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Schiit Freya S Preamplifier Review 2

Yawnny

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You should have certainly heard back from then by now. Not knowing enough about the situation makes it difficult. Did you send the email to [email protected]?

Hey T.M! I sent a manually written email to [email protected] (including a follow up in that thread I started). When I didn't hear back I filled out the from from https://www.schiit.com/contact/help-support

I received a "we received your message" email each time.

Do you advise I manually send the email to [email protected] ?

If you're able to track something down something I"ll put the emails I sent here for reference.. in case that helps!


Hey Schiit Team!

I just received my Freya S on Friday (Order# 302713) and have been taking it for a spin this weekend. I have a question about the sounds I hear through the speakers when adjusting the knob.

While I'm turning the knob and I hear the relays switching from the Freya itself (as expected) it's almost as if the sound is cutting out for a micro second or so through the speakers as the volume increases or decreases.

Almost like little micro pauses / stuttering that is audible through the speakers (and audible through headphones as well). Depending how fast the volume is changed with the knob sometimes a more "pop" type of sound comes out instead of a little micro pause. Unless it's multiple micro pauses back to back that makes it seem like a "pop".

Does this sound like it's working as designed? Perhaps the nature of a relay stepped volume control?

I really appreciate your help!

Regards,
John

^ I followed up to this email as well.. this was prior to making the post here about the issue.

Hey Schiit!

I sent an email to [email protected] in regards to an issue with my Freya S, but I realized that may not be the best email to send a support related question to so I'm asking in this form as well.

With the Schiit Freya S I'm often hearing a little disconnect/reconnect/not a smooth volume transitioning especially when going back and forth over the 12'oclock position on the knob.

For reference I asked some folks on the Audio Science Review Forum about this and I've put some example videos of what i'm hearing in those posts.

Here's a link to one of m posts that shows a video where going back and forth over the 12 o clock position in as little turns as I can manager going back and forth. you can hear the sound almost making a bigger jump in db than it should.. this results in a little "stutter" sound as the volume goes up and down over this point. When listening through headphones (Aeon 2 Noire) you can hear this effect even more so even when turning the volume up from 9-12 oclock.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...eamplifier-review-2.11543/page-20#post-909055

The 12 oclock example from the vid is just the most obvious example where it can be heard through an iPhone recording. But I can hear little small stutters kike this even through my speakers (Buchardt S300 MK II) when turning from 8-12..

Here's a direct link to the video if the forum post link doesn't work:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xhbcvmkywtwds9c/Video 2021-09-12, 1 33 29 PM.mov?dl=0

I've tried running the Freya direct to the Vidar with only the Modi 3 as the source. I've power cycled both the Vidar and Freya. I tried plugging the Freya into an Emotiva CMX-2 in addition to a regular surge protector. All leads to no change in this "issue" I'm hearing.

I also hear the same issue regardless if I'm in Passive, Nexus 1, or Nexus 4 gain stages.


I'm really looking forward to getting this pathced up.

Thank you!
John

^ here's where I pointed out the video I recorded and the thread here in case it helped the Schiit team.
 
Last edited:

T.M.Noble

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Hey T.M! I sent a manually written email to [email protected] (including a follow up in that thread I started). When I didn't hear back I filled out the from from https://www.schiit.com/contact/help-support

I received a "we received your message" email each time.

Do you advise I manually send the email to [email protected] ?

If you're able to track something down something I"ll put the emails I sent here for reference.. in case that helps!


Hey Schiit Team!

I just received my Freya S on Friday (Order# 302713) and have been taking it for a spin this weekend. I have a question about the sounds I hear through the speakers when adjusting the knob.

While I'm turning the knob and I hear the relays switching from the Freya itself (as expected) it's almost as if the sound is cutting out for a micro second or so through the speakers as the volume increases or decreases.

Almost like little micro pauses / stuttering that is audible through the speakers (and audible through headphones as well). Depending how fast the volume is changed with the knob sometimes a more "pop" type of sound comes out instead of a little micro pause. Unless it's multiple micro pauses back to back that makes it seem like a "pop".

Does this sound like it's working as designed? Perhaps the nature of a relay stepped volume control?

I really appreciate your help!

Regards,
John

^ I followed up to this email as well.. this was prior to making the post here about the issue.

Hey Schiit!

