Lyr 3 Discussion Thread

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

  1. will_f

    will_f Friend

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    you can tweak the treble a little bit by changing tubes, but I wouldn’t call it bright at all. It does a decent job of taming the metallic edge I get with Focal clears.
     
  2. dematted

    dematted Friend

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    Some notes on tubes with Aeolus (perf suede universe pads) and Soekris 1321.

    Raytheon 6SN7GT: The one I've been listening to the most. This tube significantly tightens up the sound, reducing perceived mid-bass bloat and leading transients to have faster attack and quicker decay. Definitely not a "Euphonic" sound, but one that reduces the prominence of the bass a bit. Bass ceases to bleed into the midrange, and as a result the midrange feels accurate and precise but not particularly wet. Interestingly, this tube doesn't seem to have especially sharp or fatiguing highs, so it ends up giving you a more midrange-focused sound with excellent separation and layering, albeit some lack of that "magic" that comes with excellent plankton and microdynamics.

    RCA VT-231: This tube sounds pretty fantastic with the Aeolus. It plays to its strengths: strong, propulsive base that pervades the sound and bleeds into the midrange, lending it a euphonic, cohesive character. Interestingly, though this tube has excellent bass, treble still retains its trademark peakiness, although the leading edge of the treble is smoothed out a bit. If you enjoy the stock sound of the Aeolus and want a tube to complement it, this is it: it's definitely not neutral, but its an unabashedly fun listen, especially because to my ears the timbre, microdynamics, and plankton is the best of any tube I've tried.

    Sylvania 6SN7W: This tube is...interesting. To my ears, it has the best macrodynamics of any of the tubes I've listened to with the Aeolus, and lends it a more sonically aggressive character without significantly tightening up the bass and midrange like the 6SN7GT is. It also widens up the soundstage somewhat compared to the two other tubes. I would probably be listening to this the most if it was not for the highs: they have a edgy, piercing character on certain tracks. I don't know if this is because the highs are more prominent; it might just be that their timbre takes on a rougher, more sparkly character with this tube. Regardless, if you don't mind this sort of thing, I'd recommend trying this tube with the Lyr 3.
     
  3. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Lyr 3 showed up yesterday. Very first early impressions: This may be exactly what I hoped it would be (a blend of Vali 2 and Jot). More to come.

    For now, let the comparisons and tube rolling begin!

    EB03EE34-7FE0-4DDA-B6C8-F71DC767C2E3.jpeg
     
  4. will_f

    will_f Friend

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    Looks like you’ve already clot a bunch of tubes to try. Looking forward to your impressions.
     
  5. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Tube rolling: It’s all good fun until someone loses a post.

    BCFF40CC-F5E2-47D5-BF0A-DBEE27D29A2B.jpeg
     
  6. perogie

    perogie Facebook Friend

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    Just walk it off, the tube will be fine.
     
  7. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    You didn't want to use a JJ anyway.
     
  8. JanMc

    JanMc New

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    I use my Lyr 3 as a preamp into a Vidar and think that it sounds better than my Saga+. It has this great 'full' sound and really nice detail and soundstage. It does guitars so well I am having a hard time going back to classical and just keep hunting out more twang.
     
  9. DoctorDave

    DoctorDave New

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    I have a Vali 2+ and a Modi Multibit DAC, feeding into an Aegir. Output is either Sennheiser HD 598, or ancient Boston Acoustics A60-II plus Klipsch SW12 powered subwoofer. I rolled the Vali stock tube to Philips PCC88. Overall, I’m very happy with this setup. What I’m wondering is (progressive audiophilia), would a Lyr 3, and possibly also a Bifrost, be noticeably better? Or am I just chasing the dream?

    I saw the amp comparison thread, which suggests the Lyr 3 does have a leg up in a couple categories. Maybe just get the Lyr 3 as biggest bang for the buck and don’t need the Bifrost?
     
  10. Jdiesel

    Jdiesel New

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    I read through the thread and found a few mentions of headphones that pair well with the Lyr 3. Just wondering if anyone cares to share their favorite pairing. I will be sticking with the Tung-Sol tube so any recommendations with that as a reference are greatly appreciated.
     
  11. Zesnake

    Zesnake New

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    So my Lyr 3 went crazy. Started making very loud popping noises and not playing any sounds through my HD800. Tested it with the tung Sol and Lysst... nothing. So i decided to test it on low gain with my gaming GSP500 and.... bad idea. Loud pop and smoke came out of the driver chambers of the GSP500. GG headset. The AMP really is a headphone killer. Thankfully it didnt take my HD800 with it. Not sure why. But it seems ok.

    I've had the amp for a year now? Ish. No issues before. Loved it. But after this i'm over it. Wont ever trust it again. I'm from South Africa and it was a 2nd hand item I bought so i doubt dealing with Schiit will help me at all.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2021
  12. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    So you noticed that one of Schiit's most powerful desktop amps was behaving badly... and decided to plug in even more sensitive low impedance headphones?

