Lyr 3 Discussion Thread

Would you like to loan it to me? I will pay shipping both ways and give it a fair shake versus the Yggdrasil it is so often compared to. Full disclosure: it will be a sighted listening test.

 

Personally I don't care much about the DAC option, or how it sounds.

I do think it's very smart of Schiit to make this an option, for a little more you get a good sounding all in one solution, and plenty of people could use an all in one while they take their time, or save $ to move up, but as long as the DAC is passable, and avoids outright obnoxious traits, good enough. The real treat here seems to be the Lyr 3 as an AMP. I don't think I've seen one bad review yet, and for $500 I'm increasingly tempted to just get one and plop it on top of my MJ2. More impressions of the AMP please!

 

Really? All this sourpuss DAC fluff in the Lyr 3 thread...yeah, shame how that got started.

 

All I know is Schiit needs to get their Schiit together and get a Schiitr in NYC.

Lyr3 wasn't out for CanJam NYC, so the only way to hear it would be a trip to Cali or wait till next year.

Everything I've heard about this amp intrigues me.

 

@Junki and @Br444m

Learning many things about dac here, and hearing many great dacs (sadly most quite costly), I shaped a strong belief that GOOD DACS ARE DIFFICULT TO MAKE. It needs intensive amount of knowledge, know-how, and experience. Careful design of analog outputs is a must, too. And good digital developers have a clear vision of what sound they want to make. Maybe these are just another form of myth or superstition.

That said, let's ask. "Can we find any piece of evidence that this company or developers have such desirable skill sets?"

Furthermore, my short experience with Topping's dacs (d10, d30; not heard d50) could not change my position. Somewhat listenable, maybe ok-ish. But underwhelming at best. I will easily take ODAC over them. And pretty sure that schiit's 4490 modules (v1) easily destroy odac (compared jot+4490 vs jot+odac). Damn.. I have owned all these mentioned ones... Feeling foolish....

Maybe their d50 is great.. I am highly skeptical though.

PS.
I sincerely recommend you guys to hear/audition dacs regarded as masterpieces. For me it was Gungnir Multibit (Schiit Gungnir Multibit) and Dave (Chord Dave) that taught me how good dacs sounded. It's very difficult to have a healthy discussion without proper experience.

 

I was never a believer in DACs sounding much different, until I took the advice here (and after much debating, is this really worth it), and got a Yggdrasil. Okay, well that utterly changed my belief, but the difference between a really good DAC, and most DACs, is an eye opener, but yea, odds are it's going to cost you some $s to make that move out of (to re-use an earlier word here) ho-hum, to stunning.

 

Good question. My interpretation of the indicators is that Topping has and continues to target the "ho-hum" spectrum of 3-digit USD DAC market with offerings that punch above their price point. That's where my desire to spend lies for a standalone DAC or AMP, so hopefully the D50 succeeds in that.

I don't doubt the subjective impressions of the Yiggy or other DACs in that tier, and I'd be really, really surprised if a reputable impression concluded that a $240 D50 sounds about as good as a $2400 Yiggy.

Anyway, like @Darren G says, very interested in more Lyr 3 signals (impressions, measurements, comparisons)!

 

@zerodeefex or anyone else.

Can someone clean this thread up, please? It's overrun with noise. Again.

 

I swapped so many CD players I lost count, as well as sound cards, Schiit's Modi, Bifrost, Bifrost Multibit, but while I did hear differences, I was never happy with any of it. I could never entirely get over the digital repetitious sound, that just didn't sound like real instruments. Once you hear what a DAC is capable of though? It's a curse too, because you never want to go back to a whatever DAC. But really, the Lyr 3 is an AMP first and foremost. The DAC option is just to fill a market need. If you really want a great DAC it's probably not gonna happen in an expensive plug-in card.

 

Had to let Jot go... Lyr really fantastic. Big robust, relaxed sound, nice staging hitting the back of your head. Started with the NOS tube only so far.

