Rockport Technologies Lyra

microstrip

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Micro you have owned or tried almost everything at home, i always trust your advice (except the digital is better thing);)
A while ago i was researching an old Primare 201 preamp, and your name popped up as having owned and sold a 200 set years ago, small world.
How was the Watch Dog Controller on the JL’s ?
Your planning to use it with 2 sets of identical Lamm amps ?
Should give perfect integration!

Thanks for the nice words - I never say digital is better, just say that analog is not better! ;)

You will see my Primare 200 set from time to time in fake adverts - as well as some of the equipment that I still currently own and bought from the net. Sometimes scammers are using the nice detailed photos of the sellers from whom I got them! It is why I now always advertise with poor resolution unattractive pictures ... Unfortunately I only started doing it recently.

I did not try the JL's long enough to have an opinion - I was just wanting to test them. One good thing about the Watchdog controller is that the single ended RCA input impedance is 56kohm, allowing its use with high output impedance tubed preamplifiers - the XLR is just 4 kohm, probably tuned for solid state preamplfiiers. And yes, the idea is using the four M1.2Ref to drive everything and heat the room ...
 
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Lagonda

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Thanks for the nice words - I never say digital is better, just say that analog is not better! ;)

You will see my Primare 200 set from time to time in fake adverts - as well as some of the equipment that I still currently own and bought from the net. Sometimes scammers are using the nice detailed photos of the sellers from whom I got them! It is why I now always advertise with poor resolution unattractive pictures ... Unfortunately I only started doing it recently.

I did not try the JL's long enough to have an opinion - I was just wanting to test them. One good thing about the Watchdog controller is that the single ended RCA input impedance is 56kohm, allowing its use with high output impedance tubed preamplifiers - the XLR is just 4 kohm, probably tuned for solid state preamplfiiers. And yes, the idea is using the four M1.2Ref to drive everything and heat the room ...
At least you have air conditioners i Portugal, in Denmark we normally don’t need
them, but last year i had to disconnect my sub tower, the Krell amp driving
them was just slowly baking me ! Now i have added the Io Eclipse phono
producing as much heat as the Krell, i’m praying for a cold summer.:mad:
 

LL21

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Here are copy’s of a previous thread, i’m lazy ;)
I actually found a set of E2 towers in Switzerland a couple of years ago, they did
not have the original crossover. I used a highly adaptable analog crossover set
at 100hz on the sub towers, using the MBL’s internal passive crossover on the
high pass, also at 100hz, emulating what MBL do on their Extreme speakers.
I liked the sound a lot but could occasionally hear the difference in speed and emphasis of the two different amplifiers, this type of setup is best run with identical amplifiers when the crossover is so high. During the last 8-9 month a guy i Germany was advertising a original Statement E2 crossover for sale for €5000, far to much in my opinion.
I offered him a thousand and he declined. 6 month later (having realized it was a hard to sell item) he contacted me and accepted my original offer.
I now have the MBL’s crossed over at 50hz, and the difference in amplifiers
is no longer notable.
To my ears the CLX does everything very well, much better bass and treble than
CLS’s, but are still a little lean in the mid bass. Compared to the stock 101E’s
they are less dynamic, especially in the mid bass, and the MBL’ s tweeter has
a little more air/bite depending on setup. I still love the magical way stats handle
voices, and enjoy it almost ever day in my very basic home theater.
I have not had the opportunity to play around with CLX’s in my home with
the gear i know, so take this with a grain of salt , i could be totally wrong !j
Hi Ron ! A Swiss ML importer sold the main towers to a buyer that did not want
the sub towers, after 10 years in storage he cleared them out of his warehouse, and sold them to me. When the crossover was put on German eBay i suspected
it had come from this speaker set, but no. In a little German mountain village, the local industrialists who always bought the best had died. His estate sold the local house with his old furniture and other crap, including a set of ML Statement E2’s. The new owner, eager to renovate, tossed everything in the backyard, smashing up some of the larger pieces for easy transport, including the speakers. The guy that was selling the crossover was part of a salvage crew hired to clean up. He found the crossover and kept it, not even knowing what it was. Marin Logan enlightened him, and gave him the price. Several people contacted him trough eBay willing to pay him crazy money if he could get
the rest of the speaker set. But a that time it had landed at the dump in pieces.
On the amplifier front, the Mbl 9011 is faster, has smoother more extended treble
and does something in the midbass few amps do on the 101 E’s. The Krell FPB 700cx i use on the sub towers is more powerful on paper, but does not handle
the MBL’s the way that the the 9011 does.
Thank you! Very interesting!
 
