[Guidostrunk]

To all the new folks that wanna roll tubes. Keep an eye on this thread. I'm constantly posting excellent ebay deals for people to take advantage of.

 

[Rayoki]

I'd say they're a melting pot of the Siemens CCa/Philips mini watt, with a sprinkle of OG/Mullard Blackburn. Lol

Nice, I'm excited to hear it.
Honest question, is the mini amp worth it when hooked up(Lyr as preamp), I'm debating jumping on that purchase if I find one under 160.

 

[Guidostrunk]

I'll NEVER look back

Nice, I'm excited to hear it.
Honest question, is the mini amp worth it when hooked up(Lyr as preamp), I'm debating jumping on that purchase if I find one under 160.

 

[ThurstonX]

Nice, I'm excited to hear it.
Honest question, is the mini amp worth it when hooked up(Lyr as preamp), I'm debating jumping on that purchase if I find one under 160.

 
If you've got a pair of speakers to drive, too, it's a nice amp.  I just got the Emotiva Fusion Flex (next step up from the mini-X) hooked up to new speakers and HiFiMAN cans via a DIY speaker tap adapter.  It drives both very well.  The HE-560s had no problem with the power.  Haven't tried the HE-500s, or the Lyr as preamp, yet.  Literally finished the adapter a couple hours ago, and only had time for 4 or 5 songs.
 
So, I'll come back with some Lyr-as-preamp impressions soon.  @Guidostrunk indicated his Lyr is on permanent preamp duty.  For me, I don't think I would have bought the Emotiva (mini-X and Fusion Flex are similar in terms of power) if I hadn't been in the market for good, small bookshelf speakers.  I was pretty happy with the Lyr.  Options are always nice, though.
 
I'd be careful about efficient to very efficient cans on a speaker amp.  HFM cans eat it up, so it's all good there.
 
Keith from Emotiva has a couple of very informative posts about driving cans with their Flex amps, starting here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/629352/he-500-lcd2-d5000-dt770-sr80-on-a-speaker-amp-emotiva-mini-x-a-100-project/3690#post_11862650

 

[ThurstonX]

I'll NEVER look back

 
Do you have cans that you're hesitant to try on the mini-X?  I'll probably try my Q701s on the Fusion Flex, as the volume control is very fine.  Just gotta remember to drop it way down before plugging them in 

  I'm also kind of curious about how the Lyr as a preamp might sweeten the Grado SR-225s.  Probably not a good idea, but WTH.

 

[Mediahound]

I stumbled by this website last night. It has a "how do they sound" tube section is quite helpful:

http://www.audiotubes.com/6dj8.htm

 

[htr2d2]

   
If you've got a pair of speakers to drive, too, it's a nice amp.  I just got the Emotiva Fusion Flex (next step up from the mini-X) hooked up to new speakers and HiFiMAN cans via a DIY speaker tap adapter.  It drives both very well.  The HE-560s had no problem with the power.  Haven't tried the HE-500s, or the Lyr as preamp, yet.  Literally finished the adapter a couple hours ago, and only had time for 4 or 5 songs.
 
So, I'll come back with some Lyr-as-preamp impressions soon.  @Guidostrunk indicated his Lyr is on permanent preamp duty.  For me, I don't think I would have bought the Emotiva (mini-X and Fusion Flex are similar in terms of power) if I hadn't been in the market for good, small bookshelf speakers.  I was pretty happy with the Lyr.  Options are always nice, though.
 
I'd be careful about efficient to very efficient cans on a speaker amp.  HFM cans eat it up, so it's all good there.
 
Keith from Emotiva has a couple of very informative posts about driving cans with their Flex amps, starting here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/629352/he-500-lcd2-d5000-dt770-sr80-on-a-speaker-amp-emotiva-mini-x-a-100-project/3690#post_11862650

 
Assuming I understood correctly, how are you using the Lyr with monitors? (Hm.. a speaker is not necessarily a monitor.)  I get all kinds of garbage noise when using my Lyr2 with powered monitors and the Bitfrost DAC. Mouse and disk drive usage translates to noise.

 

[ThurstonX]

 
Assuming I understood correctly, how are you using the Lyr with monitors? (Hm.. a speaker is not necessarily a monitor.)  I get all kinds of garbage noise when using my Lyr2 with powered monitors and the Bitfrost DAC. Mouse and disk drive usage translates to noise.

 
Polk Audio RTi A1s, so, speakers being driven by the Emotiva amp.  I'm feeding the Lyr's preamp out to the amp via a Schiit SYS.  I can also feed the Bifrost directly to the amp via the SYS.  I use simple 'Y' cables on the Bifrost to split its output directly to the Lyr (the Lyr's only source In) and to the SYS so I could bypass the Lyr.  It's handy for comparisons or just changing things up.  The SYS is finally pulling its weight (2 Ins, 1 Out), as my third source (M-Audio Audiophile 192; the PC's default audio device) is fed directly into the amp's Line In 2.  It's a great little amp so far, and aptly named (Fusion Flex).
 
ATM I've got the 1964 Hamburg 'A' frame E88CCs in the Lyr feeding the amp and speakers.  Seems to be some nice synergy going on.  I needed to repair a short in my speaker tap adapter before I could go back to cans, so I've been listening to the speakers.  I figure they need some breaking in.  I doubt the amp does.  Tubes and cans are good to go 

 
A good rule of thumb I usually fail to follow: always check cable terminations with a multimeter before plugging schiit in 

 
 
I'm not hearing any funky noises from my PC into whichever transducers.  I've got a Wyrd in the chain, but even before adding it I don't recall hearing anything untoward.  My mouse and keyboard are wireless and fed through a USB KVM switch.  If you got dodgy USB ports, perhaps a Wyrd would help.

