80-100 hours on that Tung-Sol and it should have stopped any typical “tube weirdness” (pings, twangs etc.).
Lots of slam and low-end drive/control, which is one area where I think the Lyr 3 bests the Jotunheim (or THX AAA 789). Most notable with planar cans, but still evident with dynamics.
Glad you’re liking it so far!
It’s back up for sale, by the way … as suspected.
Delivery is now the tail-end of August, but that’s SoP for this stuff.
Probably tomorrow before my review goes up now … but it’s the best inexpensive balanced DAC I’ve heard. The next step up is several times the price.
Thanks for the heads-up! I’ve got one on the way. I understand the benefit of balanced DACs theoritically, but I’ve never had one to audition. At this price it’s a “why not” proposition, but I’m very glad to hear you liked it.
Question about Lyr. Does the chassis get too hot?? I’m planning to stock Modi & Loki on top.
You want to have some ventilation around the Lyr 3. Although the bottom is not vented, it should be on a hard surface so that some air can flow under it. The Lyr does get pretty warm. And there’s a tube sticking up out of it.
You can’t stack the little Schiits flush on top of the bigger Shiit, without covering the Shiit holes (ventilation). The only way they would fit is if the knobs were hanging over the side, or perhaps pointing to the tube. You’d say “Oh Schiit!” when you burned your fingers.
If you have the knobs of the Loki over the left side of the Lyr 3, then your connecting wires might touch the tube. Hey, there’s a funny smell in this room!
The solution might be to rack your Schiits. Cause you can’t stack em. I think you could get some of those office in/out wire document or letter racks, and play with a hacksaw, dremel, drill, grommets, black paint and build a nice Schiit stack rack with adequate ventilation. Everyone would exclaim, “Nice stack of Schiit.”
Thanks!! That was my idea, to stack the little ones on the left side of the Lyr with the controls facing to the side and the back toward the tube, but I see the issue now… yep, I’ll build something for it.
Another option is to get Loki out of the game because since using Sonarworks I barely use EQ and only put Modi 3 with the cables out and the front toward the tube and… that’s probably too ugly!! Let’s see . Thanks again!!
I’ve read your favourable review on the Pro-ject DAC elsewhere and would be curious how this compares to the Modi 3?
Some people complain about the soundstage of the Jotunheim and the Lyr 3, are there major differences compared to, i.e. Vali 2?
Does the “warm” Jotunheim need a lot of warm up time? I’ve had the original version which was pretty bright when cold and needed to run 24/7. And was still bright. 
I’d be making a decision based more on features and price rather than sound here.
If you want DSD support and/or full hardware MQA support, then the Pre-Box S2 is obviously the way to go here. Similarly, if you want a variable output level to use as a digital pre-amp, or have a use for remote control, then the Pro-Ject unit is also the box for the job.
Otherwise … both are highly competent and sound excellent. The Modi 3 is a little warmer sounding and has a bit more oomph in the bottom end, the Pre-Box S2 is a hair more neutral in the bass but depending on the filter you choose can lose some air/sparkle in the treble. Detail retrieval is similar between units, though for once the ESS-based unit doesn’t exaggerate it.
The Pro-Ject unit is free from the typical effects I hear in inexpensive ESS-based implementations, which is a nice change. I’d take the Pre-Box S2 Digital over every other inexpensive ESS 9038-based converter I’ve heard and a few of the more expensive ones, too.
I wouldn’t say there are major differences in them in regards to stage, but the Lyr 3 does a better job here than the Vali 2, which is a bit better than the Jotunheim for stage. But we’re talking about headphones so, unless you have one of a very small number of very specific cans, stage is more about width and distance from the listener than it is about actual depth.
No, not really. Not to the point where I felt it needed to be left switched on. It’s “warmer” signature is evident right from first power-on.
What is the super-portable USB DAC/AMP to get today? Dragonfly Cobalt?
Lacks line-out, the docs say to run it to the rails for line out.
Would be nice if there is something that can operate from USB power, has very small form factor. MQA is always a bonus.
