[Rick T.]

The tube part the Lyr 3 (where I don't understand the circuit as a whole, including why they can use one tube instead of two).

Hi,

The Lyr 3 uses the 6SN7 which is a dual triode (two triode sections in one tube).. I would surmise that they use one triode section for each channel so they can get away with using just one tube for stereo. Just make sure that the tube has matched triode sections for channel balance...

 

[dan3952]

Thank you very much for your detailed response, it's very helpful. The Gilmore lite is definitely very appealing and I've heard many good things about it. The Lyr 3 has been mentioned in this thread a few times as a good match which is why I was looking at it too, and being able to play around with different tubes seems like a fun, albeit expensive idea too. Can't speak for the internals of it though as I don't really understand too much of that side of things.

Thinking the Mojo should be ok to start with, it's not my end goal but I already have it so figured I'd use it and put some hours into the Aeon and get a feel for the sound signature of it myself and what direction I'd like to go next regarding Amp etc without buying blind.

Are you using the Qutest with your Gilmore Lite? Guessing you find it a nice pairing if you do?

No. The Qutest was the store's choice. It's a bit pricey for me right now and for technical reasons I have just now come to understand, might prefer getting a Chord combo unit instead. There's not much middle ground with their pricing: the Mojo costs less than I want to spend, the Hugo 2 is more. I still haven't read enough comparisons with other brands.

I have a Musical Fidelity MX-DAC, which nobody talks about very much, having an MSRP of $1000. The Qutest is much smaller. The MF is probably larger and heavier than is necessary.

Chord circuits are a kind of voodoo to me, and I don't understand them like I do my conventional full size set up with the Rotel cd player and Quad power amp. I had changed out cheap parts in those. Anybody can pull the data sheet online for the DAC chip they have, and find out if there's anything the designers missed.

 

[FangJoker]

Thank you very much for your detailed response, it's very helpful. The Gilmore lite is definitely very appealing and I've heard many good things about it. The Lyr 3 has been mentioned in this thread a few times as a good match which is why I was looking at it too, and being able to play around with different tubes seems like a fun, albeit expensive idea too. Can't speak for the internals of it though as I don't really understand too much of that side of things.

Thinking the Mojo should be ok to start with, it's not my end goal but I already have it so figured I'd use it and put some hours into the Aeon and get a feel for the sound signature of it myself and what direction I'd like to go next regarding Amp etc without buying blind.

Are you using the Qutest with your Gilmore Lite? Guessing you find it a nice pairing if you do?

I have owned the Gilmore lite mk 2 in the past and it's a great amp. It has great clarity, has good soundstage, and it helps a good dac and headphone to become a very good well rounded package. I only sold the Gilmore to a buddy because my awesome girlfriend got me a Hugo TT2 for Christmas. I've owned Schitt products in the past and I feel that they are overrated imho. You do get a lot of power with the lyr, but the quality of the power is nowhere close to the Gilmore lite mk 2. My friend bought a lyr and bifrost based on hyped reviews and he didn't listen to my recommendations and he regretted it as he sold both within 3 months.

I'm not a fan of the mojo, but it's not awful either. That price range ($100 to $999) is a bit tough as I don't like any dacs under 1k. There's a decent amount of quality amps in that price range but I feel that if you want to be wowed, then the entry price starts at 1k. Some people like r2r dacs, but I don't like the low budget r2r dacs which is $2k and under. The holo spring is a good r2r dac and I don't consider it cheap, but all r2r dacs have major flaws to me. There are some good r2r dacs, but they cost a lot of money.

Getting a good amp will be a good first step then save up for a decent dac. The Gilmore lite mk 2 should hopefully last you a long time unless you buy headphones that require a lot of power. I started out with mid fi priced gear and when I heard equipment in the next level up price ranges that I mentioned, I was sick. If only I was more patient and paid for real quality I wouldn't have wasted money. I also feel the same about the hd650 or hd6xx. It's an entry level headphone. It might be good if your music doesn't require fast and technical speed from your headphone. If it gets fed fast bass tracks, the bass bloom is too much for me. It is great at certain genres like 80s prom love songs.

