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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.  

ejlif
mward
104 posts
 

Did Stereophile give it that rating for sound quality or features? The Freya+ has a killer set of features: Stepped attenuator volume control, RCA and XLR inputs and outputs, 3 output modes - passive mode, solid state gain mode without tubes, full tube driven output mode. And the passive mode can do XLR or single ended Hometheater pass-through. It also sounds good especially with better tubes. I agree with the rating although I don’t disagree that higher end preamps will sound better.

mr_bill
353 posts
 

@wolf_garcia 

did you change all 4 of the tubes to NOS GE tubes?

is there a model number for the NOS GE tubes?

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,496 posts
 

Stereophile gives ratings based on sound quality. There is an inverse relationship between sound quality and features. Feature rich audio stuff is mid-fi or low-fi. Sound quality is the important criteria in high end audio.

wolf_garcia
6,900 posts
 

Mr_bill...yes, all 4. I even have a few extras and they last a very long time at least relative to power tubes. 6SN7GTB. Stereophile rated the Freya + "Class A" even though it has lots of features...

mward
104 posts
 

“There is an inverse relationship between sound quality and features. Feature rich audio stuff is mid-fi or low-fi.”

 

Not sure that always holds up. I’ve seen a few features withheld by manufacturers until you reach their higher tier models. Pass Labs phono stages for example.  You get dip switches on the lower models, front controls on the higher models.  Separate power supplies would also be considered a feature. 

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