Schiit Audio Launches The Tyr 200-Watt Monoblock Amplifier
For fans of the US-based hifi manufacturer Schiit Audio, the announcement of the Schiit Tyr has been eagerly anticipated and hinted at for quite some time. Audiophiles looking for a natural successor to the Aegir’s “Continuity” amplification – a feature that promises the performance of class A beyond the normal heat/power restraints – now have something to check out, set at a hardy 200 watts of power (into 8 ohms).
Placed in a double-wide aluminum chassis, the Schiit Tyr cannot be placed into a stereo setting with just one amplifier, a feature that is available for both of Schiit’s more budge offerings, Vidar and Aegir. Connections are available in both balanced and single ended options however. Schiit Audio’s more budget amps can only be configured to stereo with SE RCAs. While our impressions of the Aegir power were always enough for the fairly efficient speaker collection we keep on hand, those with more demanding needs have been asking the brand for bigger options.
Included in the feature set is a “choke input power supply”. From the PR release below – “Choke-input power supplies are an old technique, largely abandoned due to the cost and weight of the choke. The choke in Tyr, for example, is the same size as the power transformer, and weighs about the same–12 lbs. Chokes store energy, like modern capacitor banks, and help provide for large reserves of power in Tyr.”
TYR IS HERE!
Nexus™ and Continuity™Choke-Input Monoblock Amplifier
or, “We Ain’t Messing Around Here!”
March 30, 2022, Valencia, CA. Today, Schiit Audio introduced the Tyr differential monoblock speaker power amplifier, the top of our 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. Delivering 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 350 watts per channel into 4 ohms, Tyr provides plenty of power for almost any speaker. Tyr sells for $1599 each. Two are required for stereo.
“Tyr is our end-game speaker amp,” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit’s Co-Founder and head of analog 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.”
Choke-input power supplies are an old technique, largely abandoned due to the cost and weight of the choke. The choke in Tyr, for example, is the same size as the power transformer, and weighs about the same–12 lbs. Chokes store energy, like modern capacitor banks, and help provide for large reserves of power in Tyr.
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.”
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, for superb reliability.
Tyr is available to order now at Schiit.com for $1599 each. Two Tyrs are required for stereo.
More info: Schiit Tyr
