[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

Ball so hard dat ish cray.

 
At first I assumed it was an auto-correct disaster.  I decided to google it before assuming so....now it makes sense (I think)

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

At first I assumed it was an auto-correct disaster.  I decided to google it before assuming so....now it makes sense (I think)

 
My cousin is a DJ.  A few months ago, a female of the Caucasian persuasion came up to him and requested that he play Kanye West's, "African Americans in Paris".  

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

Quote:

My cousin is a DJ.  A few months ago, a female of the Caucasian persuasion came up to him and requested that he play Kanye West's, "African Americans in Paris".  

 
Things I love, when my fellow Americans call a black person from somewhere not America and African American.

 

[Y2HBK]

Quote:

 
I think you'll wish you'd went with Mjolnir/Gungnir

   Don't get me wrong, Lyr + Bifrost + HD800 does actually sound great...it's very listenable, very enjoyable, and very nice to play with tubes with that set.  A lot of people could be happy and stop right there.  But if you started out considering MJ/Gungnir (Note I don't have MJ yet...soon...., and I don't have Gungnir but I have Woo WDS-1, which is better than Bifrost as well.) and I think certainly the better DAC is a good bet (who says you can't get Lyr + Gungnir if you want tubes but also the better source?), and I highly suspect that Mjolnir is a better performer for the HD800 to the point that I'm about to add one to my collection...
 
I'd say in either case, if you're worried about buyer's remorse, get the Gungnir off the bat whichever amp you get.  Bifrost is excellent, but we're talking HD800...the most painfully flaw finding headphone there is.  And even Bifrost is great with it.  But it can do more than that.  For the choice between MJ and Lyr, that's a bit more individual a choice.  MJ may be technically better in terms of noise floor, or detail, or whatever, but it's not tubes....and Lyr sounds very good...

 
Wonderful information. Thanks for the detailed response. I actually had considered the Lyr + Gungnir combo as well. The Mjolnir just looks so tempting, though. Decisions, decisions... 
 
I think one other big influence is that the Mjolnir would limit me to balanced setups, were the Lyr would give more more flexibility to start.

 

[mikek200]

I'm kinda going throught the same situation as you,but ..I have the MJ & still using the Bifrost dac...so,I'm half-balanced.
If,I know for sure the Gungnir will make that much of a difference,I'd buy it tomorrow...a few head-fiers,have told me,that hearing the difference in a dac ,takes some very professional ears...not the old cryoed ones ,I have attached to my head now?
 
Any thoughts/opinions??

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

I'm kinda going throught the same situation as you,but ..I have the MJ & still using the Bifrost dac...so,I'm half-balanced.
If,I know for sure the Gungnir will make that much of a difference,I'd buy it tomorrow...a few head-fiers,have told me,that hearing the difference in a dac ,takes some very professional ears...not the old cryoed ones ,I have attached to my head now?
 
Any thoughts/opinions??

The Gungnir is a clear step above the Bifrost. Meaning, you'll hear the difference immediately, without effort.
 
IME, on other sources, it can be more difficult to hear differences. It's not that you need professional ears,
but having more experience with different gear will always lend a helping hand in discerning differences more easily.

 

[mikek200]

Thanks Para,
 
I had a feeling you'd chime in here..
 
WE have had this discussion before,but I've been so engrossed with the he-6's a speaker amp..I haven't listened to the MJ for a month or so.
I've been on the MJ,with Maddogs,, Lcd's ..all day..a very refreshing change...forgot how much detail this amp can give you...now ready to get fully balanced.---TNX.
 
T2hbk ,sorry for the digression....
 
.

 

[Y2HBK]

I'm kinda going throught the same situation as you,but ..I have the MJ & still using the Bifrost dac...so,I'm half-balanced.
If,I know for sure the Gungnir will make that much of a difference,I'd buy it tomorrow...a few head-fiers,have told me,that hearing the difference in a dac ,takes some very professional ears...not the old cryoed ones ,I have attached to my head now?

Any thoughts/opinions??

Unfortunately I have never have the privilege of listening to any of Schiit's equipment. Quite the issue. If I go with something like the Lyr + Bifrost I know ill wish i had upgraded. The other way around with the MJ + Gungnir I know ill have a feeling of buyer's remorse. Id love to try all for but Id prefer to stay married after this.

The more I seem to research Schiit gear and the HD800s, the more I come across posts stating that the HD800's love tubes which keeps bringing me back to the Lyr.

