[mjcp]

Has anyone compared the Woo Audio WA7 vs. the Schiit LYR.
 
I own a Schiit Bitfrost and Asgard SS comboI with HE-500s and Grado PS500s.  I would like to add a tube amp and am considering WA7 or the LYR.

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

Doesn't help you too much but I have the HE-500 and the Lyr/Bifrost combo and am considering moving to the WA7. I'm given to understand it's a step up, not sure how much yet.

 

[WhippieDaddy]

I have both amps and listen with the HE-500 and the LCD-3. While I do like the Lyr (I bought it first) I definitely enjoy the WA7 more. The soundstage is wider and much more articulate - by comparison the Lyr sounds like I'm listening in a much smaller room with a somewhat muffled sound.

And the Lyr sounds a bit edgy and rough whereas the WA7 seems effortless and smooth in comparison. Like the ride difference between an Audi S4 and a Porsche 911, with the S4 being the WA7 and the Lyr being the 911. I'm only saying this in terms of ride mind you, not driving performance. The 911 ride is harsh and you feel the road more while the S4 is smooth and less hard on your butt during prolonged driving. For performance differences I'd say the Lyr is like an Audi A4 while the WA7 is like an S4. Both are nice cars but I prefer the S4's performance edge.

Bass performance in my opinion is better with the WA7 - I find ithe WA7 bass very impressive in fact. The WA7 midrange is very good also but the two amps are not that far apart, though I'd have to give the edge to the WA7. Female vocals - Roberta Flack and Carly Simon are good examples - seem to be reproduced with more transparency than the Lyr. And I give better marks to the WA7 for treble, with the Lyr being a bit grainy by comparison.

Incidentally, I'm running the WA7 with the ElectroHarmonix tubes, not the stock ones.

Don't get me wrong - I think the Lyr is a gret sounding amp. But I do feel the WA7 is a definite step up in sound quality, which the pricepoint would suggest. But the Lyr plus a decent DAC wouldn't be that much less in price than a WA7, which has a very good DAC built in.

My recommendation is to go with the WA7. Good luck in your decision.

 

[Stoney]

The difference in a practical sense might be output impedance.  The Lyr is 1 ohm.  Not sure about the WA7, but much higher IIRC.  

 

[qbroid]

Appreciate this thread, I am also considering moving from bifrost+lyr to WA7

 

[OYang Muyun]

I have the same question. I'm considering that which one is better with HD650.
 

 

[soundquality12]

What do you say about the sound quality compared to your OPPO?
I am trying to find the best way to get all my music to my stereo, speakers and head phones.
I am thinking with the OPPO I also get a top blu ray player etc.
I buy my music on CD and then put in AIFF format in iTunes on my Mac Pro desktop. I am open to suggestions for a better sound quality and cost.
I have about 25 year old Pioneer VSX-9700 reciever, iPod 5th gen, iPhone 4s, B&W 703 speakers, Yamaha HS50M 5" Monitor Speakers, Sennheiser HD580 headphones, Klipsh s4i rugged earbuds for riding and walking(more rugged and sweat resistant). 
Thank you for your time.

 

[pdrm360]

I have both amps and listen with the HE-500 and the LCD-3. While I do like the Lyr (I bought it first) I definitely enjoy the WA7 more. The soundstage is wider and much more articulate - by comparison the Lyr sounds like I'm listening in a much smaller room with a somewhat muffled sound.

And the Lyr sounds a bit edgy and rough whereas the WA7 seems effortless and smooth in comparison. Like the ride difference between an Audi S4 and a Porsche 911, with the S4 being the WA7 and the Lyr being the 911. I'm only saying this in terms of ride mind you, not driving performance. The 911 ride is harsh and you feel the road more while the S4 is smooth and less hard on your butt during prolonged driving. For performance differences I'd say the Lyr is like an Audi A4 while the WA7 is like an S4. Both are nice cars but I prefer the S4's performance edge.

