[buonassi]

If you're going to dinner at McDonalds all you need is $10, so why have all that other money?

touche my good man... seems both of our math abilities are lacking! or more precisely our math sensibilities, ha ha ha

 

[earnmyturns]

The seller of the Apex Peak I just got threw in a few interesting tubes. This one is especially sweet on the Peak. According to Brent Jessee's site, it appears to be a ruggedized Sylvania 6SN7W type: "This type indicates a military spec tube that was not made for consumer use. These usually have extra support posts on the plate structure, heavy mica spacers, and brown micanol bases. These also have the famous triangular shaped black plates. They have been ruggedized to withstand shock, the brown low loss micanol base resists mold, mildew, and fungus growth, and they can withstand heat even if used upside down." Not planning to run it upside down, though.

 

[ItsAllInMyHead]

This tube, that tube, whatever tube....at the end of the day this is all that matters. Those magical moments when the stars align and everything is just 'right'. Thanks for sharing!

On the hum issue, if the amplitude changes when you touch the chassis it's more likely to be an RFI/EMI induced problem than a ground loop. Is your Lyr sitting in close proximity to a fluorescent lamp or another component that is either wireless or has a good sized transformer in it?

Agreed!

Thanks very much for the thoughts on the noise. It sounds a bit like cicadas. It increases in amplitude when touching the Lyr3 chassis. It only increases in amplitude when I touch the top of the chassis, not the sides or bottom*. IN SOME SITUATIONS...

*Lyr3s must provide consent before you touch them on the bottom. It's the law, people (and it's just common courtesy).

I tried typing this up in a few ways to describe the troubleshooting process and it was a mess. I may have to create a matrix (seriously). I won't type up all the iterations I went through, but... it's making me (more) nutty.

What may be interesting is that with the Lyr3 connected to the mains and nothing else:

Hands off - Cicadas
Hand on chassis (switches or volume knob too) - louder cicadas
One hand on top of chassis + touch rear inputs / outputs or the inboard screw next to the USB input - reduced the noise.
Chassis + touching power switch => "tick".

Note, this is ONLY with the input switched to external.

I'll see what other gizmos may be too close. I thought I had all the gremlins removed when I moved the step-down transformer several weeks ago after the craziness with the 6F8G and the adapter... I've been fooling with external DACs, so this "new" situation only became apparent when I started using the external input.

Time to build a Faraday cage

 

[bcowen]

.

 

[ItsAllInMyHead]

Hmmmmm. So then if you're using the internal DAC, no hum?

Do you have a cheater plug? I never advocate permanently removing/cheating an earth (safety) ground from a component that's designed to use it, but no big risk just to test it with the ground lifted and see if it makes any difference. I don't think what you're describing is a ground loop, but it's possible you have noise riding along the house earth ground.

Thank you! I'll try that, and you and I are heading to the same possible conclusion.

Correct. The symptom is present only with the switch set to the RCA inputs when the Lyr is the only thing in the chain. Mains=> Lyr3 => Headphones. Of course it's only for troubleshooting with nothing else connected. If I hold my nose just right and squint, I can hear it a bit at mid volume (high gain) with the switch set to the MB input. When the volume is increased to max, the static from the MB board takes the stage over the cicada-like noise. That observation is only for the purposes of troubleshooting and has no effect whatsoever on listening enjoyment. It's a data point, but it's a non-issue.

Once I connect anything else (either through USB to the MBP or using RCAs to an external DAC (I've tried battery and mains powered DACs); the severity of the situation changes, and methods to alleviate it also change. When anything else is connected either through USB or RCAs the situation can change slightly.

Quick examples -

Lyr 3 only. See previous post and clarity above.
Lyr3 => USB => MBP (running on battery) - I can touch the MPB chassis AND/OR the rear inputs / outputs - Dead quiet (While touching Lyr3 top of chassis)
Lyr3 => RCAs => Battery powered DAC - Touch the barrels of the RCAs or output jacks - Dead quiet (While touching top of Lyr3 chassis also). Test sequence example
-- Cicadas
-- Touch top of chassis - louder cicadas
-- Remove hand - cicadas
-- Touch barrels of RCA input cables (They're metal) - No change - cicadas
-- Remove hand - No change - cicadas
-- Touch output plugs - No change - cicadas
-- Remove hand - No change - cicadas
-- Touch top of chassis with left hand -- loud cicadas
-- Touch barrels of input cables with right hand - Dead silence
-- Remove both hands - back to cicadas

It is perplexing. If I listed all the iterations and combinations of "things I've been touching to see if they make the noises go away " I'd likely get banned from Head-Fi.