Good luck on getting the most out of your AFO. I have never owned one, but I have read up on it as I am constantly trying to get friends into this hobby and it seems like a great option if paired with the right dac and amp and music that plays to it's strengths. Now if someone is coming from beats and only listens to edm music and all you want is slamming bass, then the audeze lcd 2c should be perfect for that person.

 

[maximal112]

I have owned the Gilmore lite mk 2 in the past and it's a great amp. It has great clarity, has good soundstage, and it helps a good dac and headphone to become a very good well rounded package. I only sold the Gilmore to a buddy because my awesome girlfriend got me a Hugo TT2 for Christmas. I've owned Schitt products in the past and I feel that they are overrated imho. You do get a lot of power with the lyr, but the quality of the power is nowhere close to the Gilmore lite mk 2. My friend bought a lyr and bifrost based on hyped reviews and he didn't listen to my recommendations and he regretted it as he sold both within 3 months.

I'm not a fan of the mojo, but it's not awful either. That price range ($100 to $999) is a bit tough as I don't like any dacs under 1k. There's a decent amount of quality amps in that price range but I feel that if you want to be wowed, then the entry price starts at 1k. Some people like r2r dacs, but I don't like the low budget r2r dacs which is $2k and under. The holo spring is a good r2r dac and I don't consider it cheap, but all r2r dacs have major flaws to me. There are some good r2r dacs, but they cost a lot of money.

Getting a good amp will be a good first step then save up for a decent dac. The Gilmore lite mk 2 should hopefully last you a long time unless you buy headphones that require a lot of power. I started out with mid fi priced gear and when I heard equipment in the next level up price ranges that I mentioned, I was sick. If only I was more patient and paid for real quality I wouldn't have wasted money. I also feel the same about the hd650 or hd6xx. It's an entry level headphone. It might be good if your music doesn't require fast and technical speed from your headphone. If it gets fed fast bass tracks, the bass bloom is too much for me. It is great at certain genres like 80s prom love songs.

Good luck on getting the most out of your AFO. I have never owned one, but I have read up on it as I am constantly trying to get friends into this hobby and it seems like a great option if paired with the right dac and amp and music that plays to it's strengths. Now if someone is coming from beats and only listens to edm music and all you want is slamming bass, then the audeze lcd 2c should be perfect for that person.

Thanks for the detailed response. Hugo TT is a great Christmas present to get. What Dac were you using with the Gilmore lite before you sold it? I had a Schiit Gumby which I sold because I was trying to downsize a bit. I was happy with it, but never really had anything to compare it with either tbh.

I like the mojo but I use it for smaller stuff. It works nicely with my IEM's which is what I originally got it for. As you say, seems to be plenty of good amps around this price range, struggling to find a dac though for a reasonable price.

Yea amp will be first on the upgrade list, see how long I last before I buy something, knowing myself though, not long. I'm coming from a KGST/Stax 007 system which sounded amazing but just wasn't getting the use so just trying to downsize a little and try something new. Just trying to find a balance between what I want quality wise and saving a bit of what I spent in the past. The Gilmore Lite is looking more and more appealing, and nothing I'm interested in getting should be too power hungry at this stage as I'm interested in trying the Focal Clear and Ether flows down the track depending on how I go with AFO's

Thanks, I'm pretty excited for the AFO, scheduled to arrive today so first listen will be tonight. Yea definitely not coming from beats.

Thanks for the help

 

[Poganin]

Thanks, I'm pretty excited for the AFO, scheduled to arrive today so first listen will be tonight.

Let us know your impressions, please. I'm very curious how you're going to like them.
When I heard the AFO for the first time I knew I had to have a pair.