 

[jrflanne]

   
Assuming I understood correctly, how are you using the Lyr with monitors? (Hm.. a speaker is not necessarily a monitor.)  I get all kinds of garbage noise when using my Lyr2 with powered monitors and the Bitfrost DAC. Mouse and disk drive usage translates to noise.

Although not a Lyr, I have a Magni 2.0 hooked up to AudioEngine 5+ speakers. Absolutely no noise whatsoever. You have a bad cable or something?

 

[htr2d2]

   
Polk Audio RTi A1s, so, speakers being driven by the Emotiva amp.  I'm feeding the Lyr's preamp out to the amp via a Schiit SYS.  I can also feed the Bifrost directly to the amp via the SYS.  I use simple 'Y' cables on the Bifrost to split its output directly to the Lyr (the Lyr's only source In) and to the SYS so I could bypass the Lyr.  It's handy for comparisons or just changing things up.  The SYS is finally pulling its weight (2 Ins, 1 Out), as my third source (M-Audio Audiophile 192; the PC's default audio device) is fed directly into the amp's Line In 2.  It's a great little amp so far, and aptly named (Fusion Flex).
 
ATM I've got the 1964 Hamburg 'A' frame E88CCs in the Lyr feeding the amp and speakers.  Seems to be some nice synergy going on.  I needed to repair a short in my speaker tap adapter before I could go back to cans, so I've been listening to the speakers.  I figure they need some breaking in.  I doubt the amp does.  Tubes and cans are good to go 

 
A good rule of thumb I usually fail to follow: always check cable terminations with a multimeter before plugging schiit in 

 
 
I'm not hearing any funky noises from my PC into whichever transducers.  I've got a Wyrd in the chain, but even before adding it I don't recall hearing anything untoward.  My mouse and keyboard are wireless and fed through a USB KVM switch.  If you got dodgy USB ports, perhaps a Wyrd would help.

 
 

 
Although not a Lyr, I have a Magni 2.0 hooked up to AudioEngine 5+ speakers. Absolutely no noise whatsoever. You have a bad cable or something?

 
Well, heck. Clearly something is wrong. I did contact Schiit, but without a solution.
 
Thank you, both. I am in the process of remodeling a new room to setup. I will swap out cables and do some experimentation. At least, now, I know something is not right.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Atm, all I have is the HE500's. I'd probably try just about any can if I had it in my possession. I'd be to curious not to. Lol

Do you have cans that you're hesitant to try on the mini-X?  I'll probably try my Q701s on the Fusion Flex, as the volume control is very fine.  Just gotta remember to drop it way down before plugging them in    I'm also kind of curious about how the Lyr as a preamp might sweeten the Grado SR-225s.  Probably not a good idea, but WTH.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Definitely worth bidding on where the price sits.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=221862951111&alt=web

 

[ThurstonX]

  Well, heck. Clearly something is wrong. I did contact Schiit, but without a solution.
 
Thank you, both. I am in the process of remodeling a new room to setup. I will swap out cables and do some experimentation. At least, now, I know something is not right.

 
Your problem sounds a lot like a problem I had with the Schiit Mani (phono preamp) while I owned it briefly.  I had a back-and-forth with Mike (Moffat; the Mani is his baby) in the Schiit Owners thread, and the only conclusion I could reach in the end is that the power wall wart they supplied was the culprit.  I stand by that, as the Emotiva XPS-1 I bought, which also uses a wall wart, has none of the problems I experienced.
 
The problems were buzzes and what not produced by mouse movements, and also some wifi activity (I'd have to check my old posts to be sure); it was more than just the mouse.
 
If you have any device that uses a wall wart, try removing it from the chain, attempt to reproduce the problem(s), and then reinsert it and try again.  You could also try moving your rig to a different room, maybe run it from a different PC, or no PC at all.  My problem with the Mani followed it around, less noticeable in some places, quite bad in others.
 
Hope you solve it, and good luck with your remodeling 

 

 

[ThurstonX]

Definitely worth bidding on where the price sits.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=221862951111&alt=web

 
Nice, but I'll wager the price climbs to nigh on $300 $400 (just noticed their pinch-waists).  Those will be fun to watch.
 
Really digging the Lyr-as-preamp setup so far.  Hopefully today I'll have some time to go back a forth between Lyr-as-preamp and Bifrost straight into the Emo amp.

 

[MWSVette]

   
Your problem sounds a lot like a problem I had with the Schiit Mani (phono preamp) while I owned it briefly.  I had a back-and-forth with Mike (Moffat; the Mani is his baby) in the Schiit Owners thread, and the only conclusion I could reach in the end is that the power wall wart they supplied was the culprit.  I stand by that, as the Emotiva XPS-1 I bought, which also uses a wall wart, has none of the problems I experienced.
 
The problems were buzzes and what not produced by mouse movements, and also some wifi activity (I'd have to check my old posts to be sure); it was more than just the mouse.
 
If you have any device that uses a wall wart, try removing it from the chain, attempt to reproduce the problem(s), and then reinsert it and try again.  You could also try moving your rig to a different room, maybe run it from a different PC, or no PC at all.  My problem with the Mani followed it around, less noticeable in some places, quite bad in others.
 
Hope you solve it, and good luck with your remodeling 

 

 
I hate wall warts...