[jeffrt]

I just received my Noval tube savers ($17 from China with quick delivery) and I was wondering how in the heck do I remove them from my Freya? Do I have to take the cover off of my Freya?

Do not remove the cover. 1. It voids the warranty. 2. You will never get it back on with micro tools, 4 hands and the patience of Job.

As for removal, try a long nose pliers or an industrial tweezers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HBXE18/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[sam6550a]

Do not remove the cover. 1. It voids the warranty. 2. You will never get it back on with micro tools, 4 hands and the patience of Job.

As for removal, try a long nose pliers or an industrial tweezers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HBXE18/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Why even try to remove them?

 

[socklosk]

Why even try to remove them?

Yes, there is not really a reason to remove them now, but maybe somewhere down the line.

 

[Xcalibur255]

I've been watching the Schiit website for a couple of months now waiting for Freya to come off backorder status. Seems like every two weeks somebody just bumps the date on the page out an additional two weeks. Right now it still says "backordered to 6-6" so either they are so slammed nobody even has time to update the page anymore or they are finally getting some built again.

Maybe I should just buy one and see what kind of email I get afterwards.

 

[Mondo Caliente]

Now that's a risk free proposition! Order a Freya with the understanding they're too oversold, and bask in the feeling that you've made a great choice that ultimately costs nothing because they can't get it to you. Win win. Also, I second the "don't open a Freya" thing as that's exactly what I did to apply color to the too bright LEDs, which led (no pun here) to hours of mind blowing frustration to get the LEDs lined up again…I did eventually do that, but man…whew...

 

[jeffrt]

Why even try to remove them?

Ask the original poster. Don't ask me. I only gave my opinion.

 

[jeffrt]

Now that's a risk free proposition! Order a Freya with the understanding they're too oversold, and bask in the feeling that you've made a great choice that ultimately costs nothing because they can't get it to you. Win win. Also, I second the "don't open a Freya" thing as that's exactly what I did to apply color to the too bright LEDs, which led (no pun here) to hours of mind blowing frustration to get the LEDs lined up again…I did eventually do that, but man…whew...

After 2 hours of playing those little lights, I almost gave up, took an axe to it and just ordered another one. It would have been simpler. However, I continued and eventually got it workable.

Hard to believe it's as neutral as it is with tubes. 6SN7s and their 9 pin equivalent, the 6CG7, are the most neutral driver/input tubes I have ever experienced. I almost wish it had slightly a more tube-like sound. I have never measured them, but they make me wonder if they have an 2nd order harmonics at all.

 

[LouS]

Ask the original poster. Don't ask me. I only gave my opinion.

Generally to see if you can easily upgrade parts. If you work on electronics you can get them lined up without too much difficulty, but it is tedious work when they are made that way. Getting them lined up, and sticking out just a little helps.

 

[jeffrt]

Generally to see if you can easily upgrade parts. If you work on electronics you can get them lined up without too much difficulty, but it is tedious work when they are made that way. Getting them lined up, and sticking out just a little helps.

What helped me on the buttons (hard to hold in place) was a piece of tape on the outside holding them in place, while I "played" with the LEDs. What I saw when I first opened it up, was totally unexpected. Such is life.

 

[Xcalibur255]

After 2 hours of playing those little lights, I almost gave up, took an axe to it and just ordered another one. It would have been simpler. However, I continued and eventually got it workable.

Hard to believe it's as neutral as it is with tubes. 6SN7s and their 9 pin equivalent, the 6CG7, are the most neutral driver/input tubes I have ever experienced. I almost wish it had slightly a more tube-like sound. I have never measured them, but they make me wonder if they have an 2nd order harmonics at all.

Some of this has to do with the operating points Jason chose. It's certainly possible to make these tubes sound "tubey" depending upon how they are biased. This being a pre-amp I would assume maximum linearity was of course the goal.

I'd be curious to know how many volts are on the plate of both tube sets, and at what current. It would give a good idea of how long one could expect the tubes to last in this application when left on 24/7. If you coast them enough these tubes can practically last forever, but they are not as linear when operated that way.

 

[jeffrt]

Some of this has to do with the operating points Jason chose. It's certainly possible to make these tubes sound "tubey" depending upon how they are biased. This being a pre-amp I would assume maximum linearity was of course the goal.

I'd be curious to know how many volts are on the plate of both tube sets, and at what current. It would give a good idea of how long one could expect the tubes to last in this application when left on 24/7. If you coast them enough these tubes can practically last forever, but they are not as linear when operated that way.

Understood.
As for 24/7, I wouldn't dare. Mine runs pretty warm to almost hot, but not quite. They say in the manual, not to leave it on if you not using it. If I'm not going to playing music for 2 hours or more, then I turn it off. My amps, which use tubes as input drivers, run a high percentage of their power in Class A; so they also run on the warmer side. Their cooling blocks are solid aluminum bars at the 4 corners of each mono-block. I would not touch them with my bare hands after they've been on for 30 minutes. Between the 2/3 devices, I really have t turn them off, if I'm gone for more than 1 hour.. 2 hours is pushing it.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I've gotten 2 LISST tubes on the driver side and I'm liking what I hear! Waiting for the other 2 to arrive so I can test all 4 LISST but as is with 2 tubes and 2 LISST, it sounds fantastic driving an Atlas 2.

 

[Xcalibur255]

I usually warm up any tube gear at least two hours before listening. With Freya and it's given function I will probably just leave it on all the time. I was under the impression that was Schiit's intention for it too, just like with Yggdrasil. Tubes don't sound their best unless they are very thermally stable. By the time it actually sounds good I'd probably be done with it for the evening and be switching it back off, so the alternative is to just let it run.

I can see why a lot of people would find that excessive, but I'm still surprised by how many people in this thread turn their Freyas on and off. If it were a power amp I probably would too, but for a pre I feel it's more important to keep the thermals correct so it can do it's job optimally. The power consumption is not as high as an amplifier so there's less guilt in it too.

 

[Mondo Caliente]

The transformer area of my Freya gets far warmer than the tube area. I don't think there's any advantage to be gained from leaving it on all the time as it will absolutely kill the tubes far faster than turning it off when not being listened to, and I haven't noticed it sounding any better beyond an initial warm up of 20 minutes or even less….there's a lot of mythology regarding components supposedly sounding better with constant power up, and its "optimal" state can be influenced by far more subtle things like the AC quality in your area, humidity, the rest of the system, and the listening ability of the user.

 

[hornytoad]

The transformer area of my Freya gets far warmer than the tube area. I don't think there's any advantage to be gained from leaving it on all the time as it will absolutely kill the tubes far faster than turning it off when not being listened to, and I haven't noticed it sounding any better beyond an initial warm up of 20 minutes or even less….there's a lot of mythology regarding components supposedly sounding better with constant power up, and its "optimal" state can be influenced by far more subtle things like the AC quality in your area, humidity, the rest of the system, and the listening ability of the user.

No doubt . Humidity levels in particular alter the sound environment more than people realize .i can tell immediately if it’s drier or more humid in my listening area