[SwanSong]

 I own both, I prefer  the EF-5 over the Lyr with most cans(there is something just great about the tone of the EF-5) , but the Lyr is better with the HE-500s to my ears. *


*this statement does not reflect stock tubes, I could not get them out fast enough.

Why do you like the Lyr with the 500's? Which tubes did you roll?
I was checking the Schiit website and they have the GE and Tungsram tube options, which would you suggest?

 

[Chris_Himself]

EF-5 is a pretty warm amp, Lyr is a more clean presentation. Both are great value for the money so it's down to preference.

 

[Fearless1]

Why do you like the Lyr with the 500's? Which tubes did you roll?
I was checking the Schiit website and they have the GE and Tungsram tube options, which would you suggest?

I just liked the Lyr/He-500 combo better to my ears. Like I said, I love the EF-5, it is cheap and plastic feeling, not very nice to look at, but it sounds just great and is very silent for a tube amp.. I feel like the Lyr compliments the HE-500's weakness and vice versa. The Lyr is more powerful as well.
 
As far as tubes I probably have tried well over 100 different combos in the Lyr, I like neither stock tube(not horrible, but not great). I could recommend to you my favorites, but we all hear different, and the Lyr is very "tube sensitive" meaning, the tubes really alter the sound dramatically.
 
The Ef-5 and the Lyr are both great budget tube amps, I am sure you will like either one.

 

[Fearless1]

  EF-5 is a pretty warm amp, Lyr is a more clean presentation. Both are great value for the money so it's down to preference.

Well said, and you beat me to it!

 

[Chris_Himself]

  Well said, and you beat me to it!

 
It's ok you filled in the part I forgot to say about how I'd rather wake up to looking at a Lyr over an EF-5 but the 5 really has a lot of charm for being rickety looking hahaha
 
A Lyr isn't a very tubey sound until you get into some of the more vintage tube stuff ala Genalex Gold Lion's, the EF-5 with what I assume is more "flavored", albeit less clean circuit has a nice warmth to it.
 
The best dollar per value amp for HE-500 is most likely going to be the Asgard II with the Bifrost backing it. The 2nd rendition of the Asgard is an even stronger performer than the first one at the same price for an amp I would have no problem charging $500 for. Price betrays quality sometimes in this hobby

 

[SwanSong]

It's ok you filled in the part I forgot to say about how I'd rather wake up to looking at a Lyr over an EF-5 but the 5 really has a lot of charm for being rickety looking hahaha

A Lyr isn't a very tubey sound until you get into some of the more vintage tube stuff ala Genalex Gold Lion's, the EF-5 with what I assume is more "flavored", albeit less clean circuit has a nice warmth to it.

The best dollar per value amp for HE-500 is most likely going to be the Asgard II with the Bifrost backing it. The 2nd rendition of the Asgard is an even stronger performer than the first one at the same price for an amp I would have no problem charging $500 for. Price betrays quality sometimes in this hobby

Sounds like I should order the Lyr without tubes and order some vintage ECC88's on eBay? I was looking at the bitfrost dac with the uber analog stage upgrade to replace my TD-11 down the road maybe too.

 

[SwanSong]

I just liked the Lyr/He-500 combo better to my ears. Like I said, I love the EF-5, it is cheap and plastic feeling, not very nice to look at, but it sounds just great and is very silent for a tube amp.. I feel like the Lyr compliments the HE-500's weakness and vice versa. The Lyr is more powerful as well.

As far as tubes I probably have tried well over 100 different combos in the Lyr, I like neither stock tube(not horrible, but not great). I could recommend to you my favorites, but we all hear different, and the Lyr is very "tube sensitive" meaning, the tubes really alter the sound dramatically.

The Ef-5 and the Lyr are both great budget tube amps, I am sure you will like either one.

Can you PM me a couple of your favorites that have a tubish/warm flavor without extreme highs roll off?

 

[Chris_Himself]

Sounds like I should order the Lyr without tubes and order some vintage ECC88's on eBay?

