Schiit Tyr Monoblock Amplifier Reviews and Impressions

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by AllanMarcus, Apr 3, 2022.

  1. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Would you mind clarifying what you mean here?
     
  2. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    May 13, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,667
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    NYC
    I found the buffered JFET mode committed the least sins of omission. A bit more transparent than passive mode, and much (to me, anyway) more transparent than tube mode.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
  3. GoldenYear

    GoldenYear New

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2022
    Likes Received:
    24
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    America
    While I agree JFET seem to be a smidge more detailed, tube just had that warmth and presentation in vocals that was to die for!
     
  4. SuperRoo

    SuperRoo Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2019
    Likes Received:
    54
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Atlanta GA
    January's Stereophile has a John Atkinson review of the Tyr's. Looks good after a quick skim. Time to read it slowly next.
     
  5. jaxtherogue

    jaxtherogue New

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2023
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Chicago
    This thread just cost me $3200.
     
  6. SuperRoo

    SuperRoo Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2019
    Likes Received:
    54
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Atlanta GA
     
  7. jaxtherogue

    jaxtherogue New

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2023
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Chicago
    I've had a couple weeks with the Tyr. I am not an audio reviewer, but it has been a very worthwhile upgrade from the 2 Vidar (OGs) I was running (with Magnepan .7). Punchy and rich. Enough sparkle for me and a nice soundstage. Worth the money.
     
  8. SnowPuppy

    SnowPuppy Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2017
    Likes Received:
    219
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Omaha, NE
    My Dad told me that the Tyrs got a Class A recommendation in Stereophile.

    Just got my Tyrs the day before yesterday. Was using a Ragnarok 1 (Yggdrasil OG A2) on my Spatial M3 Sapphires. Tyrs are very different compared to the Ragnarok 1 with my speakers. Bass power and presence are significantly higher with the Tyrs. So much so that I may need to change speaker positioning to attenuate the bass. The Spatials are kicking like a rodeo bull now. Drum kits sound bigger and much more real. Open baffles like my Spatials usually do not shake walls much but they do now. I am going to have to secure a few things before I play a Telarc orchestral recording. My Spatials have always had good imaging but now all seems detached from speakers bringing to thought the cliché of speakers disappearing. Also I have thought that the Ragnarok 1 was a little dryer sounding in the highs than I would like on some recordings. That seems to be solved for me with the Tyrs. Lots of discovery to do but so far I am really enjoying the Tyrs.
     
    • Like Like x 15
    • heart heart x 1
    • Epic Epic x 1
    • List
  9. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    @SnowPuppy, are you still using the Ragnarok 1 as the preamp or did you swap in another preamp?
     
  10. SnowPuppy

    SnowPuppy Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2017
    Likes Received:
    219
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Omaha, NE
    Using a new Freya S as a preamp. I thought about using my Ragnarok 1.5 as a preamp. However, it would not have fit properly in my rack. As a result, I will need to get new cables for my Hifiman HE6SE so I can play them out of the Tyrs. The Ragnarok was great with the HE6SE.
     
  11. SmashBruh

    SmashBruh New

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2019
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    CA
    Shot in the dark: has anyone who's listened to a tyr also tested a Primaluna Evo 300/400? Considering selling the latter for the former but would love to hear some impressions before I go on that path!
     
  12. Christof

    Christof New

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2023
    Likes Received:
    43
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I joined SBAF today but wanted to add my thoughts to this thread as I've been following it ever since the Tyrs came out and I've owned the Tyrs since August of last year.

    When I bought the Tyrs I'd been curious about using speaker amps with headphones and kept hearing the usual AHB2 recommendation but wanted to try something different. At the time I was using the WA33 Elite as my headphone amp with stock tubes apart from the recitifer which was an EML mesh 274b.

    I tried the WA33 as a preamp into the Tyrs but had some issues with hum and noise floor so I ended up getting a Freya+ and a set of the LISST tubes. With the Freya as the preamp, the Tyrs sounded similar to the WA33 but more to my taste. The treble was more laid back but still airy, there was lots of slam but the low end had a bit more quantity. The sound stage was wide and overall I felt that it gave me a lot of the same sense of enjoyment as the WA33 did but in a more easy going way. Like the detail wasn't shoved in your face and I could listen for a long time without any fatigue. Plus the Tyrs wouldn't heat up my small room by 10 degrees when they were on for a few hours.

    I used the Freya+ mostly in differential buffer mode but also experimented with tube mode using stock tubes, some NOS 6SN7s, some NOS Phillips tubes with adapters, and also LISST. I enjoyed the denser mid range that I got with the tubes but for ease of use I mostly preferred the solid state modes. It also runs much cooler and I find that the bass is faster and more textured.