Looking for EDC (Every Day Carry) to go with cellphone and modest earbuds or headphones. Not buying right now, but more curiosity.
I suppose it depends on the budget you have in mind but I was quite happy with the Topping NX4 DSD. I actually liked the fact that it had 2 USB ports so you could run it without draining the battery of the device feeding it.
I think it also depends on what one considers “super-portable”, as the Topping NX4 DSD is 7.5 times the size of the DragonFly Cobalt. At that point, you might want to include things like the FiiO Q5S or even Chord’s Mojo (though not necessarily the same budget) … and then you could drive pretty much anything with them, too.
If we go with “super-portable” meaning something dongle-or-stick-like, then other than the three AudioQuest DragonFly units, the only other option with MQA support is the Meridian Explorer 2. It also has a dedicated line-out (physically separate connection even) and supports native high-resolution input/output (up to 24/192) as well as full hardware MQA decoding.
The Explorer 2 won’t work off an iPhone without messing about, however (the standard CCA can’t power it). And it exhibits more hiss with sensitive IEMs than the AudioQuest units.
I have one - an Explorer 2, that is. I liked it’s sound a tiny bit better than the DFR. I haven’t heard the DFC (though minimum-phase filters on ESS 9038 chips usually don’t work out for me). I never use it (hence it is listed for sale) anymore.
But the minute you want to run it off a phone, it’s no longer an option so …
Very true.
Now you have me interested in the Explorer 2. I wonder if it would work with the Shanling M2X to give me a line out (for car etc.). The line out is something I really miss on the M2X
That, I can’t say.
It’s a normal, but true, USB 2.0 (UAC2) device. Definite needs more power than Apple devices can provide via the CCA/CCK/LTUA cables. Not sure what the M2X can source, there.
Yes, I was thinking of the Meridian Explorer 2 also. As I recall, it was about $199, and is not available these days. Amazon has a “new” one going for $449. If the standard CCA won’t power it, but the newer one will - with some more cord and a power source, then that does get away from super portable.
My XDSD will fit in my pocket and BT to the phone, but I wasn’t really considering that.
Trade-offs, trade-offs. For super-portable dongle or stick-like is the ticket. I think you have to balance native high-res against MQA - both are nice to have.
I’ve been thinking of getting rid of the DFB, but not until I have a defined path.
If you’re interested in a Meridian Explorer 2, might I suggest you wander over to the Buy and Sell section?
$299 officially, but everywhere has sold it for $199 for at least the last 2.5 years (on “permanent sale”, as it were). Pretty sure it’s completely discontinued now, and not even sure it hasn’t just been selling through existing stock for a good while.
It does NOT work with the standard CCA/CCK.
It will work with this one (I wasn’t actually sure, so I just tested it) - provided that you connect the DAC and the power to the dongle BEFORE you connect it to the phone. But, as you say, that’s a much larger and more involved solution - and WAY too much faffing about for me.
I’ll get around to trying the DragonFly Cobalt at some point. I wish AQ had either made the filters selectable, chosen something different, or just not made a big deal out of what they did choose (so I didn’t know) - or I’d probably have just bought one “because” - even in my self-imposed new-gear-moratorium.
Especially where I thought the Black was very good and had the Red from about a week after launch until recently.
Thank you. Maybe next month… I’ve exceeded the budget for toys for July.
Thanks very much for the detailed reply, this helps a lot!
Have you hear the Matrix x sabre pro?
Yes, I’ve heard the Matrix X-SABRE Pro (MQA).
It might just be the best ESS 9038Pro based converter I’ve heard (it’s certainly in the running). And it’s an entirely different tier of performance than the Pro-Ject Pre-Box S2 Digital.
The build is excellent, with the chassis has proper milled, isolated, separate enclosures for the transformer, PSU, display/control module and the main DAC/analog section.
The UX looks nice too, though it’s not particularly logical in terms of navigation.
Did you enjoy it for listening? It’s a very cool looking DAC and has all the features I’d need (for long term plans). Unless Schiit comes up with a Grungnir mb that doesn’t need warm up time. 