[DarkStarXIII]

I'm currently using a Lyr 2 with LCD-X, I found the amp to be a better match for the Hifiman HE-560  and especially the HE-6. 
 
With the above being said, I do like the LCD-X better than both Hifiman cans I've owned. 

 

[Jim Dickson]

I love my lyr2 with my bifrost dac I am using nos telefunken tubes

 

[DavidA]

  I love my lyr2 with my bifrost dac I am using nos telefunken tubes

Also love those NOS Telefunken CCa's, got 3 sets before they really shot up in price over the last 2 years.

 

[Jimmy101]

Really spent some time with the Lyr 2 and 846's today. I listened to really heavy old stuff. Wow. Soungarden, Sabbath , Bardo Pond and Pearl Jam were brand new. The slam and impact were just so intense. Made me a believer in IEM's

 

[oAmadeuso]

Really spent some time with the Lyr 2 and 846's today. I listened to really heavy old stuff. Wow. Soungarden, Sabbath , Bardo Pond and Pearl Jam were brand new. The slam and impact were just so intense. Made me a believer in IEM's

IEM's off a Lyr2?
Blimey....

 

[DavidA]

Really spent some time with the Lyr 2 and 846's today. I listened to really heavy old stuff. Wow. Soungarden, Sabbath , Bardo Pond and Pearl Jam were brand new. The slam and impact were just so intense. Made me a believer in IEM's

a little overkill?

 

[cbl117]

Would the LCD-X scale much going from a Schiit Bifrost MB/Lyr 2 combo to something like Auralic vega/Taurus mkii Combo?  Would it even be worth going higher up the schiit line to the Mjolnir 2/gungnir combo?
 
I'm wondering what I'm leaving on the table with the Bifrost MB / Lyr 2 combo.

 

[DavidA]

  Would the LCD-X scale much going from a Schiit Bifrost MB/Lyr 2 combo to something like Auralic vega/Taurus mkii Combo?  Would it even be worth going higher up the schiit line to the Mjolnir 2/gungnir combo?
 
I'm wondering what I'm leaving on the table with the Bifrost MB / Lyr 2 combo.

If the LCD-X is your main headphones then "upgrading" from Bimby/Lyr2 will not make much difference, tried LCD-X on Liquid Gold with MHDT Pagoda, maybe a touch better bass and soundstage but its a very slight change.  If you have other headphones like HD-800/S, HD-6XX and other high impedance headphones then upgrading from the Bimby/Lyr2 will make a difference as Lyr2 is not the greatest pairing with them.  I also think the 4490 is a better sounding DAC than the MB, is just sounds a touch smoother and not artificial as the MB when I heard them side by side a few months ago.  Wish I went with the 4490, would have been cheaper also.

 

[cbl117]

  If the LCD-X is your main headphones then "upgrading" from Bimby/Lyr2 will not make much difference, tried LCD-X on Liquid Gold with MHDT Pagoda, maybe a touch better bass and soundstage but its a very slight change.  If you have other headphones like HD-800/S, HD-6XX and other high impedance headphones then upgrading from the Bimby/Lyr2 will make a difference as Lyr2 is not the greatest pairing with them.  I also think the 4490 is a better sounding DAC than the MB, is just sounds a touch smoother and not artificial as the MB when I heard them side by side a few months ago.  Wish I went with the 4490, would have been cheaper also.

DavidA, first off, thanks for answering my questions lately.  I'm relatively new to head-fi, and still trying to sort everything out.  
 
LCD-X is my only headphone (other than a IEM SE846), but at some point I would like to experiment with other headphones.
 
I'm assuming law of diminishing returns has already kicked in...and I'm not leaving much on the table with the Bimby/Lyr 2 combo?
 
Will all planar headphones and moderate impedance dynamic driver headphones pair well with the lyr  2?  Would going with Schiit's mjolnir 2 and gungnir work better with dynamic headphones? 

 

[DavidA]

 
DavidA, first off, thanks for answering my questions lately.  I'm relatively new to head-fi, and still trying to sort everything out.  
 
LCD-X is my only headphone (other than a IEM SE846), but at some point I would like to experiment with other headphones.
 
I'm assuming law of diminishing returns has already kicked in...and I'm not leaving much on the table with the Bimby/Lyr 2 combo?
 
