Schiit Freya + and S Impressions - Stream of Consciousness

Discussion in 'Preamps' started by purr1n, Jun 30, 2019.

  1. oldtexasdog

    oldtexasdog New

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    Well I got the Freya S and it is dead silent. I put the dbx DriveRack in and ran the wizards. Viola!! It sounds like I have always dreamed it should. Wide, Deep, and detailed to the point you could close your eyes and think the band was right there in front of you. I am VERY happy with eh combination.
     
  2. rfernand

    rfernand Almost "Made"

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    Sure, but a little bit if context first, as the rig is ~2 months old and I am still getting to know it. Tl;dr they’re fine.

    Speakers: Klipsch Heresy IV, bi-wired.
    Amps: 2 Aegir
    DAC: Yggdrasil A2
    Freya+ and a Goldpoint SA1X for comparison

    With the SA1X there is nothing between the DAC and the amps. This is a very transparent setup and for classical music it has the best realistic reproduction of what instruments sound like. I consider this my “So that’s what Yggdrasil sounds like on these speakers” test, because the Aegirs really seem to be passthroughs to my ears.

    Now on to Freya+: I settled on two Tung-Sols and two JJs in perhaps an unorthodox setting: the Tung-Sols are in the output stage (left). This turned out to be the most fun for me for most of my music. Vocals in my rig have always been my pride and joy and I did not screw them up. In this rig I value warmth and fun a little more than absolute transparency (after all, Klipsch stuff can get harsh in the highs) so I’m a little neutral/bright averse here.

    Enter the LISST, on which I’ve spent 3 hours or so only. They sounded better than the passive of buffered mode of the Freya+, which I have to say sound veiled and somewhat uningspiring to me. Are LISST tubey? No. Are they neutral? Not to my ears, there’s a little bit of (welcome) weight added. @schiit may be willing to explain if what I’m hearing makes sense based on how things are built -to me, the LISST seems to bring in Jotunheim 2-like qualities (and reduce soundstage depth a bit). Are they enjoyable? Yep, I can survive the tube apocalypse when it comes.

    I will try to spend time with Freya+ with LISST and put it through Ragnarok for headphone out and see if I can add better impressions or gain more insights. Honestly, it did not occur to me to study them too much — they’re tube nervosa insurance for me.

    Now, what was that I read about a DSOTM 50th anniversary reissue in March? (Do I really need another copy?)… hurm… :mad:
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2023
  3. Justrukin

    Justrukin New

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    I have the Freya S in my rack, along with a Denafrips Hades, both have their place. I will say though, in regards to the Freya S, it has to be one of the most underrated and ignored preamps out there from a brand as popular as Schiit. This preamp is dead silent, and really sounds incredibly good, I mean this little Freya S, to my mind, punches way above its price point. The connections, the ability to adjust gain, the silence.

    Honestly, unless you get into I would say that $1300+ range, I had the Cambridge Audio CXN V2, and my little Freya S kicked that well regarded preamp, DAC, steamer all over the room. I sold the Cambridge and kept the Freya S.

    I use it with my Venus II 12th DAC and Mercury v2 streamer, it is that good. Very transparent, tight bass, and very good in the midrange, and not in the least overbearing, digital, etc., in the highs.

    I am using the KLH Model 5's, and either the good old first gen Emotiva XPA-2, the Denafrips Thallo or XTZ Edge A2-400 for amps. It really pairs well with the Thallo and Emotiva. The XTZ plays best with the warmer Hades preamp. Best part, I only paid $300 for this little guy, found it used, and it is staying.
     
  4. Wojciech Czupta

    Wojciech Czupta New

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    purr1n, I ended up using SS buffer in Freya + - less punchy but more details remaining. Would you suggest me to switch to Freya S?
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Freya S isn't as transparent as the Freya + buffer mode, meaning less details. The S is richer sounding with more punch. At x4 Nexus, bigger soundstage.
     
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  6. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    I love my Freya S with dual Aegirs but I'm always wondering if it'd be better with Freya+ or if I'm missing something. On the other hand it's really nice to be able to leave it on and not worry about toobz going on me.
     
  7. Justrukin

    Justrukin New

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    I have the original Freya, I prefer the S, simply sounds better to my ear.
     
  8. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    So something came up on the Schiit Heads Facebook group and it got me to wonder about something. But basically someone was asking question about this video from Paul McGowan:


    It got me to think to what is the actual voltage output of the Freya. Now I know there is not much difference in volume level between passive and 1x. And 1x is not providing ANY gain, only the tube mode in 4x is applying gain. Well...I tested my Freya N, and here are the results.

    Feeding 1kHz 0dbfs balanced input. Direct output is the output taken from Theta that was fed to the Freya as an input and volume control was all the way up.

    Freya output.png

    So you can see, yes, the passive mode is purely passive. And the tube mode here IS 4x in balanced and 3.5x for unbalanced (I guess for summing?).

