So Matt, I'm thinking about getting the Lyr. I'll admit right off the bat that I was intrigued by the Lyr when it was released based on the desire to try a tube amp (hadn't at that point) and its overall sexiness. Happy to hear it's a great amp with a ton of power, but at the time all I could afford was the Little Dot MKIII. Now that I'm considering getting the M&M stack, I'm wondering if I should save some money and get a Lyr instead for my HE-400.
Do you get good control on the Lyr with the HE-400? I know it has more than enough power, is it ever ... too much? Does it sound much better than the E17? I just see it in your sig so I was wondering.
If I got it, I wouldn't be getting a Bifrost, though. Have you used it with the HE-400 with other DACs? I'd probably use it with the E17 as a DAC or perhaps the Modi. I gotta say, if I make another step up in headphones, it would have to be the HE-500 or the LCD2. I think that's endgame for me, is the Lyr future proofed for those two?
I'm asking you because it's in your sig :] Any specific thoughts as to the sound signature with Lyr and HE-400?
The lyr and the he400 make a very nice match. BUT...if I didn't have other hp's that were hard to drive, I would have never gotten the lyr. But the lyr just for the he400? Um...no. I'm too frugal to justify that. But for me and my frugality, I justify the lyr because I also use it to drive the hd650 and maddogs. It will make those two SING...the he400 is just a bonus. You might be getting 10% more. If I were not going to drive other hp's such as the ones I've mentioned or ones like the he500/he6, then I'd buy the small Schitt stack no question.
Ok , that provides me with an alternative of buying an ODAC. Thanks Matt!
Good luck to you sir!!!
The ODAC is an amazing dac. Not one issue with it here. Not as pretty as the Modi, Bifrost, but it's small enough to tuck away behind your amp. I just wish the 'front plate' was what had the branding, not the back). JDS Labs needs to work on aesthetics. The 3.5mm and usb inputs and branding should be on opposite sides.
The odac by Audio Poutine is much nicer looking than the jds labs version IMO.
You can add all those to the list for the lyr to play well with the exception of the he6. The lyr would be a minimum for it. 
I think that those cables were $40 from Trevor at Norse. Very nice guy to deal with. The odac shown above adds to active light to the front panel and also has logo badging to both sides so that you can face it in either direction. Those were extra and added $15 for a total of $165 I do believe. It's a great dac and never had any of the power problems that some of the guys kept mentioning about the jds labs version. 
And the bass guitar hits insanely hard on the he400...yes, insane. 
