The Schiit Freya

[Nordkapp]

Guys, any love for this thing out there? Proper reviews seem difficult to find. More specifically, does the tube section sound "tubey"? 

[Ralf11]

didn't you find comments via search?  IIRC some discussion of it

[Nordkapp]

Thanks. There's a bunch of discussion there. I found Steve Guttenberg's on CNET. I want to add a touch of warmth to my rig....

[firedog]

Fair amount of discussion here:

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30705-schiit-saga-vs-freya/?tab=comments#comment-623966

[GUTB]

On 11/28/2018 at 4:58 PM, Nordkapp said:

Guys, any love for this thing out there? Proper reviews seem difficult to find. More specifically, does the tube section sound "tubey"? 

 

I can offer some hate.

 

1. Not tubey. For that I recommend an all-tube pre with a big bottle rectifier.

 

2. It eats tubes. I’m tired of feeding it. After mine screwed up a $120 black treasure I officially gave up on trying to tube roll it.

 

3. Has noise problems. Very annoying. Not worth enough to try and have it serviced.

 

4. 600 Ohms output impedance when using balanced. Tube balanced is down to 200. I mean, seriously?

 

I’ll say one good thing about it though: high bandwidth. Second good thing: low gain.

[firedog]

3 hours ago, GUTB said:

 

I can offer some hate.

 

1. Not tubey. For that I recommend an all-tube pre with a big bottle rectifier.

 

2. It eats tubes. I’m tired of feeding it. After mine screwed up a $120 black treasure I officially gave up on trying to tube roll it.

 

3. Has noise problems. Very annoying. Not worth enough to try and have it serviced.

 

4. 600 Ohms output impedance when using balanced. Tube balanced is down to 200. I mean, seriously?

 

I’ll say one good thing about it though: high bandwidth. Second good thing: low gain.

Sounds like tubes to me.
Hasn't eaten any tubes.
No noise issues.

One problem: the volume knob is held in by a screw that came loose and I had to re-attach.

[Nordkapp]

Thank you  guys. I'll pass. I'm just going to find a tube amp instead. 

[crenca]

6 hours ago, Nordkapp said:

Thank you  guys. I'll pass. I'm just going to find a tube amp instead. 

 

Of course you know this, but generally speaking ("most" setups, etc. - exceptions will always be cited) a tube pre for a "touch of warmth" is not the same as a tube amp, which gives you an "all in" as opposed to a "touch".

 

I loop in a Saga (I have only heard the Freya at shows - I did not need the gain that comes with the Freya) in my HP rig when I want a touch (but not too much) of tuby warmth and goodness.

[Nordkapp]

4 minutes ago, crenca said:

 

Of course you know this, but generally speaking ("most" setups, etc. - exceptions will always be cited) a tube pre for a "touch of warmth" is not the same as a tube amp, which gives you an "all in" as opposed to a "touch".

 

I loop in a Saga (I have only heard the Freya at shows - I did not need the gain that comes with the Freya) in my HP rig when I want a touch (but not too much) of tuby warmth and goodness.

This is actually a good idea. Using Saga as a buffer. Thanks.

[crenca]

2 minutes ago, Nordkapp said:

This is actually a good idea. Using Saga as a buffer. Thanks.

 

Just chuck out that cheap russian tube that comes with it as soon as you unbox it (it attenuates the bass quite a bit, grains up the highs, etc.).  I am generally using a modern Sophia Electric, but will sometimes have a GE NOS tube in...

[gmgraves]

10 hours ago, firedog said:

One problem: the volume knob is held in by a screw that came loose and I had to re-attach.

I had that problem with the volume control knob on my Schiit Asgard 2 headphone amp. I have quite a few collections of  Alen-head key-wrenches around here in both SAE and Metric sizes, but I could never find one that fit! The smallest was too small, the next largest was too large. Finally I had to contact Schiit and have them send me a wrench that would tighten that knob. If you wan't to stop the knob from coming loose again, use a drop of blue "Lock-Tite" (not red) on the set-screw's threads before tightening the knob down. 

[gmgraves]

14 hours ago, GUTB said:

I can offer some hate.

Why are we not surprised?

[gmgraves]

22 minutes ago, crenca said:

 

Just chuck out that cheap russian tube that comes with it as soon as you unbox it (it attenuates the bass quite a bit, grains up the highs, etc.).  I am generally using a modern Sophia Electric, but will sometimes have a GE NOS tube in...

An acquaintance of mine bought a Freya and a pair of the Vidar power amps. He replaced the Chinese/Russian (whatever) 6SN7s with WWII vintage JAN (Joint Army/Navy) NOS tubes made by RCA, GE, and Sylvania. JAN tubes are unique in that their phenolic bases are often (but not always) a light tobacco brown rather than black! This fellow made a "lifetime buy" of JAN 6SN7's from an old "ham" radio operator whose been hording them for decades. The ham even tested each one for him on a vintage tube tester that even checked for gassiness! The Freya owner swears by the RCA made tubes for SQ, but allows that all of the JAN 6SN7s sound better than any of the modern tubes from China, Russia, or the former Soviet block nations.