[Fearless1]

Quote:

 
Since you have the HE-400, I go with the SS amp. That being said, I haven't listened to tube amps before, but I take it that "rich and emotional" is another way of saying that the sound is colored and thick. The HE-400 already sounds colored enough. The mids are a bit recessed and thick, but clear due to the black background. I think the cold/analytical sound would compliment the HE-400 nicely. It depends what you want in your music. If you like richer bass and rolled off treble with sweetened mids, then go for the tube amp. If you want a more objective sound with less fluff, then go with the SS.

You can't just generalize and say all SS amps sound like... and all tube amps sound like.... Have you heard the HE-400 off of a tube amp?  Honestly, why give advice without experience.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Quote:

You can't just generalize and say all SS amps sound like... and all tube amps sound like.... Have you heard the HE-400 off of a tube amp?  Honestly, why give advice without experience.

 
I was just throwing in my 2 cents. If you have a more informed opinion, by all means, enlighten us. 

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

 
I was just throwing in my 2 cents. If you have a more informed opinion, by all means, enlighten us. 

Sorry if I came across as harsh, but the HE-400 is just magical with a tube Hybrid amp. As far as an informed opinion, I just know my own equipment and what my ears prefer.

 

[Ksef10]

Quote:

For 400$ just get a centrance dacport.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

 
Just in case you haven't looked into it, here is a good review of DACport:
 
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20112302-47/this-usb-powered-headphone-amplifier-will-delight-audiophiles/
 

 

[jfindon]

Quote:

Sorry if I came across as harsh, but the HE-400 is just magical with a tube Hybrid amp. As far as an informed opinion, I just know my own equipment and what my ears prefer.

 
Guh...
 
Ok.  Bottom line:  Splurge like hell and go with the Bifrost + Lyr, or go with the Bifrost + LD MKIII.  Those are my two options I am forcing myself to choose between.  The Lyr is a hybrid and the MKIII is full tube, right?

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

 
Guh...
 
Ok.  Bottom line:  Splurge like hell and go with the Bifrost + Lyr, or go with the Bifrost + LD MKIII.  Those are my two options I am forcing myself to choose between.  The Lyr is a hybrid and the MKIII is full tube, right?

You will love them off of the Lyr. The only downfall is the expense of tube rolling. (you will eventually

)

 

[dmacg]

I compromised with the Asgard, I wanted the Lyr but couldn't justify the expense with a Valhalla already on the shelf. Don't do what I did. The Bifrost cant be beat for the $...Plus, if you ever ad some Audeze, or any other Planar phone you have the go you need. The Asgard is great withe the 400's but they are the most efficient Planar on the market.  Go Lyr and Bifrost if at all possable.

 

[jfindon]

That's two for the Lyr...  Can someone answer my question above though?  Is the Lyr hybrid and the MKIII 100% tube or are they both hybrid?  If both hybrid, I probably just made my mind up but something tells me the MKIII isn't hybrid.
 
Also, there's a great thread here with all the tube options and reviews for each with the MKIII, does the Lyr use different tubes?

 

[dmacg]

The little Dot MK III is all tube and the Lyr is Hybrid. Yes there are many options to roll tubes into the Lyr, check the schiit web site for a few that they sell. There are more as well. I have and love my Little Dot II++. It is almost as good as my Valhalla with the Mullard EF92 tubes. From my experience with the Little Dot, I assume the MK III would be a fine amp. It is however NOT a Lyr. Mind, it is a lot less $$.

 

[jfindon]

Quote:

The little Dot MK III is all tube and the Lyr is Hybrid. Yes there are many options to roll tubes into the Lyr, check the schiit web site for a few that they sell. There are more as well. I have and love my Little Dot II++. It is almost as good as my Valhalla with the Mullard EF92 tubes. From my experience with the Little Dot, I assume the MK III would be a fine amp. It is however NOT a Lyr. Mind, it is a lot less $$.

 
Thanks.  I meant a thread here like the one for the MKIII though, whoever made it took the time to write and rate each set of tubes and it was awesome to see exactly what they did to the amp.  Maybe I'll look around, I'm sure there's a tube rolling thread for it here somewhere.
 
