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Hold down the gain button on the front for two secs and it’ll switch between tube and mosfet modes. Electro harmonix tube was a huge upgrade for me. Less muddy more clarity and air then the shipping tube but still just enough tubiness for a pleasant listening experience.

been a fan of Schiit Audio ever since I took a gamble on buying the 1st gen Modi/Magni combo about 7 years ago to drive all of my headphones regardless of impedance. I was blown away. I could not get past how accurate and how much power could come from a $99 headphone amp. Of course the DAC is amazing. Still using the Magni, unfortunately my Modi quit working but it was after the 5 year warranty expired but it ran 24/7 for years. Worth it.

When I got my SVS Ultra Bookshelves, I got that smile, and still have it. I now have my MT-604 with Soviet Military 6J1P-EV tubes, and my smile just got wider , with many thanks to you and Neil Blanchard. Thank you for your time and effort for this review.

One of the best things about adding DACs or tube buffer amps to vintage gear is being able to use the switched outlet and leaving the power switch on.

In reference to the tube cover and kids, I had to disassemble my subwoofer the other day because there was a strange rattle to the bass. Inside I found several toys they had stuffed in the hole. Now I keep the sub plugged except when in use. 🙂

Yes received a gershelli DAC and such quality and amazing staff . That’s my new present

Sorry I miss the review using this as a preamp with amp into speakers.

I am pretty sure that you can find a tube that does give it the bass punch. And a stepped attenuator should not be overlooked - excellent channel balance, and should be silent on the headphones.

Just got my LYR++ and it was an unexpected game changer for me. I tried a variety of my headphones on both analog in from my Modius dac and optical in from my marantz cdp. I liked the stock tube, and I put in the recommended Tung Sol 6sn7GTB. (Because...internet peer pressure). Biggest surprise: Meze 99c. On my Magni 3 and heresy amps my Meze 99 classics were very good. On this amp? They scaled up to beyond what the other amps could do. So yes, the LYR _++ is a BIG upgrade from the magni3 and heresy. All the detail, but FAR more musicality and space now. The low bass (one of the reasons I have the Meze) was phenomenal! This is a better sounding product with more headphones than either the darkvoice or woo wa6. IF you are on the fence, get one. It is THAT good. I like it better than the OTL Jotunheim and asgard too on all my headphones. OH great, now I had to order a bifrost 2/64 instead of my modius maximus.

Long pressing the gain switch toggles tube/mosfet (don't need the remote).

Dang it Randy! You're reviews, amongst other reasons, are going to force me into getting a second job. 😁 Seriously, I'm so glad that you getting to have fun doing all of your work here.

Time to start saving $'s for one. Love your Schiity reviews, keep up the great work.

I used NOS Sylvania tubes in my Freya + and they transformed it. Much better than the run of the mill Russian tubes.

This seems like right up my alley to pair with Hifimax XS and Linton speakers. Using the SYS right now, this may be my next upgrade, time to start saving up.

I just picked one of these up used. It's my first step into tubes after more than a decade of SS at many price points. I've got to say I'm enjoying the hell out of it and it's easily my favorite Schiit product that I own.

I am a Schitt fan, 3 DACs that stay on constantly, and the Lyr2. The power toggle is still on the back sucks for me. That's one of the reasons I don't use the Lyr2 anymore. The power toggle on the back in my new rack is a no-go. So what I am going to do is try to put a power switch on the front of the Lyr2, if that works out the Lyr+ is next on my list. If anyone has already made that mod please let me know. Thank Randy for the great review.

Another fine review. I was just about to get a Lyr+ when I realized I could have a Freya N for the same price. But then I still needed a headphone amp, so I added a Vali2++. I'm new at this and I'm probably doing it all wrong, but right now my system comprises a WiiM Pro with its DAC bypassed going into a Modi Multibit2. The Modi and a Mani2 go through a SYS into a Loki Mini+, and then to the Freya N. The Freya feeds the Vali and an Aiyima A08 Pro, and also a Fosi TB10D in a different room. And several of those choices were based on your recommendations. So thanks again. 👍

welcome to the tube world! by swapping the modern junk tube to something decent (vintage)you can get a better tone, but since they used a common designation the 6sn7 it's quite expensive. i recommend trying the greatest hits mullard(smooth) and rca(warm), if you want more clarity GE. enjoy

Just ordered my Binge Listen Mug! Happy to support the channel 👍

IMHO, Schiit should make an SE input extender switch with ~six inputs (in the same format case as the 'ius' range?) and remote control, to accompany their preamp capable units like the Lyr+.

welcome to the world of tubes!! long time guitarist here, have fun with them!