Bass performance in my opinion is better with the WA7 - I find ithe WA7 bass very impressive in fact. The WA7 midrange is very good also but the two amps are not that far apart, though I'd have to give the edge to the WA7. Female vocals - Roberta Flack and Carly Simon are good examples - seem to be reproduced with more transparency than the Lyr. And I give better marks to the WA7 for treble, with the Lyr being a bit grainy by comparison.

Incidentally, I'm running the WA7 with the ElectroHarmonix tubes, not the stock ones.

Don't get me wrong - I think the Lyr is a gret sounding amp. But I do feel the WA7 is a definite step up in sound quality, which the pricepoint would suggest. But the Lyr plus a decent DAC wouldn't be that much less in price than a WA7, which has a very good DAC built in.

My recommendation is to go with the WA7. Good luck in your decision.

 
Which one has a warmer and more Tubey sound?  WA7 or Lyr

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
I've listened to expensive amps and found some less expensive ones were simply more pleasurable for me to listen to. My preference.
 
What I learned from it: higher costing toys don't always sound better to your ears, even if they're a technical upgrade. Be wary traveler.
 
By the way, the WA7 only outputs 1 watt at 32ohms, it will have less for the 38ohm HE500. It will play fine, but be aware, you're going to be going with the power output that is, per Dr Fang, less than optimal for his headphone (he recommends 1 watt at 38ohms for the HE500). But it's your ears, probably won't matter.
 
Very best,

 

[pdrm360]

  Heya,
 
I've listened to expensive amps and found some less expensive ones were simply more pleasurable for me to listen to. My preference.
 
What I learned from it: higher costing toys don't always sound better to your ears, even if they're a technical upgrade. Be wary traveler.
 
By the way, the WA7 only outputs 1 watt at 32ohms, it will have less for the 38ohm HE500. It will play fine, but be aware, you're going to be going with the power output that is, per Dr Fang, less than optimal for his headphone (he recommends 1 watt at 38ohms for the HE500). But it's your ears, probably won't matter.
 
Very best,

 
+1

 

[WhippieDaddy]

MalVeauX,

I can't disagree with what you say.

I should have mentioned that my impressions (quoted above) were derived primarily when listening with the LCD-3. At this time I use the LCD-3 for around 90% of my listening.

Audeze mentions that for the 45 Ohm LCD-3, the optimal amplifier output is one to four watts. So with respect to the WA-7, I guess I'm not driving both the HE-500 and the LCD-3 to their recommended level. And yet, with the Lyr outputting higher wattage - likely in the recommended range for both headphones - I still think the WA-7 sounds better. No doubt, as you mention, part of it it comes down to one's ears as well as personal biases/attributes. But there are of course qualitative differences between the manufacturers ' products that come into play as well.

My comment about the price point suggesting better performance was meant only in the sense that customers expect better performance when the cost goes up. That of course is not always the case unfortunately - there are always exceptions. And my comparison of the Schitt Mjolnir with the WA7 leads me to conclude that (to me) it's another exception to the generalization that higher cost means better performance. The Mjolnir sounds better to me overall than the WA7 even though the WA7 is about $350 more than Mjolnir.

However, my specific auto comparisons do follow that generalization. Overall driving performance is A4 < S4 < 911, and the cost model follows the driving performance - you get what you pay for in those cases (especially if you drive a 911 turbo ).

 

[WhippieDaddy]

Which one has a warmer and more Tubey sound? WA7 or Lyr

To be honest, I don't know if I can say which is more tube like. Both are full and lush sounding with a fair amount of warmth - quite pleasant overall. I'll have to do more in-depth comparisons between the two amps to be confident in saying which one is more tube like.

 

[panersche]

great read thanks guys, I'm on the fence between these two myself

 

[antikryst]

Any other feedback? Have the he500 and thinking of lyr Uber bifrost or wa7. I like how the lyr bifrost has multiple inputs on the bifrost side. But I love the IEM compatibility on the wa7.

 

[money4me247]

Any other feedback? Have the he500 and thinking of lyr Uber bifrost or wa7. I like how the lyr bifrost has multiple inputs on the bifrost side. But I love the IEM compatibility on the wa7.

lyr 2 has a new gain switch that makes it compatible with IEMs