[money4me247]

I'm also curious.

i have seen a direct comparison somewhere on headfi before, but cant seem to find it. just one direct review, rest were compared against previously owned one.

 

[RedBull]

I think i saw one comparison between lyr 1 and project starlight, but not ember.
The other comparison is mainly more into usability (removing tubes) and not focused on the sound alone.

 

[sling5s]

I'm comparing my Lyr 2 with top of the line tubes: 75 Reflectors HG with Vali and the Vali is about 90-95% of the Lyr 2 with those tubes.
 
The difference is the Lyr 2's bass goes lower and has more presence and treble is a little more extended and airy while the Vali is more mid centric, more mid bass punch and slightly more lively and upfront.  
 
Overall the Lyr 2 is slightly more well balanced, smoother and refined and it's mostly because of the 75 Reflectors that it's more detailed and layered. Hence the Lyr 2 is very immersive.  You can get lost in the layered details. But again the Vali gets your toe tapping and head bopping and sucks you into the music.  It's a fun little amp. 
 
But dang, when you consider that the tubes on the Lyr 2 cost more than the Vali itself, you can't help love the Vali more.  I mean, the sound signature of the Lyr 2 with 75 Reflectors and Vali are very scary similar... too close.  Of course throw in different tubes on the Lyr 2 and they sound completely different, but with these Russian Voskhod and Reflectors, they share a very similar sound signature.
 
This is all with LCD-2F with Uber Bifrost.  To give some background, in the past, I had the Vali and sold it to get the Lyr 2 but recently repurchased it.  Back then when I purchases the Lyr 2, I was initially very disappointment and what I thought was a downgrade from Vali.  I mean the Vali kills the Lyr 2 with stock tubes.  But it was only when the Lyr 2 had the Top of the Line tubes that the Lyr 2 surpassed the Vali. And it was only by a small amount, at least to my ears.  I say small also because I prefer the sound signature of the Vali over the Lyr2.  It's a preference thing. 
 
(positing also in Vali thread)

 

[lekoross]

Are you running the '75 Reflektors in the Valhalla as well? Is it the V1 or V2?

 

[RedBull]

I'm comparing my Lyr 2 with top of the line tubes: 75 Reflectors HG with Vali and the Vali is about 90-95% of the Lyr 2 with those tubes.

The difference is the Lyr 2's bass and treble is a little more extended while the Vali is more mid centric and slightly more lively.  
The Lyr 2 is slightly more well balanced, smoother and refined and it's mostly because of the 75 Reflectors that it's slightly more detailed and layered. But dang, it's hard to tell the difference between the two.  The sound signature of the Lyr 2 with 75 Reflectors and Vali are very scary similar... too close.

This is all with LCD-2F.  I had the Vali and sold it to get the Lyr 2.  The Lyr 2 initially was a disappointment and what I thought was a downgrade from Vali.  I mean the Vali kills the Lyr 2 with stock tubes.  But it's only when the Lyr 2 has Top of the Line tubes that the Lyr 2 surpasses it.  And it's only by a small amount.  But the Lyr 2 does have benefit of tube rolling. 

Thanks. I can quite imagine lyr 2 sound based on your description in comparison to Vali, that i have.

 

[sling5s]

To my years the difference between the lyr 2 with 75 reflectors and Vali is like LCD-2f and LCD/3f. It is a step up but it's not huge. But that's subjective. I like the Vali because of its mid centric and lively sound.

 

[sling5s]

Thanks. I can quite imagine lyr 2 sound based on your description in comparison to Vali, that i have.

To my ears the difference between the lyr 2 with 75 reflectors and Vali is like LCD-2f and LCD/3f. It is a step up but it's not huge. But that's subjective. I like the Vali because of its mid centric and lively sound.

 

[Xoen]

  I'm comparing my Lyr 2 with top of the line tubes: 75 Reflectors HG with Vali and the Vali is about 90-95% of the Lyr 2 with those tubes.
 
The difference is the Lyr 2's bass and treble is a little more extended while the Vali is more mid centric and slightly more lively.  
The Lyr 2 is slightly more well balanced, smoother and refined and it's mostly because of the 75 Reflectors that it's slightly more detailed and layered. But dang, it's hard to tell the difference between the two.  The sound signature of the Lyr 2 with 75 Reflectors and Vali are very scary similar... too close.
 
This is all with LCD-2F.  I had the Vali and sold it to get the Lyr 2.  The Lyr 2 initially was a disappointment and what I thought was a downgrade from Vali.  I mean the Vali kills the Lyr 2 with stock tubes.  But it's only when the Lyr 2 has Top of the Line tubes that the Lyr 2 surpasses it.  And it's only by a small amount.  But the Lyr 2 does have benefit of tube rolling. 
 
(positing also in Vali thread)

Interesting.  I wasn't all that impressed with the stock tubes on my Lyr 2 either.  It sounded too shrill at times and lacked some bass impact.  Mids sounded pretty smooth however and had a decent soundstage.  All of that changed for the better when I rolled the stock tubes into my Gold Lions E88CC's.  Upon replacing the stock tubes and burning them in, I thought that this is how the Lyr 2 should sound like!  Planning on rolling more tubes for my Lyr 2, but I'm saving up for the Schiit Ragnarok amp and Gungir DAC.  

 

[RedBull]

To my years the difference between the lyr 2 with 75 reflectors and Vali is like LCD-2f and LCD/3f. It is a step up but it's not huge. But that's subjective. I like the Vali because of its mid centric and lively sound.

