Lyre V2 | @tortelliini
The Lyre review
To start off I'm not a headphone reviewer and I have had meaningful amount of listening time on only a few noteworthy headphones. So due to that I'll compare the Lyres directly to my daily drivers which are the Hifiman Aryas. I will also be comparing both headphones as is out of the box with no eq as I haven't had enough time to properly eq the Lyres.
The listening setup:
Player Foobar2000
dac S.M.S.L SU-9
amp Topping A90 D
Output Balanced
First impressions on the sound At first I noticed that the lyres soundstage and how spacious they sound is much more confined than on the Aryas. Nothing like closed backs obviously but that aspect is clearly noticeable coming from the Aryas. I'm fully aware that the Aryas have exceptional soundstage and spaciousness. That is one of the main reason why I got them in the first place. That is also why the change in it jumps out to me so prominently. Another thing that was immediately apparent was that the Lyres have quite a bit more inital punch on the lower end but then comparetively has much less what I would call rumble.
After listening to the Lyres for a while I got used to the smaller soundstage and got into enjoying the punchier bass representation. In general the Lyres are warmer sounding than the Aryas and don't have the same a bit tiring treble peak problems that the Aryas do. That makes the Lyres a very smooth and pleasant listening experience even after many hours.
A deeper dive into the sound
As I stated earlier the bass initially hits a decent bit harder on the Lyres but after that it can't hold the longer bass rumble nearly as well. So what I think the difference is that the upper bass is more pronounced on the Lyres and the sub bass has a much faster fall of than the Aryas. It makes it so that for example punchy edm or rock will benefit from the strength of the initial hit but stuff like orchestral and movie soundtrack type music lose some of the weight. The midrange is to my ear quite similar on the headphones and there weren't that big of a difference between the two. The soundstage difference though does make them feel quite different depending on the song, since the closer presentation of the Lyres can make vocals sound a bit more intimate and close to your face. On the flipside it also makes it so that music that is well spatially mastered and overall utilizes the space more gets flattened a bit making it sound not as impressive. in the mid range the Aryas seem to have a bit more detail in stuff like larger string instruments and lower female voices. The difference is not big but it is there. The treble is much more relaxed on the Lyres probably due to the lack of the aforementioned treble spikes of the Aryas. In the detail aspect here too the Aryas take the cake but not by that much. Stuff like high pitched square and saw waves are a bit more mellowed out on the Lyres as for the Aryas they are almost too sharp at some frequencies. For physical instruments these treble differences don't really show up but for electronic music it is noticeable.
The build
Overall the build is very solid and feel nice. In some pints the 3D print is a bit rougher than I would prefer, mainly around the 3.5mm connector housings. The headband style is very similar on both the headphones but I'm left longing for the little bit of extra comfort the small amount of padding on the Aryas headband has. To be clear the hammock style band of the Lyres is still infinitely more enjoyable to wear than standard padded headbands are. Next thing is the mounting pressure of the cups. It is quite a bit more than the Aryas and maybe a bit much for my large ish head. I would propably get used to it with time but the pressure is so that the headphone firmly press themselves onto your head instead of the more floating feeling of the Aryas. The pressure is propably much less for smaller heads but if you have a larger nogging like I do then that is something to keep in mind. Overall they are nice to wear and the weight isn't bad with the headband style. One small gripe that I have with the pole style cup height adjustment is that it is very difficult to adjust them while they are on your head. It wasn't that much of an issue but just something I noticed while adjusting them.
The summary
Overall I really liked the Lyres for their energetic and slightly warmer sound especially in faster paced music. They seem to be almost tailor made for edm enthusiasts or the sort in that aspect. For classical and the like they perform well but wouldn't be my first pick due to the decently smaller soundstage and the slight lesser detail in mids and highs. I would describe them as a more fun sounding headphone than the more clinical Aryas. As for the build it is good and quite comfortable if the sturdier grip on larger heads isn't an issue. All in all I'm really positively surprised by the Lyres in how well they can stand up to the Aryas.
9/10 good job.