Astrotec Lyra earbuds: The new king of high-end earbuds?
When In Manila, when was the last time you found a really good earbud? Mostly, those earphones with good sound fall into the in-ear type earphone category nowadays. Although, the past years, there has been some earbuds that give-out amazing sound quality, having hi-fi sound even though not being an in-ear type earphone. An example for this is the Sennheiser MX985 and the Yuin PK1 and Yuin PK2. For years, the Yuin PK1 was the king of high-fidelity sounding earbuds. I had one with me myself around 2 years ago. The problem with the Yuin PK1 is that it looks very cheap and demands good power which means that, you’ll highly likely need a portable amplifier for it since it is 150ohms! But then, regarding sound quality, it was the best earbud, the king! Now, a new earbud came to my hands in a very simple packaging and blew.me.away… The Astrotec Lyra!
Packaging/Build: The packaging is very simple, a small medium sized box that had a very boring design of the logo. I didn’t even think that the Astrotec Lyra was good because of the very boring design of the box, no kidding! Moving on to the build quality is exactly the opposite of my expression of the box, the build and design is A—-mazing! The earbud housings are metal and the cable reminds me of the Sennheiser IE80‘s cable which is kevlar reinforced and rubber coated. The build quality of the earbuds is just so premium! I don’t find any way that the Astrotec Lyra will break even with heavy use and barely any care for it. That metal body and reinforced cable is just very premium and sturdy. Plus, the included casing for the Astrotec Lyra is also metal. Neat! Hands down really great build quality.
Sound Quality: This is the point that really changed how I saw the Astrotec Lyra apart from the build quality. This is where I figured out that this product is really meant to be premium and target really high into the audio world. The sound quality is amazing for an earbud. I can easily say that I would rather choose this earbud than even some in-ear earphones in a higher price range. Details are very good on the Astrotec Lyra, I have never heard any earbud have this quality of detail retrieval and smooth sound. Clarity is top notch. Having and open design, the Astrotec Lyra also boasts a really wide soundstage. Combine that with the great detail retrieval and separation and it gives a very 3D feel to the music. Mid-bass and sub-bass also has great control and does not feel bass light. Treble reminds me of the very famous in-ear earphone Ultimate Ears TF10, it has good sparkle yet smooth and far from fatiguing. The Astrotec Lyra sounds very wide and gives an illusion of an open-back headphone. Very airy indeed and far from congested.
Overall: If seeking earbuds and not wanting in-ears, this is my best bet for you! Really great sound quality for an earbud. Hits very high from its price. The price might be not budget friendly for an earbud, but for this premium quality build and hi-fi sound, the Astrotec Lyra can easily be valued more. SRP is $180, defintely worth the price when you hear it.
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Astrotec Lyra earbuds: The new king of high-end earbuds?
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How about a HiFi music player to go with this earbud? Check out my review of the Shozy Alien here:Â https://www.wheninmanila.com/shozy-alien-portable-music-player-where-hi-fi-meets-simplicity/
