[433521]

I think Freya+ is great, except the tubes are costly. However, you can roll in a fine set for $200 if you want and be good to go. I don't use tubes a great deal due to the heat, but like having it anyway. When I go tube, I prefer going all the way.

 

[sahmen]

Greetings : I have not read this forum yet so pardon my question if it has come up before : If anyone has paired a Freya Plus with a Keces S300 amplifier, or heard that pairing, could you kindly post what your impressions are or were? Many thanks.

 

[ChrisPDX]

Went to switch to tube stage this evening and the unit went dark. No lights, doesn't seem to power on.

Would it be correct to infer, from the quote above, that you were changing the tubes while it was powered-on ?
(I miss-read, disregard)

 

[dude120]

Would it be correct to infer, from the quote above, that you were changing the tubes while it was powered-on ?

no. Changing tubes while the amp is on is a good way to ruin your freya.

I usually leave it on the JFET stage. Switched to tubes as I needed more gain for the energizer I had plugged in to it.

Anyways, the problem, oddley enough, ended up being the power cord.
Makes no damn sense, but I stole the one from my Jotunheim R and havent had an issue since i posted that.

 

[ChrisPDX]

no. Changing tubes while the amp is on is a good way to ruin your freya.

I usually leave it on the JFET stage. Switched to tubes as I needed more gain for the energizer I had plugged in to it.

Anyways, the problem, oddley enough, ended up being the power cord.
Makes no damn sense, but I stole the one from my Jotunheim R and havent had an issue since i posted that.

Ugh … I carelessly miss-read “switching tubes,” which you didn’t actually write, in your earlier post. Beg your pardon !

That is weird about the power cable. Have you tried switching back to confirm?

 

[makan]

Hi there. I have a question about replacing a hissing stock JJ tube. It seems to hiss with one tube as it moves from left to right channel when I move its position from back to front. I am wondering if I should replace just the bad tube or replace the pair so that they will match? My understanding that a matched pair is best.

 

[DougD]

As a confessed tube-nube, I have a question ... which I don't recall having been asked/answered explicitly here before ...

==> Do you Advanced Practitioners of the Thermionic Listening Arts ("APTLAns") often feed the tubey output of the Freya+ into a tube headphone/power amp?

And if so, any thoughts on good or bad combos, or how to match/balance the parts?

In my case, I got a Freya+ in November, with the new manufacture TungSol tubes. Bought a pair a EH-Golds to try as an alt, but decided those were not an improvement, so went back to all TS's. Have ordered a couple of pairs of primo NOS tubes, but it will be a while before they arrive. Recently I got a Schiit Lyr3, partially because as a single-tube amp, tube-rolling is a cheap as it can be for a 6sn7 amp. As an ignorant person on the learning path, that's a very useful thing for me. Bought a single used but reportedly good KenRad VT-231 from an EBay seller. So far, the Freya w/ the Tungsols --> Lyr3 w KenRad sounds pretty good to me. (I listen to a fairly wide ranges of musical genres, but probably 60% rock, alt-rock, & blues. )

TIA !

 

[Balthazar B]

Hi there. I have a question about replacing a hissing stock JJ tube. It seems to hiss with one tube as it moves from left to right channel when I move its position from back to front. I am wondering if I should replace just the bad tube or replace the pair so that they will match? My understanding that a matched pair is best.

You'll want matched pairs on each side. A Lyr 3 would make a fine home for any orphaned 6SN7 tubes you have lying around.

 

[belgiangenius]

Let's see how good Freya sounds with audio grade DC blocking capacitors on the tube output.

Stay tuned.

 

[Mike-WI]

Let's see how good Freya sounds with audio grade DC blocking capacitors on the tube output.

Stay tuned.

Presumably the stock capacitors are audio grade by definition.
Still, interested to see/hear what you are doing.
Can you explain more...

 

[PoMarantz]

Presumably the stock capacitors are audio grade by definition.
Still, interested to see/hear what you are doing.
Can you explain more...

OH! YES PLEASE!!!! (He is a genius after all ).

 

[belgiangenius]

Presumably the stock capacitors are audio grade by definition.
Still, interested to see/hear what you are doing.
Can you explain more...

Sure. Those WIMA capacitors you see laying on the bench were removed and replaced with the four VCAP ODAM capacitors you see on the board now.

Your music leaves the tubes and goes through those capacitors before arriving at the output jacks (i.e., tube amplifier stages are not direct coupled because of the large DC offset added by the tubes). So, those capacitors are very important for sound quality.

The WIMA capacitors Schiit uses are a great bang for the buck at a few dollars each, but you can do much better if you're willing to invest a few hundred dollars in the Freya.

 

[KoshNaranek]

OH! YES PLEASE!!!! (He is a genius after all ).

And I would also like to know where one obtains @belgiangenius buttons like those on his previous Avtar.

Asking for a friend

 

[PoMarantz]

Sure. Those WIMA capacitors you see laying on the bench were removed and replaced with the four VCAP ODAM capacitors you see on the board now.

Your music leaves the tubes and goes through those capacitors before arriving at the output jacks (i.e., tube amplifier stages are not direct coupled because of the large DC offset added by the tubes). So, those capacitors are very important for sound quality.

The WIMA capacitors Schiit uses are a great bang for the buck at a few dollars each, but you can do much better if you're willing to invest a few hundred dollars in the Freya.

So… can you describe how these new capacitors will affect the sound quality/signal and what are your expectations, i.e. what do you expect to hear in the way of improvement ?

 

[SchiityAudiophile]

Hi all. Just received my new Freya+ (upgrading from the original Saga), and I'm sorta disappointed.

I visited the Schiitr a few years back and heard the Freya in action and was impressed. One of the things that stood out most in my memory was how much louder the tube stage was compared to the others (both passive and active JFET sounded nearly the same, volume-wise). But, that isn't the case with mine. Maybe it's the new design, or maybe my memory has failed me, or maybe something's up with my unit...I don't know, but I'm hoping for some insight.

Compared to the passive, the differential stage is noticeably quieter on mine, and the tube stage is only sightly louder. So, I took out my SPL meter, put on some white noise, and set the volume to clock in at 60db, in an attempt to get a general idea of what the difference was at a moderate volume. The differential came in at -3db, while the tubes were +3db. This seems off, based on my previous experience, and the claim of 0db for both passive and differential, and 12db gain for the tubes in their literature...

Am I missing something here?

Also, one of the tubes makes a terrible, random squealing noise, and another tube's guide post broke after having only removed it twice (trying to isolate the noisy one), so I already need two of them replaced.

Any clarification is appreciated.
Thank you.