Wow, that last looks really cool, thanks for posting that!
Schiit Freya +
- Thread starter Ross6860
- Start date
Wow, that last looks really cool, thanks for posting that!
Sammy1358
Member
Have had mine for a weeks now. Love the preamp! Tube question from a total newbie. Mine came with the JJ's. I ordered two pairs of tubes. Canadian GE 6SN7GTB for the buffer and Rogers-Sylvania 6SN7GTB for the gain side. I was expecting an improvement but it seems (subjectively to my tastes) the JJ's sound better. The JJ's have a wider and deeper soundstage with more "Heft" throughout the band. The Sylvania's sound thin. They are smooth, but Instruments lose their realism due to sounding dull. I spent about 4 hours this morning rolling, flipping, and switching the tubes around. The best combo for my tastes are the stock JJ's. The GE's have more detail but again relaxed in the midrange and they also brought in some sibilance on my Linton's (I didn't think that would be possible). I spent a lot of time researching tubes, but my experience seems contrary to most of what I have read.
Did I go the wrong route with the GE's and Sylvy's?
Did I go the wrong route with the GE's and Sylvy's?
Ross6860
Super Member
Your ears will tell you the truth. You like what you like.
Lots of map makers use JJ re-branded tubes in their gear. Nothing wrong with JJ.
I've had nothing but tube guitar amps for close to the last 30 years. Only a couple of years with tube stereo gear.
I started this thread, BTW. My experience with the Freya+ did not turn out positively. Glad yours is.
Best of luck.
I had a Freya - not a Freya + for a while and I liked it, but once I A/B'd it with the Quicksilver LineStage (12 AT7 version) and the Parasound JC2 (both more expensive), I realized that I was losing a lot of signal going through the Freya. It was good for the money and was very good, but not a replacement for "higher end" pre-amps.
Sammy1358
Member
As I am gaining more experience with gear, I am finding price does not dictate the quality of sound for the individual listener. I moved to the Freya+ from a NAD M12 preamp. At $3500 I would personally consider that higher-end if the price is what dictated the worth of an audio component. The M12 was more neutral and had a wider sound stage than the Freya+. It had a perfectly quiet noise floor and and and, I personally could not get rid of it fast enough. Listening to it, I felt I needed to grow my goatee out so I had something to knowingly stroke while l analyzed the music. Please know I am not saying the Parasound or the Quicksilver Line... are not better sounding than the Freya+, they very well may. I haven't heard either. I just know I am finally back to enjoying my music vs feeling like I should walk through a cleanroom before listening. Each to their own tastes. I am finding more and more that Audiophile equipment is like cars. You can take a Ferrari at 250k and line it up against a built Dodge Neon. You can put all the money you want on the Ferrari, My money is going on the Neon most likely. Price does not always dictate quality or performance.
Thank you for all the replies. I appreciate you all taking the time
. I had resigned myself to going back to the JJ's and put the socket savers on them and popped them back in. Threw on a record while I cooked some lunch. and within the first couple of minutes, I had noticed that the sound had changed from the JJ's. It lost its punch and the soundstage narrowed. The one configuration I had not tried was just plugging the GE's and the Sylvies directly into the socket without the Socket savers I had bought to save wear on my new/old tubes. Instant success. Big improvement not only on the sound I originally heard with them but well over the JJ's! Electrically it shouldn't make a difference the socket savers I picked up are ceramic and good quality (I thought). I know Amir at ASR is probably rolling his eyes right now, but there it is. They sound glorious and will stay put till I upgrade or move on from the Freya.
Thanks again to everyone that replied,
Thank you for all the replies. I appreciate you all taking the time
. I had resigned myself to going back to the JJ's and put the socket savers on them and popped them back in. Threw on a record while I cooked some lunch. and within the first couple of minutes, I had noticed that the sound had changed from the JJ's. It lost its punch and the soundstage narrowed. The one configuration I had not tried was just plugging the GE's and the Sylvies directly into the socket without the Socket savers I had bought to save wear on my new/old tubes. Instant success. Big improvement not only on the sound I originally heard with them but well over the JJ's! Electrically it shouldn't make a difference the socket savers I picked up are ceramic and good quality (I thought). I know Amir at ASR is probably rolling his eyes right now, but there it is. They sound glorious and will stay put till I upgrade or move on from the Freya.Thanks again to everyone that replied,
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Ross6860
Super Member
After two failed attempts at getting a Freya+ that actually worked, I switched to a Topping Pre-90. One and done...
Now, the remote on the Topping is a POS, and the stupid display jumps all over the place when slowly adjust the volume manually, but it's dead quiet and very neutral. Put the Freya+ remote with the Topping and fix the stupid display jumping around and it would be worth the price. As is, it's slightly overpriced IMO.
FWIW, I have a Parasound JC-2 in my main system. I also have an APT Holman, Both are far better than either of the above. No remote and big jumps in the stepped attenuator are the only drawbacks to the APT Holman. Seems I always want to be between the steps, especially with high-efficiency speakers (like 99 dB/w/m or higher).
