[yoyowiggle]

 

[xero404]

Wanted to try out tubes and get a bit more power to the Alpha Dogs. Bass seems thumpier from the first 30 mins of listening. Soundstage is wider as well. First impressions though. Pot is located the same place as the Asgard 2 both in high gain.  

 

[mithrandir38]

I will be comparing the Lyr 2 with NOS Sylvania/RCA 6922's against the Woo WA7 i currently own (with the upgraded EH 6c45's). all comparisons are on the Audeze LCD-2 w/fazor. The Woo is a more beautiful product for sure; a real piece of industrial design. I bought the lyr 2 after auditioning it at T.H.E. SHOW Newport. I was curious about the opportunities for tube rolling since the Woo only has a couple options. I initially was not blown away by the performance of the Lyr 2 with the stock canadian tubes (yes, they say "made in Canada"). The Woo clearly bested it in refinement and tone. The WA7 is also dead quiet at any volume (approx. 1 watt @ 32 ohms). The Lyr 2 puts out 6 watts @ 32 ohms, and is quiet until you put the volume knob at about 2:30-3:00 position, then you will notice some transformer hub. It should be noted that you will probably go deaf swiftly if listening at this volume, so the hum is not really an issue.
Installing the Sylvania/RCA tubes made a marked and instant difference. listening to Rush's Moving Pictures, the mids were "fleshier", with slightly better mids, and a slightly less bright treble. It's a difficult thing to put my finger on. The mids seem slightly fuller and more subtle, while the treble seems slightly subdued. Not dark, mind you, just a slightly sweeter presentation. In short, I'm enjoying the Lyr 2 so much, i'm considering selling the WA7, as I think I actually prefer the Lyr with some $60 NOS tubes over the WA7 with the current-run Electro Harmonix. I'm enjoying the Schiit out of it. Ha ha ha.

 

[M-13]

Tube rolling will make a big difference if the Lyr 2 is anything like the original Lyr. I'm very interested in impressions of the new Lyr 2 vs. OG Lyr.

 

[Mark-sf]

Just sold my Lyr to replace with the Lyr 2 which should arrive tomorrow.  I previously requested they add a gain switch and I am glad they did as even the lowest noise tubes had both a bit of hum and noise though it was only noticeable when music wasn't playing on my HD 700s.. I am also looking forward to the regulated heater/plate voltages as I noted their contribution to hum when I was checking the noise spectrum on my scope. I will post my first impressions. after I give it a few days.

 

[Mark-sf]

Got my amp this morning and have been breaking it in. They have modified the stick-on feet to be a smaller ball shape. Mine came with 6BZ7 tubes. While the manual says to align and push down gently, this was not happening with my sockets. Even firmly pressing them after assuring alignment they did not fully seat though they made sufficient contact to work. This is my first experience with 6BZ7s and these are from Canada.  I did try my Voskhod 6N23P Rockets 1978 Silver Shields that I was using in my Lyr and they seated fine.  Therefore, the pins must be a bit thicker in these Canadian tubes or at least the pair I got sent. 
 
While its too early to report on the sonics, having the gain switch is a godsend if you have sensitive headphones like I have. The result is dead quiet performance. Obviously, I can use more of the volume control though that has not been an issue in the past. Where it had been at 9 o'clock it is now at 12 in the Low Gain position.
One item that I did confirm was normal with Jason (he answered email on Sat eve!

), the Lyr 2 does run warmer than its predecessor. Therefore, make sure there is plenty of space above it. I changed shelf locations from where it had about 4" to 12" and got a 5 degC drop.
 
Time for some more listening...

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Got my amp this morning and have been breaking it in. They have modified the stick-on feet to be a smaller ball shape. Mine came with 6BZ7 tubes. While the manual says to align and push down gently, this was not happening with my sockets. Even firmly pressing them after assuring alignment they did not fully seat though they made sufficient contact to work. This is my first experience with 6BZ7s and these are from Canada.  I did try my Voskhod 6N23P Rockets 1978 Silver Shields that I was using in my Lyr and they seated fine.  Therefore, the pins must be a bit thicker in these Canadian tubes or at least the pair I got sent. 

