[Godaisan]

These Class D takes are bizarre. It's like people who say tubes are just distortion generating machines and any one type of tube amp must be representative of all tube amps.

Hypex aren't the only Class D amps out there. There's a whole universe of diy'ers who've locked on to the TI TPA amps for instance. A good TPA3255 or 51 amp can sound just as smooth and open as a tube amp minus the heat and distortion. But like anything else in audio you have to use quality components and design. The TPAs are old news at diyaudio but retaill is *slowly* catching on like the LSA Warp 1 Amplifier. One real hurdle I think relates to what Jason mentioned regarding 'general use' e.g. performing the same regardless of speaker impedance.

But saying Class D is only good for subwoofers is very 2010. Things have changed *a lot* since then.

Yeah it’s very weird. It’s like Schiit saying class D is inferior because they can’t figure out how to get it right.

 

[theeclone]

Yeah it’s very weird. It’s like Schiit saying class D is inferior because they can’t figure out how to get it right.

I don't know about that, but it did seem to me that some of the FAQ section on the new vidar 2 page on the schiit site was practically ripped from parts of this thread. As somebody who was involved in that discussion I wasn't quite sure how to interpret it. Sometimes I think in the audio world companies rely a lot on these forums to understand their audience and speak accordingly. I think maybe it was on here that Jason was saying class D can be great when made specifically for a certain set of drivers, like in a powered monitor, but that they're not ready to make a general purpose class D amp.

But hey, schiit have their own tastes, and I'm glad they make things to their tastes! Even Paul at PS Audio - which as I mentioned in the earlier discussion offers some supposedly great-sounding class D amps - has said they're still not the best of their offerings.

 

[Rensek]

.....mustn't feed trolls....must resist.

 

[turtlerod]

I just tested it because your question made me curious. @corndog71 is correct.

you need the power to hold the relays in place.

 

[433521]

Yeah it’s very weird. It’s like Schiit saying class D is inferior because they can’t figure out how to get it right.

Don't they sell the modules already built?

 

[artur9]

Don't they sell the modules already built?

Right, so all one does is provide the case. So, if one class D amp sounds bad they all must, right?

There's some weird stuff going on with that stuff. I'd buy the AtmaSphere one out of curiousity! If it wasn't wallet breaking, that is.

P.S. I did buy a class D amp because it came in a red case (not Red Dragon, they never have any stock). Uber expensive when new, didn't buy it new. It sounds kind of sterile, super super dry. Which is good for TV dialog.

 

[RCBinTN]

I don't know about that, but it did seem to me that some of the FAQ section on the new vidar 2 page on the schiit site was practically ripped from parts of this thread.

Why not? This blog is like the ultimate breeding ground for Schiit FAQ. And sometimes, Jason even answers them in real time ... who else does that?

 

[theeclone]

Why not? This blog is like the ultimate breeding ground for Schiit FAQ. And sometimes, Jason even answers them in real time ... who else does that?

Yeah, more power to him! But in this case it was one of those sinewave-esque side conversations. Somebody happened to mention class d amps, totally unrelated to Schiit, and the conversation went from there. None of it was in the vein of, "Schiit should really start making class d amps because they're the future." It was more, "Some people say they're the future."

But the future is the future, and the now is the now. If class AB is what sounds best for the vidar now, so be it!

 

[Mr Rick]

Right, so all one does is provide the case. So, if one class D amp sounds bad they all must, right?

There's some weird stuff going on with that stuff. I'd buy the AtmaSphere one out of curiousity! If it wasn't wallet breaking, that is.

P.S. I did buy a class D amp because it came in a red case (not Red Dragon, they never have any stock). Uber expensive when new, didn't buy it new. It sounds kind of sterile, super super dry. Which is good for TV dialog.

I have a Mytek Brooklyn Amp+ in my collection. It's one of my summertime amps. But at my age I don't hear much difference between amps anymore.

 

[corndog71]

All I know is, for me, Tyr lives up to the hype. While I haven’t owned a ton of amps over the years I’ve heard lots of them at shows as well as in store demos. Jason has created something truly special that immediately made me think: “Now this is high end audio!” He might cringe at that kind of thinking but I stand by it.
I went into debt for this and have no regrets.

 

[corndog71]

Nm

 

[ImagesbyMurray]

Anyone know if Freya plus or N will run in passive mode without power?

Nope. Volume is a relay ladder - needs power to work

 

[golfbravobravo]

There have been numerous attempts over the decades both with and without the family’s blessing (they owned the rights to the ‘Healey’ name), for both Big Healey’s and Bugeyes. When BMW bought Rover in the 90s they got the ‘Austin-Healey’ name and put a drawing out, but that was as far as it got.

I don't remember what the company name was (nor can I remember when it was) but they had a showroom on Brompton Road in London. I'm guessing it was this one: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-1989/32/evolution-theory. My recollection was it was twice the price in the article, but it's been a while

 

[golfbravobravo]

Beautiful - there was a garage just a mile or two from my parent's house that specialized in restoring Austin-Healeys. In hight school, my friend and I would go down and look at the cars (he owned a mid-70s MGB at the time). My dad had a Sprite before I was born - wished I could have seen that one

My first (owned, i.e. not a company hack) was a '68 MGB GT (OTD 854G) which was great fun!

 

[dstrimbu]

All I know is, for me, Tyr lives up to the hype. While I haven’t owned a ton of amps over the years I’ve heard lots of them at shows as well as in store demos. Jason has created something truly special that immediately made me think: “Now this is high end audio!” He might cringe at that kind of thinking but I stand by it.
I went into debt for this and have no regrets.

Old news, but in the latest (January 2023) Stereophile, John Atkinson compares Tyr against the Benchmark AHB2 and Parasound JC1+ monoblocks, which are his personal reference amplifiers.

The Benchmarks are ~2x, and the Parasounds are ~6x Tyr's price... he found very little difference between any of them, and stated that Tyr delivered "superb measured performance". If JA says that, it's more than good enough for me. I had considered the AHB2s, but Tyr became available in just in the nick of time and saved me 50% overall - thank you Schiit Audio. I drooled over the Parasounds for a while, but they were a bridge too far for me.

Tyr definitely lives up to the "hype" in my system. I'm pretty much blown away by their performance, even when compared to my original OG Vidar monoblock setup (which sounded damned good).

This Schiit is magical. As Aegir and Yggy made Stereophile "Class A", it looks like Tyr may end up there, too. I know that some of you think that the entire concept of "Class A Components" is hype in itself, but I respectfully disagree. The voices at Stereophile, backed up by JA's unbiased, scientific measurements, are a badge of honor for any component IMHO. FWIW.