Schiit Freya+ Pre-amp Review

[Trudius]

It may not or it may be a problem.

I think Amir tests with the volume pot at maximum, then he sets his generator to feed a 4V or a 2V signal. If that is correct, and if the input sensitivity of the Freya+ in tube mode is at 1V or below, I can see how Amir’s signal level could be well above the input sensitivity of the Freya+, which would lead to heavy distortion.

For the rest of us, mere mortals, who use the volume pot to control volume, we have no way to know at what position of the volume pot we are above or below the input sensitivity of the Freya+.

Finally, all of this is very speculative and based on the fact Schiit measured their device with 1 Vrms or well below 1 Vrms (in tube mode) of input signal.
Maybe they used these levels because they produced better distortion numbers, or they know 2V is way above the input sensitivity of the Freya+ in tube mode.

So, a lot of words to say: I still don’t know why Amir and Schiit’s measurements are so different.

Well Schiit does not post the input sensitivity on any of its products, I think. But I would gather the company would be worried their products are not being recommended based on a setting which diminish the quality of the performance. They tested the tube more at 0.265 Vrms and got a satisfactory result, as per their own pass/fail criteria (page 32). But they actually got worse results with the buffer at 1.0 Vrms (page 19). It might be that they are matching the output levels because the gain of the tubes is 4 while the other modes is 1. If all of this is correct then it appears that ASR is just doing a "stress test" of the unit, unless I am missing a chart somewhere. Their chart on page 28 shows that the THD+N at 4 Vrms is 0.1% or -60 db.

 

[Trudius]

Well Schiit does not post the input sensitivity on any of its products, I think. But I would gather the company would be worried their products are not being recommended based on a setting which diminish the quality of the performance. They tested the tube more at 0.265 Vrms and got a satisfactory result, as per their own pass/fail criteria (page 32). But they actually got worse results with the buffer at 1.0 Vrms (page 19). It might be that they are matching the output levels because the gain of the tubes is 4 while the other modes is 1. If all of this is correct then it appears that ASR is just doing a "stress test" of the unit, unless I am missing a chart somewhere. Their chart on page 28 shows that the THD+N at 4 Vrms is 0.1% or -60 db.

Looking at Amir's results the THD+N plots are much worse than than Schiit's (page 41). But his last plot is strange in that the distortion is quite high, in tube mode, at all powers. The Schiit results go from -80 dB to ~-100dB and finally up to -60 dB at 4Vrms, which is closer to what I would expect a preamp acting as a amp devide.

 

[El_Arte]

I have nothing to add.



Except this:

I have had tube gear that showed harmonic distortion reaching above the -80 dB line and they still sounded pleasing to my ears. I am not saying the reproduction was accurate or exact, just that it was still pleasing to my ears.

That being said, this is ASR. Here, one’s ears are not enough to determine if some piece of gear has distortion below the threshold of hearing line. By definition, of course.

In my case, I am not even sure I could reliably single out gear that exhibits harmonic distortion between -100 dB and -80 dB. But that’s just me, I am sure some trained ears can.

Finally, I also have a Purifi power amp and it sounds great too. ‍

 

[sumyugm]

I asked Schiit, 4v or 5v which is better. They say 4V

 

[Rottmannash]

I asked Schiit, 4v or 5v which is better. They say 4V

If I'm using the passthrough it shouldn't matter.

 

[CHenry]

Any other tube preamp recommendation? I’m searching an organic/warm sounding preamp.

Thanks

Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital.

 

[CarbonMakerU]

I asked Schiit, 4v or 5v which is better. They say 4V

Whatever they are calling their automated product helper on the site said 5v. That's what mines being fed.

 

[babar]

i’m looking to add the freya+ to my sound chain: roon -> dmpa6 -> holoaudio spring -> (freya+) -> bliss -> expanse
i am simply looking gracias to add some tube gooiness to my expanse.
is this a good
any other suggestions for a budget of ~$2000

 

[Rottmannash]

I have the Freya+ in a fairly revealing system and truly can' tell a big difference when utilizing the tube buffer vs the other 2, despite the measurements. I'm certain others can hear a difference and will probably chime in.

 

[idiomatically]

I thought some of you might be interested in my recent adventure with my Freya+; it has now been repaired three times, twice by Schiit themselves but this last time, I took it to a local Australian company that specialises in AV repair.

In each instance, the fault was traced back to cooked mains transformers. Schiit came back and stated they are only suitable for 230v not the 240v Australia is rated to and that Queensland (my state) still uses in a number of locations and older estates like mine.

