Schiit Audio Lyr: My First Impressions - Page 3

Would people say the Schiit Lyr is an amp to consider when taking buck to performance, and invoking the law of diminishing returns? I ask because I'm pretty set on making this my final amp and building around it. If there isn't MUCH better until you start hitting some quadruple digits, I'm sure people would like to know.

Nice Review.  I had a chance to see a real unit (but not run-in, owner just had it for one day) and the finish is actually very nice.   The sound is impressive too driving a T1 and LCD2.  It has a taste of valve sound.  Looks like it is making its way to my inventory list..   :P

Sound is subjective so only you can answer this question. I got to hear the Schiit Lyr and to me, an amp that was MUCH better was close to $1k and above. I think the Lyr is a good budget amp and you would not be disappointed. 

 

If you need copious power and/or you want to tube roll the Lyr is a fine value-for-money proposition. If you have a more conventional headphone like an HD600/650 or DT880 kind of thing the Valhalla or Asgard are far better values than the Lyr.

For instance, I use an HD650 and my fascination with tube rolling was completely satisfied years ago. Getting a Lyr instead of an Asgard would have been a huge waste for my situation.
Edited by Brent Hutto - 3/25/11 at 6:08am

Like it better than my Burson, and agree with jude's review of the Lyr with the LCD-2.

 

Last night I was just mesmerized listening to McCoy Tyner's New York Reunion in high resolution Flac files, just amazing. The Lyr and LCD-2  combo was just outstanding. The higher the volume, within reason, the better it sounded.

 

Btw, the more listening I do, comparing the T1 with the Lyr and the LCD-2 with the Lyr, the LCD-2 combo blows away the T1 sound. 

That said, the T1 is more comfortable if I'm doing other things as I'm listening to music, the LCD-2 is not good for people with glasses when they move their head around a lot.

 

I also have to wonder how dac dependent the Lyr is. I'm using the Eastern Electric Minimax Tube Dac with a Musical Fideltiy V-Link for high resolution USB file transfer. 

 

I just find the sound really outstanding with my current audio setup - and that coming out of a windows pc.

Carlsan,

Sounds like you're throwing enough high-end headphone and electronic technology into the mix with some excellent source material that it would sound mighty fine coming from any PC/DAP/whatever at the start of the chain. The Windows machine is just a bit repository in your setup.

To throw the little brother (well, cousin, maybe) into the mix, any thoughts on how the HE-4 would fare between the Asgard and the Lyr?  While emailing Jason, he said he preferred the Lyr for the HE-4, but the extra cash for that over the Asgard (plus the Genalex tubes) would really cut into my upgrade-itch-budget for a nicer DAC (NFB-3 to replace my Zero).

 

Not sure if it would be worth putting a combo like HE-4s and a Lyr together, just to source them from a low-cost DAC...

Lol, that's exactly what I'm gonna do until the Schiit DAC is out.

E7-Lyr-HE4

Potentially a stupid question, but i'll throw it out there anyway.  Without the L7 adapter from fiio being out yet, how can you use the e7 temporarily with the Lyr?

Dock the E7 to the E9, and run the Lyr through the RCA line out on the E9. The E7 docked to the E9 has the E9 act as a line out, so the L7 is unnecessary unless you don't wanna have the E9 near the Lyr (which I actually don't as the E9 will be situated in another room, or next to my bed). This is temporary until the L7 comes out and that will only be used until the Schiit DAC arrives. Schiit commented on Facebook saying the first DAC's projected ETA is around June, and the beast DAC will be released at the end of the year.
Edited by Mad Lust Envy - 3/25/11 at 11:15am

 Ok. Yeah i still would want the L7 lol.  The whole point of getting another amp is to put one of them next to my bed. Any idea how much that "beast dac" is going to be yet? Maybe its better for me to get a decent dac now and wait for Schiit to unleash their beast lol. Since that's minimum 8 months away, not including any setbacks, backorders etc.

Yeah, I'm on the same boat. I'm contemplating on just splurging on an NFB-3 for now, and selling it for the higher end Schiit DAC later. I asked on Facebook. They don't have price ranges yet, but if they come out with a predicted price range for the higher end DAC and its over $500, I'll probably just stick with whatever I get now. Maybe their entry DAC, as its just over 2 months away.

I'm also seriously considering the Lyr with the HE-4 fed from the same Jungson cd-player that feeds my RPX-100 and Ed8
 

 

 Yeah. I know audio-gd gets really good reviews on here, a lot of people recommended that same dac to me. I just feel a little uncomfortable buying overseas. That's why I like Schiit so much because it's American, priced competitvely, and performs well. I would just be worried how long the shipping is, and if i ever had a problem or defective unit, how long exchanging for a new one would take. Just don't want to potentially go through any of that.

This is sometimes an annoying hobby in that I just can't decide on what to spend my money on. I'm mostly leaning on just waiting for the first Schiit DAC, and calling it a day. I'm OCD about keeping my equipment strictly to one brand. Its just me. The E7 to Lyr will irk me for a few months but I will have to deal with it for now. I think it will preserve more of my sanity by just waiting it out. The bloody thing better be a great option for the Lyr and buck/performance in general. -_-