Sammy1358
Member
I am truly empathetic to the fights you have had. My wasted money in hifi for bad products and not working correctly items is currently at about 2300 over the past couple of years. I live a lllloooonnnggg ways away from dealers and don't have any audiophile friends so it is all gambles and guessing games for me when purchasing. That M12 is really a great preamp/paperweight right now at my place. The person I got it from never used the balanced input and had not tested it. At the time, I didn't have any gear that had balanced inputs. So I gambled at 1500. Everything works great except the Balanced Input and a couple of small display issues due to NAD's crappy firmware. Not a huge deal but I am never going to recoup the money I put into it or even close. I will sell it for parts at 4-500 in it's current condition because I am always completely transparent when I sell anything. I still view it as a win due to being able to audition a higher-end preamp that I never would have tried otherwise. Still, $2300 wasted is a large sum of money for me. Everyone has their own income and I applaud those who have made good choices to be in a position to afford this crazy stuff, but that's not me. I am good with the system I have. It brings me a lot of joy and relaxation
hornbostel
Well-Known Member
Schiit Freya S would have seemed to have been a reasonable option re: the ToppingPre-90. First, more inputs (2XLR and 3 RCA), great measurements and a superb machined aluminum remote. Same price as Topping.
Ross6860
Super Member
Yes, now,
The Freya+ was the only thing available when this thread was started. The all solid state version was not available at the time.
Matter if fact, I said I would love to buy the Freya+ without the tube section, but I'm not paying for it to sit there and never be used.
The Topping sounds fine. I can live with the few shortcomings. It's dead quiet, which is one of my requirements. It measures as well as the Schiit.
I use an external DAC (Schitt Modius), so that is my "extra" inputs switcher. This is in my bedroom system, so I only need three inputs. Cable, CD, and USB.
cabby
Well-Known Member
This is what I ended up doing. I had the original Freya but eventually sold it. The tube stage was quite noisy in my system and I didn't notice any difference in passive/SS stage. While I was happy to get rid of it, I really missed the layout of the back of the Freya and I quite liked the passive stage sound. A few months later I went with my gut and ordered the Freya S. Extremely happy with my choice. I keep it in Gain1 output and it's dead silent and is a great match with my system.
Hi All
Have purchased a Schiit Freya + to replace by Musical Paradise MkII preamp. Hope its an upgrade. Am considering if its worthwhile rolling tubes. Havent got the amp as yet. The amp comes with JJ stock tubes. Am thinking of Sylvania chrome top 6sn7 for the buffer stage and linlai eh6sn7 for the gain stage. My speakers are klipsch 6000f and I have an XTZ power amp. Hope the Freya+ would be a good match for my klipsch speakers. Would like to hear your views if the tubes I mentioned would be a significant upgrade. Appreciate it
Have purchased a Schiit Freya + to replace by Musical Paradise MkII preamp. Hope its an upgrade. Am considering if its worthwhile rolling tubes. Havent got the amp as yet. The amp comes with JJ stock tubes. Am thinking of Sylvania chrome top 6sn7 for the buffer stage and linlai eh6sn7 for the gain stage. My speakers are klipsch 6000f and I have an XTZ power amp. Hope the Freya+ would be a good match for my klipsch speakers. Would like to hear your views if the tubes I mentioned would be a significant upgrade. Appreciate it
Sammy1358
Member
I love love love the Sylvy's in the gain stage. I am not familiar with the Linlai's, but I use the GE GTA's in my buffer stage. The sound to me is precise, quiet background, and FULL. I do run Linton's though so that may be part of the warmth
Metamodern
Active Member
Yeah some Sylvania GT or GTB's would probably do you well in your system. I had the Klipsch 8000f's which could have an edge at times. Upgradingall my tubes to the Sylvania GTB's helped a ton.
Metamodern
Active Member
Thin isn't a word I'd use to describe these tubes. I've heard some GE tubes that certainly sound fatter maybe, but the Sylvanias are certainly full sounding.
Thanks! Thats reassuring!
StimpyWan
Addicted Member
New Freya versions announced yesterday. Both preamps are an effort on Schiit's part to work around the current tube shortage. Namely, they're having trouble finding good new production 6SN7 tubes. These new pre's should help.
A new Freya Noval, that uses 6N1P tubes. It could also run 6922, 6DJ8, ECC88, 6BZ7 tubes.
Also, Schiit announced a new solid state Mosfet based Lisst "tube". This is strictly for replacing 6SN7 tubes. It's an update of the earlier Lisst.
Freya Noval
Freya Lisst
A new Freya Noval, that uses 6N1P tubes. It could also run 6922, 6DJ8, ECC88, 6BZ7 tubes.
Also, Schiit announced a new solid state Mosfet based Lisst "tube". This is strictly for replacing 6SN7 tubes. It's an update of the earlier Lisst.
Freya Noval
Freya Lisst