 

[iFlip92]

Let us know your impressions, please. I'm very curious how you're going to like them.
When I heard the AFO for the first time I knew I had to have a pair.

When I heard the AFO for the first time I knew I made a mistake . Don't let me put you off though. AFO is great, just needs soundstage... lots of it.

 

[wordfool]

When I heard the AFO for the first time I knew I made a mistake . Don't let me put you off though. AFO is great, just needs soundstage... lots of it.

It's not that bad! Sure, many other open headphones (and some closed) have wider soundstage, but the AFO is no slouch in that area (especially for the price) and has pretty good depth (if not width) soundstage-wise. The AFO's strengths lie elsewhere, however, IMHO.

 

[dan3952]

The Gilmore Lite is looking more and more appealing, and nothing I'm interested in getting should be too power hungry at this stage as I'm interested in trying the Focal Clear and Ether flows down the track depending on how I go with AFO's

Thanks, I'm pretty excited for the AFO, scheduled to arrive today so first listen will be tonight. Yea definitely not coming from beats.

Thanks for the help

I have Focal Clears, and would be pleased to answer any questions you may have. I like the reviews of the Ether Flow 2, but am balking at their $2000 price. There's a lot of planars out there for less.

 

[maximal112]

Quick question, just got home with my new AFO's. Has there been any issues with driver imbalance? My left seems to be noticeably quieter than the right side... I've plugged my PM 3's into the mojo at the same time and am not noticing the same problem with them as the AFO's, so it's not a source issue

 

[Poganin]

Quick question, just got home with my new AFO's. Has there been any issues with driver imbalance? My left seems to be noticeably quieter than the right side... I've plugged my PM 3's into the mojo at the same time and am not noticing the same problem with them as the AFO's, so it's not a source issue

My first AFO had driver imbalance, yes. And it was also the left one that was quieter. Return it for a replacement.

 

[maximal112]

My first AFO had driver imbalance, yes. And it was also the left one that was quieter. Return it for a replacement.

Yea done a quick search found few others mentioning the issue as well. Got my wife to listen and she could notice it too. Bit of a bummer, will be contacting the shop in the morning to organise a return.

 

[441879]

I have owned the Gilmore lite mk 2 in the past and it's a great amp. It has great clarity, has good soundstage, and it helps a good dac and headphone to become a very good well rounded package. I only sold the Gilmore to a buddy because my awesome girlfriend got me a Hugo TT2 for Christmas. I've owned Schitt products in the past and I feel that they are overrated imho. You do get a lot of power with the lyr, but the quality of the power is nowhere close to the Gilmore lite mk 2. My friend bought a lyr and bifrost based on hyped reviews and he didn't listen to my recommendations and he regretted it as he sold both within 3 months.

I'm not a fan of the mojo, but it's not awful either. That price range ($100 to $999) is a bit tough as I don't like any dacs under 1k. There's a decent amount of quality amps in that price range but I feel that if you want to be wowed, then the entry price starts at 1k. Some people like r2r dacs, but I don't like the low budget r2r dacs which is $2k and under. The holo spring is a good r2r dac and I don't consider it cheap, but all r2r dacs have major flaws to me. There are some good r2r dacs, but they cost a lot of money.

Getting a good amp will be a good first step then save up for a decent dac. The Gilmore lite mk 2 should hopefully last you a long time unless you buy headphones that require a lot of power. I started out with mid fi priced gear and when I heard equipment in the next level up price ranges that I mentioned, I was sick. If only I was more patient and paid for real quality I wouldn't have wasted money. I also feel the same about the hd650 or hd6xx. It's an entry level headphone. It might be good if your music doesn't require fast and technical speed from your headphone. If it gets fed fast bass tracks, the bass bloom is too much for me. It is great at certain genres like 80s prom love songs.

Good luck on getting the most out of your AFO. I have never owned one, but I have read up on it as I am constantly trying to get friends into this hobby and it seems like a great option if paired with the right dac and amp and music that plays to it's strengths. Now if someone is coming from beats and only listens to edm music and all you want is slamming bass, then the audeze lcd 2c should be perfect for that person.

