[PoSR77]

I think your unit and mine are twins.

Apparently more than a few are having this problem, and that, to me, evidences a severe design flaw.

 

[Author]

Sorry, I didn't intend any snark in the slightest, I genuinely thought sending it straight back when the thing doesn't work literally out of the box was the pragmatic thing to do and the best version of help that could be offered.

If you choose to do otherwise all power to you.

Good luck either way ..... I will be steering well clear of a Lyr + that is for sure !

You’re all right. And I overreacted. I’m sure my frame of mind wasn’t the greatest last night. All good.

 

[Author]

I'm sorry to hear that, but the good news is that (as others have said and I experienced and I wrote about just a bit before your post), there's a simple solution to what is probably wrong!

The front panel is probably slightly misaligned (and I mean in the sense of millimeters: nothing looks or feels off or loose or anything) causing the buttons to not "input" into the amp. That caused mine to become unresponsive (out of the box it worked fine; after I tilted it to unplug it to put in a tube--I simply tested it without a tube at first--that probably moved the front panel/cover enough and caused the buttons to misalign), and the buttons to not be "clicky" enough (they did depress, but felt "off" or weren't depressing in the way to feel effective), no matter what else I did (turn amp off and on, remove/reinstall the tube, run with and without the tube, use the remote, etc).

All I did was just kind of try to move the front panel/cover around a bit with moderate force (like push down on it from the top or sides). I didn't try to pry it at the bottom like others have, and I didn't feel or hear anything "click" into place, but when I pressed the buttons after just pushing the panel/cover around, then all of the sudden the buttons felt properly "clicky" (just like they did at first out of the box) and when I turned it on everything was responsive again (could switch between tube and SS, switch gain, etc) and the sound was back on - in both modes.

Since then, although I've only been playing it for around a hour (listening to it more now, and will some later today, and will report back if there are any other issues), everything is working fine in both tube and SS mode and the remote works everything too.

I hope you can do whatever I and others have done to get the buttons to align properly for then all should be well.

I’ll give your detailed ‘instructions’ a try. I haven’t done much in the way of slight tilting and pressing it like you describe. A bit later. No time now.

It really does seem like as Others have said or implied that this is not a software issue. Although my remote has never worked, but that could also be misalignment.

 

[Author]

For all of those who are having trouble with the amp, I hope they can get that sorted out for you in a timely fashion. I ordered mine last summer from the earliest production run and based on that I can say that the design of the amp is certainly capable of being completely reliable, in my case even running for hours in a room over 80°F and with tubes of questionable provenance.

Thanks Dr. Cube.

 

[Reputator]

My advice to people just recieving their Lyr+ is to check ALL the buttons to make sure they press in properly and click like they're supposed to as soon as you unbox it,  BEFORE plugging it in and powering it on.

It seems the buttons can go out of alignment just during shipping, or physical handing, and multiple problems can be caused by the buttons being stuck, possibly permanent damage.

Refer to the posts right before this one for tips on ways to "massage" the buttons into alignment without taking the amp apart.

 

[Author]

On the other hand , the DAC is functioning properly. No opinions on sound, but I’ve got it working with my only other desktop amp, a Darkvoice. So cords are fine, etc.

 

[PoSR77]

I’ll give your detailed ‘instructions’ a try. I haven’t done much in the way of slight tilting and pressing it like you describe. A bit later. No time now.

It really does seem like as Others have said or implied that this is not a software issue. Although my remote has never worked, but that could also be misalignment.

I wish I could explain better what I did, but I really can't; it's more of "show" than "tell" sort of thing. Maybe I just got lucky.

To reiterate: it worked fine out the box and I just tested it in SS mode. Then, as the manual said to turn it off and unplug it before putting in a tube, I did that and when I did I tilted the unit forward on my desk to remove the power plug, putting pressure on it's "face" (front panel) which must have misaligned it because it was dead/unresponsive/bricked after that no matter what I did, until I came in here looking for tips and discovered the "try moving the front panel/cover around to realign the buttons" tip. I did and now it's working fine.

My remote also didn't work after I misaligned the buttons. I worked before, and has worked fine after. A misaligned front panel/buttons just shuts everything down but the power/lights it seems.

 

[ThurstonX]

Although my remote has never worked, but that could also be misalignment.

Definitely sounds like misalignment, esp. if the other buttons are misaligned. The IR receiver is in the hole to the left of the Input 1 button. Don't think this is referenced in the manual.

 

[PoSR77]

I think it can probably work for most IEMs on low gain and in solid state mode. With Andromeda S (which is obviously something of a torture test for noise floor), the noise is clearly audible for me on both low gain modes and is certainly too loud on high gain, also adding some obvious power supply hum on high gain tube mode. An IEMatch on the lower impedance setting is plenty to clean it up for the Andromedas on both low gain modes. I'm not sure if there's a reason to use Lyr+ in tube high gain mode with Andromedas, but the IEMatch on its higher impedance setting was enough to make that usable for me. With Kato, the noise floor is again audible for me with both high gain modes, but just barely audible on both low gain modes. With Kato on an IEMatch on the lower impedance setting, it disappears. Noise doesn't really seem to change with the volume knob position and sounds the same to me from one end to the other.

