Schiit Freya S Preamplifier Review 2

[T.M.Noble]

Isn't that the truth...

I am really glad to see these guys get their Schiit together and put out some very well executed products.

I wonder how much of that had to do with this site, and them actually being held accountable...

Great re-eview, and cheers to Schiit.

I like to think we also hold ourselves to a certain standard, outside of public scrutiny, but we certainly aren't perfect. We do respond feedback and criticism alike and I think our releases in the past year have show that to be true.

 

[T.M.Noble]

I can't unsee it >_<

Death to the golden sample theories!

Definitely not a golden sample. However, this is not a QC problem. Amir, more than likely, took apart the unit. The top slides into a slotted groove and its simply not set in the groove properly.

 

[T.M.Noble]

That just looks like one of the screws holding the top panel down came lose in transit, rather than a manufacturing defect. A few turns of a screwdriver will fix this!

No screws on the top, my friend. Slotted grooves in the lower chassis and the top slides in and clicks into place.

 

[T.M.Noble]

50:50 chance of getting a good one. hmm..
I also prefer brunettes

Well, the first unit was purchased second hand. Because I cannot guarantee how this unit was treated, either by the original owner or when it was shipped, its not a fair comparison. Amir needed to test one from the mother ship so I grabbed one off the rack and sent it. I know that every single unit that leaves our doors has been tested by our equipment and human ears. We also do a great job holding up our warranty and treating customers right who are unsatisfied. I would call that a 100% chance of a good one.

 

[DSJR]

Can I add thanks for keeping the UK prices reasonable too. Quite often the UK price of US shipped products seems to all but double. Hope it's now worth your while...

 

[amirm]

Definitely not a golden sample. However, this is not a QC problem. Amir, more than likely, took apart the unit.

I did not take it apart. I noticed that in the picture as well but have not had time to look at it.

 

[T.M.Noble]

I did not take it apart. I noticed that in the picture as well but have not had time to look at it.

Fair enough. May have be jostled in shipping. Just did a visual of all the units on the rack and they looked good.

 

[Belgarathian]

I did not take it apart. I noticed that in the picture as well but have not had time to look at it.

the plot thickens....

 

[Thomas savage]

I did not take it apart. I noticed that in the picture as well but have not had time to look at it.

 

[AudioTodd]

I like to think we also hold ourselves to a certain standard, outside of public scrutiny, but we certainly aren't perfect. We do respond feedback and criticism alike and I think our releases in the past year have show that to be true.

I must say that I had a very minor issue that many would have thought was silly to worry about and your people made it right and did so quickly and courteously. It is great to see you produce such good value and do it right here. I’m gratified to see Schiit earn recommendations here!

 

[Russ_L]

You sure about that?

From the Benchmark website, there is no mention of a pass-through for the analog inputs on the Dac3. The volume control would have to work in both the digital domain and analog domain; I don't see any explanation of this on the Benchmark website.

If you're right, then the Dac3 is functionally equivalent to the Freya S (plus external DAC), though at a price of 2 grand, the Dac3 is significantly more expensive than the Freya S, assuming your choice of external DAC to be used with the Freya S is less than a grand.

That is correct but their LA4 preamp allows for fixing the gain of any input (unity in my case) when the volume will be controlled by an external unit.

Russ

 

[Tks]

mmmm... didn't figure you for a reel to reel person -- what kind(s) are you using and what format (two-track, quarter-track, high speed) and EQ (IEC/NAB/both), if I might ask?

An even more abstruse hobby than vinyl, IMO

by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Even a reproduction of a device like that would cost more than some products in the same category today. Look at all those knobs and meters, that thing looks awesome!

That just looks like one of the screws holding the top panel down came lose in transit, rather than a manufacturing defect. A few turns of a screwdriver will fix this!

Meh no idea, I just thought it would be something to chuckle at considering people in the thread instantly started talking about golden samples.

Fair enough. May have be jostled in shipping. Just did a visual of all the units on the rack and they looked good.

I was right no golden samples folks!

 

[amirm]

mmmm... didn't figure you for a reel to reel person -- what kind(s) are you using and what format (two-track, quarter-track, high speed) and EQ (IEC/NAB/both), if I might ask?

Two track, both IES and NAB. It is an Otari B5050 deck:

 

[stereo coffee]

Do you understand what full scale digital means? That link had nothing to do with what you say it does.

You are right "The numerical level of the piece will be transferred on the CD as is " is of course being quite hopeful and ambitious to capture the available dynamics of the piece, as it will in 99% of cases be less.

 

[Billy Budapest]

No screws on the top, my friend. Slotted grooves in the lower chassis and the top slides in and clicks into place.

Aha! I thought it was put together like the Schiit units I have, but it isn’t.

 

[T.M.Noble]

Aha! I thought it was put together like the Schiit units I have, but it isn’t.

We like the look of the top chassis without the screws. Sleeker and spartan. Clean look. We do it when it makes sense.

 

[Duckeenie]

A little googling shows that T.M. Noble is Tyler Noble from Schiit and that from the original Freya thread, Tyler specifically wrote this
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...preamplifier-review.10960/page-10#post-316306

I meant to say we don't if it's a golden sample.

 

[jsy]

Is my understanding of the tests incorrect, or do they not show whether the strong performance of this unit is maintained across the full volume range?

I'm curious to know if the attenuator has any impact on distortion or matching, but it looks like the tests were run at full volume only

 

[amirm]

Is my understanding of the tests incorrect, or do they not show whether the strong performance of this unit is maintained across the full volume range?

We went through that in the first review thread.

 

[amirm]

I'm curious to know if the attenuator has any impact on distortion or matching, but it looks like the tests were run at full volume only

Actually no. I set the level lower than max because otherwise it had an extra 6 dB of gain. This is for the dashboard. The sweeps use max volume.