Astrotec Lyra Mini

Astrotec Lyra Mini Review by Ah Hui Aka Mr Wong .

Hello , I'm Ah Hui aka Mr Wong. I'm a K-pop fan and audiophile from Malaysia.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Astrotec for lending me this review unit and AudioMonsta for giving me the opportunity to review the Astrotec Lyra Mini

This is my first time reviewing a Astrotec product .I am very excited as I have always wanted to try out different brands that I have yet to try. It's 14mm Composite material diaphragm configuration . It retails for $100 usd .

Specifications from retail box :
Type : Dynamic driver earbud
Impedance : 32 Ohm
Frequency Response : 20Hz to 35Khz
Rated power : 2 mW
Max power : 8 mW
Sensitivity :103dB/1mw(S.P.L at 1 Khz)

PACKAGING :
Small box . Inside consists of the IEM , accessories include a earphone pouch , operating manual and warranty card. The unboxing experience is below expert I think can giving more accessories better because it's cost $100 buck .

Comfort: it's not good for me even I added earhook .it's not secure .

Design : the back of earbud look like flower faceplate design . substantial .

PRO:
great vocal presentation , treble well extended .solid bass

CONS:
Fitment depends person . Unboxing experience could be better .

BASS: solid bass ,mid - bass punchy and fast response bass .When I listen OH MY GIRL - Remember Me I can feel the sub bass is fast response rumble , mid - bass also punchy on the background . However I think bass can add more it will better .

MIDS : Forward mids with crisp and good present on vocal. When i listen IZ*ONE - Memory . I really enjoyed the crisp and forward vocals here. You can feel the vocal of girls member is sweeter on the songs. However, I think vocals can be a bit more laid back it will better .

HIGH : treble feels well extended with good clarity. When I listened to IZ*ONE - Eyes ,you can hear the well-extended treble and good clarity treble . Overall, I truly enjoyed the treble performance here .

SOUNDSTAGE : it is narrower and deep When I listened to Lovelyz - Rewind I can feel the soundstage is narrower .

IMAGING : it's about average ,I can't pinpoint the instrument as everything is just forward.

Details : detail retrieval here is about average When I listen to some tracks, I can't pick up on the micro-details. However, I think it's because Fitment problem .

Overall I can't recommend this earbud to my friend because I think got better choices in this price range .

# Tested by Realme C11 2021 Version via UAPP

p/s: I've received Lyra Mini for an honest review and sent back to them.

I have a few quirks with this set that I didn't receive the proper foam for it and I decided to use my own. The full foam can be a bit too dark and the donut sometimes can be a bit peaky. Hence, I'm using a fully fledge desktop setup that I have to counter the bright signature that this set has.

Source: SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK2 DAC, Airist Heron 5 Amp
(Purposely using the Sanskrit as it is smoother sounding than my Matrix Audio X Sabre)

Signature: Neutral Bright

Bass: Bass is light with fast transient. Doesn't dig too deep but enough to give the presence. Probably can be something for DF hardcores. It is good that Lyra Mini is a DD set and hence there's DD timbre for the lows even it is not emphasized. Great bass when it is paired with a thick source. This means the Lyra is not easy to find pairing and talking about the price, yes it will cost more to get excellent source. I find it is balance when paired with high end source (warm source) but lackluster when I paired it with apple dongle for example.

Mids:
Great layering in the mids. Great resolution and nothing is congested. Plus, this is an earbuds that has a huge advantage of open sounding due to not fully isolated design. I am a fan of something is open sounding and I would like to give a great rating here. Again, this happens with a high end thicc source.

Vocals:
When it is paired with warm and thick source, this set actually excels. The DD timbre give a full emotion and smooth presentation. With an apple dongle? Or lower end source, nah... So, this is mostly due to pairing and the Lyra Mini is able to deliver an excellent tonality on vocals when it is paired with the right source. If you are non-source believer, you don't have enough experience, period.

Highs:
Nice and smooth. It has a typical DD highs that is a bit crowded when everything is coming at the same time but never annoys me as I have with the source given. Though, with low end source, it is straight up bad and piercing. So, it is up to you now, if you already have a warm and thick high end source, you can consider it but if you aren't, you know the drill.

Staging & Imaging:
Staging is big as it is an earbud obviously. For imaging, I probably will say it is an average for an earbud. Still has advantage than an iem alone and yeah don't talk about headphones/speakers, they are out of the league.

Comparison:

OurArt ACG: ACG is fuller but Lyra Mini probably has an edge for the resolution. However, the bass on Lyra is quick and this gives you advantage if you are gaming. Yes, you need to game with bass light and super quick bass. This is not about immersive-ness but quick response and pinpointing.

