I stopped by The Schiitr the other day. I got to compare the Lyr+ to the Valhalla 2 and Folkvangr using my Sennheiser HD 800 S.
At first I liked the Valhalla more than the Lyr+. It has a better sense of space to the soundstage. But then I tried some hard rock and I noticed that the imaging was more precise on the Lyr+ and the bass was a little bit flabby on the Valhalla. Winner: Lyr+
Unfortunately I also compared the Lyr+ to the Folkvangr. I did not hear any loss in detail or imaging precision in the Folkvangr. But the Folkvangr definitely had more impact for hard rock music. I ended up ordering a Folkvangr when I got home (they don’t stock them at the store). I will follow up here if my impression of it changes with more ear time.
You can turn the tube on/off without the remote by holding the gain button down for a few seconds. This is not in the manual. It won’t switch until you let go, btw.
Thanks for posting this! Did you try any other headphones or just the HD800S? From what I’ve read, it seems like the HD800S might be a headphone I need to try with the Lyr+
I have a Grant Fidelity Treasure Globe 6SN7-SE on the way, courtesy of @jthvac, that I can’t wait to install in the Lyr+.
Your experience with the Treasure Globe was one of the factors I considered before purchasing the tube. It’s due to be delivered tomorrow so I plan on installing it Tuesday into the Lyr+. Monday will be spent listening with the stock tube and taking notes.
It reminds me a little of the radome in Discovery Park (I decided to install it without the socket saver, which I left on the stock tube). I’ll need to spend some more time critically listening to it vs the Lyr+'s solid state circuit only.
I got my Lyr+ late November, but a couple weeks later it blew. Sent it back for repair, and it came back - put together wrong. The casing was crooked and the slot screws not even in the slot, so the chassis was bent and the volume didn’t work. Fixed that myself rather than send it in and wait another 3 weeks, or get another unit and have something go wrong there. Unfortunately one of the power supply screws is also stripped. At this point, just going to let sleep dogs lie.
As for sound, the stage is big but not deep. Details are nearly breathtaking, but not overly warm. The amp is punchy and has some power, but I use it as a preamp and a Burson Soloist to drive my cans. Warms up the sound a bit, provides real layering and depth for well-engineered acoustic recordings. A bit of an expensive option, as there are plenty of alternatives that cost what a Lyr+ and Burson Soloist run, together, but the result is pretty pleasing so I’ll spend a few more months with this before I venture out to find an alternative. Likely I end up selling the Lyr+. At least the buy will know it’s burned in and functional - right now, I’m not sure I would recommend it to my peers. They have a real quality problem and this apparently isn’t unfamiliar territory. I get it, small company, but…when you don’t put an amp back together right in repair and ship it out, that tells me the problems run deep and start at the top. And the top isn’t going to change so I’m more interested in other offerings as a result.
Well that’s really disappointing, and kind of shocking…
That’s definitely not typical, or even common. I have purchased 10 Schiit products over the years, and not a single problem or cosmetic, mechanical, or electrical issue.
To name a few: Yggy OG. Lyr 3, Jotunheim 2, Valhalla 2, Asgard 2, Bifrost 2 (OG), etc. You get the picture…
I’m sorry that happened, and I can see how that would sour you on the brand. Understandably. But what happened in your case is very rare. That’s cold comfort to you though, I think you should try reaching out to Schiit again to make it right. I’d ask them to swap the unit out completely, don’t know what their reply would be… I would try reaching out to Jason Stoddard directly on Head-fi or social media too if you don’t get satisfaction.
I am considering purchasing a LYR+. I have a Lyr3 and Jot 2, both connected to a bifrost 2. For those that are familiar with the amps, does it sonically make any sense to replace the Lyr and Jot with a Lyr+? It is a lot of money to spend if there are not sonic improvements.
However, I do own Lyr 3 and Jot 2, and I can’t imagine Lyr+ is more than an incremental “upgrade”, or side-grade really.
I think you’d be better off saving those $ and get something that’s really better. FWIW Schiit has a Mjolnir 3 coming up, or consider something else entirely, like a Quicksilver headphone amp (for instance).
I don’t know what else you have in your chain or what you like to listen to musically, so hard to say…
robon, you make some quite sensible statements there.
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I too own a $500 Schiit Lyr 3 and $400 Schiit Jotunheim 2. They both are very good amplifiers at their price point. So perhaps the $600 Schiit Lyr Plus may very well be too much of a side grade. Jumping up to a $1,200 Quicksilver Headphone Amp will improve sound quality of course since it is more than double the price of any of these mid-line Schiit products. So, robson’s suggestion makes sense to me.
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While the Quicksilver Headphone Amp does sound good, so far, upon initial listening I prefer my Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline II The Raptor over it when running my dynamic headphones such as ZMF Aeolus and Sennheiser HD600. However, it is nice to run planar magnetic headphones on a tube amp, which the Quicksilver can do some of the time. None of my OTL headphone amplifiers are capable of running planar magnetic headphones. Opening up so many other planar headphones to tubes makes the Quicksilver “something else entirely” as robson stated. I do find that the notoriously hard to drive HIFiMan HE6se V2 sounds good equalized paired with the Quicksilver but it does sputter out at loud listening levels when faced with passages of deep bass (eg. Post Malone - Circles). On lower listening volumes however, how great is it to listen to HE6se V2 properly with tubes? Pretty darn cool.
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So, if avoiding a side grade by upping the ante on more expensive amplifiers. The Quicksilver MIGHT be the right amplifier. But as usual, one must consider other factors such as the headphones being paired and listening volumes levels desired.
I picked up a Lyt+ a while ago. I was interested in getting back into tubes without having to manage a whole bunch of them. I get carried away with tube stuff and had really sworn them off for a while. Of course, I always missed them
When I purchased the Lyr+, I had a BHA-1 which I ran balanced from a Lynx Hilo. I found the Lyr + (running with BJC balanced to RCA cables built to the Lynx specs) to be more engaging and fun to listen to with HD800Ss and HD600s.
I sold the BHA-1 and have been happily living with the Lyr+. I have found that, despite being a hybrid amp, the choice of tubes makes an important difference. This was part of what I was after - it’s like having many amps in one. You can tune things for the material and the headphones. Depending on the tube, the Lyr+ becomes more detailed and precise or less detailed and more sumptuous, it emphasizes the stage or it emphasizes integration, it sounds deep with lots of harmonic richness, or it is highly technical with all parts of the music “visible”. Through the variety of tubes, though, it maintains its poise - it takes a truly poor tube to make it sound bad (looking at you, Photon).
The best tubes - NOS tubes: Ken Rad, Tung Sol, and Sylvania W-GTA and GTBs balance all these factors. They are different enough that if you rotate them, your ears are always feeling like they’re hearing something new.
I like this amp a lot with the HD800Ss and HD600s. I prefer it to the JOT2 and the BHA-1. The JOT2 is a lovely amp, but its staging is a bit too “wall of sound”. The BHA-1 is much more open sounding, but does not provide the dynamic excitement and ability to vary the sound.
