Will the Lyr be the Amp of the Year?

Interesting!  Wish it came with a DAC and maybe balanced ports.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle00Jesse 

 

Does anyone have the feeling that the Lyr can become the be-all-end-all of the affordable high-end headphone rig?

Friend, I'm all for a little FOTM excitement, but dont you think you might be getting just a LITTLE overly excited about an amp that, AFAIK, very few human beings have actually --heard-- ? Lets hold off on the 'be-all-end-all' stuff, even in jest, until they actually start shipping the thing to Joe Public and we start to get a few impressions. Failing that, fill a bathtub with ice cubes and leap in :)

x2 on what estreeter said

While I admire your enthusiasm, let's not just fall into a fanboy frenzy over something that as stated previously not a lot of people have heard before.

First of all, nothing will ever be the be-all-end-all product..too many variables: individuals own frequency response, all the intricate interactions from source to  headphones (which may or may not include cables depending on whatever camp you belong). Finding synergy for yourself can be a PITA. Plus there is always going to be something new, something "better" each and every year. 

Second, not all orthos require a boat load of money in order to sound good. Hell, not all orthos are that expensive either. Even before the HE-5 and LCD-2 there are a lot of fan-fav orthos that cost relatively less (around the 1-2 bill range). Moreso, amping isn't necessarily expensive either as people have gotten good (even great) results from using home recievers and speaker outputs. This also applies to the HifiMan and Audeze orthos.

Might be fun if maybe Head-Fi could come up with a system where folks could vote for their favorite amp, DAC, etc. of the year. 

No. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAudio 

Might be fun if maybe Head-Fi could come up with a system where folks could vote for their favorite amp, DAC, etc. of the year. 

Sounds like a great idea although it will still be hard to escape things being labeled as FOTM or FOTY.

PM Jude though... seems like a great promotional idea that would be very much inline with what head-fi is trying to do these days and not very hard (or I think) to initiate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

Maybe not amp of the year, but the new FOTY, due to its ability to drive practically everything sold today, accessible price/performance, and obvious popularity. The Lyr may be the new product to invoke the law of diminishing returns.

Its certainly looking a lot more appealing than other amps in the price range because of its clean and ridiculous power.

MLE, I suspect from your response to my E9 thread that the Fiio may, in fact, be the amp to revoke the law of diminishing returns. I expect that something like the Isabellina, glorious though it may be, is guilty of invoking said law. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAudio 

Might be fun if maybe Head-Fi could come up with a system where folks could vote for their favorite amp, DAC, etc. of the year. 

This would be awesome but I don't think the results would an accurate representation of the quality of the amps/dacs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brasewel 

This would be awesome but I don't think the results would an accurate representation of the quality of the amps/dacs.

Perhaps they could create multiple categories.  For example, DAC of the year based on sheer sound quality/performance/features and maybe another for value which would also take price into consideration, etc ...

What haven't you HEARD!? The e9 best the likes of the Concerto, Lyr, and quite possibly any amp up to $3500!! Where have you BEEN?!?!?!

-Daniel

PSsst: It doesn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BournePerfect 

What haven't you HEARD!? The e9 best the likes of the Concerto, Lyr, and quite possibly any amp up to $3500!! Where have you BEEN?!?!?!

 

-Daniel

 

 

PSsst: It doesn't.

Nice one 

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAudio 

They would need multiple categories.  For example, DAC of the year based on sheer sound quality/performance/features and maybe another for value which would also take price into consideration, etc ...

The results may get skewed by people who have only heard 1 dac or amp or even a few. They would naturally vote for their equipment.

There seems to be a ton of hype around the Lyr. Looks to be very nice, but 6 watts is really not necessary for most headphones, even the orthos. Also, people completely overlook the Audio GD C2 SA which actually puts 2 watts more into 50 ohms and $60 cheaper. Then again, I have only seen the specs, and who knows, maybe the Lyr completely blows away the Audio GD in terms of SQ.