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spiritofmusic

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At least you have air conditioners i Portugal, in Denmark we normally don’t need
them, but last year i had to disconnect my sub tower, the Krell amp driving
them was just slowly baking me ! Now i have added the Io Eclipse phono
producing as much heat as the Krell, i’m praying for a cold summer.:mad:
I'd really start worrying in 12 years when ultimate global warming means we ALL have a very hot summer that only keeps getting hotter.
 
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thomask

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At least you have air conditioners i Portugal, in Denmark we normally don’t need
them, but last year i had to disconnect my sub tower, the Krell amp driving
them was just slowly baking me ! Now i have added the Io Eclipse phono
producing as much heat as the Krell, i’m praying for a cold summer.:mad:
You had better try class D amp to drive subwoofer to save energy and heat.

By the way I had been impressed with Lyngdorf 2170 made in Denmark after 7 month's of use.
 

Lagonda

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Thank you! Very interesting!
You had better try class D amp to drive subwoofer to save energy and heat.

By the way I had been impressed with Lyngdorf 2170 made in Denmark after 7 month's of use.
I have always had best results with identical amps on main and subs, normally
i would run class a/b on both, but my spare class a/b amps are not powerful enough.
The class a Krell amp is somewhat rounder and slower than the MBL amp
i’m using on the mains, but at 50hz crossover it’s not bad. Class D is ok
when used with custom designed crossovers, preferebly taking the signal from
main amps, like REL or Vandersteen do in their subs, to emulate the character
of the main amp.
 

LL21

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I have always had best results with identical amps on main and subs, normally
i would run class a/b on both, but my spare class a/b amps are not powerful enough.
The class a Krell amp is somewhat rounder and slower than the MBL amp
i’m using on the mains, but at 50hz crossover it’s not bad. Class D is ok
when used with custom designed crossovers, preferebly taking the signal from
main amps, like REL or Vandersteen do in their subs, to emulate the character
of the main amp.
Very interesting...I am obviously built-in Class D...and take the signal from the Pre-amp (dual outputs...one to main, one to sub)...but the crossover point is 40hz or below. that said, i know a few who (like you) absolutely advise to use the same amp for exactly the reasons you outline.

Personally, i sense that for me, set up/placement, crossover probably has a far greater influence on my sound than amplification...but if all of those are ideally setup, i could imagine that another Gryphon Mephisto could transform the sub! But that is not at all likely to happen...sure would be fun though!
 
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Lagonda

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Very interesting...I am obviously built-in Class D...and take the signal from the Pre-amp (dual outputs...one to main, one to sub)...but the crossover point is 40hz or below. that said, i know a few who (like you) absolutely advise to use the same amp for exactly the reasons you outline.

Personally, i sense that for me, set up/placement, crossover probably has a far greater influence on my sound than amplification...but if all of those are ideally setup, i could imagine that another Gryphon Mephisto could transform the sub! But that is not at all likely to happen...sure would be fun though!
Always looking to snatch up some extra MBL 9011 amps for my subs, but
i’m waiting for reasonably priced ones;)
I’m not Micro or Tang.
 

gian60

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Italian distributor Audiograffiti,distributor of Boulder,Basis,Lyra,Graham,Lansche,Viva,ecc,ecc had 2 9011 in stock used like new at good price i think.
I think 9011 because i saw 2/3 times in his shop and were very big.I don't know if have or already sold,if you want i can ask tomorrow and you can contact him for price if he has
 
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Lagonda

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Italian distributor Audiograffiti,distributor of Boulder,Basis,Lyra,Graham,Lansche,Viva,ecc,ecc had 2 9011 in stock used like new at good price i think.
I think 9011 because i saw 2/3 times in his shop and were very big.I don't know if have or already sold,if you want i can ask tomorrow and you can contact him for price if he has
Thank Gian, i would be interested !
 