Schiit sent out replacement transformers so we could get the unit working again and then this is where the fun started;

Stripped PCB and removed mains transformers, confirmed partial shorts and an open circuit.
Cleaned pads and tracks, remounted valve bases and resoldered various problem areas (XLR1 had an unsoldered pin from the factory).
Reassembled and confirmed operation appears to be normal. Soak testing on variac @230VAC for now, seeking advice from transformer reconditioners.
Schiit provided schematics but the information is still not complete.

The conclusion drawn is that transformers are under-wound/under-rated, and heavy sag occurs when operation should be normal. Implemented several changes in order to allow the unit to be used into the future:

Added trim pots to allow regulated rails to be calibrated down to +/-17V as shown on schematics.
Added two external plug packs and associated connectors/wiring, which supplement the existing power supplies bringing load on transformers and operational voltages within a tolerable range.

Soak tested for a week, and the system was stable. Measurement vastly improved now unit within spec.

Here is hoping I have seen the last of my Freya+ drama's, adding a 9v and 6v plug packs where cheaper than having the transformers rewrapped which locally would have been a $1200 exercise in itself.

 

[AltoVariago]

I thought some of you might be interested in my recent adventure with my Freya+; it has now been repaired three times, twice by Schiit themselves but this last time, I took it to a local Australian company that specialises in AV repair.

In each instance, the fault was traced back to cooked mains transformers. Schiit came back and stated they are only suitable for 230v not the 240v Australia is rated to and that Queensland (my state) still uses in a number of locations and older estates like mine.

Schiit sent out replacement transformers so we could get the unit working again and then this is where the fun started;

Stripped PCB and removed mains transformers, confirmed partial shorts and an open circuit.
Cleaned pads and tracks, remounted valve bases and resoldered various problem areas (XLR1 had an unsoldered pin from the factory).
Reassembled and confirmed operation appears to be normal. Soak testing on variac @230VAC for now, seeking advice from transformer reconditioners.
Schiit provided schematics but the information is still not complete.

The conclusion drawn is that transformers are under-wound/under-rated, and heavy sag occurs when operation should be normal. Implemented several changes in order to allow the unit to be used into the future:

Added trim pots to allow regulated rails to be calibrated down to +/-17V as shown on schematics.
Added two external plug packs and associated connectors/wiring, which supplement the existing power supplies bringing load on transformers and operational voltages within a tolerable range.

Soak tested for a week, and the system was stable. Measurement vastly improved now unit within spec.

Here is hoping I have seen the last of my Freya+ drama's, adding a 9v and 6v plug packs where cheaper than having the transformers rewrapped which locally would have been a $1200 exercise in itself.

Many of the readers (including myself) have not English as a first language: what does “soak testing” means? I lived in the US 10 years but I never heard this. Thanks.

 

[egellings]

To 'soak' a component has nothing to do with submerging it in a liquid. It just means that the component is left powered up for an extended period of time, and typically not using it then, although it could be. You 'soak' it in electricity, so to speak. A common audiophile belief is that the component's sound quality will improve over a certain amount of time as the component is left continually powered up. It's a questionable belief.

 

[AltoVariago]

To 'soak' a component has nothing to do with submerging it in a liquid. It just means that the component is left powered up for an extended period of time, and typically not using it then, although it could be. You 'soak' it in electricity, so to speak. A common audiophile belief is that the component's sound quality will improve over a certain amount of time as the component is left continually powered up. It's a questionable belief.

Thanks!

 

[idiomatically]

When we talk about "soak testing" in engineering terms, we mean performance testing under normal operating conditions to ensure stability and performance is as expected and to the specification over a continuous period. It has nothing to do with "audiophile beliefs" it's a standard engineering practise.

 

[egellings]

When we talk about "soak testing" in engineering terms, we mean performance testing under normal operating conditions to ensure stability and performance is as expected and to the specification over a continuous period. It has nothing to do with "audiophile beliefs" it's a standard engineering practise.

Soaking is often done in environmental chambers, which may expose the soaked devices to temperature and/or humidity extremes over some allotted time. Power and or test stimuli may or may not be supplied to the soaked devices. Cycling between extremes is often done. As an example, I used one chamber that was actually two chambers stacked upon each other. An elevator with the test parts was raised & lowered between these two chambers, which were set at different environmental conditions, such as hot/cold, or humid/dry. The intent was to make rapid changes between extremes of conditions. This was popular for automotive electronic parts. External automated equipment could continually test the soaked devices at intervals to see what changes may occur as the devices undergo the torture regimen, which could go on for months at a time. I set up quite a few of these torture sessions at my workplace, and never once was a cable or wire, by itself, ever subjected to this sort of testing. The chamber had an airtight bulkhead which allowed connection of devices in the chamber to outside test equipment.