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Solid State that is as powerful as the Schiit Lyr and in the same price range?

post #1 of 9
8/18/11 at 5:54am
Thread Starter 

Heya,

 

Was wondering if there were any solid state amps that can do the power that the Lyr does in a similar price range, or if Tubes just have the advantage there in raw power output. The Lyr has power, that's for sure, but it's not the highest quality sounding amp. It's just a powerful amp. So was wondering, what about a solid state instead of a hybrid.

 

Thoughts?

 

Wondering if something can output raw power for an Ortho, but still be good for something that is low impedance, and normal sensitivity.

 

Very best,

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

HiFiMAN HE-6 Planar Headphone
post #2 of 9
8/18/11 at 7:57am

tubes don't have any advantage over SS at the ~< 50 Ohm impedance of the current popular orthodynamic headphones

 

if you understand the "hybrid tube/MOSFET" in the Lyr description you would know that it means there is a SS buffer providing the "power" of the Lyr to drive low impedance loads

 

in fact it will be working Class AB for the insensitive Orthos - so the Lyr at rated power is a Class AB Solid State (output stage) amp

 

 

a "pure" tube amp for the low Z, power would require a quality audio output transformer - since they cost > $50 ea even OEM for real quality don't expect to pay less than $1000 for the amp

 

at near 1/2 A output required a transformerless Class A tube amp would need to parallel large tubes and probably waste ~ 50-100 W a channel - and it wouldn't be cheap either

 


Edited by jcx - 8/18/11 at 8:18am
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post #3 of 9
8/18/11 at 8:09am

This is the amp I found to answer that question - get's superb reviews:

http://www.violectric.de/Pages/en/products/hpav200.php

 

The V200 may not drive the HE-6, like the Lyr does, but it will drive your other phones very well...

 

If I get another ortho, this will likely be the amp I'll get.

 

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post #4 of 9
5/21/12 at 4:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gradofan2 View Post

This is the amp I found to answer that question - get's superb reviews:
http://www.violectric.de/Pages/en/products/hpav200.php

The V200 may not drive the HE-6, like the Lyr does, but it will drive your other phones very well...

If I get another ortho, this will likely be the amp I'll get.
The price for the Violectric is €715, which is considerably more than what the Lyr retails for. V200 has a very good reputation though.
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post #5 of 9
5/21/12 at 6:11pm

According to the specs, the NFB-10SE is able to drive orthos well. 

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post #6 of 9
5/21/12 at 7:01pm
Why would you ever need that much power? Even for orthos it is a huge overkill...
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post #7 of 9
5/21/12 at 9:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackwess View Post

According to the specs, the NFB-10SE is able to drive orthos well. 

its sibling - NFB-10WM also pushes plenty of juice. I believe 6w into 50ohms, plus it has an on board DAC w/dual Wolfsons.

 

But, in reference to the OP's question both are roughly 2x the price of the Lyr unless you find a used one on the FS forum - if I recall correctly, I paid $425 for mine in mint condition.


Edited by orrb_05 - 5/21/12 at 9:25pm
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post #8 of 9
5/21/12 at 11:52pm

There is the new Audio GD NFB-6, which looks to be just the amp section of the NFB-10 in it's own box. Puts 4.5 watts into 50 ohms of what appears to be pure class A power. Based on specs and connectivity, it looks like a good deal at $399 plus shipping. http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB6/NFB6EN.htm

 

It hasn't caught on here as much as the NFB-10 unfortunately, so reviews are hard to come by. The main one on the forum at the moment is here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/609536/audio-gd-nfb6-headphone-amplifier-review

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post #9 of 9
5/22/12 at 2:17am
jcx - that was a great post, I'm afraid it just went straight through to the keeper.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

HiFiMAN HE-6 Planar Headphone
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