[Jason Stoddard]

​

 
You want hot Schiit? You got it!
 
How about a hybrid headphone amp that'll do 6 watts RMS into 32 ohms? Yes, watts. No, we are not insane. Well, maybe we are, but that's beside the point. Because Lyr is the perfect thing for your Audeze and HiFiMan cans.
 
You may also be surprised how near-infinite headroom transforms high-impedance headphones, too. At least according to Mike Moffat. But hey, what does he know? I think he's just happy to have something that lights his 600 ohm Beyers on fire. 
 
The only bit of bad news? You'll have to wait until March 1, 2011 to actually get one. Yeah, we know. We're terrible people. We shouldn't tease you like that. But if you're interested in being one of the first on your block with Lyr, pre-order is available now.
 
 
Here's the product: http://schiit.com/products/lyr/
Here's a FAQ: http://schiit.com/schiit-faq/about-lyr/
Here's the press release: http://schiit.com/news/122710-lyr-intro/
 
As usual, we're here to answer any other questions you might have.
 
All the best,
 
Jason Stoddard
Co-Founder, Schiit Audio

 

[tvrboy]

I don't understand why the stated power is at 32 ohms. Both the LCD-2 and HE-6 have a nominal impedance of 50 ohms. In the LCD-2's case impedance does not vary much from that stated value across all frequencies. Can you please tell us the continuous power into 50 ohms, which is much more important for those of us like me who are considering the Lyr?

 

[iseeadarkness]

That'll put a load of Schiit into any headphone!

 

[mobayrasta]

This amp really excites me. I am going to give it a try!

 

[TheWuss]

MOAR POWERRRR!!!!  

 

[USAudio]

Looks great!
 
Have you considered a Balanced amp, with both balanced and single-ended inputs and outputs???
(Oh, and a volume remote control too please!)
 
Thanks!

 

[complin]

What mains voltages are supported?

 

[Br777]

you cant see it, but my eyes are bugged out and glazed over, and there is a bit of drool rolling down my chin.
as usual your descriptions and FAQ's are a great read too.
 
seems like you're continuing your trend of excellence. I'm sure it will sound great!
 
 
 

 

[saisunil]

Very cool ...
 
How does http://schiit.com/products/lyr/ compare with http://schiit.com/products/valhalla/ 
Valhalla has 30V output - triode power
Lyr has 40V output - hybrid power
 
1. Can't Valhalla drive HE-5/6?
2. Hope lyr has tapered volume pot - so it doesn't go 0 to 60 in 3 clicks ...
3. Lyr is Class A to what point/power - when does it switch to AB (ex: at ~ 1 Watt)
 
If it can drive sensitive phones like Grados and tough loads like HifiMan - then one amp will do it all ... it would be very cool!
 
Good going ...
Sunil.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

Quote:

I don't understand why the stated power is at 32 ohms. Both the LCD-2 and HE-6 have a nominal impedance of 50 ohms. In the LCD-2's case impedance does not vary much from that stated value across all frequencies. Can you please tell us the continuous power into 50 ohms, which is much more important for those of us like me who are considering the Lyr?

[blanked]
 
Oh, also this looks exciting. Pity I have no orthos or hard-to-drive cans as of yet.

 

[tvrboy]

Quote:

Quote:

I don't understand why the stated power is at 32 ohms. Both the LCD-2 and HE-6 have a nominal impedance of 50 ohms. In the LCD-2's case impedance does not vary much from that stated value across all frequencies. Can you please tell us the continuous power into 50 ohms, which is much more important for those of us like me who are considering the Lyr?

From my very rough and possibly incorrect calculations: Output impedance is about 60ohms (from provided measurements), so we need to do (40/(50+60))^2 * 50 = 6.6 watts in to 50ohms. Or something. - i.e. plenty enough to drive your orthos through a brick wall.
Perhaps Jason can clarify/correct me.
 
Oh, also this looks exciting. Pity I have no orthos or hard-to-drive cans as of yet.

Where did you get output impedance of 60 ohms? i didn't see it on the web site. And assuming this is true, why would I ever buy this for my orthos when the damping factor is less than 1?

 

[JoetheArachnid]

[blanked]
 
I'm never going to try to do maths on the internet again

 

[.Sup]

Is this 6W per channel or total? awesome external design btw

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Hey all,
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. A few answers:
 
1. Power is rated per channel, both channels driven, RMS power.
 
2. As far as power into 50 ohms goes, it calculates out to 4W. For other calculations, figure Lyr will put out 40V+ p-p into virtually any headphone. We rate at 6W at 32 ohms, which is Lyr's design peak.
 
Stealing from Wikipedia:
 
P_peak = (20 V)² / 50 Ω = 8 watts peak instantaneous The RMS value is 20 V × 0.707 = 14.14 VRMS. This voltage into a load of 50 Ω gives a power of:

P_avg = (14.14 V)² / 50 Ω = 4 watts RMS continuous   For much more info than you would ever want on calculating RMS power: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_power  
3. As far as tube OTL (Valhalla) doing driving HE5/6--not a chance. 30V into 600 ohms, yep. 30V into 32? No way. Consider the output impedance of Valhalla is 20+ ohms, and pure Class A limits the amount of current it can source. Just a fact of life with tube OTLs.
 
4. Swapover from Class A? Pretty darn high. Lyr is still biased very heavily into Class A--it runs more bias than Sumo's old 60W speaker amp! Figure over half a watt of single-ended Class A, and even more before it gets out of push-pull operation.
 
5. Balanced? Sure, someday. Not today. 

 

[grokit]

$449 is pretty f'in cool for an uber high-powered hybrid headphone amp that has "current-sensing adaptive output topology which allows the amplifier to dynamically adjust to the headphone load".