Lagonda

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gian60

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Hi,
i am sorry but Audiograffiti sold
He has 2 9010,not 9011 and sold at around 8.000 euro each
 
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Lagonda

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amadeus

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Well, I heard the Rockport Lyra's at my dealer in Austin, Tx (Ne Plus Ultra).

To say I am smitten isn't enough. They can ruin you and steal your wallet and many paychecks to come. Just a fantastic speaker. Given I have Altair's, I was expecting improvements, I just wasn't prepared for the magnitude of the change.

The first thing...from the very first note is sheer utter quietness and lack of noise. Then the music emerges from this stellar blackness with a resolution, weight on each note, spatial portrayal and a emotional connectiveness that just lures you in. All the check list items improve like better bass, dynamics, scaling, etc etc.

Recordings I've heard 100's of times I hear things I've never noticed before. Just lil things that make it seem more real. Like how the fingers are picking on a guitar string. Or the timing/interaction between the musicians. Going back to my Altair's I am missing information, especially that resolution and density on each note.

My dealers system is very similar to mine, same digital stack, cables, pre/amps, racks etc. Really only difference is the room and the speaker.

I should add I just LOVE how my Altair's look., We comment about it in thread above. In person, these are just as beautiful. My Altair's have a wider base than the rest of the speaker. The Lyra's have done away this and I think it gives it a cleaner more modern look. They will integrate into living rooms better. They are taller and not as deep, but somehow manage 20% more volume for the drivers. Even the knuckle test on the cabinet feels more like your hitting something more rigid vs my Altair's. Just feels different.

The Lyra's are amazing. Andy has built one incredible music making device.

I also did own the Altair first version and later also the V2 they have a very high capacity to portray Bass lines and they can move a lot of Air also in big rooms... I am sure that the Lyra is a big step forward in terms of Refinement , Resolution , Quietness.... But do you think they have equal Bass power when compared to Altairs?
 

jfrech

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Hard to say if the Lyra's had more or less power. My dealers room and mine are different and I think that ultimately effects my answer. I can say definitively that the Lyra's are more tuneful, textural and nuanced in the bass. It's clearly a better better speaker is most every aspect
 

LL21

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If you read Robert Harley's review of the Lyra, he specifically states that the Lyra bass did not seem to be quite as solid/deep a foundation but that it was faster, more tuneful and ultimately preferable.

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/rockport-technologies-lyra-loudspeaker/?page=3

"The Lyra sounds “big” in every sense of that word—bass extension and power, dynamic impact, and soundstaging. If you walked into a room blindfolded and heard the Lyra you’d be shocked when you removed the blindfold and saw its relatively diminutive size. The bottom end was punchy and fast, seemingly keeping up with the dynamic agility over the rest of the spectrum. Abraham Laboriel’s percussive bass playing on the Nautilus direct-to-disc of Victor Feldman’s Secret of the Andes had tremendous snap and power, along with good solidity in the extreme bottom end. Compared with Rockport’s Altair and its side-firing 15" woofer, the Lyra’s bass is faster, tighter, and more precise. The Lyra may give up just a little in overall weight and extension, but its superior transient performance, pitch definition, and harmonic resolution give it the more satisfying bottom end. Don’t let the Lyra’s relatively small size and use of two 10" woofers prejudice your opinion of how low the Lyra will go, or how much heft it can muster. It’s competitive with many larger, similarly priced speakers in bass extension and power, but for the same money you can find speakers that move more air and have greater low-octave impact—albeit from a much larger enclosures. I should add that the Lyra exhibited no audible trace of its reflex design—no premature roll-off, no overhang or “slowness,” and no port artifacts or bloat. If I heard the Lyra without knowing whether it was a reflex or sealed design I would not be able to determine that by listening. "
 
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