Lyr 3 Discussion Thread

BINGO!!!

 

Would anyone happen to know if the Lyr3 would handle the ShuGuang Treasure CV181-Z?

 

Bill is certainly a dark wizard for managing to make a LCD-2 sound unbearably bright!

 

A bright LCD-2? I completely missed that, and it makes the analogy an eerily appropriate one! @Bill-P, you sick genius XD

But it appears my guess was leagues off. Sounds like something I have no business asking after, so I'll leave that hornet's nest unmolested (unless said person somehow kicks up a fuss again and someone lets their Dark Mark slip, I dunno). That's enough unrelated junk from me.

Anyone have a Micro iDSD (silver or black) handy to compare against the AKM-chip (or, alright, multibit) Lyr 3? Sorry, that's the closest point of reference to an AIO I have any significant experience with, I am seriously tempted to get ears on this damn amp as soon as possible even if it means delaying my endgame purchase even more.

 

I’ve been following this thread, but please excuse me if I missed it.

Anyone have any impressions of the Lyr 3 as a preamp? Possible comparisons to the Saga?

Thanks

 

@purr1n How come?

 

Thoughts on NOS 6SN7...

There are loads of good ones out there. My main advice would be *DON'T OVERPAY*. Especially for a single. You should be able to find all of the ones I list below on ebay for $25-40 a tube. Ignore all the fantasy $300 listings.

Test results. These are at best a minor hedge against getting a crappy tube, but should at least let you know which ones to avoid paying top dollar for. There will be two sets of results, one for each triode inside the tube. For the common testers, the new results for a 6SN7 are:

Amplitrex: current 9mA/transconductance (Gm) 2600mmho
Jackson: 100
Hickok: 104

Personally I avoid buying anything below 80% of new values unless the price is great. But I also buy stuff without test results if the price looks good.

Here's a run-down of ones I tried in the Freya. I tend to prefer passive mode these days so this is from memory, but I did try most of these around the same time. Topology and operating point is different in the Lyr 3 from the Freya so don't know how well these will carry over, but nonetheless...

NEUTRAL

1) Hytron JAN-CHY-6SN7GT
Bottom getter, parallel T-plates. Pretty similar to the Sylvania below, fast and neutral, but without the slight hardness in the treble. My preferred pick.

2) Sylvania VT231
Bottom getter, parallel T-plates. Loads of them around. Very clear and fast with good tonal balance and excellent separation. However treble can be a bit hard.

3) Sylvania 6SN7GT late 40's early 50's
Look the same as the VT231's and sound pretty similar too. Maybe slightly more coloured in the mids but a bit more smoothed over too (loss of low-level detail). Can still have slightly hard treble.


NEUTRAL/COLOURED

1) Tung Sol 6SN7GT
Bottom getter, parallel T-plates. Sometimes with "mouse ears". Almost as clean and clear as the ones listed above, but with a sprinkle of magic in the mids. NOT bloomy or warm. Slight rolloff at the top end.

2) Sylvania 6SN7WGT
Top getter, parallel T-plates. Typical Sylvania sound, relatively neutral, but with more pronounced bass and better macrodynamics than the VT231/GTs. Tradeoff is slightly (but only slightly) worse clarity.


COLOURED

1) RCA VT231
Grey glass. Excellent microdynamics, lush mids, slightly slow and congested in the bass. Treble not always completely smooth.

2) Tung Sol GTB
Top getter, triangle plates. Like a cross of the Tung Sol GT and the Sylvania GTB. Clearly north of neutral in the bass, but without much bloom into the midrange. Still excellent technicalities. Sylvania GTB might have slightly better microdynamics.

3) CBS 6SN7GT (mid 50s).
NOT the side getter tube. Look exactly like the JAN-CHY-6SN7GT. Has many similarlities, but not as fast and more tilted towards the warm side. Sacrifies some accuracy for a more "fun" sound.

4) Sylvania GTB
Triangle plates top getter. Good micro and macrodynamics but a lot of mid-bass bloom. Would prefer either of the two above to this.


DON'T RECOMMEND

1) Foton 6N8S 1950s
Typical thuddy Russian bass and scratchy treble. Technicalities pretty good though.

2) CBS Hytron 5692
To me this sounded flat, dull and uninspiring. Could have been a bad example.