A lot less money is right, but if the Lyr is going to be better, screw it.  I'm deathly sick of all this flip flopping, so if the Lyr is what everyone says I should get, I'll drop the $700 for the two of them.  I don't care anymore.  Future proofing, that's what I'll tell myself.

 

[Xaverian]

Sorry if this has been answered already, but I really need to go to bed and won't even try to read all of these posts 

.

I'm thinking of slowly upgrading to the HE-400s, but need to buy an amp and a dac first. I'm really stingy with my money, which is not a good thing around here, so I'm only willing to spend $200 on each. I was thinking something like the O2/Asgard/LD MKII/ MKIII for an amp and the ODAC/Bitfrost for the dac. Which combination of these would give me the best SQ for the lowest price and would these amps be enough to drive the HE-400s? 

I'd really appreciate any help as I don't know much about amps or dacs at all.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Quote:

 
Thanks.  I meant a thread here like the one for the MKIII though, whoever made it took the time to write and rate each set of tubes and it was awesome to see exactly what they did to the amp.  Maybe I'll look around, I'm sure there's a tube rolling thread for it here somewhere.
 
A lot less money is right, but if the Lyr is going to be better, screw it.  I'm deathly sick of all this flip flopping, so if the Lyr is what everyone says I should get, I'll drop the $700 for the two of them.  I don't care anymore.  Future proofing, that's what I'll tell myself.

 
That definitely will be a futureproof setup, especially if you plan on upgrading your orthos to a higher-end pair (i.e. LCD-2/3, HE-500). I was actually on the verge of buying a lyr, but my instincts told me to hold back since I would only be powering a HE-400 with that amp. If and when the time comes and the need arises, I would drop the $ on the lyr. If you have the dough and won't look back with any regrets, then buy it. Sure, it isn't the most cost-effective solution...but if it gives you peace of mind, then go for it.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Quote:

Sorry if this has been answered already, but I really need to go to bed and won't even try to read all of these posts 

.

I'm thinking of slowly upgrading to the HE-400s, but need to buy an amp and a dac first. I'm really stingy with my money, which is not a good thing around here, so I'm only willing to spend $200 on each. I was thinking something like the O2/Asgard/LD MKII/ MKIII for an amp and the ODAC/Bitfrost for the dac. Which combination of these would give me the best SQ for the lowest price and would these amps be enough to drive the HE-400s? 

I'd really appreciate any help as I don't know much about amps or dacs at all.

 
Do you have an optical output? If you do, I would go with the bifrost DAC. The bifrost with the USB is $100 more. If you are connecting the DAC to your computer, I would consider a HRT Music Streamer ii or an ODAC. For the amp, I would recommend the asgard, O2, or matrix m-stage. I don't have experience with tube amps, so I can't comment on those.
 
If you really want to be cost-effective, I would look at the ODAC/O2 combo or the Audio-GD NFB-12.1 or NFB-15.1. That will be more than enough to get you by. If your wallets are feeling a bit fat and you want to gain a marginal improvement (and I mean ever so slightly), then you may consider the bifrost/HRT MS ii + paired with Lyr/Asgard. 

 

[jfindon]

That actually brings me to another question, probably stupid at this stage in the game, but what else exactly do I need?  Can I go from the line out of my HM-601 into the DAC/amp or is that a waste of time?  When it comes to desktop units I don't know if it's ok to still use a DAP or if everyone just uses their computers.

 

[Xaverian]

Quote:

 
Do you have an optical output? If you do, I would go with the bifrost DAC. The bifrost with the USB is $100 more. If you are connecting the DAC to your computer, I would consider a HRT Music Streamer ii or an ODAC. For the amp, I would recommend the asgard, O2, or matrix m-stage. I don't have experience with tube amps, so I can't comment on those.
 
If you really want to be cost-effective, I would look at the ODAC/O2 combo or the Audio-GD NFB-12.1 or NFB-15.1. That will be more than enough to get you by. If your wallets are feeling a bit fat and you want to gain a marginal improvement (and I mean ever so slightly), then you may consider the bifrost/HRT MS ii + paired with Lyr/Asgard. 

 
The reason for the optical output is to eliminate any noise on the usb correct? Would this really be noticeable on cans like the HE-400s or would the ODAC through usb be good enough? I do have optical so its no problem, I just think usb would be more convenient.