    You went from a 300ohm load down to 28ohm. If there was a short or some kind of DC passing through, you basically sent x10 the current. Ok it sucks that your headphones were cooked, but when an amp is on the fritz and you decide not to contact the manufacturer but instead test things on your own, at the very least you should be testing with random cheap sacrificial earbuds, not $200 headsets.
     
  13. Zesnake

    Zesnake New

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    To be fair its not the first thing that I assumed: That smoke will come out of my headset plugged in on low gain. Like I said the HD800 didn't burn out so why would I assume it would burn out another headset (one which I used before on the AMP on low gain with no issues). I don't have that much experience in the AMP game to know what best practice is I'm afraid. I let the AMP cooldown and tried a different plug and cable and headset.

    Its crazy how the takeaway from my comment is which headset I decided to 'test' it with. Regardless of whether it's seen as smart or not... it doesn't change the fact that the AMP burnt out a headset: Randomly, with no previous signs of any issues. If my GSP 500 was connected initially while the AMP was 'warming up' and not my HD800, the situation could have been much worse in the house.

    Take it as a stupid mistake by myself (which it was), or as a cautionary tale for any Lyr 3 owners. If this damaged my HD800 I would be a lot less 'accepting' of what happened.
     
  14. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

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    That's a commiseration like. Regardless of being a pretty incautious move, it blows to have a faulty device lunch a pair of headphones. I would contact Schiit and let them know regardless, so they're aware it happened and can spot any trend that may be meaningful. Sending the serial # would be useful I imagine.
     
  15. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    As someone who has had gear ruined by a Schiit amp, I sympathize 100%. I don't think a reasonable person would or should assume their $500 amp could obliterate their headphones at any moment. Fortunately in my case, the manufacturer of the speakers had good customers service (unlike Schiit, at least at the time) and the repair cost wasn't as bad as it could've been.

    So I'd blame Schiit for the outcome. This time it was someone doing some innocent troubleshooting, but it could easily have been a Focal Clear or something that was dumpstered right from the get-go. Ideally, Schiit would stop releasing products with the potential to freak out and send a bunch of DC into people's gear.
     
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  16. Zesnake

    Zesnake New

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    I sent Schiit an email explaining what happened and the response was:

    "Hello,
    I am sorry to hear that. We really don't recommend buying anything second hand . We would be happy to take a look at the Lyr for you .
    http://schiit.com/contact/service
    Here is the repair link in case you are interested .
    Thank You
    "

    Its an expected response from any manufacturer I would say. They do have a repair service... Although arrangements from here to the States might be a bit complicated so I'll see how it goes.

    For now I'll have to look as a different option for my HD800... one that wont potentially fry my gear but still gives me a good listening experience. Lyr 3 with multibit really was a good combo.
     
  17. billbishere

    billbishere Facebook Friend

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    Well - after reading pretty much this entire thread and the LP thread. I went ahead and ordered a Lyr 3 today, hope I made the right choice. Not having to upgrade to a balanced configuration was one of the main things that pushed me towards this, I didn't feel like the extra money that I would have had to spend was worth it for my situation. As I am not really one to sit and critically listen to music, I like to jam out from time to time. But most of my use case it movies and games.

    So I figured the Lyr 3 would be a good fit since it seems to synergize well with my cans and wouldn't have to upgrade cables and DAC to get full potential. I have LCD2c headphones, D50s DAC, and a Loki Mini - looking forward to see how it sounds. My current AMP is a liquid spark and just feel like the LCD2c's need more power, I just picked them on during the black friday sale Audeze had.

    Just wanted to give a bit of a shoutout to all involved in this and the LP thread - it made my choice my harder going back and forth with all the info! lol However I am glad it was there for me to read through because I like to get as much information as I can before making a purchase.
     
  18. Baten

    Baten Friend

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    Surely off-topic.. but I owned the original D50, and I hated that one. Pretty much any recent DAC, probably even later Topping ones will sound more agreeable than it. If I were you I'd look into selling off the Topping and getting something better, if not soon just later when you can splurge on some new toy. I'm sure you'll appreciate the difference.
     
  19. billbishere

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    Actually the D50s was a major upgrade over the D50. The D50s is regarded as a decent DAC by most and the D50 as shit. But I do want to upgrade soonish - but only to r2r probably a bifrost.

    Side Note: Lyr 3 already shipped! Good on you Schiit! That's some fast turnaround!
     
  20. billbishere

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    Got the Lyr3 today - been messing around for about an hour. First thoughts are that Liquid Spark really is a killer little amp. It's not a huge difference to the overall sound. Stage depth seems about the same, not sure about width yet. But one major difference I have come across is the grain with crescendo's in things like "mountains" from Hans Zimmer. The LS and other entry level amps would never allow me to sit through it - was too much always had to turn it down. But with the Lyr that is greatly improved! Lots of fun in my future tho I am already champing at the bit to tube roll. Probably will try the tung sol first since it seems to get fairly high marks and it's easy on the bank roll.
     

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