Conclusion:
Lyra Mini is not for someone who just started in the audio game. You need an excellent source to make it shine and yes that needs more bucks. The price is probably well placed as if you know what you are doing. Else, you just wasted your $100 for something you can't even drive it properly.

Ever blasted loud music from your phone's speaker before? Yeah. That is how the Astrotec Lyra Mini sounds like to me….

Astrotec Lyra Mini is Astrotec's earbud offering at the sub-$100usd price range. It retails for $98usd and it sports a 14mm dynamic driver. Upon opening the box, I am presented with a carrying pouch, a pair of ear hooks, a few donut foams (which came disintegrated and unusable), a brush, and last but not least, the IEM itself.

Overall, pretty decent unboxing experience nonetheless. Other than the disintegrated foams (which is more of the courier's fault than Astrotec's), I am pretty happy with the unboxing experience here.

With the unboxing out of the way, let's start the review.

*Disclaimer: This review is done using 3rd party donut foams as the stock ones came disintegrated.

PROS ✅:​

• Clean lean bass
• Clean lean mids
• Good detail and resolution.
• Soundstage is pretty big and expansive. It has good width, good depth, good height.
• Imaging is pretty good too. It images pretty wide and decently accurate.

CONS ❌:​

• Ever blasted loud music from your phone's speaker before? Yeah. That is how the Astrotec Lyra Mini sounds like to me….
• The tuning here I would describe as bright, lean, aggressive, shouty.
• The bass here is really bass lite. I would describe the bass here to be limp and almost non-existent.
• The midrange here, although lean sounding, is quite thin, bright, and brittle.
• Vocals are thin and shouty too. Which is really annoying. I find the vocals here to be too bright and aggressive with no body. Not at all enjoyable.
• Treble here is also too bright for me. Although treble here is bright, it lacks definition. The treble here is brittle and is just bright, for the sake of being bright. I don’t like it.
• Overall, Astrotec Lyra Mini is just too bass lite, lean, thin, bright, and too aggressive sounding for me.

ASTROTEC LYRA MINI ($98USD) VS VIDO BLUE ($1USD):​

• Vido blue is overall much warmer / fuller sounding than Lyra Mini. Lyra Mini sounds thinner, leaner, brighter, shoutier.
• Vido Blue has thicker warmer punchier bass, warmer fuller thicker mids, fuller much more organic sounding vocals, and darker smoother treble. Detail and resolution are nowhere near as good as Lyra Mini's though. Soundstage is smaller, imaging is hazier.
• Astrotec Lyra Mini has thinner bass, thinner leaner mids, shoutier more aggressive vocals, brighter harsh treble. Detail and resolution are much better than Vido Blue, Soundstage is bigger, imaging is much better.
• IMO, Vido Blue sounds much better. Although technicality wise, it is nowhere near Lyra Mini's level, everything else about it is much much much much much better.
• Winner: Vido Blue.

ASTROTEC LYRA MINI ($98USD) VS TINGO TC200 ($5USD):​

• Tc200 is overall more balanced and organic sounding than Lyra Mini. Lyra Mini sounds thinner, leaner, harsher, brighter, shoutier.
• Tingo Tc200 has more body to its bass and midrange. Bass has much better punch, warmer and more impactful, midrange sound more organic and fuller, vocals sound more natural and organic, although forward, it is nowhere near as shouty as Lyra Mini, treble is bright, has good sparkle but it is nowhere near as harsh and as aggressive as Lyra Mini's. Detail and resolution are good, just a notch below Lyra Mini. Soundstage and imaging are good too. Just a notch below Lyra Mini.
• Astrotec Lyra Mini has thinner limp bass, thinner shoutier much more aggressive mids and vocals, brighter harsher treble. Detail and resolution are just a tiny bit better than TC200. soundstage and imaging are just a bit better than Tc200.
• IMO, Tingo Tc200 is much better. It might be a notch under Lyra Mini in terms of technicalities, but other than that, it is much better.
• Winner: Tingo Tc200

IN CONCLUSION:​

I gotta admit… detail, resolution, soundstage, and imaging are pretty good with the Astrotec Lyra Mini, but other than that, it is pretty bad.

For $98usd, I can't recommend the Astrotec Lyra Mini to anyone. You can get so much more for $98usd.


This review unit is provided by Astrotec in their Astrotec review tour. Thank you so much AudioMonsta for including me in this tour. I am not at all compensated by them and all thoughts and opinions are my own.


Interested in trying the Astrotec Lyra Mini for yourself? Here's the link (non-affiliated):

• https://astrotecglobal.com/products/lyra-mini