I sent an email to [email protected] in regards to an issue with my Freya S, but I realized that may not be the best email to send a support related question to so I'm asking in this form as well.

With the Schiit Freya S I'm often hearing a little disconnect/reconnect/not a smooth volume transitioning especially when going back and forth over the 12'oclock position on the knob.

For reference I asked some folks on the Audio Science Review Forum about this and I've put some example videos of what i'm hearing in those posts.

Here's a link to one of m posts that shows a video where going back and forth over the 12 o clock position in as little turns as I can manager going back and forth. you can hear the sound almost making a bigger jump in db than it should.. this results in a little "stutter" sound as the volume goes up and down over this point. When listening through headphones (Aeon 2 Noire) you can hear this effect even more so even when turning the volume up from 9-12 oclock.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...eamplifier-review-2.11543/page-20#post-909055

The 12 oclock example from the vid is just the most obvious example where it can be heard through an iPhone recording. But I can hear little small stutters kike this even through my speakers (Buchardt S300 MK II) when turning from 8-12..

Here's a direct link to the video if the forum post link doesn't work:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xhbcvmkywtwds9c/Video 2021-09-12, 1 33 29 PM.mov?dl=0

I've tried running the Freya direct to the Vidar with only the Modi 3 as the source. I've power cycled both the Vidar and Freya. I tried plugging the Freya into an Emotiva CMX-2 in addition to a regular surge protector. All leads to no change in this "issue" I'm hearing.

I also hear the same issue regardless if I'm in Passive, Nexus 1, or Nexus 4 gain stages.


I'm really looking forward to getting this pathced up.

Thank you!
John

^ here's where I pointed out the video I recorded and the thread here in case it helped the Schiit team.
Contacting both our Tech support and customer support teams and I will have an answer for you shortly.
 

DSJR

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Got to ask if you can please try to allocate a few (more?) of various items to the UK distributor who seems out of stock on so much.....
 

T.M.Noble

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Got to ask if you can please try to allocate a few (more?) of various items to the UK distributor who seems out of stock on so much.....
If you can figure out a solution to the global supply chain issues, I would be happy to send everything your heart desires! ;)
 

DSJR

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If you can figure out a solution to the global supply chain issues, I would be happy to send everything your heart desires! ;)

OK - damn.....
 

T.M.Noble

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OK - damn.....
All jokes aside we are working our asses off to supply everyone who wants our gear. Our apologies for all of the delays in the wake of Covid but we are actively trying to remedy our backorder issues. Along with the rest of the planet.
 

Tarkus1984

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Hey everyone, I would like to inform of a potential issue with a Freya S I got earlier this week.

Prior to setting the Freya up, I unplugged my whole system to re-arrange the connections and clean everything up. Currently I'm using two of the Freya's single ended inputs only, one for analog (turntable > schiit Mani > loki mini > Freya > Vidar) and one for digial (CCA > Bifrost 2 > Freya S > Vidar) Once everything was set up and connected, I turned the Freya on for the first time and to my surprise the volume coming from my speakers (ELAC Debut Reference, 86 db sensitive) with the dial at about 2pm in passive mode, was surprisingly low. I then realized I was only getting sound from the left channel and the right speaker was not outputting any sound. I turned everything off, connected and reconnected everything again, turned it back on and both channels were working fine.

Next morning, I started streaming some music and after a while I strated noticing an intermittent loss of signal on both channels where one channel would go mute for a few seconds, then come back and then the other channel would go mute for a few seconds as well. After a couple of minutes of normal volume output from both channels, I noticed a different issue where the volume in one of the channels would go super low, being barely audible only when putting my ear next to the speaker, while the other channel was normal, then come back and then having the same thing happen on the other channel. At this point, I thought it could either be my interconnects - although they've been working fine for the last 6-8 months, or the Freya, which was the only new piece of gear inserted into my signal path. What seems weird to me is that the issue happened on one channel first and then the other, never on both at the same time or overlapping at some point and I doubt something as seemingly "logical" or orderly as this could be caused by faulty interconnects.

At this point, I emailed Schiit explaining the issue and asking about the returns policy in case I needed to use it.

Yesterday I spent 6 hours listening to music and doing some testing to see if the issue came back and then try to isolate it. I listened to music through both the analog and digital chains for about 3 hours each, changing the sound mode (passive, buffer, gain) on the Freya S about every 40 minutes and the issue never appeared. From time to time I would give the interconnects a whirl and a twist to see if anything happened.

