After a couple of days getting used to the sound of the Tyrs with the LS50s, though I wasn't aware of any treble grain, I felt that the top octaves sounded a little softened. I replaced the KEFs with the GoldenEar BRXes, which, when I reviewed them, I found offered a touch more top-octave energy in-room than the LS50s. That did the trick, and although the GoldenEars don't offer more low-frequency extension than the KEFs, their passive radiators allowed them to play louder in the bass, which was a benefit when I wanted to rock out with the MQA version of Will.i.am and Justin Bieber's "#thatPower" (16/44.1 MQA, Interscope Records UICS-9136/7). What the Schiit? The BRXes are still small speakers, but this track's pounding dropped-bass lines had me on my feet!
Monoblock amplifiers always excel at reproducing recorded soundstages. I cued up the chamber orchestra version of Copland's Appalachian Spring, which I recorded live at the 1995 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival (16/44.1 ALAC, Stereophile STPH007-2). The Tyr-driven GoldenEars reproduced a well-defined, stable image of the orchestra in Santa Fe's St. Francis Auditorium, with the woodwinds and piano correctly placed behind the strings. Again I wasn't aware of any grain in the highs. The same was true for a current favorite recording of Beethoven's Symphony No.6, from the Akademie für Alte Musike Berlin led by concertmaster Bernhard Forck (16/44.1 FLAC, Harmonia Mundi/Tidal).
I finished my formal auditioning of the Tyrs with a track that had been in heavy rotation chez Atkinson when I joined Stereophile: "Theme from Harry's Game" from Irish band Clannad's 1983 album Magical Ring (16/44.1 MQA, RCA Records/Qobuz). Moya Brennan's haunting vocal line was projected clear of the speaker plane, floating above the ostinato low-frequency pedal notes and surrounded by the halo of the backing voices. A shiver ran down my spine; the Tyrs excelled at reproducing recorded space! And the low-frequency synthesizer sweeps on "Newgrange" from the same album were reproduced with excellent definition.
Comparing
As Mobile Fidelity's Jonathan Derda and Andrew Jones had visited toward the end of the review period to optimize the setup of the SourcePoint 10s, I used these loudspeakers for the level-matched comparisons of the $3198/pair Schiit Tyrs with the Benchmark and Parasound amplifiers. (I used the MoFi loudspeakers with the Tyrs for six days before the comparisons, in order to become familiar with their sonic character.) The Benchmark AHB2, which costs $2999, is specified as offering 100Wpc into 8 ohms and 190Wpc into 4 ohms. It was the best-measuring amplifier I have had on the testbench and has been Kal Rubinson's reference since he reviewed it in November 2015. He recommended the Benchmark highly, calling it a "marvelous-sounding amplifier," though he also commented that Emma Kirkby's voice "was robbed of its bell-like richness by the AHB2" compared with the other amplifiers he had been using at the time of his review. With the 1dB steps offered by the MBL N31's volume control, I wasn't able to match the levels between the Benchmark and the Schiits closer than 0.4dB, so I compared tracks with the level advantage favoring, alternately, either the Tyrs or the AHB2. Even with the Benchmark's level 0.4dB higher than that of the Schiits, it sounded a tad lighter-balanced with Clannad's "Newgrange"—clean, clear, transparent, yes, with terrific soundstage depth, but lighter. The reverb on Moya Brennan's voice was slightly more apparent with the AHB2, which positioned her a little farther away than she was with the Tyrs. However, the Schiit monoblocks had better low-frequency clarity, which benefited the percussion on the Dead Can Dance track and the dropped-bass lines on "#thatPower." On the other hand, the Benchmark's cleaner, clearer view into the recorded soundstage worked very well with the Beethoven Symphony and revealed a touch more of the period instruments' tonal colors. I could live with either model of amplifier, though I might choose the Schiits, with their greater sense of drive, for rock and the Benchmark, with its greater transparency, for classical.
The Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblock ($18,998/pair) is specified as offering 450W into 8 ohms and 850W into 4 ohms. It has been my reference amplifier since I reviewed it in June 2020. "Low-frequency power and delicacy!" I wrote in that review; I concluded that "This is a superb-sounding amplifier that will get the best from every loudspeaker with which it is partnered." The closest I could match levels between the Tyrs and the Parasounds with the MBL's volume control was with the Halos either 0.2dB higher in level or 0.8dB lower in level. I stuck with the former for the comparisons. After letting the Parasounds warm up, I played the Akademie für Alte Musike Berlin's Beethoven. The more-expensive amplifier's high-frequency balance was closer to that of the Benchmark than the Schiit's, though the presentation of the soundstage was very similar to the Tyrs'.
Where the Parasounds bested the Schiits was in the bass, where they offered more control. That depth-of-the-universe synth-bass tone at the start of Dead Can Dance's "Song of the Stars" didn't seem to excite the lowest-frequency mode in my room quite as much as with the Tyrs. And while the low-frequency synthesizer sweeps on Clannad's "Newgrange" were portrayed by the Parasounds with as much weight as with the Tyrs, they seemed better-defined with the larger, more expensive monoblocks. This was most noticeable with "#thatPower." As much as I enjoyed this track with the Tyrs, the Parasounds took the lows to a new level. Which I suppose is what you should expect for nearly 6× as much cash!
