[gregr507]

Hey everyone, I had a question about amps to go with my 650's. I've had the 650's for a little while now, and I love them. I think they were worth every penny. I've been driving them with the e7/e9 combo, and while I really enjoy the sound, I feel like I'm not letting my 650's live up to their full potential. SO, I have decided to get a new amp.
 
I have it narrowed down to 2:
 
- Bottlehead Crack
or
-Lyr
 
I'm stongly leaning towards the crack because it's much cheaper (270) than the lyr (450). And many people rave about how it is the perfect compliment to the 650. And the building it myself seems fun. However, it's ugly as hell and many people say the lyr pairs very well with the 650 as well. Plus I worry that the crack won't be as good for future headphones down the line, as I've heard it doesn't pair up well with a lot of other cans (correct me if I'm wrong, not sure where I heard this). As for the crack's uglyness, I don't actually care that much about it. The lyr just looks so much cooler lol.
 
Sooooo basically, which would you pick between the 2? taking price into consideration as well
 
Thanks!

 

[Radioking59]

If you are going to get orthos in the future go with the Lyr. Any plans for a DAC upgrade? The E7 is going to limit either amp considerably.

 

[PleasantSounds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregr507 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 Plus I worry that the crack won't be as good for future headphones down the line, as I've heard it doesn't pair up well with a lot of other cans (correct me if I'm wrong, not sure where I heard this). 

 
Crack has been designed to work with high impedance cans, so yes - there's quite a lot of headphones that may not sound right with it. All depends on your intended upgrade path. 
Most likely though, once you outgrow the HD650 you will also want more sophisticated upstream gear than either of these amps.

 

[gregr507]

Not sure about a DAC upgrade. Probably at some point, but I'm not convinced "nice" DAC's are worth the money they cost
 
And I may get orthos in the future. I know it's not optimal, but would my e7/e9 work for say some he400's? I know the lyr is more versatile than the crack, but I've heard the crack is the perfect compliment to the hd650's. Plus it's so much cheaper...
 
Still not sure what to do

 

[Radioking59]

Quote:

Not sure about a DAC upgrade. Probably at some point, but I'm not convinced "nice" DAC's are worth the money they cost
 

 
Oh yeah they are if you are using a Fiio DAC. Going from a E10 to the Bifrost made a considerable and very noticeable difference with HD600s.  The E7 DAC will be the bottleneck in your chain no matter how good the amp is.

 

[gregr507]

Alright, well if I need to upgrade my DAC as well, that's making me favor the crack since now the price is going up
 
Any recs on a DAC to pair well with the lyr or crack, that isn't 350$ like the bitfrost?
 
And just curious, I was skeptical about putting much money into a DAC because to me they should all do the exact same thing. Obviously more money gets you a "nicer" product, but what's nicer about it other than the parts it's made of? 
 
Still taking recommendations on the amps too! Lol

 

[DefQon]

At that price point and only driving the HD650's, the Crack w/Speedball wipes the floor against the Lyr. But if you're upgrading and don't want to spend more $$$ on a new amp, the Lyr.

 

[Radioking59]

Quote:

Alright, well if I need to upgrade my DAC as well, that's making me favor the crack since now the price is going up
 
Any recs on a DAC to pair well with the lyr or crack, that isn't 350$ like the bitfrost?
 
And just curious, I was skeptical about putting much money into a DAC because to me they should all do the exact same thing. Obviously more money gets you a "nicer" product, but what's nicer about it other than the parts it's made of? 
 
Still taking recommendations on the amps too! Lol

I try to avoid recommending things I haven't heard, but look into the ODAC ($150) or Audioquest Dragonfly($250).
 
Your logic is flawed with all DACs doing the same thing. When it gets down to it, all amps and headphones do the same thing too. I'd equate going from the E10 to Bifrost as being similar to going from the m50 to the HD600 in my case (m50 to HD650 in yours). Is the music still music? Yes. Does it sound a hell of a lot better?  Why yes it does.

 

[gregr507]

Ok well I will start looking into DAC's that are reasonably priced then
 
Still can't decide on the amp, but the lyr is almost 200$ more... Seems like I could almost buy another amp if I get other headphones. Now if the lyr sounded equally as good as the crack with my 650s then it may be worth it, but I hear the crack is just beautiful with them (although people seem to really like the lyr as well). I may not even need to upgrade (besides a DAC) for years with that combo

 

[gregr507]

Added a poll

 

[DefQon]

I've owned both and still own the Crack. For 650's it wipes everything within the 1k bracket.

 

[wazzupi]

what about the crack vs la figaro 339 ? 

 

[DefQon]

Both are good amps but with any good tubes in the Crack/w speedball upgrade the Crack takes the lead. It's is a very well regarded amp for driving the Senn 300ohm HD580/600/650's headphones. Not to mention the 339 is more expensive.

 

[gregr507]

Does the speedball upgrade make the crack any more versatile in terms of what headphones will sound good on it? Is there any way this can be accomplished? 
 
My most likely future upgrades would probably be the he-400's, he-500's, or the LCD 2, depending on how much I want to spend. But that likely won't be for a while.
 
Would the Lyr work significantly better for cans like this than the crack (with or without speedball)? Sorry for so many questions but I need to decide soon on this, thanks a lot everyone!

 

[EraserXIV]

I was also intrigued by the 339, but not only is it more expensive, it requires twice the number of tubes so rolling tubes will be more costly. I'm sure it's a pretty damn good amp though, have only heard good things about it. Haven't heard it myself though so I can't really say anything else about it.
 
If you are planning on getting into orthos, the Lyr might be a more versatile option. That being said.. I have seen people say that the HE-500 + the LF339 is right up there with the best combos. So I guess you could also consider the LF339 too, sorry if I made your decision harder