Will all planar headphones and moderate impedance dynamic driver headphones pair well with the lyr  2?  Would going with Schiit's mjolnir 2 and gungnir work better with dynamic headphones? 

For the price, Lyr2 is one of the better amps for anything under $1000 IMO, also, going with the mjolnir2/gungnir will only benefit if going balanced.  When I tried a few different headphones on my friends Liquid Gold and Glass amps that have both balanced and SE, there was a very slight difference in the sound stage, better in balanced mode for the headphones that I did try (HD-800/S, HE-560, T1 gen1/gen2, and Ether), but remember that these headphones are known for having good sound stage to begin with, will it help your LCD-X, probably a little but as you noted its way into diminishing returns. If you want better sound stage I would get another headphone to compliment the LCD-X. 
 
To me having a great sound stage is only really appreciated with well mastered classical, blues and jazz, so if these are your favorite genres I would upgrade to a balanced DAC/amp combo, mjolnir2/gungnir is okay but for the price I think there is better out there.  But at the same time the LCD-X would not be my choice for those genres of music to begin with since that is not its strong point.  The LCD-X was made to be easy to drive and have a sound signature relatively flat and used for mastering/editing work.
 
It gets a little tricky with headphones like the HD-800, T1 and other high impedance headphones since they do pair better with OTL design amps so for you I would suggest thinking about what headphones you see yourself wanting in the future and then after trying them on the Lyr2 figure out a plan from there.
 
I've been doing a lot of research and talking with those who have the amps/DAC that I'm thinking of and it seems that you really should have two different amps, one for high impedance headphones and one for low impedance and plannars.
 
Good luck, and as they say, sorry for your wallet.

 

[Lynkdev]

Focusing on rock, techno and orchestra like Hans Zimmer, would this pair well with HD650's?

 

[cbl117]

  For the price, Lyr2 is one of the better amps for anything under $1000 IMO, also, going with the mjolnir2/gungnir will only benefit if going balanced.  When I tried a few different headphones on my friends Liquid Gold and Glass amps that have both balanced and SE, there was a very slight difference in the sound stage, better in balanced mode for the headphones that I did try (HD-800/S, HE-560, T1 gen1/gen2, and Ether), but remember that these headphones are known for having good sound stage to begin with, will it help your LCD-X, probably a little but as you noted its way into diminishing returns. If you want better sound stage I would get another headphone to compliment the LCD-X. 
 
To me having a great sound stage is only really appreciated with well mastered classical, blues and jazz, so if these are your favorite genres I would upgrade to a balanced DAC/amp combo, mjolnir2/gungnir is okay but for the price I think there is better out there.  But at the same time the LCD-X would not be my choice for those genres of music to begin with since that is not its strong point.  The LCD-X was made to be easy to drive and have a sound signature relatively flat and used for mastering/editing work.
 
It gets a little tricky with headphones like the HD-800, T1 and other high impedance headphones since they do pair better with OTL design amps so for you I would suggest thinking about what headphones you see yourself wanting in the future and then after trying them on the Lyr2 figure out a plan from there.
 
I've been doing a lot of research and talking with those who have the amps/DAC that I'm thinking of and it seems that you really should have two different amps, one for high impedance headphones and one for low impedance and plannars.
 
Good luck, and as they say, sorry for your wallet.

DavidA, so many questions.....
 
What would be a good complement for the LCD-X?  I thought the LCD-X had a decent soundstage.  Is this not the case?
 
I think I prefer the sound of planars, but if I wanted to experiment with dynamic headphones to see if I like that sound signature, what would be a good headphone to test the waters or even complement the LCD-X?  I was toying around with the idea of getting a HD-600 and if I like that eventually move to the HD800S.  
 
Is there a end game dac/amp setup that would power everything well?  Can the Lyr 2 power something like the HD-600 and well enough to enjoy?

 

[DavidA]

Focusing on rock, techno and orchestra like Hans Zimmer, would this pair well with HD650's?

I have 3 amps for my HD-650, as good as the Lyr2 is for planars, it doesn't pair well with the HD-6XX or HD-800.  Best pairing for HD-650 is BH Crack followed by Ember of the amps that I currently have.  For rock, techno and orchestra I usually listen with HE-400i, RS2e or HD-700.

