Plan on getting one or the other for my HD650s to watch movies and games on PS4. Which should I get? I thought about going tube with a Bottlehead crack but thinking to save a few bucks and get a Schiit Valhalla 2 or Lyr 2 What do you guys think?
I picked the Lyr 2 over the Valhalla 2 for my Beyer DT-1770s (300 ohm). More than enough power and was a huge up level in SQ over my Magni 3. Does a better job driving my lower impedance HPs than the Valhalla 2. That said, the Valhalla 2 would work very well for your 650s.
Since you are very specific on using the Valhalla for HD 650s then yeah I'd say go with the Valhalla 2. I personally own a Valhalla 2 and use it for HD 600s/58X/6XX/660s and it gives that tube sound the 6 series resonates with. If you plan on using other types of headphones that don't tube so well in the future get the Lyr, it would be a better long term investment.
I currently use the Magni 3 with my AKG K712. The Hd650, K712 and X2 will be my primary headphones for movies, gaming, and music thru the Modi 2 Uber. Which brings up my next questions:
Is there much difference in sound quality with the valhalla 2 vs Lyr 2 with the HD650s? Should I just stick with the Magni 3 and Little Dot1+ to power the X2s and K712s and get the Valhalla 2 just for the HD650s?
Lastly, if I'm only using the ps4 is it worth upgrading the DAC from the Modi2uber to something else?
I currently use the Magni 3 with my AKG K712. The Hd650, K712 and X2 will be my primary headphones for movies, gaming, and music thru the Modi 2 Uber. Which brings up my next questions:
Is there much difference in sound quality with the valhalla 2 vs Lyr 2 with the HD650s? Should I just stick with the Magni 3 and Little Dot1+ to power the X2s and K712s and get the Valhalla 2 just for the HD650s?
Lastly, if I'm only using the ps4 is it worth upgrading the DAC from the Modi2uber to something else?
Tough call. I think either would be a significant upgrade over the Magni 3. The Lyr 2 would be more versatile if down the road you wanted to add a harder-to-drive headphone like a planar. The Lyr 2 has 2 less tube to mess with. OTOH, the OTL design of Valhalla was made for something like the 650, and is also designed to drive the lower impedance cans too. Can’t really go wrong with either, especially now the Lyr 2 is discounted used as folks are upgrading to the Lyr 3.
I currently use the Magni 3 with my AKG K712. The Hd650, K712 and X2 will be my primary headphones for movies, gaming, and music thru the Modi 2 Uber. Which brings up my next questions:
Is there much difference in sound quality with the valhalla 2 vs Lyr 2 with the HD650s? Should I just stick with the Magni 3 and Little Dot1+ to power the X2s and K712s and get the Valhalla 2 just for the HD650s?
Lastly, if I'm only using the ps4 is it worth upgrading the DAC from the Modi2uber to something else?
Your question of the sound difference between the Lyr and Valhalla is everything to do with preference, if you want more of that "tube" sound go with the Valhalla that's why I bought it. I too have the Magni 3 I use it for my laptop since it's small enough to travel with and you will notice a big difference between the Valhalla and the magni. You're not going to get increased clarity or precision but you get the timbre of tubes. On the other hand the Valhalla isn't for every pair of headphones since some like solid state. So the question boils down to your preference of wanting more of that "tube" sound and all of the timbre that offers. My experience with hybrid amps is usually 80% solid state sound with a very slight timbre, so if you want that tube sound you will get very little of it with a hybrid. Also the DAC should be fine for a long while, once you start getting more headphones in the 1000$+ range and have high end FLAC's you'd be due for an upgrade.
Tough call. I think either would be a significant upgrade over the Magni 3. The Lyr 2 would be more versatile if down the road you wanted to add a harder-to-drive headphone like a planar. The Lyr 2 has 2 less tube to mess with. OTOH, the OTL design of Valhalla was made for something like the 650, and is also designed to drive the lower impedance cans too. Can’t really go wrong with either, especially now the Lyr 2 is discounted used as folks are upgrading to the Lyr 3.
Yes it is a very tough decision. On one hand I think my AKGs are maxed out as far as quality with the little dot 1+, not sure if Lyr2 will make them any better. I have no desire to go with planars at the moment, I think I'm pretty happy with mid-fi at the moment. But I do want to upgrade from the Magni 3 and I want the HD650s to be close to their full potential. I like the idea of a solid state or hybrid amp because I'll be able to use all my headphones mentioned above. But I don't want to compromise the potential of the 650s which is making me want to lean towards the Valhalla or maybe even a Bottlehead crack. Darkvoice I'm skipping just because of how hot it gets and don't want the dog knocking it over and catching something on fire. I hate decisions lol
While I think the Crack is the best I’ve heard the 650’s sound it did take a extra investment in tubes also as in a Tung Sol 5998 which is getting harder to find and can easily be over $100 for a NOS one if you’re lucky.
A Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid is also another that I like the 650’s with and I think runs $250 it is a great little amp with plenty of power to run just about anything. It does a good job with the HE-500 also not that they are HE-6 hard to drive but do like more power.
While I think the Crack is the best I’ve heard the 650’s sound it did take a extra investment in tubes also as in a Tung Sol 5998 which is getting harder to find and can easily be over $100 for a NOS one if you’re lucky.
A Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid is also another that I like the 650’s with and I think runs $250 it is a great little amp with plenty of power to run just about anything. It does a good job with the HE-500 also not that they are HE-6 hard to drive but do like more power.
There's a few Cavalli MCTH amps on the for sale forum. Phenomenal amp for the money. I've owned a Valhalla Lyr, and MJ2 in the past. The MCTH is definitely on par with the Val, and Lyr. This amp imo is like a combo of both. I'm currently running one with hd58x. Crazy good.
The thing for me with the crack when I had one was the "tubey goodness" over time seemed to much. I got bored easily with the sound. Even with the hd800. All subjective though.
I would not call it tubey it still is a fine amp the Crack and the 650’s are another story but it only works with higher impedance headphones so as a all rounder the CTH would be a good choice as none of your other headphones would do real good with the Crack.
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