Right there with you on this. I am curious to see what someone so passionate about the 6XX will accomplish! I’m personally more into the 600, as I feel that the 6XX has a little bass bloat, but if he comes up with something similar but more refined as well as infinitely mod-able, sign me up!
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I pre-ordered the Drop + Grell OAE1. Between that and the DMS Project Omega, it’s gonna be like Christmas in July!
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Hoping for HD800S soundstage, but at $350 USDs, from that one.
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Just found out
The OAE1 Signature are collectors items and limited to
1,000 units in total. All Signature headphones are individually measured before leaving the factory and the measurements are included inside the package. The Signature version also comes with two high quality cables, a carrying case, and as the name says—the headphones have Axel’s signature on them.
So if any of those extra features of the Signature Edition are important to you, you might want to pre-order soon. Personally I’m pretty stoked to get the individual measurements, just like with the DMS Project Omega.
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You’re a bad influence Mr. Tool!! 
Went ahead and ordered the Grells after reading above. It will be my first new headphone in 2 years so that’s exciting and I’m waaay overdue.
I love the 800s so…
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The FR is a bit wonky but it does have a bass shelf. My plan is to use EQ pretty quickly after it arrives. In my experience, getting my desired level of bass out of a headphone is difficult if there is not a bass shelf already. I’m fairly confident I can solve the cliff at 6khz with EQ and that eventually there will be an oratory1990 (and Resolve?) preset I can try too.
At that point it will be interesting to compare it to my HD800S. That is a tall order though. Like the DMS Project Omega, I’m not expecting it to replace anything in my existing collection.
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I confess I also ordered one, with some trepidation as well regarding the frequency response! I hope they take well to EQing…
Congrats to you both, I hope we find them interesting.
And I’m surprised Bill @Audiophool it’s your first new one in several years… But your setup is really nice, so you must be happy with it! 
I’ve been very please with mine as well at this point, though I added a new ZMF Eikon with the Auteur Classic driver over the holidays. It’s my first high end closed back, and it’s amazing! Tonally really pleasing, and digs deeper in the bass than anything I’ve heard.
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Mods I think the Drop + Grell OAE1 headphone deserves a dedicated topic but I do not have the required permission
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done per your request!
20 characters
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Schiit Lyr+ Update
Admittedly it was an impulse buy. I was on the Apos site for a different reason when I saw the intro price on the Ray Tubes 6SN7 Reserve and I pulled the trigger. Overkill on a hybrid tube amp? Probably, but it was hard to resist when I knew it would match the Lyr+ so well. It might have been a mistake though.
The first one shipped directly from China and showed up in a box that looked like it had been drop kicked across the Pacific. The tube itself sounded great but its microphonics were unbearable. I couldn’t even shift the headphone cable without noise in my left ear. Back it went and I waited for its replacement. And waited… And waited…
Finally after almost a month the new tube arrived. This one hadn’t shipped from the factory and the box was in perfect shape. Unfortunately, there were still some microphonics. This time in the right channel and not nearly as loud. I can use the Lyr+ in low gain and as long as I don’t tap it, it’s fine.
Does this mean the combo of the Lyr+ and this tube is just prone to microphonics? I can live with it, but on the other hand this is the Reserve, not just the Select. Currawong did a review of the Select on the Lyr+ and didn’t mention anything about microphonics so I’m leaning towards reaching out to Apos for yet another one.
As for the sound, it is noticeably more tubey than the stock tube. More spacious and a bit smoother. I like it, but I have to admit that there’s really no place for the Lyr+ in my focused listening system. For me the sound slots right in between the Mjolnir 3 and the Folkvangr, and not in a Goldilocks “just right” kind of way.
Previously I’d been using the Lyr+ in solid state mode as my desktop amp, but now I have a nice (expensive) tube to use in it. That is actually a problem as I tend to forget to turn it off at the end of the day, wasting hours of tube life. So I decided to buy a smart power switch for it. A 2-pack of Matter compatible switches was a little over $20. I have it set up to turn off at 5pm every day. Also I can easily turn on the Lyr+ from my computer with just a couple of mouse clicks instead of reaching around behind it.
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Did you have a Lyr3 before the +? I still use my 3, usually with the LSST instead of a tube. I’m happy with it. If I want a more precise solid state experience I have the FiiO K9 Pro, and at work I have the OTL Eufónica. I’m not looking to upgrade soon, but I guess that’s a candidate. Your thoughts?
I didn’t get into tube amps until just before the Lyr+ came out, so I’ve never owned a Lyr 3. The Lyr+ really is a neat piece of kit. If I could only own one headphone amp, it would be down to either the Mjolnir 3 or the Lyr+. But I can own the Mjolnir 3 for when I want the precision (usually Audeze LCD-5) and the Folkvangr for when I want tuuuuuube (usually Sennheiser HD800S).
