[Lorspeaker]

i would get the Lyr2 ...the power...and the twin lightbulbs

 

[Krutsch]

 
I've never owned a Woo and have never seen anybody mention it on Head-Fi, but whenever I have tried them at a show, they seem to be noisy with audible hiss over the phones.

 
Mine is dead quiet (and I am sensitive to background noise), but I've paid attention to power and isolation.
 

 
That's the thing about tubes, and bad tube or two, and you will get a hum.  And RF interference can also be an issue, and at shows there are phones galore in action.  But I see much joy, in my future, with tube rolling....

 
I've started down that path and I am surprised at the difference tubes make. Obviously, it's hard to A/B tubes, but I just replaced the stock drivers with the set in my sig and it was ear-opening. Some frequencies are "better" (accentuated?) and others are "worse" (veiled?) ... I'll leave it at that, as I am still getting used to the sound and I have three different sets of driver tubes to try out.
 
Gotta love eBay 

 

 

[hodgjy]

 
I've never owned a Woo and have never seen anybody mention it on Head-Fi, but whenever I have tried them at a show, they seem to be noisy with audible hiss over the phones.

 
My WA3 is quite noisy. I almost went insane tracking down tubes with the least amount of noise. There's just something about the circuit in the WA3 that is uber sensitive to anything and magnifies the noise. Granted, the 6AS7 family of tubes isn't known for their quiet nature, but the noise of the same tubes on other amps was lower.

 

[Krutsch]

   
I've read past this and saw the other replies and I'd like to add two points:
 
1) You are moving up the food chain, gear wise, and you might be at the point where your system is revealing flaws in the quality of recordings you are listening to.  Maybe its time to look at the actual music, and not the gear moving it to your ears?  It's just a thought that's usually overlooked.  The term "the HD650 scales well" might be overused here, but I truly believe that.  I'm normally a believer that the cost of amplification and headphone should be similar (like the old home amp to speaker ratios).  But, with the HD650 I take zero umbrage with pairing them with an amp that way above the price of these cans.  And that leads me to point #2
 
2) If you feel the desire to go to the HD800, or any other revealing can in the flagship range, its more likely then not going to be a commitment to other near flagship pieces of gear as well.  My small amount of personal experience with the HD800 has led me to only want to listen to them through a top notch tube amplifier.  I appreciate what they can do through top flight solid state gear (like the GS-X Mk2), but I don't find the sound to be very entertaining.
 
My 2015 HD650 New Year's resolution is hopefully going to be a near top flight tube amplifier that drives an HD800 nicely.  I know that sounds a bit weird, but I never met an amp that nicely drives an HD800 that doesn't also do wonders for an HD650.

I'm with you on 1) ... I am particular about mastering quality and will shy away from music that doesn't sound right. I find that with my 2-channel system, I can get away with more, as it's not directly in my ears the way it is with headphones.
 
But, for me, there is no mistaking the fact that the 650s are a challenge for my ears when playing music with accentuated lower mids (you can see the output from these tracks in an analyzer, like an EQ display).
 
For 2) ... hmmm... well, I have a lot to learn in this hobby, but I am of the opinion that I've reached a stage with the electronics that going up will be somewhat incremental, with respect to audible improvement. No doubt, flagship gear is cool (and I'll keep reaching for the summit, wallet be damned 

 ), but I'm spending (no, burning

 ) my money elsewhere for the time being (like new speakers and maybe, later, new 'phones).
 
Thanks much for your thoughtful response.

 

[Krutsch]

I've listened to the sennheiser hd800 on a Mcintosh MHA100 SS amp/DAC combo, and while the hd800 did sound a little better, I actually preferred my hd650, as I did bring my hd650 to demo next to the hd800, both on the McIntosh, and like I said, preferred hd650

also, the hd650, as well add hd800, are 300 ohm headphones, meaning that they will pretty much only sound there best on a OTL type amplifier

low impedance headphones sound best on a OCL type amp (output capacitor less) amp, while again, hd650 hd800 need aOTL (output transformer less) amp

hope this helps!

Thanks for the tip.. my local dealer has an MHA100 on display for demo and he has encouraged me to bring in my cans and a laptop to audition the box.
 
Ah... no... I don't even want that level of temptation.

 

[TeddyShot]

i would get the Lyr2 ...the power...and the twin lightbulbs

But is it a good pairing? Also if you buy a used Schiit amp from a another person or seller, do you get any warranty on the item?

 

[hodgjy]

But is it a good pairing? Also if you buy a used Schiit amp from a another person or seller, do you get any warranty on the item?

 
Technically, the warranty is only honored to the original purchaser. However, there have been some isolated incidents where Schiit extended the warranty to second owners as a courtesy, but they are not obligated to ever do so.

 

[ty123]

Can't wait to listen to my 650s through amp/DAC tomorrow with loseless music!

 

[Michael V]

But is it a good pairing? Also if you buy a used Schiit amp from a another person or seller, do you get any warranty on the item?

I'm not sure how the Schiit warranty works. I just bought a used lyr 2 yesterday and I got a copy of the receipt from the original owner, so hopefully that is all that is needed for any warranty work.

 

[TeddyShot]

I'm not sure how the Schiit warranty works. I just bought a used lyr 2 yesterday and I got a copy of the receipt from the original owner, so hopefully that is all that is needed for any warranty work.

Did you by it from someone here on HeadFi or somewhere else?

 

[Lorspeaker]

the old LYR works well with the hd650....i doubt it would go south with the LYR2...no?
 
the warranty aint transferable...the receipt, YES. 

 

[Michael V]

Bought it from someone here.

 

[kramer5150]

  Man, going by some of the "advice" in this thread of late, one really needs to go top of the line with components to even glimpse the HD650's vaunted ceiling. Must be wonderful to have clouds part to an angelic chorus and have God rays beam a halo of euphoria around your HD650 for every listening session. Heathens with their cheap components and dirty mp3's need not apply. Amirite right guyz?
 
/sarcasm

None of my setup is what I would consider really high end.
 
Setup 1:
Redbook CD => Insignia DVD coax digital out => Entech DAC (OP2107 modded) => DV337/Earmax Original => HD650
 
Setup 2:
Macbook Pro, Apple lossless => Entech DAC (OPA2107 modded) => DV337/Earmax Original => HD650
 
Both setups work great, put a smile on my face and allow me to completely enjoy the music. 

 

[TeddyShot]

I pulled the trigger on a Lyr 2 for $325 in "Like New" condition on Amazon. Well there goes most of the money I had saved up lol.

Can't wait to find out how it sounds with my 650s

I sure hope it's worth the money!

 

[MattTCG]

@hodji my wa3 is dead quite with all of the tubes I've rolled so far. Tube dampeners have helped with on other amps where I had noise issues.