Has anyone experienced something similar with any of the Freya models? Could this have been a matter of component break-in during the first 24 hours of operation?

I seriously hope the issue doesn't come back as I love the looks and the performance of the Freya so far.

Regards,
 

musicforcities

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turned the Freya on for the first time and to my surprise the volume coming from my speakers (ELAC Debut Reference, 86 db sensitive) with the dial at about 2pm in passive mode, was surprisingly low.

a similar thing happened to me with a brand new magni 3. I bought it to power among other things, a 600ohm Beyerdynamic dt880. Out of the box, it barely reached normal listening levels at full volume set to high gain. Low gain was, well low. I tried different DACs/sources. All were similar. Took it home to see if it might be a power issue. Nope. I contacted schiit to ask about it and return it; they were super great and apologetic.

but before I boxed it up to send back I thought I’d try it out one more time and….blew my ears out it was so loud with the 600ohm cans. Nothing had changed. Same dac. Same source. Same power outlet. Same interconnects. And I had not even toggled the gain switch setting before it happened (though I still suspect it may have been a fault in that switch or related circuit…)

Suddenly it just worked correctly, like a gain stage somehow only then turned on. It has worked flawlessly for over two years since.

I’ve heard about the myth of “burn in” but this Schiit is ridiculous. And great sounding ever since.

ps: my volume pot has been intermittently scratchy/staticy from the start at certain points of rotation. I guess maybe the pot might have caused it too. I use the dac volume almost all the time so just keep the magni vol at max. Though I was just playing with it and there was no scratchy ness, counterintuitive as it has not bed. Rotated for a few months.
 

Kurtle

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It's a good product and there was enough interest.

Surprise!
T.M. Nobel,

Just saw this in the thread. When I inquired of Schitt last week "Dawn" told me it was a limited run and to order right away if I wanted one. Can you please clarify if the Freya S is now again part of the Schitt preamp lineup, or is this a limited run and about to disappear again (see below). Thank you very much!

1632356920275.png
 

T.M.Noble

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T.M. Nobel,

Just saw this in the thread. When I inquired of Schitt last week "Dawn" told me it was a limited run and to order right away if I wanted one. Can you please clarify if the Freya S is now again part of the Schitt preamp lineup, or is this a limited run and about to disappear again (see below). Thank you very much!

View attachment 155110
We brought it back to see if there was demand for this product again. We really liked it, evaluated the market and wanted to test it again. If no one buys it, it will go away and if people like it, the product stays.

Only popular products remain in production long term. Only way to figure that out is to bring them out and test the waters.

Also, now a days, buy stuff if it is available. The world is struggling keeping anything in stock so if you see something you like, audio or not, jump on it.
 

Kurtle

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We brought it back to see if there was demand for this product again. We really liked it, evaluated the market and wanted to test it again. If no one buys it, it will go away and if people like it, the product stays.

Only popular products remain in production long term. Only way to figure that out is to bring them out and test the waters.

Also, now a days, buy stuff if it is available. The world is struggling keeping anything in stock so if you see something you like, audio or not, jump on it.
ORDERED!
 

win

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We brought it back to see if there was demand for this product again. We really liked it, evaluated the market and wanted to test it again. If no one buys it, it will go away and if people like it, the product stays.

Only popular products remain in production long term. Only way to figure that out is to bring them out and test the waters.

Also, now a days, buy stuff if it is available. The world is struggling keeping anything in stock so if you see something you like, audio or not, jump on it.
I have thousands of $ in tubes for my Freya +, but almost always find myself just using it in passive mode. Big +1 for the Freya S in passive mode (transitive property).
 

Sal1950

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I have thousands of $ in tubes for my Freya +, but almost always find myself just using it in passive mode. Big +1 for the Freya S in passive mode (transitive property).
Big +1 to you for prefering to listen to your Freya without tube distortions coloring it's sound. ;)
 

Sal1950

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My Freya+ has been sitting in a box for a few years.

I should see if it still works.
Put it on ebay while it still has some value. ;)
 

win

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My Freya+ has been sitting in a box for a few years.

I should see if it still works.
Might want to check that. I said it sounds good, I didn't say my first one wasn't DOA
 
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