[KoshNaranek]

I know it's a Sunday in July, but all I want for {Winter Holiday of your choice} is a Loki Maxi. Got the good old Grateful Dead on this morning, and just a touch of EQ and balance would send me further into bliss.

That is all. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Sunday.

I really want those class A Vidar chassis that Jason mentioned a while back

 

[US Blues]

I really want those class A Vidar chassis that Jason mentioned a while back

My memory is that he might design something with his new topology that might not be strictly Class A, but still sound like one. Less expensive and less heat.

 

[Ripper2860]

I think that was in discussing a possible Asgard 3. He did state a possible true class A in a Vidar chassis, IIRC.

 

[Paladin79]

Here is my latest weekend project, a four headphone rack with a changeable center piece. Coaster amp or brass clock gears. Everything is copper, brass, and oak. And solder.

 

[Ripper2860]

Sweet! Wonderful job!

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

Had to share. I'll take 2, please ...

You’ll have to wait their back ordered. And I bet they don’t sound $96k better than the ones with no bling. In fact I bet they sound worse due to the loud laughter of those nearby who hear how much they paid.

 

[Ripper2860]

Wait!! You can listen to music with them, too???!!!! How awesome is that??!!




BTW -- I'd be one of the ones laughing!!!

 

[the finisher]

I normally run Loki plus Jot but to compare it to LYR3 I've been using Jot without Loki.
After matching sound levels with a meter out of the SE outputs, (using the stock Tungsol in my LYR3), and using a gain setting that gives me the volume range I like with almost all recordings with the knob set between 10:00 and 12:00, and using my usual demo material I find:

LYR3 to be uniformly smooth sounding in frequency response from well below and above the midrange but with a slightly bright top end (that I attribute to the tube) and solid but not "wowsa'" bass. I can make small changes in the overall sound characteristics by choice of tube for bigger bass, softer highs, etc, to meet my listening preferences of the moment.
JOT has a forward sounding midrange, sometimes a little bright, but with big time bass capabilities. I can't change the JOT's output devises like tubes in LYR3 but that's where I find Loki does the trick for me in getting the top to bottom balances closer to where I like it in conjunction with my various phones.

When it comes to soundstaging I much prefer the LYR3. The Jot is very much "in my face", (in a way I find my Utopia is like this also).
By way of an "exaggerated" visual comparison, I did the following when comparing my 3 top HP's months ago, but it works for this comparison as well between LYR3 and JOT.
(Sometimes I sketch the sound field impressions I hear when making comparisons, in this case a small Jazz group.) These are my impressions.



The JOT is more UTOPIA-like to my ears.

Again, I can vary these a small amount by choice not only of tube brand or Loki, but by, (potentially) all the other elements in the chain I use.
I ascribe to school of "everything can, but may not always, make a difference". And especially, marrying transducer sound characteristics to the those of the rest of my equipment chain is a part of my decision making process.

But none of that Day vs Night stuff. To me Day = hit the power switch and sound is heard. Night = hit the power switch and no sound is heard.

Some listeners like to feel they are in the mix, on the stage, playing along. I prefer a more natural perspective as a member of the audience, or at least back a bit from the stage with the players.
But some times I have no choice as it's up to the recordings characteristics, first and always, as to what I will hear and how. My preference for large orchestral works most likely flavors my preferences.

While SS may have vanishing low distortion and low noise floor I prefer what I perceive as the wider dynamic range (which has nothing to do with how loud it will play or the volume one listens at)
and sense of "ease" I hear with tubes. Not that SS can't sound that way but I'm talking LYR3 vs JOT.

I'm no techy by any stretch of the imagination but somehow the extra power the LYR3 SE out can deliver into the different phones load may have an effect in this comparison. Even though a given phone may only require a fraction of a watt to deliver hearing damaging SPL's, maybe it's some sort of short term reserve for those peak loudness levels in a composition that I like, or maybe the difference in distortion modes (odd vs even), or phase related stuff.