Something to possibly replace / upgrade my Little Dot Mk III with by the sound of it 🤔 Used as a headphone into BeyerDynamics DT1990 and pre-amp into Aiyima A07 with Mean Well 48V 9.5A PSU (amp and PSU being modded into a chassi atm) playing through Q Acoustics 3030i. Great review Randy, you got me hooked! 🤘😆 Love the fact to be able to switch from tube and solid state.

Sylvania 6SN7: The Sylvania 6SN7 that are the Schiit are the ones with the triangle-shaped cross sections on the plates inside the tube. The plate is the large, dark grey or black structure inside the tube. The 6SN7 being a twin triode, has 2 plate structures. The Sylvania 6SN7 triangle plate tubes were made in the 1940’s and early 1950’s. Later Sylvania 6SN7’s have more traditionally shaped plates with a rectangular cross section. I wish I could send you pictures. BTW, don’t be afraid to try used tubes if you find a brand you would like to try. Also, even though the 6SN7 is billed as a twin triode, meaning both sections perform identically, this isn’t always the case. You may find a very slight channel imbalance with different tubes if the 2 triode sections in the tube aren’t precisely matched.

Electro-Harmonix has Sovtek 6SN7s in stock for a nice price. They me get you where you want to be if you cannot find a reasonable Sylvania NOS. Happy listening 🤘

Fantastic Review. Can't wait to see a Product update when tube rolled.

This review has finally convinced me to give tubes a chance.

You need to start tube rolling. RCA tubes would have good low end.

I have the freya+N, love it. I am thinking about purchasing a set of their amps in the future.

Glowing review...I would love to hear this as a preamp.

Very positive pitch! I'm going to keep an eye on this, while scratching this damn itch. Hell, I still haven't got around to rolling the sparkos discrete op-amps into my Aiyima A07. I already know from it's out of the box sound w/32 watt supplied pwr. supply, and that's against all my others with years of sampling genre/designs from tubes to now. loved it all mostly and the A07... it's a keeper. Special note, I ditched the ac to dc route. I now power my class d, tri path and the likes with car batteries :). Zero noise. Thanks for the great reviews and I still love the original intro and my coffee. It the hook that caught me.

Almost forgot to "hit" the like button. Thanks for the reminder! Great videos :-) I've learned a ton. Thanks for the hard work!

I saw your twin in Denver, CO at the Springsteen concert this past Thursday. Love you reviews.

Would be a great pairing with one of Schiit's EQ's.

Before I knew it my Sundays were starting with a cup of coffee and the latest video from cheap audio man lol

When I first watched you early on I thought you would fall down the audio rabbit hole. How can one not. 😅.

Doesn't it make sense to test this with some very good staging speakers in addition to headphones ? Would that show some good comparison ? Maybe the ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 ?

The remote control for the stepped attenuator pushes the value through the roof. It sold my Freya S and Asgard 3 and consolidated down to the Lyr+ to serve as preamp and headphone duties. Reduced some cabling clutter too. Could do without the tube though - I don't think it brings any objective difference to be honest. I just run it in SS so I can leave it on full-time. I think this is Schiit's best offering in the entire lineup.

Great video, reasonable advices, pulled the trigger. Now I have to resist switcheroo temptations for the next five years (tube rolling is fair).

I know that feeling Randy!! I was able to grab a Schiit Freya N on closeout before they sold out and it sounds amazing! It's astonishingly good for the price IMHO. I might have to check this one out. I wonder if it can run a single LISST solid state tube?

Randy you're a genius, I was just looking at this amp.

Love the power toggle, But I would relocate it to the front, Its such a weird location on the back, Imagine having it in a cabinet and you would have to reach around to try to turn it on/off how awkward would that be?

first impressions that looks so good, hate when they make tube amps look like retro stuff or right from ali express.. this is great looking

Definitely loved the Lyr+ its like a super preamp headphone amp killer deal!

I love my Schiit. I have a Loki EQ and a Modi+ DAC.

using the Schit Lyr+ as pre-amp, towards a Willsenton R8 tube amp. The Tung sol 6sn7 does open the soundstage extra like in your review and the solid stage is more detailed and has more bass, but then lacks the soundstage and open mids. I tube rolked to a Psavane Cossor 6sn7 tube, you will then get the bass, detailed mid, but more open mid and a little more airy then the solid stage. In the end i liked the open sound stage better with original Tung sol, for me a more lively, wider soundstage. still looking for a Sylvania 6sn7

For better low end you seek I'd recommend Tung Sol VT231 black glass or my fav. Ken Rad VT231 black glass. Love your reviews BTW!

I just bought it for my Arya and I really love the sound of it, it's delightful, but I have a problem though: it's supposed to be 9.0 watts (around 6 W at the Arya impedance) and able to drive any headphones, but there is no way this amp is 9W. My previous amp was the Hifiman EF400 (4.4 W) and I never pushed it more than 40%, with the Lyr I'm at least at 75% all the time, even in high gain mode...

