"Tyr is our end-game speaker amp," says 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."
Chokes store energy, like modern capacitor banks, and help provide for large reserves of power in Tyr. 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 (5.4kg), the company explains.
But Tyr's power isn't just the result of a choke. A 160,000uF capacitor bank backs it up as well, and 24 15-amp 150W Toshiba output devices are used per channel, in a differential, Schiit-proprietary Nexus and Continuity configuration. Weighing an impressive 55 lbs (25kg) and featuring 7 internal power supply rails, including HV boost rails that uses unique discrete CFP regulators, the company doesn't hesitate to call Tyr its "most insane amplifier ever, designed for driving difficult speakers without breaking a sweat."
"Nexus is our flagship discrete, differential topology," explains 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."
Expanding on the what Nexus and Continuity are, Stoddard describes it as a balanced, differential amplifier with a unique discrete, current-feedback gain stage, coupled with Continuity output topology. "Continuity is our way of compensating for transconductance droop when the amplifier transitions out of Class A operation and into Class AB, and to help solve the mismatch between NPN and PNP output devices. This is a unique output stage that uses both NPN and PNP devices on both rails, and selectively turns on additional devices to compensate for transconductance droop outside of the Class A bias region."
The monoblock amplifier design 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 improved reliability.
If this image above of the two ampifiers looks familiar, it's because it was used some time ago when the Loki Max remote-controlled equalizer was announced in December 2021. So this means that at least the monoblocks were getting ready and tested already by then.
Tyr is available to order now at Schiit.com for $1599 each. Schiit says that such an amplifier design was possible at this price level, "by making lots of them and not overcharging. And direct sale. Same as all our other stuff."
As with all Schiit products, Tyr is made in the USA —and this one specifically, designed and and built in California. This means that the chassis, boards, and transformers are sourced from US companies manufacturing in the US. Finally, the amplifiers are assembled, tested, burned in for 3 days, and then listen-tested again in Schiit's Valencia, California facility. On top of that, Tyr is covered by a limited warranty that covers parts and labor for five years.
www.schiit.com/products/tyr
