Well here is the thing. I’ve heard from critical reviews that the Qutest and M-scaler combo is not a significant or huge SQ improvement, however having a TT2 with the m scaler is the bees knees.
The DAVE is so bloody expensive.
If it was me, since you already have a very key component (m-scaler) I think I would grab a TT2.
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I was super unimpressed with the digital outs on the blue sound. You might want to try a pi2aes. The good news is, it’s cheap.
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I’m buying a schiit lyr
Is it a crime to just get the 100usd built in dac to drive my verite closed for a while until i figure things out more ?.
I’m not decided on what to buy, but i won’t be getting a schiit dac, i want something neutral and not colored, because i don’t want 3 colored items in the chain
I’m considering a small dac because i will be moving a lot
I landed on the schiit lyr because it’s a hybrid solution that was reccomended a lot, other tube amps are much bigger in size, many tubes and cost more (looking at you feliks Audio echo )
My short list that you can add to
1- chord qutest (used)
2-soncoz sgd1
3- smsl su9,
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I currently have a Jot2 with the multibit module.
I would not hesitate to get he built in card, especially if you aren’t sure where you want to go in the higher end. They are wholly adequate.
Edit: I also have a pile of high end stuff. I could be happy with the Jot2 and built in card in a second system, while moving, etc etc. It’s hooked to my workstation right now playing Beethoven quite well.
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I have the Lyr3 with no DAC. It’s certainly not a crime to get the quite decent DAC card - or pop for the Multibit and get most of a BF2 (minus the unison USB). I’m very pleased with the Lyr3 as an all around solution, and it will get you 95% of the way to where you want to go. The extra 5% is costly.
The hybrid Lyr3 works with pretty much any impedance headphone. However you only get a taste of tube, which is fine by me. Tube rolling produces noticeable but hardly dramatic results. There is nothing wrong with the stock Tung Sol, I happen to use a Treasure Globe, and it’s better than others I’ve tried, but not sure it’s worth the extra money.
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Would love to get your thoughts on SR1a and HSA-1B combo by itself and with the preamp added.
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Thanks for the advice, i added the dac card and put my order !
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Thanks @perogie I don’t have any other amps or dacs. I try not to have too many things. Rather, I want to have one or two of the best I can afford and maximize their use. I’ve read through this forum, particularly @Torq’s impressions, to try to assess the delta between JotR and HSA-1b. Actually, it was his review of the SR1a that motivated me to buy them in the first place. Now, I want to get the best out of my SR1a listening enjoyment. I’m patient enough to upgrade component year-by-year.
I got the Elegia and Nightowl b/c of the massive sales. I’ve been using LG V40 as a DAP substitute for those mainly during work hours (closed back and doesn’t disturb my wife). But, I end up using the SR1a as much as I can.
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Thanks @Nephilim_81 I bought the MScaler with upgrade path to TT2 and Dave in mind. Qutest was the stop gap while I recovered from my SR1a and Jot R investment.
Yeah, Dave is pricey. So, it will come from the used market and that really helps reduce the price delta.
Thanks @Header I’d love to get a Bartok but it seems more rare in the used market than the Dave. As much as I’d like to make the jump, I still need to be mindful of cost right now.
You’re welcome. Which card did you decide on, the 4490 or the Multibit?
Chose 4490 because I’m pretty sold on the chord qutest and wanted it pretty much for convenience, travel and use when i don’t have a standalone dac.
I’m not sure what to expect coming from the thx 788 (that I will be selling), but a lot of good advice pointed me towards it and i wanna get the slight taste of tube you pointed at
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Get yourself a socket saver if you plan to travel with the Lyr3. You will be pulling the tube for travel, and a socket saver will make that significantly easier. You might even buy a couple and leave them attached to your favorite tube(s).
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Or very often, “your socket savers will grab onto your tubes like ticks” and become semi-permanent attachments to the tube.
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So I am looking for a somewhat endgame headphone amp (is there such a thing?) for my 2 channel system.
It will be driven from my Brooklyn DAC+, so a combined dac/amp isn’t necessary.
Headphones I currently own are the Elegia, LCD-XC, and the infamously hard to drive HE6se v2.
I currently use a Jot 2 in my desktop setup, so am familiar with that. I am looking for a different type of flavor. I am not a huge tube fan and would ideally like something with a decent output because of the HE6se.
Currently torn between the Bryston BHA-1 and the Phonitor XE or X. Frankly the differences in the Phonitors are slightly confusing. I was also thinking about the Burson Soloist 3xp, but the volume issue seems goofy.
Any help is appreciated!
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I’m not sure about a bryston for this. It’s not a powerhouse, but it does provide a ton of current. You may want to add flux labs fa-10 and gsx mini to your list.
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The volume issue is a little goofy, but I honestly don’t notice it, because there’s just a small jump between 51 and 52 (or maybe 50 and 51). Maybe that’s fixable if I contact Burson, but honestly, I can’t be bothered because it doesn’t bother me.
What’s great about the volume control is that I can use so much of it. With all my other amps, I’m lucky if I can use 20% of the volume control before it gets too loud. It makes me wonder if amp designers actually test their products for practicality.
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Def looked at the Flux amps. Wasn’t there some issue with grounding on the wiring?
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Paging @PForPho - he’s the flux / HE6 expert. I just stayed at a holiday inn.
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Volume issue is easy fix…Burson will help you out there. I posted about it on the Soloist thread but basically you swap out the volume chip for another one and I haven’t had any more volume issues with mine…even then it didn’t bother me that much when the issue was still there. Do keep in mind that this could just be an isolated incident that has only affected the early batches. Either way, it’s easily fixable…
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