A grape uncrustable! 🤣🤣🤣 Oddly specific.

Randy...it's a psychological hold over from your time in the military 😂. When looking down on the tube and holes it's like a Sci-fi Microwave Antenna. 😂

Talking about people who have more than 1 or2 inputs' what do you think about PJ MIROLAI stereo pre-amp 4 RCA inputs it is a tube pre-amp. $79.00 e-bay

man I have been looking at the schiit gear for awhile. I have heard there magni modi combo and loved it. but i assume i am a oddball cause i love my grado sr80e since i got them (also I got to take a tour of there factory and seen mine assembled ). also love your content. I always love music and have the audiophile label since its more of people that analyze music rather then enjoy it

Valhalla 2 is my headphone amp.. I love it it pairs well for me with the DT1990 Pro and now Focal Radiance

Content suggestion: I wouldn't mind seeing a review of media players? Forgive me if you already have done so. I'm still on the 1st generation logitech slimdevice because it still works and because of its sound. I don't like not having something that will do newer streaming services and the server\client set up a Slimdevice requires. I would like to see someone do reviews of sub $100 and the $100 to $200 category. Thanks in advance!

Glad you liked it. You could just leave it on and turn the tube off on remote when not in use. No need to flip switch on back. Is that correct?

The power button needs to be on the front, or at least allow the unit to be powered on with the remote.

I have a pair of 50’s Sylvania 6ak5’s in my MT602, they have the most space, they’re my favs

I don't know if I'm alone in this, but the Lyr+ has a feature that is crucial for me and I don't think it got mentioned. It has a button to switch from the preamp outs to the headphone outs, so no need to plug and unplug my headphones at my desk setup

Every time your scene change music kicks in I'm expecting Jay-z and Foxy Brown to start collabbing over it like it's '97 again.

Nice watch! Been looking at a milspec vintage sub with the domed sapphire glass...maybe a San Martin or similar. Not that I need another watch...but they really do look great.

lol... so introducing distortion via a buffer is a good thing - well at least we know what people like

That's some good Schiit!

Is it as good as preamp with amp and speakers? Thank you!

Who doesn't like some great Schiit

ETA Modifies Sony headphones. Those were MRD-V6s.

That unit is badass

Looks like it's gonna cannibalize the Saga+ sales. Looks better too.

As the cheapaudioman slowly gets better stuff... ..he hears it sounds better.. ..he realises he wants more expensive gear... ..he saves up for really expensive gear..

Love the channel and always wonder what watch he's wearing

Randy, I like this baby, how is it sound wise compared to the Freya S? I love my Freya S. The S has to be the most underrated preamp out there for the money. It sounds much better than my Freya tube. Any thoughts? Would really appreciate! ;-)

I've owned 2 Lyrs and loved both along with Schiit in general. It's a great sound for the price point. I'm not sure I would be super excited to spend $2k on the Folkvangr but the Lyr + is a great value.

I would like for you to have a look at the Stax Earspeakers, like the SR-L500 MKII. You just have to be brave to put something on your head with that much current and resistance. But people told me that they are unreal in terms of soundstaging.

@7:00 tubes take a while to settle and sound their best. If it's a NOS it has probably been on a shelf for 50 years. I would be interested to see if they don't sound better after some hours of play.

ETA headphones are very underrated

Ooohhh, Must Try😮😮

Yeah the Willsenton R8

Thanks for the shout out to a great home grown headphone manufacturer and the ETA Mini Semi-Closed. I, like you am not ready for a tube power am but like the option that the Lry+ gives to have tube pre-amp. I am currently boycotting all Russian made product therefore the Tung Sol 6SN7gtb is not my 1st choice. I plan to purchase the EH Gold but am also considering the the Ultrasone PRO 780i or the Sylvania 6SN 7GTB as and am wondering if anyone here has any recommendations? I primarily chose this amp over Singxer SA-1 due to the more ‘real’ higher power output that is said to be 5 watts @ 50ohm so I can pair it with my Hifiman HE6 SE. I really like this pairing but with the lower ‘high’ gain and linear volume control it has me set the Lyr+ to 3 o’ clock position to get decent volumes with this pairing. I was wondering if you or anyone could recommend a comparable single ended DAC…. I understand that the Bifrost 2/64 is better sounding as balanced.

Damn you - that review is just going to make me more broke... Nicely done!

Try the drop 6xx on this unit, may change your mind on them in tube mode.

If SOME (not all) of the many digital tracks someone might be listening to are a tad strident, being able to apply some of that juicy analog schmoozing that tube circuits are famous for, this would be the bee's knees. Choice is a good thing.

Hi Randy, thanks for the great review! How does Lyr+ compare to your Akitika preamp?

S0 using the lyr woith tube for headphone you get a nice warm sound like your surrounded;] By the music. Do you have the same effect if used as a pre amp and played through your integrated amp and speakers ? Same warm sound and soundstage etc.

I disagree about it not having a balanced output. I noticed a difference on my IFI hipdac between the balanced and non-balanced. The balanced is cleaner and very noticeable.

here is my $300 question to you, sir : can I use my DAC to feed this for earphone listening and use the RCA outputs to feed an integrated amplifier for home stereo listening?

Hey randy, Cool video! I like the amp! I had a quick question... Have you tested USB Audio Interfaces like the Focusrite Scarlett? That's how I get audio out of my computer. I need it to get audio into my computer anyway. Wondering how they compare as a DAC. Thanks!

Would you recommend this solely as a pre-amp? I just rebuilt my grandfather's orginal McIntosh MC275 and was thinking of also getting the Geshelli Labs DAC for a 2 channel system. I just need a pre-amp with a remote to control the volume, so this looks like it might be a good fit.

Ever thought about using your room subs and wearing your headphones?

In the saga preamp, the sylvania gtb sounded best to me.

Could you comment on your experience tube rolling with the Lyr?

A dac with pre out would be way cooler…

I hit "Like" because I actually Like your videos. Also, I made this comment to assuage the algorithm fairies.

Would have loved to find out how it is as a pre amp, as for headphones I have gone Bluetooth and am not looking back.

So it's my understanding your video is telling me that this gear is the schiit! So does that mean I have to buy more Schiit in order to have a complete schiit? Or is it possible that I can buy one piece of schiit and add it to my own schiit. Or then I might have too much schiit? Okay I'll show myself out now 😂

Wish they'd release a tube headphone amp with built-in DAC.

Have you tried the xduoo mt-604? A comparison with similar would be cool. Is this hybrid in tube mode?

Hi i am about to purchase Elac debut 6.2 speakers for 222euro (first quality speakers in my life) my listening position is about 8.5 feet from the speakers, my amp is old Denon avr-x2100w and source is hdmi fed flac files from computer. Am i on a right track when it comes to sub 300 usd/euro speakers ?

Add the Bose Sound link Mini 2 to your audio collection. It's great enough to earn respect from me. The only downside about this speaker is that its rolloff frequency is 11khz on the upper end, and 80hz on the lower end. But I think that is for the overall design balance.

Since they first showed up on Amazon, I’ve always wondered if their Rockville integrated tube amps/receivers are at all worthwhile... For $170 (for the sim woodgrain model or the blue LED one), or $150 for the “plain” model, they seem “too cheap to be good.” With Schitts like these, though-and binging your videos from time to time, over the past couple months-I’ve known fo awhile that “too cheap to be good” isn’t really a thing - and even if Amazon dumped all the Schitts, I’d be more than happily to drop in a Duok or two in my setup! Given some of my “classic” components, though, the woodgrain Rockville would fit so nicely - at least in terms of their visual aesthetic. Without the tubes, it reminds me of my old, mid-‘70s Gerard receiver that my dad gave me when I was a kid, when he was upgrading and gonna throw it away... Among them, though, one of those Rockvilles might be perfect - but I don’t really trust Amazon reviews, as a audiopile. I haven’t seen a review of them, on your site, but so if you could please do (or point me toward) one, that’d be awesome - and greatly appreciated! It might be heartbreaking, but at least I’d know from someone I trust more than anyone I can think of - but to be fair, I did just prep myself pretty good, to listen to some Roxy Music, awhile... Always wonderful videos. Many thanks for those, even if you don’t take requests! Cheers, Carson

Randy, at about 4:25 you start talking about the remote and moan and groan about not being able to switch between MOSFET and tube on the unit itself. i call BS: from Lyr+ faqs: "Do I have to pull the tube out to switch modes? No. If you have a tube installed, you can switch between tube and solid state modes via the remote. You can also press and hold the gain switch for 4 seconds, and when you release the button, it will switch modes. With no tube installed, Lyr+ only allows you to use solid state, of course." unfortunately, Schitt has missed the opportunity to include this tidbit in the owners manual. shame on them! my upgrade path is: BIFROST TRUE MULTIBIT™ AUTONOMY™ DAC WITH UNISON USB™, LOKIUS 6-BAND BALANCED TONE CONTROL (which will also allow switching between), LYR FUSION ARCHITECTURE™ HEADPHONE AMP AND PREAMP (tube amp) and JOTUNHEIM MODULAR NEXUS™ AND CONTINUITY S™ BALANCED HEADPHONE AMP AND PREAMP (so;id state, no add-in cards.) i'm thinking Mike & co should fix the owner's manual! cheers!

Why is the tube glowing while it's in your hand? Am I seeing that wrong?