[havagr8da]

After much reading, research, and hand wringing, I pulled the trigger on a Lyr 3 with the 4490 DAC. Currently scheduled to be here on the 8th and I'm quite excited. Plan on listening with the stock tube for a while and then maybe pick up another one but there are so many choices and associated opinions that it's a little overwhelming.

Congratulations, I also got one a week ago and have to say I just can't stop listening to it. What a great piece of gear! This forum is full of a lot of wonderful advice and has been very helpful. I know it sounds a bit cliche but the Lyr 3 has breathed new life into all the music I listen to. I really can't get over how good it sounds. Most impressive for me is the ability it lends my ear to listen for hours on end. Also I get a bit of flashback effect of "oh I remember when music sounded like this" pre digital days. Of course though with the added benefit of advancement in headphones that flashback is amended with a "but never quite this good".

Welcome aboard. I am confident that you will be exceedingly happy with your purchase. I am confident that when the time comes, you will get plenty of advice on tubes, but here goes mine ...

1. Enjoy the music
2. When it's tube-rolling time, pick at max 5 of the top recommended tubes (Yes, I and many have 100+ tubes, but you know what? We typically only listen to 2 - 3 tops, so learn from our exploits/mistakes!!)

-- And most importantly --

3. Enjoy the music.

Great advice!
And thanks to all the wise sages on this forum for their opinions and suggestions. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[roadcykler]

Just a quick note, which should be taken with a little grain of salt. I didn't like the original russian stock tube with Audeze LCD-2C. Only sometimes, it has some nice analogue quality. But with Meze Empyrean, it sounds surprisingly good. Not the best clarity or spaciousness. But it is fun and it slams!


Ergh, I have the 4490 DAC card in Lyr 3 and it is meh... I cant recommend this option.

Now you tell me (j/k). Since I've never heard it and won't be doing an A-B comparison, I'm sure it will be fine. They wouldn't sell them if people thought they didn't sound good. Besides, if it turns out that I think there is something missing, I can always get the multi-bit card later.

 

[malenak]

Now you tell me (j/k). Since I've never heard it and won't be doing an A-B comparison, I'm sure it will be fine. They wouldn't sell them if people thought they didn't sound good. Besides, if it turns out that I think there is something missing, I can always get the multi-bit card later.

It is probably not a fair comparison, but I can compare only with my Chord 2Qute. And compared to 2Qute, my 4490 card in Lyr3 sounds like compressed. It is lifeless and boring. 2Qute really is on another level.

EDIT: So, I just made a quick comparison between 2Qute and 4490 card in Lyr3. 4490 sounds like I said compressed. It is closed, muddy, missing details and nuances. Also soundstage, airiness and separation is bad. Their difference is night and day. Again, I simply can`t recommend 4490 card. Even my Audio-gd R2R11 in the past sounds better than this card. Otherwise, Lyr3 is great as preamp.

 

[G0rt]

Congratulations, I also got one a week ago and have to say I just can't stop listening to it. What a great piece of gear! This forum is full of a lot of wonderful advice and has been very helpful. I know it sounds a bit cliche but the Lyr 3 has breathed new life into all the music I listen to. I really can't get over how good it sounds. Most impressive for me is the ability it lends my ear to listen for hours on end. Also I get a bit of flashback effect of "oh I remember when music sounded like this" pre digital days. Of course though with the added benefit of advancement in headphones that flashback is amended with a "but never quite this good".



Great advice!
And thanks to all the wise sages on this forum for their opinions and suggestions. It is greatly appreciated.

It really is an amazing device, isn't it?!

And flexible. A while back, I opined that tube rolling might contribute something like the last 1% or so. I now admit it might be rather more, some 5-10% at least.

A posh Brimar CV1988 makes the Lyr3 perfect for HD700 here. I rolled in a Philips ECC40 and it's now juicy with HD800/SDR.

I have other bottles and other adaptors, but the Lyr3 makes things work no matter how I roll. So good.

 

[tafens]

It really is an amazing device, isn't it?!

And flexible. A while back, I opined that tube rolling might contribute something like the last 1% or so. I now admit it might be rather more, some 5-10% at least.

A posh Brimar CV1988 makes the Lyr3 perfect for HD700 here. I rolled in a Philips ECC40 and it's now juicy with HD800/SDR.

I have other bottles and other adaptors, but the Lyr3 makes things work no matter how I roll. So good.

Hard to say percentage-wise, but the tube can alter sound quite a lot (to my ears at least). From almost anemic boring (using a 1970 MELZ 1578) to full of euphonic musical thumping goodness (using a reissue Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB).

