FS: Lyra Connoisseur 4-2L SE. Line Stage preamp

Quadman

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2016
69
0
136
East TN
2/6/18 SALE IS PENDING

It’s reputation is otherworldly, audiophiles fortunate to own one of these works of art have been left slack jawed trying to describe the musical event that this unit presents in front of them. Now is an opportunity to own this revered piece of art, which rarely comes up for sale. I am selling this for my audiophile friend who purchased this as a second preamp to run his reel to reel setup through. Like any audiophile he has been bitten by the upgrade bug and to fund the upgrade path for another piece of gear he is offering this excellent condition preamp up for sale.

I would rate this unit a 8/10 due only to age, wood cabinet is in excellent condition as is the metal chassis PSU. Item will ship from Minnesota in original packaging.

Original MSRP I believe was $25,000, we are asking $10,000 and will cover Paypal and domestic shipping to lower 48 states at that price. I am told that servicing of this unit is still available from Lyra.

Copy and some technical details below were taken from HiFi+ issue 43

In HiFi+ Issue #43, Chris Thomas wrote that the Lyra Connoisseur 4-2 SE line stage is simply the best I have heard and by a huge margin. It really does encourage you to begin a voyage discovery through your music. It is stunningly articulate and precise but never ever clinical. It sounds so much less electronic and processed than any solid-state pre-amp. It has so much space yet it produces a sound-stage view into the musical picture that is determined by the recording rather than the system. This pre-amp lets you go straight at the heart of the piece by allowing the musicians room, space and liberating dynamic freedom. It outperforms every other design I have heard in every area so comprehensively (or so it seems to me) that what we have here is something that is very special, something that should find itself at the heart of some of the worlds best music systems. Lyra Connoisseur and Jonathan Carr in particular, should be congratulated for producing such a stunningly beautiful sounding and looking piece of audio art.
?Wood cabinet is a hand-crafted spectacle with finely joined edges using scalloped South American Pau Ferro (Iron Wood).
?Highly polished single satin shaft dual shaft concentric volume/selector switch (there is no remote control).
?Air-dielectric design with lower boards carrying DC and its regulation and upper boards carrying the active components (Petr Mares sandwich design). Regulators are placed immediately below the components they serve, creating the shortest possible distance and lower possible impedance. In many cases, components are physically touching each other using short leads of the components (approx 1 mm), transistors, and resistors for nearly all circuit nodes involved in signal amplification.
?Separate power supply contains two 190VA R-core power transformers, each with dual secondary windings that each have their own rectification bridge. All rectifiers are 30-amp Schottkey types, while there is 20,000uF of capacitors per channel. Power supply connects to control unit by a single umbilical cable, terminated with a Fischer connector.
?Inputs: 4x single-ended RCA, 2X XLR
?Outputs: one single-ended RCA, one XLR
?Gain: 33.6dB

Wood front top.JPG Wood top front 1.JPG Wood Vol Knob.JPG front model plate.JPG back input 1.JPG serial num.JPG PSU front.JPG
 
Last edited:

perart1

Well-Known Member
Mar 17, 2012
118
42
935
Cheltenham
It’s reputation is otherworldly, audiophiles fortunate to own one of these works of art have been left slack jawed trying to describe the musical event that this unit presents in front of them. Now is an opportunity to own this revered piece of art, which rarely comes up for sale. I am selling this for my audiophile friend who purchased this as a second preamp to run his reel to reel setup through. Like any audiophile he has been bitten by the upgrade bug and to fund the upgrade path for another piece of gear he is offering this excellent condition preamp up for sale.

I would rate this unit a 8/10 due only to age, wood cabinet is in excellent condition as is the metal chassis PSU. Item will ship from Minnesota in original packaging.

Original MSRP I believe was $25,000, we are asking $10,000 and will cover Paypal and domestic shipping to lower 48 states at that price. I am told that servicing of this unit is still available from Lyra.

Copy and some technical details below were taken from HiFi+ issue 43

In HiFi+ Issue #43, Chris Thomas wrote that the Lyra Connoisseur 4-2 SE line stage is simply the best I have heard and by a huge margin. It really does encourage you to begin a voyage discovery through your music. It is stunningly articulate and precise but never ever clinical. It sounds so much less electronic and processed than any solid-state pre-amp. It has so much space yet it produces a sound-stage view into the musical picture that is determined by the recording rather than the system. This pre-amp lets you go straight at the heart of the piece by allowing the musicians room, space and liberating dynamic freedom. It outperforms every other design I have heard in every area so comprehensively (or so it seems to me) that what we have here is something that is very special, something that should find itself at the heart of some of the worlds best music systems. Lyra Connoisseur and Jonathan Carr in particular, should be congratulated for producing such a stunningly beautiful sounding and looking piece of audio art.
?Wood cabinet is a hand-crafted spectacle with finely joined edges using scalloped South American Pau Ferro (Iron Wood).
?Highly polished single satin shaft dual shaft concentric volume/selector switch (there is no remote control).
?Air-dielectric design with lower boards carrying DC and its regulation and upper boards carrying the active components (Petr Mares sandwich design). Regulators are placed immediately below the components they serve, creating the shortest possible distance and lower possible impedance. In many cases, components are physically touching each other using short leads of the components (approx 1 mm), transistors, and resistors for nearly all circuit nodes involved in signal amplification.
?Separate power supply contains two 190VA R-core power transformers, each with dual secondary windings that each have their own rectification bridge. All rectifiers are 30-amp Schottkey types, while there is 20,000uF of capacitors per channel. Power supply connects to control unit by a single umbilical cable, terminated with a Fischer connector.
?Inputs: 4x single-ended RCA, 2X XLR
?Outputs: one single-ended RCA, one XLR
?Gain: 33.6dB

View attachment 48395 View attachment 48396 View attachment 48397 View attachment 48398 View attachment 48399 View attachment 48400 View attachment 48401
Can you tell me the voltage of the power supply?

REgards

Peter
 

Quadman

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2016
69
0
136
East TN
Can you tell me the voltage of the power supply?

REgards

Peter
Peter,

The unit is set for north american 120 V. I was also made aware after posting that owner does not have original carton, but said unit will be very well packed and insured for shipment.

Be well
John
 

Quadman

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2016
69
0
136
East TN
Sorry, I accepted a deposit on the amps and expect full payment within 36 hours. Will update if for some reason it falls through.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing