Lyr 2 Headphone Amplifier

The Schiit Lyr 2 is a great amp. This amp is powerful enough to drive any headphone. It has great build quality. It produces very clean, detailed sound for the price. As with all audio gear, it comes down to preference: do you want a sound that is a little more detailed, lean, and dry, or do you want it to be slightly warmer, fuller, and analogue? If you are looking for the latter, you will be happier with the less expensive Valhalla 2. I tried out both amps for 2 weeks and ended up keeping the Valhalla 2 because it sounded more natural to me...and my headphones (Beyerdynamic T1) do not require the extra power of the Lyr 2. If you like a more solid state sound, or if you are using Audeze headphones that need more kick, then maybe the Lyr 2 is for you. Sometimes it is hard to know for sure, but hopefully this helps.

Good and solid unit. However, it is more like solid state than tube sound. I used it as a pre-amp and it can handle that with the gain switch stay low. The sound is details and clean. However, not much "tube like" I expected. I have to return it.

This product is exceptional. There are a lot of people out there who may not know "Schitt" about amplifiers, DAC's and high end headphones. For those who want to elevate their listening experience this is one of the tools to help you accomplish that goal.One of the great features of the amp is the ability to "tube roll". Tube rolling simply means changing from one brand/type of vacuum tube to another. The reason it's called rolling is because the motion to get the tube in or out of the sockets is a bit of a rolling motion so as to not damage the pins of the tube.I also have the Lyr 1 and they made some really nice improvements with this update. I haven't tried the stock tubes that came with this amp and anyone purchasing it should also plan on doing some research on various tubes that work well with this amp and making an additional investment in various tubes. Some tubes may sounds better with certain headphones than others or suit your personal tastes better. I would not judge this amp based on the stock tubes based on my experience with the Lyr 1. Make sure you have a great set of headphones and a quality dac to go with this amp. I use mine with the Schitt Bifrost Uber from the same company along with some other DACS. Now go fire up one of your favorite albums and enjoy it for the first time listening through the Lyr 2, it is likely to sound like you have never heard it before.

First one that arrived was a used open box item, which was returned. Second one worked fine for one week, then started buzzing/humming through the case as if a transformer was defective. Very disappointed. Perhaps the manufacturer's name is represented by their product.

Let me start by saying I'm no audiophile, but I produce music. I was about to buy the Lyr a few weeks back but they told me to wait for the new one.Noise floor is incredibly low, really easy to drive high impedance, but also handles IEMs like a dream. I noticed on high gain the drivers to my headphones would ring if i started talking. Switching this back to low gain removed that issue. Mixing with AKG 712s has been nothing short of spectacular, these drive them so well even on low gain. I noticed the second tube kicks in on high gain.Tubes can be rolled, which is lovely. I can't wait to start experimenting, but right now I'm rather satisfied with the ones it came with since the have a neutral sound.Pairing this with a good DAC (I bought the Bifrost) and this thing really comes alive, mixing 24bit samples sound incredible. It really is night and day for me in comparison to the 16bit I'm used to. A lot of layering capability without any fidelity loss.Runs a tad hot, but this is normal, I'm not too concerned about it since it has a 5 year warranty. The rubber feet will move around when the device gets heated up so be aware of that if you are moving it after a listening session.What can I say, it's everything I expected, this amp is the Schiit. If i ever purchase really high impedance phones I won't have to worry about an amp...ever again maybe. Might be enough to drive the LCD 3s!

This is a very good and powerful amplifier detailed but with the Stock tubes it was a bit noisy to start off . After trying different tubes including some Russian and Chinese I found the Chinese tube to be very good and got the kind of clarity and detail I wanted including the tube like sound I was craving for for my LCD 2 F

It's $50 more on Amazon than direct from Schiit which is not very cool of them but the product is solid. Literally, if it ever dies on you, you can always use it as a boat anchor. The stock tubes prop up the midrange a little, don't roll off the highs too much, and are fairly neutral to mid centric sounding. The amp has more than enough power to drive my orthos, and low and high impedance dynamics. My only complaint is it does get a little warm after being on for awhile. And by warm I mean you may find it uncomfortable to use the volume knob after a few hours because it will begin to burn your fingers.