For all of those who are having trouble with the amp, I hope they can get that sorted out for you in a timely fashion. I ordered mine last summer from the earliest production run and based on that I can say that the design of the amp is certainly capable of being completely reliable, in my case even running for hours in a room over 80°F and with tubes of questionable provenance.

IEMatch! Yes, duh, forgot about that as it kind of renders this "quiet enough noise floor with desktop amps for IEMs" issue irrelevant. I have not used one yet however (all my other desktop amps are quiet enough, at least in a low gain mode, for my various IEMs).

I also have not tested the Odins with the tube stage yet. (I will soon).

Thank you for your detailed observations.

 

[ceramicears]

in what way?

The input and pre-out buttons did not move or have a distinct click. They felt like they were stuck in place and the force necessary to register a press was very little. Did not feel good at all.

 

[Reputator]

I wish I could explain better what I did, but I really can't; it's more of "show" than "tell" sort of thing.

Later this week when I get my repaired amp I'll check if it has any stuck buttons, and if so I'll post a quick video here showing how to fix them.

 

[PoSR77]

On a more positive note, I'm continuing to enjoy the SQ of the Lyr+.

I'm listening to a "test" album, Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction, because it has great SQ and because the treble (cymbals mostly) can be too bright, splashy, glarey, metallicy, etc., and the overall sound can be too fatiguing/in your face, at moderate high volume levels with bad amps (with good amps and transducers that album sounds great, especially given the genre).

I'm not getting that harshness/hardness with the Lyr+, even with the HE1000V2's which can definitely be too bright with the wrong amp (like my Cayin iHA-6). I listened to the entire album in SS mode, now in Tube mode. So far I'm not hearing a large difference between the two, though the tube mode seems to have more low mid bass. I'm going to have to compare the modes more thoroughly, but it's hard to as it takes a good 30+ seconds to switch between the modes and I'm going to have to do blind testing too to guard against expectation bias. The tube I'm using is a Psvane 6SN7-UK Black Plates Gold Pins.

This seems like an energetic "fun" sounding amp with good energy/speed (but not too hyper) and impact/bass and resolving enough to be satisfying, and not too flat of a sound stage (especially at this tier level).

One miss is that the remote volume control jumps too quickly between volume levels. I have to reach for the knob to fine tune the volume to get it at the perfect level. That will be annoying if/when I use this in my bedroom set up and the unit will be across the room, especially as I bought the Lyr+ partly to have remote volume control in this setup.

Another note: this amp is not getting hot. It's slightly warm. Even the tube, even when in use (tube mode) is hot to the touch but not painfully so (I can put my fingers on it, and keep them on, without any pain).

 

[PoSR77]

Later this week when I get my repaired amp I'll check if it has any stuck buttons, and if so I'll post a quick video here showing how to fix them.

That will be very helpful!

I'm so glad you posted that other post about the misaligned front panel/buttons or else I would be stuck here with a dead amp (well, on, but non-responsive), frustrated, contacting Schiit and wondering whether to just return the whole thing (though, to be fair, that's still on the table as this doesn't inspire confidence in the longevity of the amp...I'm dreading moving it into my bedroom to get used to it in there with my IEMs: what if I screw up the alignment and can't get it aligned again?!).

 

[ceramicears]

Apparently more than a few are having this problem, and that, to me, evidences a severe design flaw.

Yes, this latest batch in particular has especially poor QC. The unit is quite heavy and dense so if minor flexes in the chassis are enough to cause buttons to misalign and malfunction, then there is definitely an inherent design flaw.

Unfortunately, my issues extend to the performance of the amp as there was a stark difference in bass reproduction between the two modes. Tube mode was decidedly better and fuller, able to deliver clean bass even at higher volumes, while SS mode started producing fluttery and dull bass at higher volumes, reminiscent of a cheap amp. Really bizarre. Tube mode also added some slight and pleasant euphonics to vocals.

 

[Reputator]

One miss is that the remote volume control jumps too quickly between volume levels. I have to reach for the knob to fine tune the volume to get it at the perfect level. That will be annoying if/when I use this in my bedroom set up and the unit will be across the room, especially as I bought the Lyr+ partly to have remote volume control in this setup.

Actually that's a good point that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet (and it's definitely not in the manual). Adjusting volume via the remote moves it TWO notches, and if I'm not mistaken it has preset positions that it will 'snap' to, so for example if you're only a little above 12'o clock, in my experience pressing down on the remote will 'snap' it to 12 exactly and it moves two notches in either direction after that.