[Mondo Caliente]

I run 2 amps with my Freya, a single ended tube amp for my main speakers, and sometimes a trusty clean Adcom 5300 for outdoor speakers (I stick the speakers in the windows adjacent to the deck so they stay out of weather)…the Adcom is MUCH louder than the 12WPC single ended indoor specific amp so I have a volume control for it (it's outdoor specific so ultimate audio quality isn't as important as my main system, still, it sounds great), and the tube stage of the Freya is pretty hot by multiples over the other 2 stages…so either your Freya isn't "Freying" properly or the Adcom is doing something tawdry.

 

[jeffrt]

Thanks for replying....I will send them an email about that also. I went back and listened again, between passive and JFET there is very little difference. Between JFET and tube - not as big a difference as that review on youtube where the guy switches his between the modes.

I am still concerned that it is not a good match for this amp though. I don't know if that has to do with the input sensitivity of the GFA 5400 (1.125v).

Thanks, David

Like another said and you implied, it could be your amp. I don't remember Adcom amps being that unusual way back in the early and mid 1990s when they came out, but I don't know enough to say more than that.

Yes, there is a small difference in volume between the passive setting and the JFET buffer. BUT, for me, there is a huge (maybe just the word, "large" is sufficient.) difference between the JFET and the tube output stage.

 

[dave615]

I know I need to upgrade the Adcom amp....so I am looking into the Vidar. I know from doing some reading there might have been some issues with noise or hum from the Vidar. Does anyone know if that was addressed?

I like the Freya though, I know it should improve even more with some NOS Sylvania or Raytheons.

I am guessing that Freya, one Vidar, and Monitor Audio Silver 10 speakers (4 ohm and 90 dB sensitivity) will work together ok?

Thanks to all who have replied.

 

[Alveric]

I know I need to upgrade the Adcom amp....so I am looking into the Vidar. I know from doing some reading there might have been some issues with noise or hum from the Vidar. Does anyone know if that was addressed?

I like the Freya though, I know it should improve even more with some NOS Sylvania or Raytheons.

I am guessing that Freya, one Vidar, and Monitor Audio Silver 10 speakers (4 ohm and 90 dB sensitivity) will work together ok?

Thanks to all who have replied.

With my Freya I drive a modified Adcom 200wpc amp (the 555 I think) (25+ years old) and large electrostatic speakers (Acoustat 2+2) which go less than 1 ohm so are tough to drive. I would strongly consider a SE tube amp if I had easy to drive Monitor Audio speakers like yours. Have not tried the Vidar but it might be overkill for those speakers. I am afraid to try Vidar with electrostatics, it might catch fire or thermal shut down or something...First get some upgraded tubes in that Freya. I am happy with the new Tung-sols.

 

[DrJam]

I know I need to upgrade the Adcom amp....so I am looking into the Vidar. I know from doing some reading there might have been some issues with noise or hum from the Vidar. Does anyone know if that was addressed?

I like the Freya though, I know it should improve even more with some NOS Sylvania or Raytheons.

I am guessing that Freya, one Vidar, and Monitor Audio Silver 10 speakers (4 ohm and 90 dB sensitivity) will work together ok?

Thanks to all who have replied.

I have Oppo 105D -> Freya -> Vidar -> Monitor Silver 8 + sub
For signals that have a reasonable level, I can listen to JFET or passive and get good volume levels. But for signals such as my cable box which is very low-level, I can get decent volume in those modes with both Freya and Oppo cranked all the way, but to get it loud I have to use tube buffer. So, like others I can tell a significant gain difference in tube vs JFET or passive. I haven't run out of gain on any source, including the cable box, when using tube mode. I've bought a few Sylvania, RCA, GE, Raytheon tubes and all of them are significantly better than the stock (Russian) tubes. I can't comment on the holy grail list of 6SN7 that usually go for >$100 a pair, but I've been satisfied with the pairs I have that go more in the $40-60 range.

I've shut down Freya a couple of times, but I was listening at concert volume and I have a pretty big room with a vaulted ceiling.

So, I tend to think you'll be OK with one Vidar and the Silver 10, but I don't know how much kick in the chest you're looking for (which is why I have a sub, as it does that at pretty much all volumes.)

