[ThurstonX]

  I looked at all the pictures, never saw CCA on the tubes or boxes, these are not CCA's. Any other opinions?

 
Yep, that's why I called them E88CCs 

  Pretty sure CCas would be labeled as such.  I know my Siemens are.

 

[ThurstonX]

Just hit 85 hours on the 1967 Heerlen-made Amperex ECC189s from Viva Tubes and they've settled beautifully.  At first they were absolute bass monsters, muddying the mids, and the soundstage was a bit compressed.  Now, for $43 shipped, I'd put them in the ring with much more expensive tubes.  Haven't done any direct comparisons yet, but may do sometime in the future.
 
I've mostly listened on the modded HE-500s, where the bass is still really potent (mostly due to the pads), and have switched over to the modded HE-560s, which have different pads and present a slightly more balanced sound, but still with plenty of punch down low (that's using my DIY'd Mogami W2799 cable; my cryo'd type 2 Litz from an established cable co. lacks the same impact.  I'm not a big believer in cable voodoo, but woohoo! for me .
 
I'm not sure exactly how the variable mu might affect the sound, but with the Lyr and planars, I'm not complaining.  They still require a higher position on the volume pot with both HFM cans as compared to most other tubes I have, but no worries with the Lyr.  It's driving the relatively inefficient HE-560s beautifully at about 1 & 2 o'clock, and that's a healthy volume

   Suffice it to say, I'm pretty stoked about this purchase.  May pick up another pair just cuz.  If you're thinking about trying a pair, do not judge them too early.  Give them plenty of time.

 

[Blueshound24]

  Just hit 85 hours on the 1967 Heerlen-made Amperex ECC189s from Viva Tubes and they've settled beautifully.  At first they were absolute bass monsters, muddying the mids, and the soundstage was a bit compressed.  Now, for $43 shipped, I'd put them in the ring with much more expensive tubes.  Haven't done any direct comparisons yet, but may do sometime in the future.
 

Amperex ECC189 works with the Lyr?
 
I've not dealt with Vivatubes, but just looked at their site and they seem to have fairly reasonable prices!

 

[gibosi]

  I'm not sure exactly how the variable mu might affect the sound, but with the Lyr and planars, I'm not complaining.  They still require a higher position on the volume pot with both HFM cans as compared to most other tubes I have, but no worries with the Lyr.  It's driving the relatively inefficient HE-560s beautifully at about 1 & 2 o'clock, and that's a healthy volume

   Suffice it to say, I'm pretty stoked about this purchase.  May pick up another pair just cuz.  If you're thinking about trying a pair, do not judge them too early.  Give them plenty of time.
 

 
I'm not at all sure about the Lyr, but it is very common to configure the tube stage in hybrid amps as a cathode follower. Cathode followers have a maximum gain of 1, regardless of the tube, and as transistors typically don't require any gain from the tube stage, this configuration works very well in hybrids. The tubes add "flavor" but nothing more. If this is the case in the Lyr, it would explain why variable mu tubes work quite well. But again, I have not seen the Lyr schematic, so I do not know for sure how the tubes are configured.....

 

[ThurstonX]

  Amperex ECC189 works with the Lyr?
 
I've not dealt with Vivatubes, but just looked at their site and they seem to have fairly reasonable prices!

 
Unless I was imagining all that glorious music, yep 

 
I like that they're in the US, given I'm in the US.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
I posted this in a PM recently, but it bears repeating here.  From the old tube rolling thread....
 
This is a list i made of tubes known to work in Lyr.
6BZ7/6BQ7A/ECC180
6N1P/6N1P-VI/6N1P-EV/6N1P-EB
6N2P (possibly)
6N23P/6N23P-EV
6DJ8
7DJ8
6922
7308
CCa
E88CC
ECC88
ECC85
E188CC
E288CC
PCC88
ECC189 (Variable mu, not recommended but sound great to me) [me, too!]
PCC189 (as above)
6CG7/6FQ7
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/549508/schiit-lyr-the-tube-rolling-thread/6675#post_9378252
 
Some of those tubes are simply US and Euro names (e.g., 7308 and E188CC), so it's not really that many tubes.

 

[ThurstonX]

 
I'm not at all sure about the Lyr, but it is very common to configure the tube stage in hybrid amps as a cathode follower. Cathode followers have a maximum gain of 1, regardless of the tube, and as transistors typically don't require any gain from the tube stage, this configuration works very well in hybrids. The tubes add "flavor" but nothing more. If this is the case in the Lyr, it would explain why variable mu tubes work quite well. But again, I have not seen the Lyr schematic, so I do not know for sure how the tubes are configured.....

 
Thanks for that excellent explanation!

 

[gmahler2u]

it's quiet in here tonight...

 

[rb2013]

Well somebody bought a Lorenz Stuttgart fused getter PCC88 and a Tele PCC88 for $52. Not a bad deal. I had bid $50 and was finishing my amp and dac mods, so didn't have a chance to up my bid.

But my mods are done! Sounding great already and those Mundorf Supreme caps need 200 hrs to really bloom. The tone has improved already, as has the dynamics! And I haven't put in the HGs yet.

