[reddog]

You think the tubes in the Lyr have any influence on that decision?

No I do not think so, the lyr2 puts out more power in single-ended output than does the single-ended output of the Ragnarok. My Alpha Prime's are power pigs and the more power you give them the better they sound..

 

[5kylon]

Im still having trouble deciding over asgaard 2 or lyr 2 (to be paired with 560 HP's). Given a nice set of tubes, how much warmer and detailed will the lyr 2 sound? The price difference suggests a noticable difference. Who has experience of both?

 

[David Aldrich]

 
 
Lyr 2 versus Asgard 2
 
Conclusion first. The Lyr 2 is a better amp and I prefer the Asgard 2 anyway (and it is the one I am keeping). The Lyr 2 presents a more detailed, nuanced, and precise sound and image. Overall, the sound is more punctuated (some might refer to this as fast). If you listen to large, complex symphonic recordings exclusively, there is no doubt you should go with the Lyr 2. On the other hand the Asgard 2 is warmer (not in temperature, they are both really hot, and the Lyr 2 is the hotter of the two), and bigger sounding. I have a feeling this Euphonia is a biproduct of higher second order distortion in the output. Normally this is the type of sound that is applied to tube amps, but in this case the solid state was way more "tubey" than the tube amp (I didn't do and rolling though, and have very little desire to do so). In the end this largeness helped the HE560 by filling out the low end (if not actually giving more impact), by providing a little warmth and soundstage. The HE560 is already plenty detailed, more than enough to make many of your recordings sound sub-par. The Asgard 2 is somewhat compensatory then. It is a silly word, but musicality and my ability to emotionally connect with the music is improved with this combination. That said, I think I liked the Lyr 2 slightly more with my AKG Q701s (which doesn't need help with the sound stage or sounding big...with the exception of the low end). It is hard in some ways to let go of the Lyr 2, it might sound great with other headphones if I don't stick with the HE560. On the same hand big dark headphones might not sound as great on the Asgard 2. But the reality is that even though there are differences between the Lyr and Asgard, they are not enormous or really anything more than subtle. Given that I like the sound better with the he560s and the Asgard 2 is half the price of the Lyr 2, keeping the Asgard doesn't feel like much of a long term risk anyway. 
 
Note: I ended up doing most of my testing on low gain, but switched over to high gain for some comparison. Everything I observed seems to apply to both gain settings, but for whatever reason (I have some theories) is less pronounced with the high gain setting.

 
 
Found that comparison, he seems to prefer the Asgaard 2 to the Lyr 2 with his HE-560s.
 
My experience was only with the pre-production HE-560 and I think it benefitted from the power of the Lyr, but I've heard since then that they've toned down the treble in the production model and may well not need that extra power to push the low end.

 

[BLACKENEDPLAGUE]

The price difference suggests a noticable difference.

 
price doesn't always mean that

 

[reddog]

I have finally pulled the trigger and ordered a Asgard 2, for my back porch, as well as portable amp, when I go to Virginia later this year. Thanks everyone for your views on the Asgard 2. I am so addicted to the fantastic equipment offered by the folks from Schiit Audio. Now I will save up for the Yggdrasil lol. I need a shirt with a Schiit Audio monkey on my back lol. Thanks Jason and Mike for making a old pirate actor happy again.

 

[money4me247]

  price doesn't always mean that

that is so true. higher price does not necessarily translate into appreciable improvement in performance.

 

[noobandroid]

   
price doesn't always mean that

+1
 
to me, the more expensive it gets, the more features it has embedded, I dont need them so the magni is all I need, sufficient power for 1 single headphone at a time

 

[Music Alchemist]

I wonder if Schiit will ever make an electrostat amp. Now THAT would be worthy of a Norse-mythology-inspired name!

 

[Tuco1965]

  I wonder if Schiit will ever make an electrostat amp. Now THAT would be worthy of a Norse-mythology-inspired name!

 
I thought Jason said no to that one.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I thought Jason said no to that one.

 
I think I heard about that too. It's definitely much more complex, so I can understand that decision. I can still dream, though! It would be awesome to have an amp that can drive the SR-009 and SR-007 to their full potential without having to spend $4K+!

 

[Tuco1965]

   
I think I heard about that too. It's definitely much more complex, so I can understand that decision. I can still dream, though! It would be awesome to have an amp that can drive the SR-009 and SR-007 to their full potential without having to spend $4K+!

 
I won't argue with that.  

 

[Defiant00]

   
I think I heard about that too. It's definitely much more complex, so I can understand that decision. I can still dream, though! It would be awesome to have an amp that can drive the SR-009 and SR-007 to their full potential without having to spend $4K+!

 
It wasn't because of complexity, it was mainly because it's a way smaller market than even normal headphone amps are.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  It wasn't because of complexity, it was mainly because it's a way smaller market than even normal headphone amps are.

 
Oh, yeah, that too.
 
By the way, if I get the Yggdrasil, I am planning on doing a volume-matched comparison with the Modi 2. I may consult with you about that when the time comes.

 

[BLACKENEDPLAGUE]

   
It wasn't because of complexity, it was mainly because it's a way smaller market than even normal headphone amps are.

 
probably 5-10%% of the headphone market.

 

[money4me247]

   
probably 5-10%% of the headphone market.

i bet much less than that considering the overwhelming majority of headphones are dynamic. maybe like 99% dynamic, 1% ortho & other. hahah