 

[dave615]

I heard back from Schiit tech support today that they made a change to bring the tube gain down closer to the passive and JFET levels, so my Freya is working correctly. It's cranked up pretty loud right now with the volume at 3 o clock. I went ahead and ordered two matched pairs of good tubes......two Tung Sols (the vintage made in the US kind), and some Sylvania chrome tops probably from the 50's. It sounds pretty good right now with the stock Russian tubes in it though.

 

[purehifi192]

I heard back from Schiit tech support today that they made a change to bring the tube gain down closer to the passive and JFET levels, so my Freya is working correctly. It's cranked up pretty loud right now with the volume at 3 o clock. I went ahead and ordered two matched pairs of good tubes......two Tung Sols (the vintage made in the US kind), and some Sylvania chrome tops probably from the 50's. It sounds pretty good right now with the stock Russian tubes in it though.

Is this in the firmware? I haven't seen anything about reducing the tube gain from the +6 db it added. I get minor firmware updates happen, but that seems like something that would have been discussed. Obviously you're just passing along the message. Just surprised about not having heard this before.

 

[Mondo Caliente]

My Freya is used with a Dennis Had "Inspire" Firebottle single ended HO (it's a HO…12 watts PC) and the input on that amp needs some gain to get things going so I'm glad the Freya tube stage output is as hot as it is…I can get the passive and FET stages to drive the amp to a loudness level that's enough for my room (99db Klipsch Heresy IIIs help a lot), but without the gain from the tube stage it wouldn't have been a satisfactory match with my amp. Suffice to say the Freya sounds fabulous with the Sylvania Chrome Domes.

 

[dave615]

Is this in the firmware? I haven't seen anything about reducing the tube gain from the +6 db it added. I get minor firmware updates happen, but that seems like something that would have been discussed. Obviously you're just passing along the message. Just surprised about not having heard this before.

I just got the Freya last Friday. When switching from JFET to tube, I noticed I wasn't getting as big a jump in volume as others. There is a guy on youtube switching his back and forth and he is getting a huge jump, like almost twice the volume. I was getting like 15 or 20 percent volume increase. Thinking maybe something was wrong, I emailed Schiit. They replied back that they brought the tube gain down, and would be updating the website. I don't know when or how they changed the gain.

 

[Mondo Caliente]

Yeah…it's a large jump to the tube stage in my now "original version" Freya, and if you're using a powerful amp that could be a jolt…they should have increased the output of the other stages (if possible), but I do understand the changes as the large increase in output seemed weird, but I'm actually glad it's there.

 

[sam6550a]

Is this in the firmware? I haven't seen anything about reducing the tube gain from the +6 db it added. I get minor firmware updates happen, but that seems like something that would have been discussed. Obviously you're just passing along the message. Just surprised about not having heard this before.

Tube gain is 5x (14 dB) per the spec sheet. Where did you get 6dB from?

 

[purehifi192]

Tube gain is 5x (14 dB) per the spec sheet. Where did you get 6dB from?

Memory. Thanks for the correction. Assume you're referring to original Freya gain. This is what I also experience. Sounds like that's no longer the case.

 

[sam6550a]

Is this in the firmware? I haven't seen anything about reducing the tube gain from the +6 db it added. I get minor firmware updates happen, but that seems like something that would have been discussed. Obviously you're just passing along the message. Just surprised about not having heard this before.

A gain change like that would most probably be a hardware resistor change.

 

[Jose R]

A gain change like that would most probably be a hardware resistor change.

Do we really need to email Schiit to find out what they changed? The website still lists a gain of 5 (14dB) for the tube stage. Is it now a gain of 2, 3 or 4?

I would prefer a lower gain tube stage for my Freya. Although technically speaking, I don’t know how linear the 6SN7s would be with the change of parameters.

 

[jeffrt]

Do we really need to email Schiit to find out what they changed? The website still lists a gain of 5 (14dB) for the tube stage. Is it now a gain of 2, 3 or 4?

I would prefer a lower gain tube stage for my Freya. Although technically speaking, I don’t know how linear the 6SN7s would be with the change of parameters.

Is there one?
I was under the impression that the 6SN7 has the equivalent mu (gain) of a 12AU7 tube. That's fairly low all things considered. There aren't many tubes used in preamps with a lower designed-in gain, as far as I know.