Next up will be a coupling cap upgrade for the Lyr. 80$ for Mundorf Silver/Oils .33uf 1000V that look like they'll fit in the case. Will upgrade the fuse to Hifi Supremes as well, while that darn case is cracked open. :rolleyes:

 

[rb2013]

Well couldn't help myself had to put it the '75 6n23p Holy Grails. Just one word Spectacular! And Sublime! Well that's two words.

I'm just blown away at much better it sounds, every aspect has improved. Most noticeable more dynamic, bigger sound stage. But something else I'm trying to put my finger, more richness in tone, more naturalness. Dynamic and smooth, greater detail.

This coming from a $650 dac plus $200 in parts. Plus another $100 in parts for my amp. Money and time very well spent, can't wait to hear this after burnin!

My soldering iron has done me right tonight. :etysmile:

 

[ThurstonX]

Well somebody bought a Lorenz Stuttgart fused getter PCC88 and a Tele PCC88 for $52. Not a bad deal. I had bid $50 and was finishing my amp and dac mods, so didn't have a chance to up my bid.

But my mods are done! Sounding great already and those Mundorf Supreme caps need 200 hrs to really bloom. The tone has improved already, as has the dynamics! And I haven't put in the HGs yet.

Next up will be a coupling cap upgrade for the Lyr. 80$ for Mundorf Silver/Oils .33uf 1000V that look like they'll fit in the case. Will upgrade the fuse to Hifi Supremes as well, while that darn case is cracked open.

 

Well couldn't help myself had to put it the '75 6n23p Holy Grails. Just one word Spectacular! And Sublime! Well that's two words.

I'm just blown away at much better it sounds, every aspect has improved. Most noticeable more dynamic, bigger sound stage. But something else I'm trying to put my finger, more richness in tone, more naturalness. Dynamic and smooth, greater detail.

This coming from a $650 dac plus $200 in parts. Plus another $100 in parts for my amp. Money and time very well spent, can't wait to hear this after burnin!

My soldering iron has done me right tonight.

 

  But keep that iron hot, as tomorrow I'm sending you my Lyr, $$$ for parts, and extra $$$ for beer 

  Enjoy 

 

[gmahler2u]

   
 

  But keep that iron hot, as tomorrow I'm sending you my Lyr, $$$ for parts, and extra $$$ for beer 

  Enjoy 

Lyr donation?  

 

[ThurstonX]

  Lyr donation?  

 
LOL, no.  Lyr for modded upgrade!  I kid.  And lust.  Annnnnnnnnnnd it's back to eBay to lust after tubes, which I might could sneak in, if I'm sneaky enough.  Da, this is a disease 

 

[gmahler2u]

   
LOL, no.  Lyr for modded upgrade!  I kid.  And lust.  Annnnnnnnnnnd it's back to eBay to lust after tubes, which I might could sneak in, if I'm sneaky enough.  Da, this is a disease 

what kind of upgrade?  don't mind asking?  sorry to be nosy..

 

[ThurstonX]

  what kind of upgrade?  don't mind asking?  sorry to be nosy..

 
Sorry, mate, I figured the winks would give it away that I was joking.  I was referring to Bob's previous posts about his upgrades, specifically when he said, "Next up will be a coupling cap upgrade for the Lyr. 80$ for Mundorf Silver/Oils .33uf 1000V that look like they'll fit in the case. Will upgrade the fuse to Hifi Supremes as well, while that darn case is cracked open."
 
The only way I'd open up my Lyr is if it were out of warranty, or if I could afford a new one after messing it up.  On occasion I've found that to be the price of fiddling.
 
But no, you weren't being nosy at all.  That's what the threads are for, esp. if someone volunteers information 

 

[rb2013]

So here's what I've been up to (pardon the slight diversion from tube rolling)

The stock Lite DAC60



I changed the 2.7uf coupling capacitors from cheaper (but not aweful) ones to the excellent Mundorf Supremes (big black round caps with gold lettering) To makes those Mundorf's sound even better, added .01uf Vishay-Roderstein MKP-1837 bypass film caps (the Klaus Witte 'tweek' that takes Supremes very close to the 2x more expensive and larger Mundorf Silver/Oils)(the little gray boxes under the Mundorf's). Also swapped out a power supply resistor for a Hammond choke filter, to clean up the power supply. Changed the fuse to Silver Hifi tuning.




The change in sound quaility is phenominal. The cap and fuse change would be basically the same on the Lyr. Except I'd use the even better Mundorf Silver/Oils, they would hopefully fit in the case. May even go for the totl Mundorf Silver/GoldOils they'd be $124/pr for the .33uf 1000VDC, vs $88 for the Silver/Oils.

CAUTION! NEVER OPEN THE CASE ON YOUR LYR OR ANY ELECTRONICS UNLESS YOU ARE VERY EXPERIENCED IN ELECTRICAL REPAIR!! VERY HIGH VOLTAGES!! EVEN AFTER BEING UNPLUGGED FOR DAYS! That said, you could buy the caps and bring to a qualified audio equipment repair shop to do the cap swapping.

The Lite DAC is sounding amazing, but needs more burin time. So far extremely pleased!!!