That's right, Vali has the addictive lively sound.
After listening to Vali, other amps will likely sound boring, hahaha.

 

[sling5s]

Thanks. I can quite imagine lyr 2 sound based on your description in comparison to Vali, that i have.

But put different tubes on the Lyr 2 and it sounds completely different than the Vali. It's just with these russian Voskhod and Reflectors, that they sound similar. 

 

[BobFiggins]

Looking at returning my Valhalla 2 and picking up a Lyr 2. I have an HD700, and the harsh treble still hasn't been properly tamed. "sss" sounds, and a bit of white noise happen in nearly every track unless I push 9.5khz down by -8dB. This happens whether I use 44/48 flac, or just the standard 320kbps Google Play Music. I am also plugged in via optical (USB did the same).
 
Would you guys recommend the Lyr 2 to help with the treble, also some tubes to further increase this effect? Or do you think the Vali would be a better option? The Lyr 2 is easily in my budget, though it really depends on the tubes. I'd prefer to just use the stock ones, but if I can get some good tubes for like $50 I'd say it would be worth it. Would still like to know regardless if the Lyr 2 would tame the treble with the stock tubes.
 
Just to re-iterate, I'm new to tube amps, and don't know much about rolling or different tubes. So to make it simple this is what I'm asking:
 
To tame the HD700 treble:
Modi 2 Uber + Vali?
Modi 2 Uber + Lyr 2?
(Least preferred) Modi 2 Uber + Lyr 2 + new tubes? (Genalex Gold Lions? Are these good?)
 
I would really appreciate your help, thanks!
 
Oh, and just to throw it out there, I absolutely LOVE the sound of the HD700, except for the harsh treble. If that was tamed, I'd be in absolute love. A SinglePower MPX3 tube amp did the trick, but they are a bit pricey, and I hear there are some quality issues with the transformers in them. As someone who should not be trying to DIY things (I would probably break it), this isn't a good option.

 

[NoxNoctum]

Does anyone find that the Lyr has any advantages/differences over the Lyr 2 or is it purely a no-reason-not-to upgrade situation?

 

[tjl5709]

The 10-fold price sifference buys you silicone damping. Probably useful against microphony. I got them, as I want to be absolutely sure I het "the best", whatever that is
On top of that, they ship them BEAUTIFULLY!

I had the cheaper alternatives, and now these. The best part for me is they raise the tube higher. Pros: Less heat inside the amp, tube dissipates heat easier, and easier to grab tube to swap. Cons: Tube sticking up higher could be more vulnerable to accidents.

 

[tjl5709]

Does anybody here have experience with the Lyr 2 (Stock Tubes) and Sennheiser HD 650 combination. I have said amp with the stock tubes and I'm not sure if the tubes are on the bright side or Sennheiser did a driver tweak on the 2014 Rev lol. They sound really neutral and a little bit bright, which is okay, but I like the slight bass emphasis I use to get on the older pair (Latest Silver Box Model) I returned. At that time I owned a Cayin C5 amp, a very nuetral amp, which did wonders with the 650s, it was almost perfect. But then I decided to upgrade and sold it for the Lyr 2...

I do plan on buying a new set of tubes, but I would like to know the experiences you guys have had with said combination and gain setting.

I'm running the same set-up. Gain switch is up. The HD650's need better tubes. The stock ones are just OK. The best bang for the buck I found were Amperex orange globes and Buggle Boys. Go to the tube roller page and search HD650. Tons of info. But do it at your own risk. Tube rolling can be addictive (i.e. expensive). Don't ask me how I know.................... 

 

[persself]

  Looking at returning my Valhalla 2 and picking up a Lyr 2. I have an HD700, and the harsh treble still hasn't been properly tamed. "sss" sounds, and a bit of white noise happen in nearly every track unless I push 9.5khz down by -8dB. This happens whether I use 44/48 flac, or just the standard 320kbps Google Play Music. I am also plugged in via optical (USB did the same).
 
Would you guys recommend the Lyr 2 to help with the treble, also some tubes to further increase this effect? Or do you think the Vali would be a better option? The Lyr 2 is easily in my budget, though it really depends on the tubes. I'd prefer to just use the stock ones, but if I can get some good tubes for like $50 I'd say it would be worth it. Would still like to know regardless if the Lyr 2 would tame the treble with the stock tubes.
 
Just to re-iterate, I'm new to tube amps, and don't know much about rolling or different tubes. So to make it simple this is what I'm asking:
 
To tame the HD700 treble:
Modi 2 Uber + Vali?
Modi 2 Uber + Lyr 2?
(Least preferred) Modi 2 Uber + Lyr 2 + new tubes? (Genalex Gold Lions? Are these good?)
 
I would really appreciate your help, thanks!
 
Oh, and just to throw it out there, I absolutely LOVE the sound of the HD700, except for the harsh treble. If that was tamed, I'd be in absolute love. A SinglePower MPX3 tube amp did the trick, but they are a bit pricey, and I hear there are some quality issues with the transformers in them. As someone who should not be trying to DIY things (I would probably break it), this isn't a good option.

I can't speak about the Vali, but Lyr2 + Gold Lions tamed my shrill/bright "harsh" treble. But I also use T1 headphones.  The stock tubes were too bright to my ears.
Go back in this thread to page 47 and you will see Xoen and others comments about this with me. I found the GL's on ebay; I added a link during that discussion as well.
$76'ish shipped.