My thoughts on whether the Lyr+ is an upgrade on the Lyr 3? I’d have to defer to others with more experience than me. IIRC what others are saying is that they are kind of apples and oranges. Most Lyr 3 fans don’t feel the need to “upgrade”, but then most Lyr 3 fans are using a tube in it. Most people prefer the Lyr+ in tube mode, with the Jotunheim 2 being a better choice if you want to go solid state.
Confused? Maybe look at it this way. The Lyr+ solid state and tube modes aren’t just a gimmick. At the same time the solid state mode isn’t as precise as a dedicated solid state amp and the tube mode isn’t as tubey as a dedicated OTL tube amp. So if sometimes you feel like a nut (tube), sometime you don’t (solid state), and you can only have one amp, then the Lyr+ is your huckleberry. But if you don’t need that flexibility then there are probably better choices. The Vali 3 is getting a lot of positive attention, for example.
Ok that was a lot more than I planned to write, but I’m going to keep it as-is instead of editing it down to a precise opinion. Keep in mind that I am not a reviewer, nor do I play one on TV. I consider myself to have limited experience with headphone amps, which is one reason why I have so many: I’m still trying to figure out what it’s all about.
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Just a thought, but maybe try a tube damper?
Or some really cheap silicon O-rings?
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Thanks. This type of feedback is a big reason I started this topic. Because I don’t know what I don’t know. Constructive criticism is also welcome.
That said yes, just the other day I did look into both of those. Purists are not going to like my answer. I don’t like how they look. If this was for my focused listening system it would be fine, but I’m very picky about what goes on my desk. And yes, I gladly paid extra for the 6SN7 Reserve over the Select mostly because it looks better in the Lyr+.
Are microphonics an indication of the quality of sound coming from a tube (besides the microphonics itself, of course)? Because if they are then I definitely should send it back. The Reserve is supposed to be the top 1%.
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Put the amp on rubber or foam feet as dampers. It’s an ancient practice with record players and all audio devices sensitive to vibration. Move away from cell phones, fluorescent lights, and all potential sources of interference.
Tube are often microphonic, and some amps are worse than others. There’s a chance that 24 to 100 hours of burn in will reduce the noise. Some tubes seem to “marry” to the amp and settle down over time. But, don’t be disappointed burn in doesn’t work.
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It’s a function of a lot of things, but it’s not generally indicative of the sound it produces in the amplifier.
The big contributors are the internal construction of the tube, which does vary somewhat by tube
and exactly how the tube socket is mounted in the amplifier. If your unfortunate enough to have any resonance between the mount and the tubes internals, it’s a losing battle.
The first tube amp I designed and built hard mounted the sockets to the aluminum top plate and every tube that’s been in there rings for a good 45 seconds after the headphone jack is inserted. I assume the Lyr mounts the socket to the circuit board whish is a lot better, but ideally you need isolation in the mount.
The odds are if 2 of them are microphonic in the Lyr any replacement will likely be, unless your just very unlucky. 6SN7’s aren’t generally particularly microphonic tubes.
FWIW my favorite new production 6SN7 is the PSVane CV-181T.
If you want NOS 7N7’s (They’re just 6SN7’s with a different base) with an adapter are by far the best deal, and will get you within about 5% of the best 6SN7’s for a fraction of the price, and easy to still obtain as real NOS.
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There’s a lot of speculation on Head-fi that the Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve is a PSVane 181 or an upgrade of it.
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Wouldn’t surprise me, but there are other Chinese Manufacturers that make CV-181’s in the same shaped bottle, so it could be any of them.
The fact you can’t really see the internal structure on either makes it difficult to guess.
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I upgraded the Lyr+'s LRF support as you suggested. I ended up using a set of Isolate It! Sorbothane feet. Sorbothane is supposedly superior to rubber and Isolate It! has a variety of sizes and Durometer (stiffness) ratings to tune the feet to the proper weight and application. I went with the 1" 50 Durometer as the Lyr+ is 6lbs and their website recommends 50 Durometer for audio equipment isolation. I would think 30 Durometer more ideal, but they are the experts.
I also drilled a hole in a rubber foot I had around, ran the headphone cable through it, and stuck it to the desk. This dampens the vibrations from the cable and also moves it further to the left and out of my way:
The combination is not enough to kill the microphonics in high gain, but it does improve low gain microphonics. I’m not sure I’ll leave the cable dampener there - aesthetics again. But the Isolate It! feet were worth the investment.
I’m warming up to Herbie’s Audio Lab Ultrasonic SS as well. I don’t really need to solve the microphonics completely, but I’m curious as to how much of a difference it makes.
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I love your cable solution.
If you want to experiment with some more budget isolation solutions, I like these ball bearing isolation feet, which only cost around $20-25 for 4.
I use them to drain vibration from the electronic device into a wood or mdf base (whatever I have lying around) and then sorbothane feet like yours under the wood to protect it from the desk underneath. In your case you’d be getting vibration out of your amp and isolating it from vibration coming from your desk. In theory at least.
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