Hibuckhobby
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2012
- Posts
- 217
- Likes
- 41
I just took the plunge and bought a Decware Taboo that should be here next week.
The pending new kid on the block made me think about who might have to go down
the road, so I pulled out the HE500's with canare cabling and hooked my Boulder Audio
modded Squeezebox Touch directly to the amps with some short AQ interconnects.
Not much of a headbanger, so I listened first to Eric Claption and BB King "Riding with the King"
It's not the most revealing setup, but has the ability to demonstrate difference between the amps
in question. Using RCA NOS long plates in the Lyr...the bass was a bit thicker, but not as well textured.
On "keys to the highway" King plays his 335 unamplified and close-miked. With a revealing headphone,
the fingering on the fretboard should be quite easy to hear...calloused finger tips on wood. On the Lyr
I had to run the volume a bit higher to pull that level of detail out of the mix and at times it was a bit
louder than I cared to listen.
Listening to Eva Cassidy sing "People get ready" if you turned up the Lyr to where her guitar sounded
crisp and clear, then her voice would grate somewhat on the higher notes. On the H10, Kings fingering
came through loud and clear without the volume becoming an issue. The same was true with Eva Cassidy.
The Lyr seems to have a slight emphasis in the upper mids/lower treble with the HE500. That emphasis was
not nearly as pronounced on the H10. Bottom line, there are times where the H10 is both more detailed
AND smoother than the Lyr. This is not to criticize the Lyr...at the price point (mine was used at 275) and
the ability to roll tubes and tweek the voicing, it brings a great deal of bang for the buck.
Much to my surprise, my H10 (also bought for about 275 used) brought more to the table sonically than the
Lyr. The bass was tauter, the midrange both sweet and detailed and highs like Goldilock were for me...just right.
The H10 also works far better with higher sensitivity cans due to a lower noise floor. Any body want a
Lyr with three sets of driver tubes?
YMMV,
Hibuck....
The pending new kid on the block made me think about who might have to go down
the road, so I pulled out the HE500's with canare cabling and hooked my Boulder Audio
modded Squeezebox Touch directly to the amps with some short AQ interconnects.
Not much of a headbanger, so I listened first to Eric Claption and BB King "Riding with the King"
It's not the most revealing setup, but has the ability to demonstrate difference between the amps
in question. Using RCA NOS long plates in the Lyr...the bass was a bit thicker, but not as well textured.
On "keys to the highway" King plays his 335 unamplified and close-miked. With a revealing headphone,
the fingering on the fretboard should be quite easy to hear...calloused finger tips on wood. On the Lyr
I had to run the volume a bit higher to pull that level of detail out of the mix and at times it was a bit
louder than I cared to listen.
Listening to Eva Cassidy sing "People get ready" if you turned up the Lyr to where her guitar sounded
crisp and clear, then her voice would grate somewhat on the higher notes. On the H10, Kings fingering
came through loud and clear without the volume becoming an issue. The same was true with Eva Cassidy.
The Lyr seems to have a slight emphasis in the upper mids/lower treble with the HE500. That emphasis was
not nearly as pronounced on the H10. Bottom line, there are times where the H10 is both more detailed
AND smoother than the Lyr. This is not to criticize the Lyr...at the price point (mine was used at 275) and
the ability to roll tubes and tweek the voicing, it brings a great deal of bang for the buck.
Much to my surprise, my H10 (also bought for about 275 used) brought more to the table sonically than the
Lyr. The bass was tauter, the midrange both sweet and detailed and highs like Goldilock were for me...just right.
The H10 also works far better with higher sensitivity cans due to a lower noise floor. Any body want a
Lyr with three sets of driver tubes?
YMMV,
Hibuck....
