Schiit Freya+ Pre-amp Review

[MaxBuck]

I'm not against or for tubes. Everything under the sun as they say. I have even been looking at some Conrad Johnson pre's. I just want to do enough due diligence to give myself a good chance at doing something right with my hard earned money that I won't just plain regret..

What's your objective? If it's high fidelity you'll avoid tubes. If it's "sound you like" you may or may not want tubes.

In the latter case it's impossible to predict whether a particular purchase will be "the right thing" because it's based on nonobjective factors.

 

[oldtexasdog]

Well what sounds good to me I have found is fat mids (second harmonics?) sparkling highs and tight bass. I seem to like hard to drive speakers with a lot of amperage and headroom. Not for loud volume but for presence.

 

[Rottmannash]

I have the Freya+ and typically run it passive but also via the tube buffer- it all sounds good. I have calibrated via DiracLive (for HT) using the passive buffer, as the Freya+ is used as a pass thru from the AVR. When using for stereo listening I like the tube buffer. Even though it's less pristine there's something about it... The great thing about the Freya+ is the option for 3 different buffers. That's why I bought it and don't regret the purchase.

 

[egellings]

Tube can do well in preamplifiers, but they have a harder time in power amplifiers.

 

[oldtexasdog]

Well I went ahead and ordered a Freya S to tide me over till I can find what I really want.

 

[Newsbuff]

Just my 2 cents. Freya S superior to Freya+..Balderdash! I’ve had both. Running with Aegir and distortion at any reasonable level is nonsense. Does sound better with Sylvania tubes to my ears but in any case those that might be considering a tube preamp..plus more, Schiit has a pretty reasonable try or return policy.

 

[oldtexasdog]

Well I hooked my new Freya S up with a dbx DriveRack PA2 for room correction and I just love it!!

 

[Vaejoviscarolinanus]

I’m very pleased with my Freya + but I am listening to Magnepan LRS+ powered by the Peachtree Gan. 400 and it is the bee knees for my ears. I’m 58 but I just got my hearing tested ( wife said I could not hear her) so I am now in the doghouse for not listening. Anyway I’m glad to report that the Freya + is doing well in my system.

 

[milosz]

Yeah, me too - I can hear but I just don't listen.... I also have an eye problem: I just can't see paying attention....

 

[Bobo77]

I got itchy with mine after a happy year of use with NOS Tubes…..
Mine is now a Franken-Freya+

 

[Trudius]

Just my 2 cents. Freya S superior to Freya+..Balderdash! I’ve had both. Running with Aegir and distortion at any reasonable level is nonsense. Does sound better with Sylvania tubes to my ears but in any case those that might be considering a tube preamp..plus more, Schiit has a pretty reasonable try or return policy.

Sorry for a bit of a change. I also have the Freya+ and 2 Aegirs with sensitive speakers (Klipsch). Why is it that I have to turn the volume pod all the way up to 50% (12) in tube mode and 75% (3 pm) in either passive or differential modes? Is there anything wrong with the volume or that is the way with the 2 Freya preamps? If I remove the preamp and control the volume on the streamer or bluetooth receiver it sound A Lot better than with the preamp in the setup.

 

[rwortman]

Why is it that I have to turn the volume pod all the way up to 50% (12) in tube mode and 75% (3 pm) in either passive or differential modes?

Read the specs. Your preamp has 12db of gain in tube mode and no gain in differential buffer or passive modes. It’s natural that you have to turn it higher for the no gainmodes. How far up you have to turn the volume is also related to the output voltage of your sources and the input sensitivity of your amps. Your amps are fairly low powered and have low gain (22db) compared to most power amps. So you have to crank the volume

 

[Trudius]

Read the specs. Your preamp has 12db of gain in tube mode and no gain in differential buffer or passive modes. It’s natural that you have to turn it higher for the no gainmodes. How far up you have to turn the volume is also related to the output voltage of your sources and the input sensitivity of your amps. Your amps are fairly low powered and have low gain (22db) compared to most power amps. So you have to crank the volume

