SCHIIT TYR MONOBLOCK AMPLIFIER INTRODUCED
Schiit Audio has introduced the Schiit Tyr differential monoblock power amplifier, the flagship of their amplifier line.
Featuring a choke-input power supply, it brings old-skool techniques to a modern power amp that also includes unique topologies and intelligent oversight and protection.
SCHIIT TYR MONOBLOCK AMPLIFIER
Delivering 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 350 watts per channel into 4 ohms, the Schiit Tyr should provide plenty of power for almost any speaker.
“Tyr is our end-game speaker amp,” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit’s Co-Founder and head of analogue design. “Mike Moffat has been wanting to make a choke-input power supply amp for years—literally 30 years, we were playing with them in the early 1990s—and now we’ve finally done it.”
OLD SKOOL CHOKE INPUT
Choke-input power supplies are an old technique, largely abandoned due to the cost and weight of the choke.
Jason told us: “The choke in Tyr, for example, is the same size as the power transformer, and weighs about the same at 12 lbs. Chokes store energy, like modern capacitor banks, and help provide for large reserves of power in Tyr”.
NEXUS AND CONTINUITY
Tyr’s power isn’t just the result of a choke, though, a 160,000uF capacitor bank backs it up as well, and 24 15-amp output devices are used per channel, in a differential, Schiit-proprietary Nexus™ and Continuity™ configuration.
“Nexus is our flagship discrete, differential topology,” said Jason Stoddard. “It allows Tyr to seamlessly accept both XLR balanced and RCA single-ended inputs without conversion of either, preserving the integrity of the original signal. It’s coupled with a refinement of our constant-transconductance Continuity™ output stage that extends the benefits of Class A operation outside the Class A envelope. That said, Tyr is biased at 5W of Class A standing current, so it remains in Class A for many applications.”
BALANCED INPUTS
Tyr also includes convenience and protection features befitting a modern amplifier. It provides switchable single-ended or balanced inputs, as well as a front-mounted standby switch that de-biases the amplifier, mutes the inputs and outputs, and reduces standing current draw to only 5-6 watts. Protection for overcurrent, over-temperature and high DC conditions is managed by Schiit’s custom, microprocessor-controlled intelligent operating system.
MADE IN THE USA
Like all Schiit products, Tyr is made in the USA, specifically, designed and built in California. The vast majority of the total cost of the product, including chassis and PC boards, goes to US-based companies manufacturing in the USA.
SCHIIT TYR MONOBLOCK AMPLIFIER PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
The Schiit Tyr sells for $1599 each. Two are required for stereo.
Schiit is available in the UK through Electromod.
HiFi Pig Says: Schiit is becoming as well known for their HiFi products as they are for their Headfi, in fact, you could say they are Schiit hot.
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