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Well, with a brief listen it is really hard to say what is what. Plus the environment was tough sometimes with a open headphone, but I will say that I read a bunch that people did not like the synergy between the LCD-2 and the WA-5 and well I kinda liked it, but listening to a song really isn't enough, plus it was really nice to meet Jack and his father. For budget amps though the Lyr seems to definitely a good value and sounded quite good, although again a song. Lyr seemed to both my friend and I a little bit bright. The WA-22 and the LCD-2 sounded real nice to me, but needed some more power, the amp had the 6080s in it so I would assume the 7236 and the 5998s will be a great help here. The Isabellina is a little rough for me to guage, atleast for me. I got to listen to 3 songs on it and chat with Vinne R. I definitely thought it was a good amp. Pretty much initial impressions are they are all good amps at the very least, making it harder for me to decide what else to buy if I want to buy anything more at all. I would have loved to hear the Apex Peak/Volcano and the Leben combos, but I didn't see any there.
That's interesting that you found the Lyr to be a bit bright, I assume relative to the other amps you heard the LCD-2 with. I would also assume this was with the Lyr's stock tubes? I can confirm that the 7236/5998 power tubes are just what the doctor ordered with the WA22, both sound nice with the LCD-2 depending on the rectifier used.
I have been reading that the Lyr is no slouch in the bass department, so I am starting to think that it may lean towards the "V" side of neutral. Was the source different with each amp, and did anything strike you about the midrange with the Lyr?