[flyingmonkey]

I found a great set of valves for £30 on ebay that I really like, so I sank my cash into a set of HE 560 which sound great, different to the HD 700 but both are good. still think that the best investment was the Mojo which makes the biggest difference to the sound and to me is the most cost effective upgrade there is.

 

[Matro5]

  I used to have the Lyr and used it with the HD650 for over a year. The combination was warm and punchy, more dynamic than with the Valhalla 2 but less resolving and with a smaller stage. I found the combination satisfying, but if that was your only headphone, I would pick something else in that price range, such as the Valhalla 2 or BH Crack w/speedball. The strength of the Lyr is its versatility with a variety of a kind of headphones. If I were you, I would not hesitate to pick up either the HD650 or the HD600 if you already have the Lyr. Just realize they scale incredibly high, and the Lyr, while able to drive them, is not going to be the last word. 
 
FWIW I do miss my Lyr very much.

 
 

  I agree with @Liu Junyuan, while the Lyr2 is a great versatile amp the HD-650 along with my HD-600/800/T1/DT-990 sound a little better on a BH Crack.  Another thing is the tubes you are using will play a role in what various headphones sound like.
PS: I still have my Lyr2, works great with my HE-400i/560/LCD-2/K7XX/SRH-1840

 
 

 
My old kit: Bifrost Uber/ Lyr2/ HD650. [snip]
 
I rolled many, but these are the ones that provided me the best all around sound. Amperex Orange Globes (good), Bugle Boys (good), Amperex 7308's (very very good), Telefunken E88CC (very, very good) , 74 6n23p Rockets (very, very good) , CCa's (excellent)
 
 

Thanks to all for the replies! A few follow up questions and clarifications. 
 
From what I've read, it seems like the Valhalla is THE Schiit amp for the 650 in this range. That's good to know, but I have the Lyr 2 already, with no plans to switch it. Also, for what its worth, I'm using 74 Voskhod Rocket SWGP Silver Shields from rb. So, I've got good tubes, although I haven't yet stepped up to the over $250 range. 
 
So, should I be looking at a different headphone for the Lyr 2? The other pair I thought about is the AKG Kxx from Massdrop. 
 
The boxes I'm trying to tick are: 
 
Super comfortable to wear all day
Relatively mellow ( i love grados, but this is not the use case for them ) 
great sounding
good looking enough not to be embarrassing
 
The reason I keep coming back to the Senns is that I feel like they'll scale with gear. They've been around forever, with easily replaceable parts and high build quality. 
 
Still, Liu said "If that was your only headphone, I might pick something else in that range." 
 
What would you guys recommend? 

 

[M-83]

 
 
 
 
Thanks to all for the replies! A few follow up questions and clarifications. 
 
From what I've read, it seems like the Valhalla is THE Schiit amp for the 650 in this range. That's good to know, but I have the Lyr 2 already, with no plans to switch it. Also, for what its worth, I'm using 74 Voskhod Rocket SWGP Silver Shields from rb. So, I've got good tubes, although I haven't yet stepped up to the over $250 range. 
 
So, should I be looking at a different headphone for the Lyr 2? The other pair I thought about is the AKG Kxx from Massdrop. 
 
The boxes I'm trying to tick are: 
 
Super comfortable to wear all day
Relatively mellow ( i love grados, but this is not the use case for them ) 
great sounding
good looking enough not to be embarrassing
 
The reason I keep coming back to the Senns is that I feel like they'll scale with gear. They've been around forever, with easily replaceable parts and high build quality. 
 
Still, Liu said "If that was your only headphone, I might pick something else in that range." 
 
What would you guys recommend? 

 


Mrspeakers Alpha Prime.

 

[tjl5709]

   
 
 
 
Thanks to all for the replies! A few follow up questions and clarifications. 
 
From what I've read, it seems like the Valhalla is THE Schiit amp for the 650 in this range. That's good to know, but I have the Lyr 2 already, with no plans to switch it. Also, for what its worth, I'm using 74 Voskhod Rocket SWGP Silver Shields from rb. So, I've got good tubes, although I haven't yet stepped up to the over $250 range. 
 
So, should I be looking at a different headphone for the Lyr 2? The other pair I thought about is the AKG Kxx from Massdrop. 
 
The boxes I'm trying to tick are: 
 
Super comfortable to wear all day
Relatively mellow ( i love grados, but this is not the use case for them ) 
great sounding
good looking enough not to be embarrassing
 
The reason I keep coming back to the Senns is that I feel like they'll scale with gear. They've been around forever, with easily replaceable parts and high build quality. 
 
Still, Liu said "If that was your only headphone, I might pick something else in that range." 
 
What would you guys recommend? 

Your good on the tubes.
 
Back when I was rolling, a fellow member moved from the HD650 to some LCD2's and found it better. Same sound profile, but being a planner, the Lyr drove it well and he sold the HD's which should tell you something.
 
My HD's have responded very well (scaled as you say) as I've improved the chain. My biggest leap was going to a multibit DAC. The detail and musicality was amazing.

 

[DavidA]

   
 
 
 
Thanks to all for the replies! A few follow up questions and clarifications. 
 
From what I've read, it seems like the Valhalla is THE Schiit amp for the 650 in this range. That's good to know, but I have the Lyr 2 already, with no plans to switch it. Also, for what its worth, I'm using 74 Voskhod Rocket SWGP Silver Shields from rb. So, I've got good tubes, although I haven't yet stepped up to the over $250 range. 
 