Schiit overrated? Maybe. Overpriced? Probably not. The Lyr 3 is reported to be a dramatic improvement over the Lyr 1 & 2 and I will say from my own experience it’s a pretty impressive amp. My Magni 3 is a great amp for the price, but at $100 it’s definitely not the be-all end-all of amps. The Gilmore lite Mk2 is an amp I like, but it’s the same price as a Lyr 3 and to my ears not any better. That said, if someone wants all solid state it’s a great choice.

 

[Focux]

Hey all, are there any Mojo users here who use their Mojo w Aeon Flow Open?

Don’t mind if I could get an impression from you guys? Was told that only tube amps are the panacea to Planars sounding cold & sterile.

Really hope I’m wrong as I think the Flows are a complete package in terms of what you get in the box etc. But, if it’s not, I guess it’s planars only from now on...else i might just get the Elear but dang do planars sound resolving and speedy.

 

[441879]

Hey all, are there any Mojo users here who use their Mojo w Aeon Flow Open?

Don’t mind if I could get an impression from you guys? Was told that only tube amps are the panacea to Planars sounding cold & sterile.

Really hope I’m wrong as I think the Flows are a complete package in terms of what you get in the box etc. But, if it’s not, I guess it’s planars only from now on...else i might just get the Elear but dang do planars sound resolving and speedy.

Some planars sound warm, some sound sterile. A tube amp can warm up the sound of a planar, but generally speaking tube amps aren’t so great with Aeons. Hybrid tube amps work great though.

Generally speaking, you’re much better off finding a pair of phones you like the sound of. Changing amps makes a small difference compared to the factory tuning of the headphone.

 

[x RELIC x]

Hey all, are there any Mojo users here who use their Mojo w Aeon Flow Open?

Don’t mind if I could get an impression from you guys? Was told that only tube amps are the panacea to Planars sounding cold & sterile.

Really hope I’m wrong as I think the Flows are a complete package in terms of what you get in the box etc. But, if it’s not, I guess it’s planars only from now on...else i might just get the Elear but dang do planars sound resolving and speedy.

Not sure who told you that about planars, and I'm sure there would be many that disagree with the sentiment. I've used the Mojo with the ETHER Flow (open and closed) and it sounds great to my ears. I also know a few who really like the AEON with the Mojo but I haven't heard the AEON myself.

Also, as evidenced below, Dan Clark likes the Mojo as well with the AEON:

I use it a lot, and enjoy it very much. Some users are also really liking the IFI iDSD Black Label.

The Mojo has huge power for headphones down as low as 8 ohms, if you run out of power with a Mojo your ears area already gone....

I do want to make it clear that I don't want to "endorse" products. I am in no way saying that these are the definitive choices in their price class or any way. Instead, I feel these represent really excellent choices at their different price points, and we do resell a couple of these products for this reason. But there are many other products I have not heard that I'd like to, others that are worth carrying haven't added to my "wall of sound" because of budget, space or other factors. So consider these products as suggestions to consider but not as authoritative recommendations, that's for reviewers and neutral enthusiasts to do...

DACs

Yggdrassil
Auralic Vega
Cayin iDAC-6

Desktop Amps

Cavalli Liquid Glass
Cavalli Liquid Carbon
Cavalli Liquid Crimson
Woo Audio WA5
Cayin HA-6
Schiit Ragnarock
Schiit Mjolnir 2
Ampsandsound Kenzie
Linear Tube MicroZOTL 2

DAC/Amps

Chord Hugo 2 (incoming)
Chord Mojo
Schiit Jotenheim
iFi iDSD Black (plan to acquire, don't have it yet)

Portables

AK AK380
Questyle QP2r

Electrostatic Amps

Cavalli LL2
Headamp Blue Hawaii

Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention, the designer of the Mojo uses the AEON closed.