New Schiit Lyr: Hybrid 6W Headphone Amp. Yes. Six. Watts. RMS. - Page 8

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Stoddard 

The pot is audio taper, and we haven't had any real problem with Alps as far as tracking goes--even using Lyr on Grados. Quote:

Originally Posted by holland 

 I can see that gain may be an issue (which will test the pot quality on highly sensitive headphones), and noise floor (if audible), but that really shouldn't be a concern for most headphones.

Well if that is true then lyr could be answer from audio gods to "one-amp-for-all-cans" question err... prayer  ...

Good Luck!
 

PS: Can you tell us a bit about the name lyr ... any relation to Warner here

There is also a 6N1P-EV which should last longer than a 6N1P.

Interesting about the pre-amp outs.  I assume that means that the preamp output is variable volume?

Is such a high powered pre-amp a good idea for powered monitors like my Mackies?  I wonder how it would change the way they sound since their amps would remain the same.

so pretty much yeah? sweet. what about the senn hd 800s though?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by holland 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtaylor991 

so will this power my beyerdynamic dt 770 pro's well? they are 80ohm, so i'm not sure where someone above me got 32ohms. P.S. this would be my FIRST amp to own, so I'm wondering if this would go well with my dt770 pro's at 80ohms and possibly, in the future my Sennheiser HD 800's (well would it?) Sry I'm such a noob i just don't know anything about amps.

I wouldn't worry about this.  From the specs it has more than enough power to drive this stuff.  The only question is when does it cross over to class AB.  If there is enough class A bias you may only hear it on the widest of dynamic range music, or you are deaf, in which case it wouldn't matter one way or another.  With mosfets, I would be surprised if the bias is less than 100mA.

 

The only time the power becomes a question is into insensitive low Z loads, which the DT770 is not (under any circumstances).  The Beyer DT770/32 is not really hard to drive.  Keep in mind, IIRC, Beyer headphones have a 250mW rms power limit.  That roughly translates into 89mA and 2.83V rms (8Vpeak to peak).  Any desktop hybrid or solid state AC powered amp will provide that without any problems....correction, any decent amp.

I agree, I hate stepped attenuators.  You loose control once you get to "louder" levels so your sometimes left with slightly under just right or too much.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Stoddard 

Yeah, getting it quiet was a *big* deal. One reason we went for 6DJ8s. 6N1Ps are even quieter (one reason everyone comments on Valhalla being darn quiet) and Lyr has enough heater current to run those, as well.

 

The pot is audio taper, and we haven't had any real problem with Alps as far as tracking goes--even using Lyr on Grados. We'd have to go to insanely priced pots, and probably a bigger chassis, to do better than the RK27s, and stepped attenuators would be no bueno with the kind of gain we're running.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by holland 

 I can see that gain may be an issue (which will test the pot quality on highly sensitive headphones), and noise floor (if audible), but that really shouldn't be a concern for most headphones.

 

You can also go with TKD pots.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtaylor991 

so pretty much yeah? sweet. what about the senn hd 800s though?
 

I guess you didn't understand what I wrote.

It'll be fine.  Contrary to forum myth, the Sennheiser headphones are fairly average to supply power to, from a technical perspective. 

36Vpp (12.25Vrms) with a current of 41mA (aka 500mW rms into 300ohms) will max out the Sennheiser headphones on the verge of it frying, at 123dB.  This is the max power handling of the Sennheiser headphones before it suffers from long term exposure and bad things happen.  You only need half the power (250mW instead of 500mW) to reach 120dB, which will be more dynamic range than an audio CD is capable of supplying and is the target to shoot for, as far as headroom goes.

Before you succumb to all the "stuff" head-fi'ers do, you really need to understand what I wrote, and understand how it applies to you.  There will be detriments, and there will be things you need to decide for yourself.  Your best bet is to take them up on their trial period and give it a whirl, and don't feed fanboi-ism.  I think everything in these last few pages makes it pretty clear what the technical capabilities are and what you might expect to be limiters/downsides.  FWIW.

holy schiit, that looks nice

Well, the HD800s do have a pretty nasty impedance curve but I don't know exactly how that relates to amping requirements...

How powerful is too powerful? Can you comment on the pairing with K701 / K702? Would you recommend the Valhalla or Lyr?

Considering the K702's required more amping than the DT770 250ohm... I think youde be ok lol.  In terms of power/SQ I cam sure either would be adequate. 

Thats ignoring specs ect ect.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oddworld 

How powerful is too powerful? Can you comment on the pairing with K701 / K702? Would you recommend the Valhalla or Lyr?

"The maximum power handling capabilities of the LCD-2 is a whopping 15 watts, at which point it is pushing 133dbs!"

Just to make it clear, the figure I quoted above is from Steve Guttenberg, on his cnet audiophiliac blog post about the LCD-s. I am just pointing out that the LCD-2 can take a lot of power and maybe that is a good thing with an amp this powerful.

By the way Jason, you have a good pricing structure. 249, 349, 449. Each with its own purpose.

On last thing- I know you may nor get to it for a while, but a balanced amp would be nice as there are not too many budget ones out there. I want one to make my balanced DT880s sing. Of course, you have just shown you will wait and develop something good instead of rushing, so I will be waiting.

     Quote:

Originally Posted by holland 

130mA into 32 ohms is going to pop out of class A around 541mW....that's insanely loud and for headphones like the D7000 and equates to over 135dB out of your D7000, so plenty of current reserve to drive even the HE-6 at normal listening levels (the HE-6 will fall out of class A around 113dB...845mW...and won't even reach the Vpp limit of the output devices, at which point you'd likely not notice as symphony peaks that high maybe once or twice a season in live performances). 

I'm glad you did the math, it's not that hard but I still would have to think about it. Even with the most inefficient headphones, it's not going to be close to an issue for me. Most of the music I listen to isn't that dynamic and I never crank up the volume at all.

@Jason: An honest thanks for being so responsive and open! You didn't have to do this, but you still did.

I ordered the Asgard for my upcoming LCD-2.  Soon after ordering the amp, I was browsing Schiit website and found the Lyr amp.  I quickly cancelled my order of the Asgard within two hours of ordering it.  Now, I just have to wait three months for the Lyr.  

What are the benefits to preordering, besides getting it just a little bit faster than everyone else? Any discounts?