What sound characteristics do you notice on the Lyr+Soloist chain, vs. using the Lyr headphone out?
After further careful listening on my Valhalla+Soloist chain, I don't think it sounds any better than the Valhalla headphone output.
I haven't compared the two in awhile, but have a pair of Focal Bathys coming tomorrow to replace my PX7s that no longer block sound (battery probably). I intend to revisit all of this then, with both my GS1000e (from what 7-8 years ago now), and the Bathys which...not sure what to expect, but I do expect them to have enough quality to render at least some of these differences.
From Bifrost 2/64 to Lyr+ vs. Bifrost 2/64 to Lyr+ and then the Soloist 3XP, in my perceived descending order of impact, the main differences are:
1 - Staging and image0
2 - Body
3 - Sound profile (freq resp)
4 - Dynamics
The Soloist stages quite a bit better than the Lyr+. Expected given the price difference but I'm not a placebo effect guy - and in fact I didn't expect to notice enough to care. The difference wasn't minor - it's a different ballgame. And for me that matters. It is in fact when I realized what the GS1000e can really do. Blew my mind actually. I'd been missing that all these years.
The body of the resulting Soloist sound is much more broad - more full, more weight. Never heavy, never sluggish, the opposite of thin, but not necessarily in "color" (see below). Just more sound - and I'd use the word, "rounded" and body. Somehow never in a bad way, always in a good way. Kind of like someone had draped something over loudspeakers and you reached over and removed it. Usually the highs are the first thing you notice - but the bigger impact is in the low end actually. Just more body. And this was...for me significant especially given the GS1000e can sound boxy and thin when not properly driven. Maybe just a good fit for the GS1000e right? Other cans may not render such a difference here. May have to do w/ power (below).
The sound profile is colored for sure, and not for everyone no question. But I only had the stock Tung Sol tube at the time - and the Lyr+ w/ my cans had a glare to it that I couldn't remove. I listen for hours on end, sometimes critically sometimes as a diversion...but the forward nature of my cans plus the brightness of the Tung Sol and Lyr+ was too much. The Burson's Vivid op amps took that edge off...and in some respects I expected it to sound too warm, maybe even to the point of seeming muddy. Oddly, the Burson adds a slight touch but still renders things accurately, which sometimes you lose when you get a colored result right? Not here - just takes the edge off, lines up pretty well with a bit of EQ tweaking, and is very pleasant. Maybe not quite the same, "magic" as a McIntosh amp, but...that's not a fair comparison (but sometimes, there is real magic in that regard too). It can render forward, slightly relaxed, or mid-depth pretty well - it does what it says, but takes the edge off the highs and makes the lows more full. That's a very good fit for my tastes and those cans.
The dynamics - well, I push the very low end of my cans so they don't have that boxy sound you'd get plugging them into an iPhone. And they require a ton of power down there. Never boomish, and don't have tremendous travel distance in the drivers (you can tell) but you can get a solid round and full low low end but you need power. And these cans are the last thing you'd consider dynamic or punchy - and the Burson actually adds some punch. The Lyr+ better than most - it's a very good amp - but the Burson just more. For the first time, I want to turn it up on certain tracks and I don't do that very often. The Burson invites me to rock out. And there are dynamics that no other source I've paired with my cans has remotely approached.
I'll have more tomorrow after I have my Bathys...though it'll be an early impression. I'm eager to see how much different the two are w/ a completely different headphone. I don't know what to expect except from what I've read...but I do think the Focals even at their lower-end will have enough quality to show some of these differences.
That said, the Lyr+ is a fine offering - but it just isn't in the same league as the Soloist. Nor should it be, it's basically 1/2 the cost so in my mind, does an excellent job all on its' own. For many, the differences aren't cost-justified. For a purist, they are signfiicant.
PS - might be worth noting, the EF-400 to the Lyr+ is a, "deadly" combination that sounds really very very good. It however can't render depth like the Bifrost 2/64. The EF-400 is warmer, and like the Burson more full and rounded on the low end though the EF-400 isn't as tight and accurate, bordering on muddy but for $500-$600...it's a nice standalone for many who won't even notice or care about such things - but you add the Lyr+, there is real magic in that combination too...so it's kind of a step up starting w/ the EF-400 alone, then its DAC w/ the Lyr+, then swapping out the Bifrost 2/64 for the EF-400 DAC, then finally adding the Burson - each is a progressive step in the, "next level" progression and somehow I bought these one by one and kept them all as a result).
