Schitt Freya or older pre instead

Running a Freya into a Taranis amp w/balanced interconnects.  JFET buffer mode exclusively.  Took the tubes out.    It sounds great to me.  NOT noisy at all - though there is some low level "warbling" that can be heard when "muted", oddly enough.   With volume up and nothing playing, very quiet...no noise, warbling or otherwise.  Solid state sound for me was more refined and detailed than with the single-ended tube pre I was using previously.  It supports long listening sessions.  No fatigue.  Seemed to respond with heightened clarity to vibration/isolation measures.  I was NOT that impressed with sound running the as supplied Russian NOS 6sn7 tubes.  Might need to revisit those now that the unit is well run in but I'm entirely happy with the JFET mode.

Expectations and experience levels differ so I'm not trying to pick an argument with Kenny.  5% restocking fee is all you have to risk if you order from Schiit and decide to return it.   DO put signal through it continuously for a couple of days before any critical listening.  

rich3549 - Seems to me you will get a pretty well-rounded picture of the Freya reading the posts from kdude66, stfoth, and georgehifi.

The unit (mainly the remote) has some quirks; e.g., switching inputs briefly triggers mute but there is a definite click or slight pop when the next input is engaged (whether it’s actively carrying signal or not). That and the low level warbling when mute is engaged long term were the "noisy" aspects of the design I encountered.  I did return a couple of tubes to Schiit for exchange due to noisiness...but counted that as an issue with the tubes not the Freya design.  Things were okay with the replacement tubes installed, though maybe not as quiet as in passive mode...don't recall.  Tube gain IS a lot higher than with passive or JFET.  Also, using the remote, you can only go forward changing input or output selection. There’s no "reverse". Sequential changes to output mode using the remote will eventually hit the tube stage which because of its much higher gain can result in some loud and startling blasts of sound, unless you remembered to lower the volume first.

Like stfoth wrote, the tube mode did nothing for me either but I was really looking to get away from tubes so not a problem. In fact, I was initially a bit put off by the fact it had tubes at all! Ultimately, my buy decision was on the strength of it being a balanced design, offered passive options, could be used without tubes and had a good volume control. Can’t deny the price was a big attractor too (as well as the return option if it really stunk).  Ultimately, it has worked out for me (but maybe I have low standards!  :-)

If I wanted to upgrade from the tube preamp I have now (Opera Reference 50 Mk I), to another tube pre, I’d be saving my pennies for something from Aesthetix or, more affordably, maybe a deHavilland UltraVerve. In my limited auditioning of tube preamps I do think getting a design that uses tube rectification brings something good to the sound. Good luck whatever you decide.