 

Having tried the CV181-Z on my Liquid Glass, I found it to be a bit too warm. I would use it only for neutral-to-bright headphones like HD800, but then again, there are less expensive yet better performing NOS tubes.

The CV181-Z is not a true CV181/ECC32 (mu=32), it is actually identical to a 6SN7 (mu=20) so it doesn't have the high gain of CV181 on my LG. Not sure if it would matter on Lyr 3, but something to consider.

I'm still looking for a reasonably priced pair of TS BGRP.

 

My day 2 impression of Lyr 3 became more dramatic than day 1. Not because of amp burn in or something. I just began to figure out true strengths of this CUTE amp.

Yes, I am emphasizing "cute", cause Schiit might put this amp into a larger chassis (e.g. Mjo's one) and price around $1-1.2k. Even so, this will shame on some of $$ tubes around 2k for some criteria. Cheap price and small form factor fool people so easily just like myself at day 1.

After multiple eye-popping moments during listening session of my favorite Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov tracks, the hype of "this may be the best amp Schiit ever made." sounds more realistic now. Can't confirm whether it is really true though, because I have not heard some well-received Schiit amps (Mjo2 and Raggy).

Whatever, in my experience, blackness, micro- and macro- dynamics seem to have a certain trade-off relationship. If one cheap-but-not-very-cheap (or expensive-but-not-f'ing-expensive) amp is good at one thing, it's likely to lose something else. Amps doing all the three well typically cost A LOT (>$3k).

Lyr 3 didn't lose anything (quite conservative expression imo) in any of these three criteria. This is where lyr3 shines over cheaper high-value competitors (mcth and jot). I owned taboo 4 and have seriously auditioned several $2-2.5k competing tubes to decide purchases. Will not say lyr3 destroys all of them (may conduct 1-on-1 showdowns). Instead safely argue that NONE of them can't beat lyr 3 completely in these three criteria combined. For example, taboo 4 may be slightly better than lyr 3 in micro, but tied in macro and lose much in blackness. (Note that I purchased taboo 4 after long audition trials..)

Heck, I feel like a parrot. Because I am going to conclude "if you are a rich guy or lady, go to dna/ec and order your dream amp, otherwise include lyr 3 in your must-audition lists."

P.S. I might be drunken by the combination of good music, good audio, and good wine.

 

Lyr3 + HE560 =?

 

I haven't heard it at all but will come in a power amp I ordered. Should be interesting to hear...

 

@purr1n said it was the best amp Schiit ever made. Ok, well, I've been listening and comparing and wanted to write a post proving him wrong.

The problem is, I don't think I'll ever be able to post it because I think he's right.

It does pretty much everything better than the Jotunheim. The MCTH won't make eye contact with it. The Lyr 3 bitch slapped my Crack, and when the Crack started to cry it spat in it's face and laughed. My IHA-1 is hiding behind my Black Widow 2 and wimpering because it knows it's next. The BW2 and the Lyr had a staring contest. Both of them walked away acknowledging neither won, but shit this ain't over yet.

So, while the Lyr 3 may need to improve it's people skills, it is indeed the best Schiit amp I've heard.

 

Is there anything holographic about the new Lyr? I just started listening to this Sonett 2 and the big leap from the Mjolinir 2 to the Sonett 2 is the that with the Sonett 2 it's almost like the music is happening in 3 dimensions now, as opposed to just 2 with the Schiit Amp.

The Lyr trades blows with the BW? Dang...

 

Not really, at least to me. I sensed pretty holographic staging and layering with some SET amps (taboo4, wa5), but lyr3 didn't wow me in particular. Depth is somewhat better than Jotenheim, and more or less the level of mcth.

Instead, Lyr 3 is very transparent, and responded very well to any dsps. Spatial cues about depth became impressively evident when cross-feeder and polarity trick were applied.

 

Yes, I've never heard a headstage like the Lyr 3 in a $500 amp. It can place the music out in front of you instead of keeping it all in your head. The only other Schiit amp that can do this is the Ragnarok, and not as well.

 

I guess this is what auditions are for.

 

Definately, take advantage of your close proximity to the Schiitr.

 

Oh Yeah, forgot about the Schiitr. I could do Schiit, EC and maybe even DNA all in the same day actually.