[NinjaHamster]

LOL - Of course that isn't normal.  The Lyr is not designed to blow headphone drivers whether it is turned on or off.  I'd be sending an email straight to Schiit - and quickly !!

 

[gibosi]

  Hey everybody!
I have a lot of fun reading on this tread.
So I've finally got my hand on a Schiit Lyr!
I 'm new to hifi sound world, so I'd like to get some help from you guys.
 
To my surprise, both headphones blown.
When I powered up the amp with the headphones plugged in, the drivers burnt!
But if I power up the amp first, then I plug in the headphones, everything plays nice.
 
I'm wondering guys if you could tell me if it's a normal thing?
I know these headphones are low impedance, but I thought the amp could run about everything...

 
I am not sure I understand.... If you power up the amp with the headphones in, the drivers are burnt? But if you power up the amp and then plug in the headphones the drivers work? Are your headphones broken? Or is it that they just don't work if you power up the amp with them plugged in? Either way, this is obviously not normal....
 
But even if your amp is fine, it is generally not a good idea to turn an amp on with the headphones plugged in. If there is a problem with the amp and/or tubes, your headphones might get damaged.
 
Better and safer:
 
Power up:  Make sure the volume is turned all the way down and then turn on the amp. After a couple minutes, plug in the headphones and then turn the volume up.
 
Power down: Turn the volume all the way down and unplug the headphones. And then, turn off the power to the amp.
 
Edit: Oh, and when you are plugging in brand new tubes for the very first time, use a $10 pair of headphones to check them out. If one of the tubes were to short out, worst case and burn up your headphones, you have lost only $10.

 

[Fearless1]

  Hey everybody!
I have a lot of fun reading on this tread.
So I've finally got my hand on a Schiit Lyr!
I 'm new to hifi sound world, so I'd like to get some help from you guys.
 
I've ordered a LCD-2 pair 2 month ago, still backorder 

, but the seller told me that they would ship really soon!
Since I got the headphone amp and that I sold my old Grado SR 325 to get a little money for my gear, the only headphones I have to test the different tubes I got with the amp is some Sennheiser PX90, and iPhone ear buds...
 
To my surprise, both headphones blown.
When I powered up the amp with the headphones plugged in, the drivers burnt!
But if I power up the amp first, then I plug in the headphones, everything plays nice.
 
I'm wondering guys if you could tell me if it's a normal thing?
I know these headphones are low impedance, but I thought the amp could run about everything...
 
The thing is that I'm scared to try the LCD-2 when I get them.
I'm lost here...

The first generation Lyr did not have a relay switch when turned on, there were some problems with the powering on with headphones plugged in. I am assuming you bought used and have one of those models. A simple solution is turn on, then plug in your cans as intended. Another solution is contact Schiit and have the relay installed. I have owned the Lyr for 2+ years and have had no issues, but I have the relay.

 

[OldSkool]

Did you buy the Lyr used from someone?  If so, it sounds like you got an early version that doesn't have the relay. All newer Lyr amps now ship with a relay to avoid the "turn on thump" that could damage your cans. If your Lyr is new and you hear the thump, please contact Schiit immediately.
 
Safest thing to do is to power up the Lyr and wait 60 seconds or so before plugging in your cans.
 
Edit: Fearless1 beat me by 30 seconds.

 

[jubjubb]

Ok.
I'll contact Schiit.
The amp was bought used, yes, but it has the "uber analog" sticker on the back, so I assume this is not an early model...
I had like 20 pairs of cheap earbuds...
I tried a couple of different tube and one of them (some RCA 6FQ7/6CG7) could be used to power up the amp with headphones plugged in without blowing them.
All other pairs of tube made the same thing : 30 sec. after turned on, I ear a clicking noise from the amp and then the headphone blows...

 

[Fearless1]

Ok.
I'll contact Schiit.
The amp was bought used, yes, but it has the "uber analog" sticker on the back, so I assume this is not an early model...
I had like 20 pairs of cheap earbuds...
I tried a couple of different tube and one of them (some RCA 6FQ7/6CG7) could be used to power up the amp with headphones plugged in without blowing them.
All other pairs of tube made the same thing : 30 sec. after turned on, I ear a clicking noise from the amp and then the headphone blows...

I would contact Schiit for sure. I can use my most sensitive IEM's and have no issues at low volume .
 
