Freya + is a no brainer for the money has to be one of the great buys in all of audio. You get 3 different flavors. I like the tube circuit best
Replacing 80's receiver with Schiit Saga or Freya + ??
I'm looking for advice on Schiit Saga vs Freya preamps, and possibly a Schiit Vidar power amp.
This is for my 2nd system, with my TV, FM tuner, various ancient audio formats, as well as an Oppo disc player for mainly CDs. Output goes to Vandersteen 1b speakers, and a Schiit Lyr2 amp -> Hifiman 560 'phones.
The current engine in this setup is an NAD receiver: 7175PE, from 1986. It's seen a lot of use, and it needs a lot of work now to clean up the tone controls and volume, and maybe also to replace caps. I don't need yet another project, and this isn't a hobby for me; I would rather move on. It is 2017. :-)
So I'm thinking of a Schiit preamp + new NAD FM tuner (mainly for the remote control). So:
Saga vs Freya. The Freya has a JFET option that might be great with my speakers, but would that be a better choice than the Saga's simpler tube circuit? And if Schiit decides to sell LSST solid-state replacements, would that change the decision? The Vandersteens are efficient and revealing, although not the last word on bass or treble extension. So "tube roll-off" is not desirable.
My other issue is that I want to keep using my Schiit Lyr2 headamp into Hifiman 560 headphones. But the Schiit preamps lack a line-level fixed output. The Lyr2 has its own volume control. Now, I could get an NAD preamp, like the 165BEE, with line-level outputs. The Freya would be fun to play with, comparing passive to JFET to tube modes. But I wonder if I might be happier with the NAD in the long run.
For a power amp, the Schiit Vidar looks really intriguing:
http://schiit.com/products/vidar
I still have an old ARC D130 that I haven't sold. Any thoughts on Vidar vs D130? Spec-wise, they look comparable, and the Vidar is new, so it would be a long time before I started wondering if I should have the caps replaced, or some other service. Then again, the ARC sounded great when I tested it last year.
Any advice?
Thanks in advance!
This is for my 2nd system, with my TV, FM tuner, various ancient audio formats, as well as an Oppo disc player for mainly CDs. Output goes to Vandersteen 1b speakers, and a Schiit Lyr2 amp -> Hifiman 560 'phones.
The current engine in this setup is an NAD receiver: 7175PE, from 1986. It's seen a lot of use, and it needs a lot of work now to clean up the tone controls and volume, and maybe also to replace caps. I don't need yet another project, and this isn't a hobby for me; I would rather move on. It is 2017. :-)
So I'm thinking of a Schiit preamp + new NAD FM tuner (mainly for the remote control). So:
Saga vs Freya. The Freya has a JFET option that might be great with my speakers, but would that be a better choice than the Saga's simpler tube circuit? And if Schiit decides to sell LSST solid-state replacements, would that change the decision? The Vandersteens are efficient and revealing, although not the last word on bass or treble extension. So "tube roll-off" is not desirable.
My other issue is that I want to keep using my Schiit Lyr2 headamp into Hifiman 560 headphones. But the Schiit preamps lack a line-level fixed output. The Lyr2 has its own volume control. Now, I could get an NAD preamp, like the 165BEE, with line-level outputs. The Freya would be fun to play with, comparing passive to JFET to tube modes. But I wonder if I might be happier with the NAD in the long run.
For a power amp, the Schiit Vidar looks really intriguing:
http://schiit.com/products/vidar
I still have an old ARC D130 that I haven't sold. Any thoughts on Vidar vs D130? Spec-wise, they look comparable, and the Vidar is new, so it would be a long time before I started wondering if I should have the caps replaced, or some other service. Then again, the ARC sounded great when I tested it last year.
Any advice?
Thanks in advance!