Schiit Freya Preamp Review (Episodic)

Discussion in 'Preamps' started by purr1n, Jan 14, 2017.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    It's the 15db gain, plus any gain from the amp after it. Try inline attenuators after the output.
     
  2. pedalhead

    pedalhead Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,046
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Oxfordshire, UK
    I do have some Rothwell attenuators lying around somewhere. I'll see if they help with the noise....
     
  3. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,687
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    NOVA
    Home Page:
    100% - I threw some 6db attenuators in on my amp inputs and noisy-tubes-with-hi-eff-speakers problem solved.
     
  4. pedalhead

    pedalhead Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,046
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Oxfordshire, UK
    Ok, I've gotten to the bottom of my noisy Freya issue (well, I've patched over it anyway). Seems that there is a ground loop between Freya and my Conrad Johnson Premier 11A power amp.

    I've hooked up a Jensen iso-max between Freya xlr output and CJ rca input. Result is an almost completely black background. Tube stage is now as quiet as passive and jfet, and frankly sounds bloody marvellous. I've not heard Freya so clean since buying it last year so I'm rather chuffed!

    Begs the question...my dac is balanced into Freya, and now I'm using balanced out as well, is the signal staying balanced as far as the iso-max or is there summing taking place inside Freya before splitting back out to the xlrs?
     
  5. bengo

    bengo Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,370
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Divisive Kingdom
    Home Page:
    It's balanced all the way through, hence the need for a pair of 6SN7 per channel
     
  6. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2017
    Likes Received:
    92
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    TX
    Does the Freya do any input shorting? I am looking at getting one for my setup and I need a preamp that doesn’t short it’s inputs.
     
  7. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,171
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Since Yggdrasil doesn't like shorted inputs(at least the gen1 analog does, not sure about Yggdrasil A2) my money is on that it doesn't. Makes sense too since it uses relays for the inputs afaik.
     
  8. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2017
    Likes Received:
    92
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    TX
    Thanks for the info! I think you may be right but I couldn’t find it written down anywhere.
     
  9. Garns

    Garns Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,483
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sydney, AUS
    This is correct, it doesn't short inputs - it disconnects them when they are out of circuit or it is switched off. My speakers short their inputs when off line and interposing Freya circumvents this.
     
  10. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 19, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,677
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Winnipeg, Canada
    Got my Freya today and have spent many hours listening. It pairs very well with the Vidar and I am quite happy. I don't even find the stock tubes to be horrible as some have suggested. Granted I'm new to tubes, but if it only gets better from here I'm all in.

    Just wondering where Canadian posters look to buy tubes. Besides the obvious eBay of course......
     
  11. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 19, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,677
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Winnipeg, Canada
    Also, another newb question here but from my reading through this thread, It appears that the pair of tubes on the right are the gain stage, and the pair on the left are the output stage. Also it has been suggested that the gain tubes make a more significant difference to the sound. So would it be OK to just start experimenting with the gain pair (ie can you run 6SN7s there and just leave the stock 6N8S for the follower pair)? It sounds like this would be OK, or at least won't hurt anything......
     
  12. J Seymour

    J Seymour Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2016
    Likes Received:
    45
    Trophy Points:
    18
    I can't remember where I read this, but it was stated the impact on sound was 70% Gain tubes / 30% Output Buffer tubes. I would agree with this. I only roll the gain tubes. I have a stash of matched pair(s) Ken-Rad 6C8Gs that have too much gain for gain duty, but work perfectly for OB duty, so there they stay.
     
  13. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 19, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,677
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Winnipeg, Canada
    Thanks much! That seems to confirm what I have read also so that is going to be my plan to ease myself into this tube thing slowly. Cheers!
     
  14. Collusion

    Collusion Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,058
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Finland
    I tried reading through the whole thread, but I didn't catch anyone comparing Freya againts a Ragnarok. I'm in a situation where I'm inclined to replace my Jotunheim ( fed by a Yggdrasil A2 ) to something with a more cleaner treble. Problem is more prominent when using the Jotunheim as a preamp. In an optimal situation this would be an all-in-one device, like Jotunheim is. Ragnarok would certainly fulfill my needs, but would I get better results by buying a Freya instead? This way I could keep the Jotunheim as a headphone amp only. Fully balanced design is a must...
     
  15. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,028
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philly - Yo
  16. FishCommander

    FishCommander New

    Joined:
    May 29, 2018
    Likes Received:
    28
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Seattle-ish
    With Ragnarok, you are also paying for a speaker amp. You will be paying for a feature that you potentially don't need, or at least it's not clear to me that you would use this feature. I don't know how they both perform but, I am interested in a Freya as well. You'll pay more for just a SS pre amp with Ragnarok Vs keeping your Jot as a head-amp and picking up a Freya. Just my two cents.
     
  17. Collusion

    Collusion Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,058
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Finland
    Indeed, I wouldn't have had any use for the speaker amp and that's why pulled out a wild card and ended up with a SPL Phonitor 2 instead. Might still try the Freya someday.
     
  18. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,028
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philly - Yo
    Just jumping into the Freya game.

    QQ for all of you Freya experts: One of the original 6SN7 tubes bit the dust in transport (bought this unit used, so no worries) and am looking to replace the tubes. Luckily I have a bunch of old 6SN7s sitting around, and am about to start rolling. Just be be clear, I want to match pairs according to: 1) the two tubes on the right (voltage gain), and 2) the two tubes on the left (cathode follower), and have the best tubes go in the two right slots (gain stage), correct? From the Freya manual and what I've read in this thread I'm 99% sure that's correct, but want to just double-check. Can't wait to get it up and running!

    Cheers
     
  19. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 19, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,677
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Winnipeg, Canada
    I'm no expert, but right is indeed gain and left is output. I believe front is left channel and back is right channel also. Everything I have read suggests the gain tubes make a much bigger difference to the sound, but I have not tested that yet as I am running the same tubes in both stages right now.
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    ^ This
     

Share This Page