    Anyway, I know most older gear only output about 0.5V to 0.75V. At least according to my cassette deck and my FM tuner. So that means if coming in at 0.5V x 4, it at least brings them up to a full 2V. (I will have to try this later with my cassette deck to prove this theory. And too bad I don't have a small FM transmitter that I can feed it 1kHz 0dbfs and measure the output of my FM tuner.

    So this is why I only run tube mode when using unbalanced gear with Freya. Even my phono pre might put out 0.75V - 1V depending on cartridge and how the record groove was cut. I might have to pull out my test record to see, but every phono preamp will be slightly different since they use different amounts of gain.
     
  9. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    Recently picked up a used Freya N and I have a noisy tube. Before I order a new set of these Slovakian JJ tubes from Schiit (I think that's what these stock tubes are), I thought I'd ask if anyone has a source of similar sounding tubes that might work and have advantages (cheaper, even better similar sound, etc.). I like that these JJ's are neutral(ish), extended on both ends, relatively uncolored, etc.

    I did not see another post/thread discussing Freya N tubes - point me the way if I missed it please...
     
  10. joch

    joch Friend

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    Is there an impressions thread on the Kara that replaces the S? Just wondering.
     
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  11. 5bs5vuiz4

    5bs5vuiz4 New

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    I've been very pleased with my Freya-S. I use it exclusively in passive mode. It sounds fantastic, measures great, and has to be one of the absolute cheapest balanced passive preamps commercially available. Pairs beautifully with my Spring 3 DAC as well as my 3B-ST amp.

    The only complaint I have is the remote. They clearly cheaped out here. Biggest annoyance is how the volume control changes are far from granular with the remote. One click on the remote will change the volume knob anywhere between 2 and 5 clicks. This leads to a game of pressing up, down, up, down, down, up, etc in order to dial in finer adjustments. If I get up and manipulate the knob I can get single clicks for the volume adjustment.

    Just wish the remote worked better...
     
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  12. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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    I wonder how does the Freya S or Kara or Freya + passive mode any different?

    Currently a Schiit Freya + preamp owner. Been overall pretty happy with it for the past few years until last week the tube stage went dead with no output (but the passive mode and solid state differential mode works fine)

    Going to drop it off to my friend who is an amp tech to fix it.

    Honestly i had been mostly using the tube stage of the Freya + for all my listening in my main system and wasn’t giving much love to the passive or solid state differential mode at 0db gain for the past few years…

    In the meantime, I get to use the passive mode and the solid state mode and I got to say I am not sure if I miss the tube stage!!

    Sure You don't get that holographic, expanded soundstage but especially the passive mode is sounding really nice, natural and organic!!!

    I will get the Freya + tube stage fixed regardless but it really seems like I have now converted. I started looking at potentially getting a solid state preamp maybe a Benchmark LA4, Schiit Kara or maybe a Bryston BP173 and wonder what that will do to my system having a revealing preamp with gain compared to my current setup which is basically using the Freya + as a passive preamp…

    The rest of my speaker setup is Ifi pro idsd dac or Holo Cyan 2 -> Freya + -> nuprime evolution sta power amp -> Monitor Audio PL200ii and 2 PSA 15” down firing sealed subs.
     
  13. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I actually like the EH 6SN7's. They are quite like what you describe. Although they might be a bit airier than the JJ tubes.
     
  14. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I never noticed a difference in passive mode on Freya S, Freya N, or Freya +.
     
  15. StageOne

    StageOne Friend

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    I owned a Freya S for two years before the allure of tubes made me buy a Freya +. There were a few improvements but what I noticed most when I went back to the S was a glare in the treble and muddier bass. I never noticed this when I had the S, it was only after the comparison. But once you hear it…

    A few months back I had a chance to borrow a Kara and the bass is much better controlled and I could no longer detect any glare issues. To me, it’s a solid improvement to the Freya S. Should you upgrade if you are happy with the S? Tough call. If you like it keep it. If you hear things you’d like improved, maybe give the Kara a try.
     
  16. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Did you spend any time using Kara with headphones?
     
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  17. StageOne

    StageOne Friend

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    I did listen to the Kara headphone out for a few songs. It's decent and I did not notice any major flaws or issues. Performance is similar to an older Magni. I'd be happy with it for occasional use in a 2ch setup but if you did a fair amount of headphone listening, I'd look for a dedicated amp.
     
  18. Eric Rosenfield

    Eric Rosenfield Facebook Friend

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    Apologies for the tangent, but how does the iDSD compare to the Cyan 2 in your opinion?
     
  19. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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    I love them both. It would be a tie for me.

    The Cyan 2 sounds a bit more neutral, organic, natural, believable.

    The ifi pro sounds a bit more musical, warmer, a bit more coloured …
     

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