I find the SE out of the LYR3 better sounding than SE out of my JOT (or MJ2 or Ragnarok). I do prefer balanced out of the them over there respective SE's by a small amount. Could a balanced LYR3 sound better than it's SE counterpart.? Don't know, but I like to find out! LOL! The LYR3's SE out has given me a new perspective on balanced vs SE, it sounds very good in comparison with my other Schiit's balanced outs.

There's a lot of other nuance-y type stuff that one could grind over That's what being an audiophile is all about right? Otherwise just go to a big box store, open you wallet, and spend no more than is in it at the time for an audio system. I'm in a fortunate position to be able to play in the Schiit sandbox a lot. I might not be willing to play in the Chord sandbox as I have expensive tastes in other, non-audio, interests . But I would suggest, if possible, and if you've never experienced "the way of the tube" to acquire LYR3 (both units are so cost vs performance reasonably priced) and run it side by side with you JOT for at least a year and hear where your bliss lies.

Very cool on topic post

I'd order a Lyr 3 today if I could use it in my system. Your post disturbs my audio nervosa that I can't try it. Thanks

I have a Yggy, and am married to a balanced system. Having pro monitors that accept xlr only, and expensive balanced cables throughout.
The SE road is a step back for me and is not a road I'm going down. Thus to upgrade the Jot in my system with a Schiit product I'm gonna need a Freya with a balanced headphone amp, or a balanced Lyr 4 or such.
Good thing I'm in no hurry. But can we please have more balanced products from Schiit (bal. Loki for instance).
At least then you have the option of SE or balanced, and it won't turn off the Yggy/Gumby owners.

@Jason Stoddard I'm not so sure what you said about balanced audio and audio nervosa is necessarily true.
In my case it's not, as I will keep my cables regardless, and they all cost more than a Jot and Lyr 3 combined.
This wasn't a necessary expenditure, but it is what it is, and I'm not that unusual being a higher end customer.
I've thought about a Freya as preamp to the monitors and Jot, but with 1 balanced output this is not a good solution either. I'd have to buy a Goldpoint balanced switch at $400+ cables.
This kind of sucks as I won't have another balanced source other than Yggy to a Freya, but it has 2 inputs, and only 1 output.

These are just my wishes for new Schiit products for what it's worth.

 

[the finisher]

Wow and lol there's a good chance all the extra bling probably hurts the sound of the Utopia, considering it was designed for looks only most likely. + It has to add a bunch of weight, why even have carbon fiber, just use gold.

 

[FLTWS]

Wow and lol there's a good chance all the extra bling probably hurts the sound of the Utopia, considering it was designed for looks only most likely. + It has to add a bunch of weight, why even have carbon fiber, just use gold.

Even if it doesn'y hurt the sound it will definitely hurt your wallet. You could buy a Blu/Dave combo (the dealer should throw in a standard Utopia for free at that price) and you'd still have $75 grand in change.

 

[FLTWS]

If Schiit were to produce a pure, true Class A amp I might have to re-think my position on HP's only for my listening enjoyment.

 

[the finisher]

I'd bite, and then some very efficient speakers, and Freya in my living room to replace MidFi and LS50s.

 

[Ripper2860]

I'd bite with Saga and Tek Lore or Zu Dirty Weekends. If Schiit were to make a Gumby, Jr in Bifrost enclosure, then it would be a trifecta!!

 

[the finisher]

I'd do a Saga, but Yggy.

Edit: I know Tom is doing his own class A, but I need more than 10 wpc even with the right speakers.

 

[Ripper2860]

OK. My realistic / money is an object dream rig:

A 20w or 25w x2 Schiit true class A in a Vidar type enclsure
A next gen Saga Preamp with integrated HP amp equal to Lyr 3 and option slot for a Phono card
A Gumby, Jr in a Bifrost enclosure with the new Schiit Gen 5-like USB and 1x (hopefully 2) S/PDIF coax inputs
A Schiit CD Transport
A SOL Turntable

And then there's speakers:

Tek Lore or Zu Dirty Weekends


I know. But I can dream, can't I??

Right, @Jason Stoddard ??