My priorities have recently changed, so my opinion may reflect that…
Lyr 3 is a bit of a mixed bag. The stage and tone changes quite a bit depending on what tube you have in there, which means to find the one that you like the most you’re going to have to buy a bunch and figure it out. That’s not cheap. I can see the Lyr 3 possibly being a better pairing in some regards, especially with The Nighthawks.
What I don’t see the Lyr doing better is microdynamics and slam. It’s got a powerful sound, yes, but there is a finesse with the Jotunheim I don’t recall the Lyr 3 ever being able to do.
Disclaimer - My Lyr 3 hasn’t been in my inventory for a long time. Audio memory being what it is, take all of the above with a big grain of salt.
Nice, I’m leaning more towards a Jot 2 at this point, especially since I can use it with balanced sources. I really appreciate you taking the time to step in and describe things! Did you try Lyr 3 as a pre-amp at all?
Nope. I did try the Jot2 as a pre for my JBL monitors. Not bad, but the only other things I had to compare it to was Freya S and the ADI-2 fs. It did a respectable job, but the other two were better. The other two are also more expensive, and better equipped feature wise to do that task.
Edit: Basically, if you need a preamp, buy a preamp. Jot will get you by, but there is better stuff on the market. If it’s not for critical listening/mixing, then yeah it’s fine. For example, my monitors are basically glorified giant computer speakers for gaming. Jot is fine for that.
Not much to add to the replies you’ve already gotten, other than to say that the Jot 2 meets your particular requirements the best, closely followed by the Asgard 3. The Lyr 3 is very good, but I wouldn’t describe it as warm, unless you can find a tube to make it warm.
I found the Jot 2 to have a better soundstage than the A3, and also a more extended, but still smooth treble. Maybe there are unit differences, but unlike @ProfFalkin, who said his Asgard has more quantity in the treble, I found the treble of the A3 to be a trifle soft, more in line with @lost33’s review. Having said that, it wasn’t really noticeable and I enjoyed my time with the A3 right before Christmas.
Having spent a month listening to a DNA Starlett and owning an Asgard 3, I would agree with the statement that the Asgard 3 does have similarities with the Starlett. They are both smooth sounding headphone amps that do everything well… IMO the Starlett is better in every way, however, the fact that the A3 sounds so much like it at 10% of the price makes the A3 a great value.
That being said, I still think the Starlett is a great headphone amplifier and well worth
It’s $2000 price.
Generally speaking, a high impedance headphone like a 6XX or ZMF will sound better using high gain, because they need the extra power, but some people like the more relaxed sound that you can sometimes get using low gain.
If you use a low impedance headphone like a Focal on high gain, the Schiit amps I’ve tried (Asgard 3, Lyr 3, Jot 2) make the music sound more energized/aggressive. Personally, I’m not a fan of that sound, so I would use low gain, but I can see why some people like it.
Interesting, i’m actually using hd6xx and ZMF Eikon’s. So it’s not that high gain is better but either gain has different characteristics? I might just use low gain then since i’m barely even going over 8 o’clock on the knob
In audioland things usually don’t settle into better/worse, they settle into different. You’ll run across this a lot.
In the end, use whatever sounds better to you.
For equipment setup and connections you will find that there are “wrong” ways of doing things because they can cause damage, so these are not subject to personal preferences.
Ok I see, I guess I’m just a bit paranoid that I’m not getting the most performance out of my gear. I was just browsing the ASR forum on it and people were saying that it’s a waste to use low gain since it’s only using like 10% of the amps power.
Well there’s your problem! Base your preferences on what you hear with your ears. Ignore rationalistic pronouncements of how things should ideally sound based on sometimes irrelevant factors.
Yeah, there are a few forum members at ASR that bring sense to headphone gear. But then there are also a great deal of creepy ASR forum members that sit in dark basements never hearing any gear that repeatedly post over and over the same statement that people must renounce their hearing and should only worship the sacred ASR charts and holy measurements. It gets really odd when you refuse to join their cult.
On my Asgard 3, the volume pot is a little stiff between 2pm and 3pm, as though it is sticking or rubbing against something.
To be honest, it is handy as a warning that I am turning the amp up too much and avoids me having it too high if I am messing around with sources etc. But I am wondering if anyone has the same issue on their pot?
Same on my two months old A3.
I listen to very (I mean very) low volume so never gave me problems but I’m used to try all the pots on my new equipment and I noticed it.
Maybe it is a “save your ears” kind of alert?
This happens with my Magni 3+ and Loki too. Many electronics have simple slip-on knobs, and when pushed in too far they create friction with the backer or board.
Some knobs have a stepped inner ring (often plastic) to prevent the rim from contacting the back-end stuff. Other knobs use a flat keying surface and set screw. They are easy to replace, upgrade, or customize. Measure twice, buy once.
Jot will get you by, but there is better stuff on the market. If it’s not for critical listening/mixing, then yeah it’s fine. For example, my monitors are basically glorified giant computer speakers for gaming. Jot is fine for that.