So, should I be looking at a different headphone for the Lyr 2? The other pair I thought about is the AKG Kxx from Massdrop. 
 
The boxes I'm trying to tick are: 
 
Super comfortable to wear all day
Relatively mellow ( i love grados, but this is not the use case for them ) 
great sounding
good looking enough not to be embarrassing
 
The reason I keep coming back to the Senns is that I feel like they'll scale with gear. They've been around forever, with easily replaceable parts and high build quality. 
 
Still, Liu said "If that was your only headphone, I might pick something else in that range." 
 
What would you guys recommend? 

If comfort is the main concern then a HD-700 is fairly comfortable and depending on the tubes in the lyr2 will sound quite nice, looks wise it depends, on my GF it looks ok since her hair hides most of it, but her favorite out and about headphone is a Momentum on-ear (pink), see picture:


You could also build a SennGrado, they sound great and depending the pads that you use can be quite comfortable:

These are L pads, for me they are ok, I can use them for a few hours at a time, also very light.  They are a little harder to drive than Grado's so the Lyr2 will help a lot.  Cost is around $150-200 depending on the type of wood and headband but if you have an old SR-60/80 you can remove the drivers and mount them in wood cups which really improves the sound and you already have a headband.
 
The HD-650 will sound very good on the Lyr2, its a universal headphone for most genres of music so its hard to wrong, I feel that everyone should have one in their collection or have had them at one point or another.

 

[NoOneLt]

Hi, just got my Lyr 2, will need some time to play with to get some impressions.
 
But first thing i noticed that at lowest volume setting there is big imbalance between L/R, at bit higher levels it disappears. Is it "normal" or i should contact distributor?
 
And another thing, on the included tube i hardly see any markering written in yellow paints, just some beginnings like "PHI....." and "made......"
 
BR.

 

[oAmadeuso]

  Hi, just got my Lyr 2, will need some time to play with to get some impressions.
 
But first thing i noticed that at lowest volume setting there is big imbalance between L/R, at bit higher levels it disappears. Is it "normal" or i should contact distributor?
 
And another thing, on the included tube i hardly see any markering written in yellow paints, just some beginnings like "PHI....." and "made......"
 
BR.

I've not noticed any imbalance on mine.
If you swap the tubes does the imbalance swap too?
 
On the tubes mine just said "Made in Canada"
Got rid as soon as I could, NOS tubes sounded much better. 

 

[flyingmonkey]

I think that you need to listen to a few headphones from the suggestions here and buy the one you like, all the good reviews in the world won't help if you Don't like them, me with any amp with valves would stay with neutral or bright sounding headphones but you need to listen or you are just throwing dice.

 

[NoOneLt]

  I've not noticed any imbalance on mine.
If you swap the tubes does the imbalance swap too?
 
On the tubes mine just said "Made in Canada"
Got rid as soon as I could, NOS tubes sounded much better. 

Hey, i only have original tube, so can not check with another at this moment.
 
EDIT: Wow, wow wrong thread here, a got Vali 2 not Lyr Sorry here.

 

[oAmadeuso]

Hey, i only have original tube, so can not check with another at this moment.

I meant swap the tubes from on socket to the other.
Put the front in the back one and back in the front one.
If the imbalance swaps too then it's a tube issue.

 

[DavidA]

  Hi, just got my Lyr 2, will need some time to play with to get some impressions.
 
But first thing i noticed that at lowest volume setting there is big imbalance between L/R, at bit higher levels it disappears. Is it "normal" or i should contact distributor?
 
And another thing, on the included tube i hardly see any markering written in yellow paints, just some beginnings like "PHI....." and "made......"
 
BR.

Try swapping the tubes, if the channel imbalance is still there then there is a problem with your tubes, if the channel imbalance changes then I would send it back since its within the amp and not the tubes.

 

[NoOneLt]

Sorry guys, hit the wrong thread, i have Vali 2, single tube... So seems it is in the amp. I will go to Vali 2 thread.

 

[oAmadeuso]

  Sorry guys, hit the wrong thread, i have Vali 2, single tube... So seems it is in the amp. I will go to Vali 2 thread.

Good luck!

 

[Matro5]

 
The HD-650 will sound very good on the Lyr2, its a universal headphone for most genres of music so its hard to wrong, I feel that everyone should have one in their collection or have had them at one point or another.

 
Thanks, David, for the thoughtful reply. I kind of agree with this - the HD650 feels like a right of passage sort of headphone, one that allows you to have a reference for everything else that's out there. 
 
My main headphones right now are Grado PS500, which are a lot more expensive than the HD650 ( street price, anyway), but I think the Senns would bring something the Grados don't, which is all day comfort.
 
Funny, too, that you mention the Momentum on-ear, as that's my current work phone, and it's what got me thinking again about the HD650. I used to have the 598s, too.
 
In my experience, tubes alter the sound more so than amps themselves. That's one reason I got the Lyr, so that I could play around with different tube types without breaking the bank. And, since the Senns seem to reveal the quality of upstream components, the 650 should respond well to different tubes. 
 
To bring it back around, I wonder what tubes would be the best match for them? 

 

[Matro5]

   
 
My HD's have responded very well (scaled as you say) as I've improved the chain. My biggest leap was going to a multibit DAC. The detail and musicality was amazing.

 
Very interesting. I'm using the Dragonfly with my Lyr now, but I will pick up the Bifrost MB at some point.