Ok, to clear things up:
1. We know of exactly one case of a defective Lyr killing a headphone, post-relay. The person posts on this board--and he will tell you that we told him "it is defective, send it back and we'll fix it." He actually wanted to keep the amp, he was so happy with it, and kept it to the point where it blew up a headphone. If you have friends who have blown up headphones with Lyr, post-relay, they're not talking to us. And they should. In that case, the amp is defective, and we will fix it.
2. Any defect in our products is magnified on the forums, due to our large volume production. We have literally thousands of Lyrs and Asgards out in the world. If they had lots of issues, we simply wouldn't be a viable business. Our stuff is extremely reliable. Remember, Mike and I have been doing this for several decades. If you check the resale prices on 20-year-old Sumo and Theta gear, you'll get a pretty good idea that we build solid products.
To repeat some stuff from other threads regarding the relays, etc:
1. Why did the Asgard and Lyr not have relay protection when we first launched? When we started the company two years ago, we assumed we were building the highest-possible sonic performance products for an audience looking for the same, and who knew that this could involve taking some precautions. It's very common in megabuck gear to have a "turn on sequence," for example, where if you turn on the preamp after the power amp, you might be looking at voice coils. I'm not saying this is right, I'm just saying this is how it is. Now, we understand clearly that we have to provide reasonable protection.
2. As far as we know, all early Asgard owners have been notified, and all who wanted the relay mute have it. A lot of people don't want relays. Of course, others still trickle in from secondhand and thirdhand owners. Relays have been in place since August 2011. If you want to know if an Asgard has a relay, ask the owner if there's a noticeable click 15-20 seconds after it powers up.
3. Only about 10% of total Lyr production went out without a relay. However, although early Lyr owners were notified, the take rate on the relay addition is very low. Most don't want it. Again, if you want to know if it has the relay, ask the owner about the click.
4. If you were not notified, or if you buy an early production Lyr or Asgard that has not had the relay added, the offer stands to retrofit any of them, from any owner (original or second/third/fourth/etc hand) for free. You only pay for shipping.