[Erukian]

  Should I have to manually adjust the sample rate in the Audio MIDI Setup with the Bifrost? I have been playing mostly 44.1/16 in iTunes but when I went to the MIDI just now I saw it was set at 96/16. Isn't the Bifrost supposed to match all this up automatically with the clock? 

 
I'm using SPDIF and have found apps like BitPerfect, Amarra, Audirvana will change those settings automatically for you. If you use USB I think you would benefit from BitPerfect's integer mode (which SPDIF can't). The app is super minimalistic compared to some of the other audio players for the mac that have imho some pretty gaudy interfaces.

 

[pdrm360]

  Between the Asgard 2 and the Lyr, which do people recommend for the HD700?

 
You won't go wrong with either.

 

[kothganesh]

Between the Asgard 2 and the Lyr, which do people recommend for the HD700?

Well pick your poison; one's SS, the other is a tube amp. I own both and the Asgard is more neutral of the two, IMO. The Lyr will pack a better punch.

 

[FangJoker]

I just got my HD 650 yesterday and now I'm going down this road of thinking about dacs and amps already.  I wish I could listen to them first before buying.  I'm probably sure that it will sound so much better than what I'm getting out from the asus stx sound card, but the hardest part is deciding whether or not to go with the valhalla or asgard 2.  I've never had a tube amp and I figure if I'm going  to do it, I  might as well go all in.    Then I bet I'll be looking for a better set of cans too.  Hmmm nah. These sound great and they aren't even broken in yet.   I can't go back to IEM now.

 

[Barry S]

I just got my HD 650 yesterday and now I'm going down this road of thinking about dacs and amps already.  I wish I could listen to them first before buying.  I'm probably sure that it will sound so much better than what I'm getting out from the asus stx sound card, but the hardest part is deciding whether or not to go with the valhalla or asgard 2.  I've never had a tube amp and I figure if I'm going  to do it, I  might as well go all in.    Then I bet I'll be looking for a better set of cans too.  Hmmm nah. These sound great and they aren't even broken in yet.   I can't go back to IEM now.

The Valhalla is an OTL amp that plays better with high impedance headphones, like the HD650s. When you buy another set of headphones (and you will if you stay on head-fi), they may be low impedance, and an amp like the Asgard 2 will do well with a wide range of impedance. The Lyr is a very nice hybrid tube/solid state amp that will get you some of that tube warmth, but also covers a wide range of impedance.

 

[jaywillin]

The Valhalla is an OTL amp that plays better with high impedance headphones, like the HD650s. When you buy another set of headphones (and you will if you stay on head-fi), they may be low impedance, and an amp like the Asgard 2 will do well with a wide range of impedance. The Lyr is a very nice hybrid tube/solid state amp that will get you some of that tube warmth, but also covers a wide range of impedance.

I'm about to find out about how wide a range of headphones the lyr can handle, until now, just grados , arriving soon, hifiman he-4's

 

[Barry S]

I'm about to find out about how wide a range of headphones the lyr can handle, until now, just grados , arriving soon, hifiman he-4's

That would be a pretty wide range. The Lyr may not be ideal for all headphones, but everything I've heard sounds at least good out of the Lyr.

 

[pdrm360]

  I just got my HD 650 yesterday and now I'm going down this road of thinking about dacs and amps already.  I wish I could listen to them first before buying.  I'm probably sure that it will sound so much better than what I'm getting out from the asus stx sound card, but the hardest part is deciding whether or not to go with the valhalla or asgard 2.  I've never had a tube amp and I figure if I'm going  to do it, I  might as well go all in.    Then I bet I'll be looking for a better set of cans too.  Hmmm nah. These sound great and they aren't even broken in yet.   I can't go back to IEM now.

 
The Valhalla would be the best choose for the HD650. The Valhalla really brings the HD650 to life.  I do like either the Lyr or Asgard for the HD600 and HD700.

 

[nelamvr6]

The design topography of the Valhalla makes it a particularly good match for high Z headphones, but there's nothing about high Z headphones that automatically makes the Lyr a bad choice.
 
In fact, (and at this point I should probably point out that I have a Lyr, and I've never heard a Valhalla, so I am at least a little biased), the Lyr should match up wonderfully with a much wider range of cans than the Valhalla.

 

[pdrm360]

The Valhalla is an OTL amp with nice sparkle on the treble that makes it a very good match with HD650.
IMO, the HD650 has a dark sound signature that needs a brighter tube amp to bring things out.

 

[nelamvr6]

  The Valhalla is an OTL amp with nice sparkle on the treble that makes it a very good match with HD650.
IMO, the HD650 has a dark sound signature that needs a brighter tube amp to bring things out.

 
What's nice about the Lyr is that tube rolling can be very effective in tailoring sound signature if your particular set of headphones needs some help.
 
Personally, I think you can't go wrong really with either one.  But if you buy a Valhalla because you have high Z cans now, you may be facing a mismatch if you ever want to give headphones with lower impedance a try.

 

[pdrm360]

Actually I've chosen the Lyr over the Valhalla for myself, just because it’s was a better all-rounder amp.

 

[ThinJ]

I'm in the situation you're describing right now. I've got a Little Dot MKIII that I bought a long time ago to go with a pair of DT990 600's and some other random cans. Then most recently I picked up some HiFiman HE-400's and the pairing isn't so hot. I also have a Maverick Audio Tubemagic D1 but the actual headphone amp in that is pretty bad. As a tube preamp output stage for my speakers it works (and sounds) great but as an alternative headphone amp to my Little Dot it fails.

I ended up ordering an Asgard 2. Of course I didn't notice until about a week after I put in the order that it was backordered until the 15th of this month, but I can wait I guess, and there's just no way I was ever going to justify the extra cost on the Lyr.
 
The only complication I'm going to have is finding a way to keep both amps hooked up to my DAC so I can still use the Little Dot when I want/need to.

 

[pdrm360]

  I'm in the situation you're describing right now. I've got a Little Dot MKIII that I bought a long time ago to go with a pair of DT990 600's and some other random cans. Then most recently I picked up some HiFiman HE-400's and the pairing isn't so hot. I also have a Maverick Audio Tubemagic D1 but the actual headphone amp in that is pretty bad. As a tube preamp output stage for my speakers it works (and sounds) great but as an alternative headphone amp to my Little Dot it fails.

I ended up ordering an Asgard 2. Of course I didn't notice until about a week after I put in the order that it was backordered until the 15th of this month, but I can wait I guess, and there's just no way I was ever going to justify the extra cost on the Lyr.
 
The only complication I'm going to have is finding a way to keep both amps hooked up to my DAC so I can still use the Little Dot when I want/need to.

 
You also can use the Asgard 2 as a pre-amp for the Little Dot.

 

[ThinJ]

That would work but it would cut my speakers out of the loop. I switch back and forth too often for that to be practical.