittagong New

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    Just wanted to say that finding a 24 page thread about Lyr 3 here (with virtually no noise to bloat the page count) is such an Easter delight, I’ve found it really helpful to figure out the product.

    For home (Yggdrasil/Rag/HE-1000), it seems there isn’t a much of a case for Lyr, although I was shocked to read that some notable posters consider it better than Ragnarok.

    For work (Asgaard2/Bifrost Multibit/EMU Teak) Lyr 3 sans card sounds like a no-brainer. My Bifrost Multibit can remain always on, and I can fire up Lyr when I start to listen to music - although I don’t know what the life of a tube is, whether that is necessary.

    My only concern is that I really disliked Jot /w DAC when auditioning it, I found it tinny and fatiguing, but it might have been cold in the shop, so maybe the issue was the DAC.
     
  5. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    ... and now onto live jazz, the recent digital remaster issue of Miles & Coltrane's "Final Tour" in 1960 in Europe. Really involving, coherent rendering, while it brings out the specifics of the ensemble sound with good back-to-front instrument layering, and detailed presentation of the breathiness of Miles's trumpet, of Coltrane's dense note clusters, of Paul Chambers's bass, even the room background. This little amp had already proved itself as punching above its price for orchestra, chamber, solo piano; now small jazz ensemble, my favorite genre :)
     
  6. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    I used to own Bifrost Multibit>Jot, which I gave to my daughter last Christmas. My home office DAC is the Holo Spring KTE 3. I used with Jot for a year or so, before I replaced the Jot with a (much pricier) Neurochrome HP-1. I've been listening to Lyr 3 (with the Tung-Sol tube sold by Schiit) with the same DAC. It's giving the HP-1 very serious competition, and from memory (which is fallible!), it keeps all the good things in the Jot (dynamics, clarity, solid bass, transients) while it gets rid of the Jot's overly forward upper range, and is overall more liquid and more involving.
     
  7. Artasia

    Artasia Friend

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    "Gungnir Multibit"

    Such a witty (mis)use of caps lock.
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    One thing to keep in mind is the how the WA6SE might perform with LCD-X, which might not be very good at all. The LCD-X's 20 some impedance is very low - it will require a lot more current than most other headphones. The WA6SE isn't particularly powerful.
     
  9. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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    I find the Cavalli Liquid Carbon to be a good match with the LCD-X, especially balanced. The Massdrop X version or used v1/v2 would be inexpensive alternatives unless you specifically want tubes.

    I'm assuming the Lyr3 will be a step up from that in terms of power and (for me) better HD6x0 performance. Just need to pull the trigger...impressions here and elsewhere indicate it's the amp I've been waiting for at a reasonable price.
     
  10. bengo

    bengo Friend

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    LCD-X are also very sensitive, and yet they sound so so much better with more power on tap than is really needed. Like a certain big-ass heavy 30Wpc class A speaker amp for instance.

    The less bloomy bass takes some getting used to - I assume they were tuned for a more modest headphone amp, as the balance is a tiny bit bass-light IMO overall with the big amp - but after a while it's really addictive.
     
  11. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

    Anyone try this with andro?
     
  12. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    Output impedance is 0.3 or less, you're going to want an IEMatch or similar.
     
  13. ☣ Paparazzi ☢

    ☣ Paparazzi ☢ New

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    Could anyone compare Lyr 3 with Project Ember 2?
     
  14. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    Marv, you wanna take this one?
     
  15. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    Noooooo! Not again.

    Paparazzi, unlike Marv, I really liked the Ember with the proper tube/headphone combination.

    Lyr 3 blows it away. The comparison is kind of pointless.

    Biggest gains come in clarity and detail. The Ember's biggest plus was it's more atmospheric and engaging character. The Lyr maintains that, but with better technicalities across the board.
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2018
  16. Darren G

    Darren G Friend

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    Personally I want both, but it depends on my mood. I'm on the fence if my next amp should be more on the former side, or later (the technical). But for $500, damn, the Lyr 3 is tempting me.
     
  17. ☣ Paparazzi ☢

    ☣ Paparazzi ☢ New

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    But does either of those two have more of that "magic" of tubes or are they the same for you?
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Ember has little magic IMO. Unless you consider a bloated muddy mess of veil** magic. The Horizon is much better from Garage.

    Ember < Vali 2 < Horizon < MCTH* << Lyr 3

    *production version, which has better tonality than some of the pre-production units.
    **can be acheived on the Lyr 3 with grey glass RCA 6SN7
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2018
  19. ☣ Paparazzi ☢

    ☣ Paparazzi ☢ New

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    So you're saying that with the right tube Lyr 3 might have more of that tube magic than these amplifiers you mentioned?
     
  20. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    You are asking the wrong question, and I think you are about to attract the ire of many a member here.

    First, define what you mean by tube magic. Tube magic by itself is a shit description. You want us to compare the Lyr to a Horizon - is that because you have a Horizon and want an improvement? What parts of the sound do you want to improve?

    This is a crap Head-Fi question, but doesn't pass muster here.
     

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