Schiit amps, freya preamp


Is schiit good co for amps and preamps? Like smaller size
jumia
I had someone trade in a Schiit Freya+ and I had never spent any time with it. I have swapped it into my system as I ponder what preamp to choose next (I am trying to decide between Art Audio, KR and AVM).  It is not a bad unit. It sounds very good when you consider it can be had for $350 used.  It can be a bit noisy in active modes and might have the most annoying volume control in the history of the world. But it definitely doesn’t sound bad.

That being said, for those folks who say you can get this and it is as good as any preamp, I disagree. It is not a bad unit and it is better than its price point, but it is a weak link in a nice system. I would take a used Ayre K5xeMP over this any day or a new Rogue RP1 if you are looking for tubes.  I know they are much more expensive.  I have an old Carver C-20v lying around and it is nicer in a lot of ways and that could be had for the same of less.  Certainly has a non-clicking volume control.  The point is, this is not an insanely cheap substitute for excellence that many claim it to be IMO.  But it is a good unit for the money.

My experience retubing Schiit products has been a nightmare. Perhaps the new units are better in this regard. I think reliability is questionable as well.
When someone says their experience with a product has been a "nightmare", some details would be helpful. 
Very happy with Freya+ for years now.
Have none of the negative issues cited above.
Run it packed with single ended and balanced connections.
Prefer tube mode.
Runs warm as it should.
Fair enough. Over a 2 year period the only noise and microphonics complaints I got were from owners of Schiit products. Worse the noise problems were unusual in that they were not the typical hiss or rush you normally get. Keep in mind that I noise and microphonics test all of my preamp tubes (in this case I believe they were 6SN7s and perhaps 12AU7s) and they do not come back except in very rare instances. Also I am retubing equipment of much higher quality and that is significantly more expensive. To be fair, I havent retubed a Schiit component in over 2 years. 

Hey gochurchgo.....Mr Republican! Really?