Thoughts on Bifrost/Lyr 2

Tachyon

Tachyon

Tachyon

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I'm thinking of getting the Schiit Bifrost/Lyr2 DAC and amp and I noticed at least one person has this combination on the forums and I'm just wondering if anyone else has or has used/demoed them? From what I've read without getting too lost in the minefield of DACs and amps is that they should be a solid enough pairing and leave some headroom for upgrading headphones.

I currently use a pair of HE400's that I've had for a while and really love them, their downside being sometimes the treble can be a bit too much but for the best part these headphones make me very happy.

They aren't overly hard to drive and I listen to them through either a Denon hifi or through my pc via a X-Fi xtreme music soundcard. They're fine through the hifi but there's times on the pc I'd just like to give them that bit more juice but I've reached my volume limits.

I'm thinking the Lyr and Bifrost as the Lyr will be more than capable with the HE-400's and there's also plenty of headroom should I decide to upgrade them or they break and I choose a headphone which is harder to drive. As for choosing the Bifrost, really not much other than it seems to be regarded well and looks good with the Lyr.

I think I should be happy with the DAC and amp but thought I'd throw it out to you folks in case there's something else I should take a look at before jumping into the Schiit. :)
 
I've owned the Lyr (not the Lyr 2) and Bifrost (non uber) in the past and it was a solid setup. The Lyr 2 seems to be a nice step up from the original version (unity gain is a nice touch for high sensitivity gear) and as you've said, it has more than enough headroom for pretty much anything on the market.

The Bifrost though I don't view as a particularly good value DAC any more, there are a lot of other options to look at. Two that spring to mind are the Matrix Mini-I Pro and Yulong D200, both Chinese brands but have a pretty good track record and solid build quality and they also have decent built in headphone amps.

If it was my money I would sooner grab the Mini-I or D200 over the Lyr2/Bifrost stack and see how you like that first (adding a Lyr 2 later if you still want to).
 
Thanks Ninja, I'll take a look at those two you mentioned. Handy that they have decent amps as well, might be ideal for my needs.
 
I have a bifrost uber and love it with my senn 650's. I use a Marantz PM6004 to power the headphones.

If you want neutral DAC then the bifrost is amazing all bifrosts you buy now are uber spec anyway. I bought mine without USB because nearly every PC has an SPDIF on it so saved a bit of cash.

Tried the Lyr but didn't think it offered anything over my Marantz so left it at that.
 
I would say if you go to the UK stockist of schiit products - electromod - Mark will let you trial it in your home mate. The customer service was superb in that respect. Just pop him an e-mail saying you are interested in the bifrost and Lyr 2 and I am positive he will get them sent out to you for a trial in your own home connected to your equipment using your tracks. You just then box them up and send them back and he'll despatch some brand new ones to you. It's the way it worked for me.

You can't get better than that and then you aren't buying blind.

Oh.. apparently they do sell the normal Bifrost still so I would advise going for the uber Bifrost :-)
 
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Aurhinius said:
I would say if you go to the UK stockist of schiit products - electromod - Mark will let you trial it in your home mate. The customer service was superb in that respect. Just pop him an e-mail saying you are interested in the bifrost and Lyr 2 and I am positive he will get them sent out to you for a trial in your own home connected to your equipment using your tracks. You just then box them up and send them back and he'll despatch some brand new ones to you. It's the way it worked for me.

You can't get better than that and then you aren't buying blind.

Oh.. apparently they do sell the normal Bifrost still so I would advise going for the uber Bifrost :-)
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Aurhinius, that's handy to know. It was electromod that I would have been purchasing them through. I did notice they have the original board and also the Uber as well and wasn't sure if the upgrade would bring much improvement. Good thing is it can be added later anyway. Currently doing a bit of reading up on the DAC/amps that Ninja suggested as well. Decisions, decisions. :)
 
Whichever way you decide to go I would try and take Mark up on an offer of trailing the schiit setup in the comfort of your own home.

No amounts of review will compare to you listening to it yourself. Everyone hears things differently.

There is no obligation to buy and I am sure he will happily send you the set up to try.
 
Just bought myself a Yulong DA8. Looks a really nice bit of kit. Should be for the money! :p

From reading reviews its meant to be quite special.



Will be my first external DAC and looking forward it!

:)
 
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