While its too early to report on the sonics, having the gain switch is a godsend if you have sensitive headphones like I have. The result is dead quiet performance. Obviously, I can use more of the volume control though that has not been an issue in the past. Where it had been at 9 o'clock it is now at 12 in the Low Gain position.
One item that I did confirm was normal with Jason (he answered email on Sat eve! ), the Lyr 2 does run warmer than its predecessor. Therefore, make sure there is plenty of space above it. I changed shelf locations from where it had about 4" to 12" and got a 5 degC drop.

Time for some more listening...

I have had my Lyr 2 for a week now and love it!!! I had a couple Amprex, Holland, Bugle Boys that tightened up the bass and opened up the soundstage a bit. In high gain I have been listening with my 650's, in low, to PSB M4U1's and SONY XBA-4's. The Lyr 2 is dead quiet with all four HP's. I want to put in a few more hours with a variety of music before I elaborate on sound, but my early impressions are very positive, with the HP's on hand.

 

[tin427]

I have had my Lyr 2 for a week now and love it!!! I had a couple Amprex, Holland, Bugle Boys that tightened up the bass and opened up the soundstage a bit. In high gain I have been listening with my 650's, in low, to PSB M4U1's and SONY XBA-4's. The Lyr 2 is dead quiet with all four HP's. I want to put in a few more hours with a variety of music before I elaborate on sound, but my early impressions are very positive, with the HP's on hand.

how bout some sensitive iem?

 

[Mark-sf]

I just tried my Etymotic Research 6i's and Ultimate Ear TripleFi 10's and they work great. Once again no discernible background noise. Looks like it is truly an amp that will work with 99% of what's out there in the IEM and HP space. It's so quiet that I can easily hear when a track transitions from the faded silence at the end of a track and the silence between tracks at normal volume levels.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Wildcatsare1]

how bout some sensitive iem?

My SONY XB4-A's are very sensitive IEM's, not great ones, but a very sensitive 1 ohm load. No hum, but can barely turn the volume up though.

 

[BobG55]

 

I have had my Lyr 2 for a week now and love it!!! I had a couple Amprex, Holland, Bugle Boys that tightened up the bass and opened up the soundstage a bit. In high gain I have been listening with my 650's, in low, to PSB M4U1's and SONY XBA-4's. The Lyr 2 is dead quiet with all four HP's. I want to put in a few more hours with a variety of music before I elaborate on sound, but my early impressions are very positive, with the HP's on hand.

Mmmmm…. after reading these impressions, my wallet has started whispering tempting spending thoughts towards purchasing some new Schiit … Lyr 2 to be precise.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Mmmmm…. after reading these impressions, my wallet has started whispering tempting spending thoughts towards purchasing some new Schiit … Lyr 2 to be precise.

Cannot speak to your 800's, dagnabit, but the Lyr 2 will blow you away on the 650's. Tell me more about the sound of your HP's?

 

[BobG55]

Wildcatstare1 : I don't mean to be ignorant or unfriendly but we'd have to do that on the HD800 thread, this being the Schiit Lyr 2 thread.  I'll just quickly share with you that these are my 2nd pair of HD800 and they are excellent & much better compared to the ones I had & sold quickly 4 yrs ago.  Sennheiser seem to have corrected the sibilance problem which afflicted their earlier models though I doubt they would ever admit this.  So to make the subject about the Lyr 2 : I'm curious to find out how they would sound with the new Lyr.  Another Headfier may provide us with that info. soon enough.  Let's hope & wait. (Maybe it'll be you Wilcatstare; after all you already have the Lyr 2 

).

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Well, Old Grouch, I see where your moniker fits ...... I was asking about the two HP's in context with your Lyr, my apologies. If I wasn't clear.

 

[BobG55]

Well, Old Grouch, I see where your moniker fits ...... I was asking about the two HP's in context with your Lyr, my apologies. If I wasn't clear.

If the moniker fits ….  

 Wildcatsare1 I did misunderstand what you meant so my sincerest apologies.  From what I remember the HD650 and Lyr had very good synergy.  I was using the Valhalla 6N1P tubes if my (old) memory serves me right & the HD650s literally bounced with PrAT.  The HD600 not as much but they had good synergy with the Asgard, especially with the remastered mono Beatles album CDs.  I remember hearing a split second of far removed/background talking on the Paperback Writer song which was pretty cool. That's the best I can describe them; I'm not very good at the technical/analytical side of sound description.