Before I got Lyr3 (my first amp with tubes) I was a bit concerned that tube rolling would have only marginal effect, and was on the fence about getting a tube based amp for some time. When the Lyr3 was released however, I decided it was time to try (it having only one tube made the decision easier, as buying new tubes for it becomes that much cheaper and no worries about matched pairs and such).

Haven’t regretted it a single second

 

[tomina666]

Hi guys,
I recently bought Hifiman Ananda - super headphones with a great price - many details and very comfortable. I have an amp / dac Chord Mojo. I want a better amp / dac and get the most out of the headphones. Chord Hugo2 is too expensive for me and I'm looking at Schiit kits - I'd like to try a tube. Will Lyr 3 DAC 4490 ok ?? Does anyone have this combination? Thanks

 

[tafens]

Hi guys,
I recently bought Hifiman Ananda - super headphones with a great price - many details and very comfortable. I have an amp / dac Chord Mojo. I want a better amp / dac and get the most out of the headphones. Chord Hugo2 is too expensive for me and I'm looking at Schiit kits - I'd like to try a tube. Will Lyr 3 DAC 4490 ok ?? Does anyone have this combination? Thanks

Lyr3 is a great amp, and the 4490 dac card should be a great start (I haven’t used that card myself though).

Lyr3 does not reach its limit with the internal cards though, but is also able to scale up with better dacs. I have heard great improvements going from multibit card to the Bifrost2, and I have read that it will even take advantage of the resolution of Yggdrasil as well.

 

[ProfFalkin]

I have read that it will even take advantage of the resolution of Yggdrasil as well.

It most definitely will.

 

[G0rt]

It most definitely will.

Schiit.

I have OG Gumby and find it good.

But should I scale back to Bifrost2 because it's newer, smaller and beautiful, OR

Scale up to Yggdrasil because it's big, bad, bold and bulky OR

Stand pat, remembering the ancient engineering axiom that the Better is the sworn enemy of the Good Enough?

 

[Ripper2860]

If you are hell-bent on Yggy then hold out. Something is in the works with Yggy. I can sense it. The even better True MB comment from Jason is a hint that better things are coming to their statement DAC.

As it relates to Bifrost 2. It's been referred to as Yggy Jr by several for a reason.


** You've likely seen the resale value of current Schiit gear. Even if you change your mind after BF2 and decide on an Yggy later, you'd likely get 90% of your investment back!

 

[tomina666]

Guys...my budget is max 1000 Euro = amp+dac...

 

[ProfFalkin]

Schiit.

I have OG Gumby and find it good.

But should I scale back to Bifrost2 because it's newer, smaller and beautiful, OR

Scale up to Yggdrasil because it's big, bad, bold and bulky OR

Stand pat, remembering the ancient engineering axiom that the Better is the sworn enemy of the Good Enough?

Yggy A2 is, IMO, a direct and worthwhile upgrade from OG Gumby. You keep a lot of the Gumby punch and tonality but upgrade resolution, stage, etc. So... Given the price Delta, there is a bit of diminishing returns there, but I personally would do it. This is an oversimplified version of my opinion, but sums it up well enough.

If you buy a new Yggy, wait for Unison. I've heard it on Yggy A2. It's worth waiting for.

Bifrost 2, which I own, is interesting. Keep in mind, I haven't done ditect A/B comparisons, but B2 is probably more of a sidegrade to your Gumby. They do different things slightly better than each other as I recall, so it's not like B2 is a repackaged Gumby A1 or something, but I don't think you'll get enough improvements to justify the purchase.

 

[ProfFalkin]

Guys...my budget is max 1000 Euro = amp+dac...

Lyr 3 + Modi MB. Done. You'll have enough left over for some NOS glass.

I suggest Modi as you can sell it later if you upgrade DACs. (Good luck selling an upgrade card you had to pry out of the Lyr 3 later down the road.)

 

[tomina666]

Lyr 3 + Modi MB. Done. You'll have enough left over for some NOS glass.

I suggest Modi as you can sell it later if you upgrade DACs. (Good luck selling an upgrade card you had to pry out of the Lyr 3 later down the road.)

Thanks - is it better to buy DAC separately and eventually replace with better? If the DAC is part of Lyr, you can't upgrade later ...?

 

[ProfFalkin]

Thanks - is it better to buy DAC separately and eventually replace with better? If the DAC is part of Lyr, you can't upgrade later ...?

I think that if there is any chance you might upgrade the DAC later, then buy it separately. A used Modi MB still commands at least 60% of it's MSRP on the used market. That $ can go back into whatever you upgrade to.

With the internal cards you're kinda stuck with an upgrade you paid for, and aren't using, if you start using a different external DAC.

That's just the way I think though. It may not bother you that an internal MB card is just sitting in your Lyr 3 if you get a different DAC. That kind of stuff makes me twitch.