 

To be clear, Junki: I posted that comparison over at SHF because Amir, the head of AudioScienceReview (so-called), registered at SHF just to defend his borked measurements of the Yggdrasil and convince someone in that thread that Schiit products weren’t worth buying. At ASR, Amir claimed that the D30 was superior to the Yggdrasil. He was impervious to any suggestions otherwise (at ASR, SBAF, and elsewhere), so I decided to do my own subjective comparison of the two, A/Bing them level-matched on the same short clips of songs.

While I don’t post much about audio gear (my real life job involves writing a lot, so I tend not to do a ton of it for “fun”), I’m not a “rando” or noob. Over the past five or so years, I’ve owned dozens of DACs (several Schiit, Audio GD, Yulong, Meridian, Chord, Topping, and on) and think I’ve developed a relatively good sense of comparing their characters.

As said in the review, I thought it was absurd to compare DACs at such different price points. But Amir, not me, is the one who said they not only could be compared, but also that the D30 would come out on top. I was simply testing this theory, and I did it completely fair-mindedly.

Sure, I went into the review *highly, highly skeptical* of the idea that the D30 would match or exceed the Yggdrasil, but that assumption was based on years of DAC listening, not “bias.” I don’t have any vested interest in Schiit products. Indeed, I’d be financially better off thinking I could get as good of sound out of a $100 DAC, and (having bought and then immediately sold many, many pieces of gear) I’d have been thrilled to know I could sell my Yggdrasil, keep the D30, and pocket the difference without sacrificing sound. Alas, that’s not the case.

Going on memory, I’m fairly confident the 4490 Modi is better than the D30. (It’s sure as hell better in reliability and warranty.) Even better would be waiting to buy a Modi Multibit used, IMO.

 

I was using low gain by default up until yesterday. I alternated between low and high gain on the stock NOS and new TS tubes today. Spent an hour on low, then switched to high for about an hour each. Volume matching was by ear and to preference, which isn't that loud. About 9 o'clock on high gain, 10:30 on low.

On low gain, the stock nos tube just isn't that good. It sounds fine, but seems a little dull. Listen to it on high, and it resolves more detail and sounds more present. The new TS tube on low gain sounds resolving and impactful, has plenty of bass, one of my favorites so far. On high gain, it sounds bright and Beyer-like.

I don't think I've ever had a gain setting affect sound as much as this one. Anyone else noticing this, or am I crazy?

Thanks.

 

@Josh83 I didn't mean to offend you. I was merely pointing out that, when it comes to subjective impressions, I strongly prefer impressions from someone with a cache of previous impressions across a wide spectrum of equipment who is ideally also free of emotional baggage as it relates to brand, price point, or who may or may not be schilling what and where.

Like for this beautifully cased Lyr 3 here which I still can't pull the trigger on, looking forward to reading more!

EDIT: Also, auditory memory is our shortest sensory related memory.

 

That's ... strong terminology.

Fascinating though. If you hear it on two tubes, likely not crazy, makes me wonder how the gain switch is implemented.

 

I was wondering the same. Like... does low gain under-drive the tube?

(Completely uneducated conjecture there - I'm not even sure if that is possible.)

 

This part (low vs high gains with TS new), I felt very differently (with revealed LCD2C). I didn't change knob on Lyr 3 (12 o'clock), but changed digital volume on ADI-2 (auto ref on). For example,

• ADI2: -6 dBr + Lyr3: low gain
• ADI2: -20 dBr + Lyr3 high gain

Low gain : a little hazier background, slightly more refined and smoother sounding, a bit recessed trebles, kinda flat maybe boring
High gain : real-like feeling and air recovered, better micro-dynamics, a bit faster transience, better texture, better resolving details

 

First day with my new and improved office system:



I will share my thoughts on how the system sounds in a few days after mental burn-in. My initial impression: this is the best head-fi setup I have ever owned.

 

Quite happy with my Lyr 3 + stock TS tube, but since this is the

Just tried that comparison (TS tube, 44.1/16 small-ensemble jazz tracks through NOS DAC, Ether C Flows), and I think I agree. Bass is very similar between the two settings once level-matched, but mid-highs seem a tad more controlled, with better timbre balance (piano especially) in low gain. However, I also agree that high-gain comes across as a tad more alive, that's why I've been on high gain for the last few days. Hum...