 

[DavidA]

 
DavidA, so many questions.....
 
What would be a good complement for the LCD-X?  I thought the LCD-X had a decent soundstage.  Is this not the case?
 
I think I prefer the sound of planars, but if I wanted to experiment with dynamic headphones to see if I like that sound signature, what would be a good headphone to test the waters or even complement the LCD-X?  I was toying around with the idea of getting a HD-600 and if I like that eventually move to the HD800S.  
 
Is there a end game dac/amp setup that would power everything well?  Can the Lyr 2 power something like the HD-600 and well enough to enjoy?

Sound stage on LCD-X is actually not bad if compared with other planars but when compared to HD-800/T1 then you will notice the differences.  But as I said in the previous post, the genre of the music plays an important part in which headphone I will listen with.  If you listen to mostly pop, rock, R&B, country, and even some jazz then the LCD-X does a fairly good job with them, but if you like classical, jazz and blues (provided they are well mastered/recorded) then something like the HD-800/S, T1 or Stax will be a much better choice.
 
As for the HD-600, I would not suggest it paired with the Lyr2, not a very musical combination to me, it can be a bit on the bright/harsh side.  Even if using warm tubes the HD-600/650 with the Lyr2 is not something I would listen to or recommend.  Both the HD-600/650 sound best with OTL tube amps like the BH Crack or WA3 but you will need get a little better tubes for both.  This is where many say some pairing have great synergy, the BH Crack and HD-600 or HD-650 is one of those, about as good as you can get for under $1500, and to be honest, I would chose this over the LCD-X and even my SR-009 and HD-800 if you just want to enjoy the music.  If you are looking for the most detailed, resolving, neutral then the SR-009 or HD-800S are hard to beat.
 
I've been looking for a end game DAC/amp that would power everything well but its in the $7000+ range, the 2 amps are EC Balancing Act and Liquid Gold, DACs are MHDT Pagoda and AudioGD Master 7.   Since my wallet is not that large I've been looking at Elise and Heron 5 as amps and MHDT Stockholm2 or AudioGD DAC-19 for the DAC.  I'm also still taking with my friend about buying is Liquid Glass from him but this is a long way down the road.

 

[cbl117]

  Sound stage on LCD-X is actually not bad if compared with other planars but when compared to HD-800/T1 then you will notice the differences.  But as I said in the previous post, the genre of the music plays an important part in which headphone I will listen with.  If you listen to mostly pop, rock, R&B, country, and even some jazz then the LCD-X does a fairly good job with them, but if you like classical, jazz and blues (provided they are well mastered/recorded) then something like the HD-800/S, T1 or Stax will be a much better choice.
 
As for the HD-600, I would not suggest it paired with the Lyr2, not a very musical combination to me, it can be a bit on the bright/harsh side.  Even if using warm tubes the HD-600/650 with the Lyr2 is not something I would listen to or recommend.  Both the HD-600/650 sound best with OTL tube amps like the BH Crack or WA3 but you will need get a little better tubes for both.  This is where many say some pairing have great synergy, the BH Crack and HD-600 or HD-650 is one of those, about as good as you can get for under $1500, and to be honest, I would chose this over the LCD-X and even my SR-009 and HD-800 if you just want to enjoy the music.  If you are looking for the most detailed, resolving, neutral then the SR-009 or HD-800S are hard to beat.
 
I've been looking for a end game DAC/amp that would power everything well but its in the $7000+ range, the 2 amps are EC Balancing Act and Liquid Gold, DACs are MHDT Pagoda and AudioGD Master 7.   Since my wallet is not that large I've been looking at Elise and Heron 5 as amps and MHDT Stockholm2 or AudioGD DAC-19 for the DAC.  I'm also still taking with my friend about buying is Liquid Glass from him but this is a long way down the road.

Thanks, David.  Lots to think about.  I mainly listen to rock, classic rock, prog rock (think Yes or Pink Floyd), acoustic, minimal jazz and classical.  So maybe thats what I seem to like the planar sound.  Is there another headphone that would pair well with the Lyr 2 and over another voicing to experiment with?  I like the idea of something lighter/easy to drive so I could power with my AK100II and transfer between rooms in the house.  Any ideas?