Schiit Tyr Monoblock Amplifier Reviews and Impressions

Yeah I'm probably reading it wrong, 5A makes more sense. There is an extra one in there.

 

to all you TYR owners, I am a tube guy who wants to get out of tubes(constant pain in the ass) will the TYR's fill the bill or will I be unhappy with the mids? Hard to answer unless you have both or have tested them both. Appreciate any thoughts
best,
Josh

 

I’ve gone down the road you are contemplating. I replaced my EL34 based amp with a pair of Tyrs. I alternate between using a Kara preamp for everyday, daily use, and a tubed preamp for critical listening. This give me enough of the tube “effects” in the midrange for me; On rate occasion I may swap in the EL34 amp for awhile, remember why I loved it all those years, and then go happily back to the Tyrs and the lack of tube-nervosa.

 

That helps that you are happy with the Tyr mids, I am nervious about making the investment in the Tyr's and I really want to get out of the tube game. After forty years of wonderful sound and tube nervosa, broken amps I am ready to let it go. What matters to me is the sound

 

@Josh Schor Tyr’s are a big investment. And you seem to like to cycle gear quite frequently. Maybe consider looking into Aegir 2 as a lower cost alternative? Apparently it’s quite good and has addressed the previous issues with bass control/punch/dynamics.

 

I will look into the Aegir, I have not heard any of the Schitt amps so do not have a reference.

 

Plus starting with Aegir inevitably leads to having TWO Aegirs... then later on the thirst will lead to getting a pair of Tyrs, and then in a brief moment of delusion clarity as you're about to sell the Aegirs to us you realize that you'll be able to mono bi-amp with all four...

 

Someone who knows the obsessive mind of an audiophile, I will save up for the Tyr and skip the interim steps

 

Why not just go for Pass labs then? Or First Watt? Or Accuphase? Or DartZeel? The problem with obsession is, once you achieve it, you’re still rarely satisfied. So why not start out small and see where it takes you? You can get an Aegir for $900. Tyr’s start at $3200. You also get a taste of what Schiit’s solid state amps are brining to the table before diving into the deep end.

 

If I could afford it I would definitely go for the Tyrs over the Aegir. The Tyrs will drive about any speaker you switch to in the future effectively while the Aegir will not. And if you run two Aegir in mono mode you will have trouble driving some 4 ohm speakers without tripping protection or overdriving causing strain. Notice there is no 4ohm rating for the Aegir in mono for a reason. The Tyrs do not sound like a tube amp but also do not have a sterile solid state sound. I am driving a pair of Magnepan 1.7i with my Tyrs and they do an amazing job with those inefficient speakers. I also played them for a while on a pair of Spatial M3 Sapphires (usually in 2nd tube based system) at 92 db efficiency and they also sounded excellent with those. With the Spatials it produced very powerful tight bass. Bass shook the walls on some tracks which never really happens much with open baffle. Much better bass than Ragnarok and this other 225 wpc NAD I have. Very good sound staging and separation of musical lines. High frequencies are as good as I have heard and sweet for a SS amp. My Rogue Chronos III tube amp does have an edge on female vocals being more sweet, luxurious, and present. But the Tyrs are no slouch with vocals.

 

Dont really like Pass , have played with Accuphase quite nice especially the class A 20 watt mono blocks and have only heard Dartzeel at shows(nice gear). No I am not so over board as to look to be spending many many thousands of dollars. The Tyrs I could save for, with the Aegir's would want to buy two and I do not have a balance pre so that will not work. Tyr's take SE input as well as balanced. As obsessed as I can be its tempered by the reality of my finances so I do not get in to much trouble. I appreciate the thoughts and suggestions would love to hear the Aegirs on my system as they might be just what the ticket

 

any thoughts on Aegir bass control? damping is 10 whichis very low wondering if the bass is wolly and not controled very well.
best,
Josh