I'll get it sorted eventually. I'm still convinced there's goblins and ghouls in my mains (in addition to a Schiit ton of EMI / RFI). I'm not paranoid if they're really out to get me... am I?

 

[bcowen]

.

 

[bcowen]

.

 

[FLTWS]

Just swapped out the socket in my bedroom where my 2nd rig is going. Used one of these, much more substantial all the way around compared to the builder quality "standard" unit.

 

[buonassi]

All this talk of cicadas has got me a little hungry.

 

[ilikepooters]

I'm going to try and take Frankentubing to the next level....



Going to see if i can acquire some British 6C5G's which are 'sensibly equivalent' to an L63 which is half of a B65.

They look a bit different utilising a mesh plate structure, might look cool

6C5G's were made in the good ol' US of A, too.

 

[Ripper2860]

They look a bit different utilising a mesh plate structure, might look cool

I'm sure they will look very cool -- once the smoke from Lyr 3 clears.

 

[ItsAllInMyHead]

Trying to get a grip on the 'chicadas' here. I think I understand what you're describing, just scratching my head at what may be causing it. Possible that it's a vibration induced electrical noise? Have you checked your mains outlet that the Lyr is plugged into? Not sure how comfortable you are with house wiring, so if you're uncomfortable don't proceed. If you are, I'd pull out the outlet (after removing power at the breaker panel), and check first that it's wired correctly -- black (hot) wire to gold screw/short front slot, white (neutral) wire to silver screw/long front slot, and green wire to green ground screw. Then check the tightness of the wiring connections. If the outlet is wired like most US residential in the last 20 years (as all mine were), it's likely wired by use of a hole on the back. The bare Romex is inserted and then held by a spring tension metal clip inside. Crappiest electrical connection that exists, IMO. I much prefer the type below where the wire is inserted through a hole, but then the screw is used to tighten a 1/4" clamping plate onto the wire. Way more electrical surface contact, can be tightened completely and won't ever come loose...or vibrate. May seem like overkill, but after all is said and done what are we really listening to? Electricity. The Lyr just converts it into a format that our headphones can turn into music. I won't go off the deep end here by saying that ALL outlets in that circuit branch should be looked at and/or replaced...only I'm that anal. The most important one obviously is the one the Lyr is plugged into.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00134AW5K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

LOL! re: the cicadas, it's about as close as I can describe the sound/noise. I'll get to the bottom of it.

I'm to the point where I'm just treating the symptom for now. It's simple enough.

The physical connections are fine, but I do want to try lifting the ground to see if that helps. My guess is that it will. I'm in HKG, so our wiring is a bit different, but I understand the wiring here, and in the US. I'm very comfortable with it, but I probably won't swap anything out here (rental).

Once again, I truly appreciate the ideas.

 

[earnmyturns]

A non-Schiit stack with tube borrowed from Lyr 3. The whole thing sounds sublime, and so it should given the total price. Lyr 3+Psvane 6SN7-SE was very good, but I'm starting to think that Apex + Volcano LPS (originally 4x Lyr-3 price, although I got it used for 2x) may be my next headamp peak (pun sort of intended). No worry for Schiit there, though, the Peak is no longer made and they are more rare for sale than hen's teeth. Mine is serial #22. If I wasn't such a sucker for exotic gear, the following would be likely very close and way cheaper: Allo USBridge streamer ($162.50), new (v2) Gumby ($1249), Lyr 3 ($499), Psvane 6SN7-SE ($200) = $2,110.50 (+ tax, shipping). A well-informed source told me that Gumby v2 is a worthy competitor for the Metrum Onyx, at 1/2 the price, but I'm kind of smitten by NOS DAC sound with hybrid tube amps and headphones.

 

[ItsAllInMyHead]

A non-Schiit stack with tube borrowed from Lyr 3.

Gorgeous rig. Thanks for the impressions!

 

[ilikepooters]

Possible Westinghouse GTB short bottle D getter: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westingh...h=item4d7dceb728:g:eC0AAOSwMFFbq-WE:rk:9:pf:0