Thanks, but I know the specs for the different stages. The deal is after 2 years the tube mode stopped working (tried 2 sets of working tubes), so I had to send the unit back for repair (keep fingers crossed). But now, with the same speakers and amps I am getting quite a better output, the streamer is controlling the volume going into the DAC and then to the monoblocks. It is almost as if the Freya+ is lowering the performance of the monoblocks. I was thinking of replacing the amps before the Freya mishap. Now I am thinking the preamp is the problem. Keep in mind everything else is the same and in the same location.

 

[rwortman]

If you turned the volume up to 100% in passive mode the full volume of the streamer would be seen at the amplifier. The only thing in the circuit is the cables to and from the preamp and some circuit board traces. I can’t see that making it sound worse. Your a lot better is probably a little louder is all.

 

[Rottmannash]

If you turned the volume up to 100% in passive mode the full volume of the streamer would be seen at the amplifier. The only thing in the circuit is the cables to and from the preamp and some circuit board traces. I can’t see that making it sound worse. Your a lot better is probably a little louder is all.

This is how I use mine for pass through to the AVR-it is simply a wire in the chain.

 

[Trudius]

If you turned the volume up to 100% in passive mode the full volume of the streamer would be seen at the amplifier. The only thing in the circuit is the cables to and from the preamp and some circuit board traces. I can’t see that making it sound worse. Your a lot better is probably a little louder is all.

Thanks, is that your (and others) experience and I should stop complaining about the volume knob? As it is the streamer gets decent output at ~33% of the volume, the passive/differential needs >75% however, with the streamer at 100%. Also is it different with the Freya S, and why do you prefer it over the Freya+?

 

[Rottmannash]

Thanks, is that your (and others) experience and I should stop complaining about the volume knob? As it is the streamer gets decent output at ~33% of the volume, the passive/differential needs >75% however, with the streamer at 100%. Also is it different with the Freya S, and why do you prefer it over the Freya+?

I assume passive mode on the S is also pass thru.

 

[ForHimForRaoul]

Sorry for a bit of a change. I also have the Freya+ and 2 Aegirs with sensitive speakers (Klipsch). Why is it that I have to turn the volume pod all the way up to 50% (12) in tube mode and 75% (3 pm) in either passive or differential modes? Is there anything wrong with the volume or that is the way with the 2 Freya preamps? If I remove the preamp and control the volume on the streamer or bluetooth receiver it sound A Lot better than with the preamp in the setup.

I had the same question about the volume setting, so I wrote to Schitt. Their reply:

"Yes this is normal. The relay stepped attenuator on Freya does not work like a normal volume control. It is much more linear. 12:00 up is still 40dB down from maximum output. 3:00 is still about 15-20dB. Each step is 0.625dB.

Higher up on the volume knob is better in any case, because there are less resistor steps between the source and the amp. Same goes for standard potentiometers--you want to use them at the upper end of the range, not the lower end of the range."

 

[Trudius]

I had the same question about the volume setting, so I wrote to Schitt. Their reply:

"Yes this is normal. The relay stepped attenuator on Freya does not work like a normal volume control. It is much more linear. 12:00 up is still 40dB down from maximum output. 3:00 is still about 15-20dB. Each step is 0.625dB.

Higher up on the volume knob is better in any case, because there are less resistor steps between the source and the amp. Same goes for standard potentiometers--you want to use them at the upper end of the range, not the lower end of the range."

I also contacted Schiit awhile back about this, but they didn't give me as complete an answer as they did to you, thanks for sharing! So is the 12 equivalent to -40 dB for the tube mode (gain =4, 12 dB) or the other 2 modes (Gain =1, 0 dB)?
I will probably get the LISST "tubes" after my unit gets repaired.

 

[sumyugm]

How Can I use 12v trigger input/output in this preamp?