 
Do you want a tube sound or not? If you notice in my signature and profile, I prefer all super clean solid state amps with my orthos and I let the orthos push whatever warmth they intended to have, not anything forward of them in the chain.
 
Actually the more expensive NOS tubes Schiit sells will be more than fine and I like the way they sound.. Tell Jason I sent you, maybe he'll draw a funny picture on the box by request or something haha. Tube collecting becomes sort of a hassle and I got tired and just went Mjolnir. With the Lyr people use their specific amp/tube configuration to gauge it against other amps which is a little unfair but yeah it's probably the last amp you'd need for sure given the power, looks, and how neutral it can despite being a tube hybrid. It doesn't need much to make you happy and I almost guarantee you'll be happy with it. The EF5 is a good purchase too and youll save a good deal of money, but why not support someone who puts face time on Head-Fi?

 

[Austin Morrow]

I've always loved the look of tube amps but love the sound of solid state. The PRaT always gets me.

 

[Fearless1]

Can you PM me a couple of your favorites that have a tubish/warm flavor without extreme highs roll off?

PM sent, but like I said its all about preference.

 

[SwanSong]

Do you want a tube sound or not? If you notice in my signature and profile, I prefer all super clean solid state amps with my orthos and I let the orthos push whatever warmth they intended to have, not anything forward of them in the chain.

Actually the more expensive NOS tubes Schiit sells will be more than fine and I like the way they sound.. Tell Jason I sent you, maybe he'll draw a funny picture on the box by request or something haha. Tube collecting becomes sort of a hassle and I got tired and just went Mjolnir. With the Lyr people use their specific amp/tube configuration to gauge it against other amps which is a little unfair but yeah it's probably the last amp you'd need for sure given the power, looks, and how neutral it can despite being a tube hybrid. It doesn't need much to make you happy and I almost guarantee you'll be happy with it. The EF5 is a good purchase too and youll save a good deal of money, but why not support someone who puts face time on Head-Fi?

Tube flavor for sure but not extreme roll off in the highs, nice balance. When I was rolling tubes in my Dac I settled on a cleaner sounding Voshkod rocket over several warmer tubes for my monitors. The reason being the AC9 power cords on my monitors warmed them up a bit before tube selection. I'm thinking tha same would happen if I changed to a copper HP cable before getting my tube amp. But I want cable changes to be the last step if at all.

 

[Sonido]

You can always add a tube preamp to the Emotiva. My order of the Bottlehead Quickie ($99) just shipped. The Emotiva is a speaker amp that is highly regarded for the HE-500 and costs $169 right now. I'm currently pairing the Bottlehead Crack into the Emotiva to add the tube warmth, and it works really nice. You get the warmth and euphony of the Crack and the power from the Emotiva. Once I build the Quickie, I'll share the results, but according to their website, the Quickie is better than the Crack at being a preamp.

 

[Nimzerz]

You can always add a tube preamp to the Emotiva. My order of the Bottlehead Quickie ($99) just shipped. The Emotiva is a speaker amp that is highly regarded for the HE-500 and costs $169 right now. I'm currently pairing the Bottlehead Crack into the Emotiva to add the tube warmth, and it works really nice. You get the warmth and euphony of the Crack and the power from the Emotiva. Once I build the Quickie, I'll share the results, but according to their website, the Quickie is better than the Crack at being a preamp.

Make sure to fill me in. I've been waiting for someone to do this for such a long time.

 

[Suopermanni]

Hey guys, do any of you know of where I can find either a video, diagram or detailed description of how to properly attach the cable to the headphones. I'm about to give a friend a pair of HE400s for their birthday and given that HiFiMans don't use a standard connection type (compared to other phones), they might run into trouble.

 

[ethan7000]

  Hey guys, do any of you know of where I can find either a video, diagram or detailed description of how to properly attach the cable to the headphones. I'm about to give a friend a pair of HE400s for their birthday and given that HiFiMans don't use a standard connection type (compared to other phones), they might run into trouble.

I think it will be painfully obvious when he opens them. It's literally a push into slot, turn to tighten procedure that takes 2 seconds.
 
And what a nice friend you are :O