Do you notice any issues/differences running a half balanced setup? I have never used balanced gear before and was always under the impression that you generally wanted to match your Dac/Amp as unbalanced or balanced.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Unfortunately I have never have the privilege of listening to any of Schiit's equipment. Quite the issue. If I go with something like the Lyr + Bifrost I know ill wish i had upgraded. The other way around with the MJ + Gungnir I know ill have a feeling of buyer's remorse. Id love to try all for but Id prefer to stay married after this.

The more I seem to research Schiit gear and the HD800s, the more I come across posts stating that the HD800's love tubes which keeps bringing me back to the Lyr.
Do you notice any issues/differences running a half balanced setup? I have never used balanced gear before and was always under the impression that you generally wanted to match your Dac/Amp as unbalanced or balanced.

What headphones would you have in mind overall with either Lyr or Mjolnir?
 
The HD800 generally pairs well with tube amps, however, the Lyr is a hybrid. Also, there are plenty of reports of the HD800
pairing very nicely with Mjolnir.
 
A couple considerations to think about; the Mjolnir would require you to get your cables balanced. While the Lyr
IMO, really requires tube rolling to bring out its potential. And generally, it aint cheap.
 
Going fully balanced yields more power, that's the biggest benefit. Balanced in general has the nice benefit of noise rejection.

 

[RushNerd]

Going out on a limb here, has anyone tried the rca 6bq7a tubes? I got a Lyr recently with them and the stock GE tubes, as well as the Russian 6H23п tubes (the other pair is the same but has differnt numbers). I would really love to hear anything I can on these, and yes I did use the search function.
 
Switched to the rca's just now after having the GE tubes in there for two weeks. Can't really tell a difference.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Going out on a limb here, has anyone tried the rca 6bq7a tubes? I got a Lyr recently with them and the stock GE tubes, as well as the Russian 6H23п tubes (the other pair is the same but has differnt numbers). I would really love to hear anything I can on these, and yes I did use the search function.
 
Switched to the rca's just now after having the GE tubes in there for two weeks. Can't really tell a difference.

I had a pair of RCA 6BQ7A. While I'd say they were better than the GE tubes, I wasn't impressed with them overall.
They got limited use and quickly collected dust. Now the RCA black plates and clear tops are kind of a different story.

 

[olor1n]

To all you guys on the fence - go the Gungnir/Mjolnir combo if you can. I know the Bifrost/Lyr combo very well. I lived with it for some time and went through the trials of tube rolling. I know what the Lyr sounds like at its best, when you get the tube choice right for a particular headphone and the synergy perfectly matches your preferences. I ran the HD650 (with Orange Globes), LCD-2 (Lorenz Stuttgarts), and HD800 (Bugle Boys) from this system to great effect. I doubted the mid-tiers would be such a significant upgrade but I pulled the trigger anyway.
 
All the flowery accolades for the Mjolnir can be found in its dedicated thread, but in case you haven't ventured there, I'll sum it up: No amount of tube rolling will elevate the Lyr close to the level of refinement and transparency the Mjolnir affords the top tier headphones. It's no contest. The Lyr is still pretty good value but you can bridge the gap in price between it and the Mjolnir when you factor the expense of rolling tubes. Granted, there's still the added expense of converting to a fully balanced system, but ask some of the regulars here how much they've spent on tubes...
 
The most significant upgrade I've made to my chain of late has undoubtedly been the Gungnir. Not sure to what extent the Lyr would stifle its strengths over the Bifrost, but with the Mjolnir in place, all the good stuff gets to the transducer unhindered and it's a great joy. No doubt there are better performers, and I'd be lying if I stated the NAD M51 held no appeal, but when you've come from the Bifrost, instant gratification is the reward. The difference is not subtle.

 

[mikek200]

Excellent post Olor,your another one pushing my fingers to the buy button.
Question:-In your opinion,will I see any difference in driving the He-6's,after I get the Gungnir
It seems from what I've read,one compliments the other ,for best results,as Para has said above.
 
Whats your take?
 
Any further info will be appreciated,
Mike

 

[olor1n]

Sorry Mike, I don't own an HE-6 so I can't really comment on it. I understand the HE-6 is at the hyper revealing side of the spectrum though, alongside the HD800, so the difference between the Gungnir and Bifrost should be immediately apparent. Fwiw, I also run rca direct from the Gungnir to a pair of Audioengine A2 speakers. Refined and transparent are the last terms I'd use to describe these actives but the Gungnir has managed to elevate even these limited speakers. You don't need golden ears to appreciate the improvement and the HE-6 certainly won't be a limiting factor.

 

[perfect-pitch]

Yeah, i think the next step into the right way is a Mjolnir/Gungir combo. I am still satisfied with my Lyr/Bifrost combo, even with the great tubes i got from Mikek200. But if you read through the technical details and the positive feedback for this combo you can´t do wrong.