Schiit Freya + Class A in Stereophile


I know there are a lot of audiophiles who don't think sterophile knows what they are talking about but I think its' pretty impressive that a 1000 preamp is put in the same category as 50K and up.  I can't really believe that the Freya + is that good.  I have one and do think it's pretty amazing for all that you get and you can really make it even better with some better tubes.  I am constantly blown away at the sound of the Freya + into the Decware Zen triode amp. 2K for the combo and just about the best sound I have ever had in my home.  Great news for less well heeled audiophiles.  

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I have the Freya + and it replaced a Parasound SS amp. A long while back I had a Odyssey Candela. What a disaster! Hum issues that plague that company. The Freya has been the best sounding but it's really just breaking end. I have a low power exhaust fan above it to keep it cool. I don't think of it as a Class A component, I just think it's a great sounding bargain audio piece of gear!

Yes I can attest to the comparison between the LS50 and Wilson speakers.  I had been running some LS50 for a few months moving them around from room to room as I was doing some remodeling.  I thought wow these rooms really sound bad, hopeless for audio.  I got a deal on some Wilson duettes and put them in the system that had the LS50 in on of the rooms and OMG what a massive difference. We need to re do the alphabet if LS50 and Wilson are both considered class A.  

I am pretty happy overall with the sound of my Freya + and when you read that it's considered to be in the same ballpark of sound at the 16K Audio Research pre then I think why bother.  

OP: this is exactly why i stopped my subscription to Stereophile many many years ago. Their rating system is absurd, or I'm just too dumm to understand it. keep on rockin'!

+1 @avanti1960 . I noticed that in the latest Recommended Components, there is very little recommended that is not in Class A or Class B. Grade inflation?

I sold my Freya+ last week because I had 2 other preamps that I liked better. However, the Freya+ was very good. I was surprised at how quiet it was.

Someone mentioned the Freya+ and Topping pre90 in a post above. I had both and they are both really good with a Benchmark AHB2.  Add a KEF LS50 and KEF KC62 sub and you can get some excellent sound for not too high a price.