    After the Freya+ I've tried a couple of other preamps. The first was the LTA microzotl level 2. This one didn't really get along with the Tyrs. It was fine but even with the stock tubes I found the noise floor to be quite high. To get around this I found based on a post on this forum I belive that I could use the Freya+ in differential buffer mode to convert the single ended output of the LTA and feed a balanced signal to the Tyrs. I also attenuated the output of the LTA a bit with the Freya and that produced a very low noise floor but I just didn't like the idea of chaining together preamps like that even though it accomplished what I wanted. As of the last few months I am using the Holo Serene KTE as my preamp. I had the LTA and Serene together for a week or so and was able to make some quick comparisons. Basically the LTA with rolled tubes staged a bit larger, showed more depth, and had great tactile bass. But the tubes I rolled were a bit microphonic and the relays for the volume control would cause the tubes to ring a bit when the volume was changed. Stock tubes resolved some of these noise issues but just didn't sound as good. The Serene gets close to the LTA but sounds a tad smaller and loses a bit of weight to the sound. But the Serene is so easy to use that the small loss in sound quality is ok for me. So today it's Bricasti MC1 -> Serene KTE -> Schiit Tyrs. And yeah I'm just using them with headphones which I know is odd. I have a Zynsonix adapter box and also some cables to connect straight to the speaker taps.

    So I really like the Tyrs, they sound better then any other headphone amp I've used and they run pretty cool which means I can use them all year round. My favorite headphone pairings with them is ZMF Atrium, Aurorus Borealis, Aurorus Australis, 1266 TC, and Diana v2. The Tyrs are lively amps, they have a lot of energy, but present things in a way that doesn't get fatiguing especially when it comes to cymbals or the "ss" sounds from a singer. The soundstage is large with good imaging.
    Recentely I've picked up two of the First Watt amps, the F8 and SIT-3, and those offer a sweeter more inviting almost sound then the Tyrs. My favorite of the two is the SIT-3 since it's the most different sounding and what I get with that amp is a thicker low end, less depth, a closer more intimate presentation of the sound, with dense vocals. It's the most tube like solid state amp I've heard.

    So yeah I really like the Tyrs and they are here to stay. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to finally get my thoughts down somewhere after sharing bits and pieces about the amps on Telegram and some Discord servers.
    Here's some picture of the setup over time (can't get the images to work so am just leaving some imgur links):
    https://imgur.com/a/hnctHdB
    https://imgur.com/a/45WYxOG
    https://imgur.com/a/L7JzOyL
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 12
    • heart heart x 1
    • List
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2023
  13. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,268
    Trophy Points:
    113
    How does the F8 sound, overall?

    Also, it's quite rare to see a Bricasti MC1* in audiophile setup. Was it easy to buy?

    (*) the MC1 is the M1SE stripped of the audiophool features (e.g. only 2 filters, no display, no remote, no blowjob) for the price of the M3 (supposedly). Apparently it has the beefier PSU of the M12, on top of that.
     
  14. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
  15. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,268
    Trophy Points:
    113
  16. Christof

    Christof New

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2023
    Likes Received:
    43
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Just going to paste in some older impressions I made between the Tyr and F8 since I haven't been listening to the F8 enough recently to make a fair comparison.

    The F8 is warmer, has a more full bottom end, vocals are full and rich, top end is extended and airy. It's a very easy amp to listen to and seems to work better with bad recordings compared to the Tyrs. The Tyrs have a wider and taller stage and there's more detail. They slam a bit more but lack some of the bass bloom I'm getting with the F8. The Tyrs sound airier and are less sweet in the mid range. The Tyrs might be a better amp if you want more detail and information or value slam and speed over warmth and bloom. But the F8 is just pleasant to listen to. It sounds a little slower at times but everything just sounds nice and natural. They both layer and image well and even though the F8 is missing a bit of detail I don't find myself missing the detail I heard with the Tyrs.

    As for the MC1, I almost bought it from Sweetwater but found a demo unit from the Fidelis dealer in NH around the same time which I bought for 4500. It came with Mdx but no network card so later went to Bricasti to get the network card installed. I live close by so was able to go in person and it was fun to meet the people there, it's a fairly small team, but they have a lot going on and a cool workspace too.
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • heart heart x 2
    • List
  17. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    May 13, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,667
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    NYC
    Sounds in the same world as my F8 impressions. I imagine in comparison with a pair of Tyrs you're giving up technicalities (and transparency?) in return for a pleasant, slightly rich, slightly syrupy sound. It struggles with impedance dips in the low end, too, so speaker matching is critical. Don't expect slam or eye-popping dynamics with the F8-it's more laidback.
     
  18. Baten

    Baten Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,130
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    EU
    Wow that's pretty cool.. :)
     
  19. Christof

    Christof New

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2023
    Likes Received:
    43
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I got the Raal SR1b in this week and found that they can actually be driven off the Tyrs without the transformer box (TI-1b). The Schiit website says that "Eventually you might hit the thermal or overcurrent protection, but Tyr doesn’t care too much what it’s connected to. " Plus I heard from a friend with the CA-1a and the Tyrs that he ran them without the transformer box.

    So yeah it works without the TI-1b and I haven't hit any of the protections built into the Tyr. It's a lot louder without the box in the way and I thought it might have sounded a bit clearer as well but that could just be a side effect of more volume.

    These Raals sound great out of the Tyrs but I haven't heard the SR1b on any other amps so I can't really comment on how the Tyrs make the SR1b sound. But the stage is the largest I've heard on any headphone, timbre is really good, and the low end while not very strong is plenty for most music. I'll eventually hook the SR1b up to my First Watt amps but am really liking it out of the Tyrs so far.
     
  20. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,709
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    India
    I don’t think it would be a good idea to attempt this with the First Watts. The 2 FWs you own prefer lighter loads like 6 Ohms and higher if I am not wrong.
     

Share This Page