*just read your whole post, that is not the right tube.

 

[Brouken Air]

 
I would contact Schiit for sure. I can use my most sensitive IEM's and have no issues at low volume .
 
*just read your whole post, that is not the right tube.

Did you powered up at low volume? 

 

[jubjubb]

Yes.
I've always wait about 2 min. before turning the volume knob up.

 

[Brouken Air]

   
Those Telefunkens are not from the same year, assuming the pix are of the actual tuebs.  Not sure if that matters to you, but the date codes suggest 1968 and 1971.  Doesn't mean they won't work together.  Just sayin'.
 
Here's a quick tutorial on dating Telefunkens, using a real code as an example:
 
12140040

U is the Ulm plant where it was made
reverse the first two numbers for the date which would be 21
the 3rd and 5th number is the month which is October
the 4th digit is the last number of the year which is 1974
That means the tube was made Oct 21,1974 in the Ulm plant
 
and one other crucial bit of info:
"Tubes after 1968 started with a letter indicating the plant and seven numbers that followed.Since we were past the year 1964 which has a 4 in the number,the only logical conclusion would be 1974."
(quote from Michael Samra, as posted here)
 
 
mercedesman (TubeHunter) on eBay usually has a lot of Amperex pairs.  As I noted above, I'm digging my 1967 Orange Globes with the HE-500s.  mercedesman recommended the Bugle Boy Straightman, and I'm glad he did.  I got a 1961 pair, and they're awesome.  I'd rate them above the OGs.  He definitely had a few Straight Man pairs a week or so ago.

Thurston how do you recognized Straight Man Bugle Boys? I would be interested, as I have bugle boys which I like a lot (70s), but they are slightly microphonic...

 So I am looking for another pair...

 

[gibosi]

 
I would contact Schiit for sure. I can use my most sensitive IEM's and have no issues at low volume .
 
*just read your whole post, that is not the right tube.

 
"some RCA 6FQ7/6CG7"
 
This tube will work fine (electrically) in the Lyr. It is a 9-pin miniature version of a 6SN7GT octal. However, most who have tried it in the Lyr find that it sounds pretty bad.....

 

[ThurstonX]

  Thurston how do you recognized Straight Man Bugle Boys? I would be interested, as I have bugle boys which I like a lot (70s), but they are slightly microphonic...

 So I am looking for another pair...

 
I assume you mean visually.  The "bugle boy" is taller than the one on the normal BBs.  Also, his "back" is straight (thus the nickname), whereas his back is slightly bent on the normal BBs; that, or it appears he's leaning backwards a bit.  If you look at the photos @ TubeHunter (link in my orig. post), you can see the difference.  mercedesman clearly labels his pairs as Straight Man, so you can differentiate his offers easily enough.
 
Beyond that, I don't know the history of the BBs, so I'm not sure if the SM BBs have something internal that differentiates them from normal BBs.  Seems like I need to do some research now.  They do sound good, though 

 

[jubjubb]

Here's what Schiit Support Tech responded:
(Pretty quick answer

-"Yes, we clearly specify that Lyr is only for use with hard-to-drive headphones like planars and high-impedance full-size headphones. Putting a potential 6W in your ear canal is really not recommended. "

Looks like using low impedance headphone is really not recommended...

 

[billerb1]

You won't have any problems with the Lyr and LCD2's.  You DO need to be careful with low impedance cans.  I always power up the amp first at 0 volume, wait about 30 seconds and plug in the phones (still at 0 volume).
When powering down I put the amp at 0 volume again and then remove the phones.  Probably overkill but better to be safe than sorry.

 

[jubjubb]

Okay!
That's good to know!
Happy to hear I should be safe with my Ortho!
Thank you all for your help!

 

[roguegeek]

  Did you buy the Lyr used from someone?  If so, it sounds like you got an early version that doesn't have the relay. All newer Lyr amps now ship with a relay to avoid the "turn on thump" that could damage your cans. If your Lyr is new and you hear the thump, please contact Schiit immediately.
 
Safest thing to do is to power up the Lyr and wait 60 seconds or so before plugging in your cans.
 
Edit: Fearless1 beat me by 30 seconds.

This relay you guys are talking about, how can you tell if your Lyr has it or not? You talked about a thump. When and how is this heard?