Summing up
While I described the audible differences I found between the Schiit Tyr and the two amplifiers with which I compared it, I must admit that these differences were relatively minor. I find it increasingly difficult to characterize the sounds of modern solid state amplifiers. Unlike many tube designs, which have a readily identifiable sonic character, solid state amplifiers are benefiting from a process of convergent evolution that pushes noise and distortion below audibility.
Schiit's Tyr is a perfect example of such a thoroughly modern amplifier. It offers high power, is not fazed by low impedances, sounded superb with the three pairs of loudspeakers that I used for this review, and is competitively priced. Strongly recommended!
Monoblock amplifiers always excel at reproducing recorded soundstages. I cued up the chamber orchestra version of Copland's Appalachian Spring, which I recorded live at the 1995 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival (16/44.1 ALAC, Stereophile STPH007-2). The Tyr-driven GoldenEars reproduced a well-defined, stable image of the orchestra in Santa Fe's St. Francis Auditorium, with the woodwinds and piano correctly placed behind the strings. Again I wasn't aware of any grain in the highs. The same was true for a current favorite recording of Beethoven's Symphony No.6, from the Akademie für Alte Musike Berlin led by concertmaster Bernhard Forck (16/44.1 FLAC, Harmonia Mundi/Tidal).
I finished my formal auditioning of the Tyrs with a track that had been in heavy rotation chez Atkinson when I joined Stereophile: "Theme from Harry's Game" from Irish band Clannad's 1983 album Magical Ring (16/44.1 MQA, RCA Records/Qobuz). Moya Brennan's haunting vocal line was projected clear of the speaker plane, floating above the ostinato low-frequency pedal notes and surrounded by the halo of the backing voices. A shiver ran down my spine; the Tyrs excelled at reproducing recorded space! And the low-frequency synthesizer sweeps on "Newgrange" from the same album were reproduced with excellent definition.
ComparingAs Mobile Fidelity's Jonathan Derda and Andrew Jones had visited toward the end of the review period to optimize the setup of the SourcePoint 10s, I used these loudspeakers for the level-matched comparisons of the $3198/pair Schiit Tyrs with the Benchmark and Parasound amplifiers. (I used the MoFi loudspeakers with the Tyrs for six days before the comparisons, in order to become familiar with their sonic character.) The Benchmark AHB2, which costs $2999, is specified as offering 100Wpc into 8 ohms and 190Wpc into 4 ohms. It was the best-measuring amplifier I have had on the testbench and has been Kal Rubinson's reference since he reviewed it in November 2015. He recommended the Benchmark highly, calling it a "marvelous-sounding amplifier," though he also commented that Emma Kirkby's voice "was robbed of its bell-like richness by the AHB2" compared with the other amplifiers he had been using at the time of his review. With the 1dB steps offered by the MBL N31's volume control, I wasn't able to match the levels between the Benchmark and the Schiits closer than 0.4dB, so I compared tracks with the level advantage favoring, alternately, either the Tyrs or the AHB2. Even with the Benchmark's level 0.4dB higher than that of the Schiits, it sounded a tad lighter-balanced with Clannad's "Newgrange"—clean, clear, transparent, yes, with terrific soundstage depth, but lighter. The reverb on Moya Brennan's voice was slightly more apparent with the AHB2, which positioned her a little farther away than she was with the Tyrs. However, the Schiit monoblocks had better low-frequency clarity, which benefited the percussion on the Dead Can Dance track and the dropped-bass lines on "#thatPower." On the other hand, the Benchmark's cleaner, clearer view into the recorded soundstage worked very well with the Beethoven Symphony and revealed a touch more of the period instruments' tonal colors. I could live with either model of amplifier, though I might choose the Schiits, with their greater sense of drive, for rock and the Benchmark, with its greater transparency, for classical.
Where the Parasounds bested the Schiits was in the bass, where they offered more control. That depth-of-the-universe synth-bass tone at the start of Dead Can Dance's "Song of the Stars" didn't seem to excite the lowest-frequency mode in my room quite as much as with the Tyrs. And while the low-frequency synthesizer sweeps on Clannad's "Newgrange" were portrayed by the Parasounds with as much weight as with the Tyrs, they seemed better-defined with the larger, more expensive monoblocks. This was most noticeable with "#thatPower." As much as I enjoyed this track with the Tyrs, the Parasounds took the lows to a new level. Which I suppose is what you should expect for nearly 6× as much cash!
Summing upWhile I described the audible differences I found between the Schiit Tyr and the two amplifiers with which I compared it, I must admit that these differences were relatively minor. I find it increasingly difficult to characterize the sounds of modern solid state amplifiers. Unlike many tube designs, which have a readily identifiable sonic character, solid state amplifiers are benefiting from a process of convergent evolution that pushes noise and distortion below audibility.
