Schiit Freya Impressions and Tube Rolling Thread

[belgiangenius]

That’s a bizarre sound. If your basic troubleshooting (unplug sources, swap interconnets, swap tubes) yields no change, this sounds like a return to Schiit for service.

Agreed. That popping is weird.

I have both Freya N and Freya+. Output is always single ended, but I've used both single ended and balanced inputs. Never heard popping like that on either of them.

I also owned the original Freya. That one is rougher around the edges and I did occasionally hear pops or thumps, depending what I was changing.

 

[qwin49]

Just thinking out loud here.
I would suspect one of the attenuation relays. Maybe its seeing some DC and passing it through.
Trouble is, the Caps on the tube output are DC blockers and should catch it.
I've had similar noises and sometimes a lot louder, with DC in the signal.
I don't get why its also on the passive and jfet buffer mode, but at lower volumes?
If the attenuating relays are at the end of the signal line, before the output, if you had DC in the signal it would be there on passive, louder on jfet and a fair bit louder on Tube mode, which is the case, but surely with any of this, it would be on all the volume steps and not just one or two?
Maybe one of the relays has a leakage/short between the signal and its trigger/actuating voltage?
It's a strange fault and you do need to return it.

 

[Noteless]

Anyone’s Schiit Freya have a kind of crooked volume knob? The Freya N i have has a knob that is driving my ocd crazy… it’s a bit angled and i can’t not see it… i just wrote to their customer service for an exchange but not sure if they keep extra close out items.. If this is what other Freyas are like, etc.

 

[tincanear]

Anyone’s Schiit Freya have a kind of crooked volume knob? The Freya N i have has a knob that is driving my ocd crazy… it’s a bit angled and i can’t not see it… i just wrote to their customer service for an exchange but not sure if they keep extra close out items.. If this is what other Freyas are like, etc.

mismatched socks, must be WFH today.

seriously, though, if the knob is the type with a setscrew, you can try loosening, aligning and re-tightening. otherwise, its likely a push on / push off friction fit type, perhaps the insert is misaligned vs the knob shell. you might try emailing schiit to see if they can send you a replacement knob instead of exchanging units (if everything else is working well electrically, e.g. no excessively loud pops or clicks when changing inputs, gain modes, etc)

 

[Noteless]

mismatched socks, must be WFH today.

seriously, though, if the knob is the type with a setscrew, you can try loosening, aligning and re-tightening. otherwise, its likely a push on / push off friction fit type, perhaps the insert is misaligned vs the knob shell. you might try emailing schiit to see if they can send you a replacement knob instead of exchanging units (if everything else is working well electrically, e.g. no excessively loud pops or clicks when changing inputs, gain modes, etc)

Everyday is wfh n with my dog it will always be mismatched. i took off the knob itself is fine but the turning screw i guess is somewhat angled to the left, exchanges are a mixed bag too… n i don’t think i could undo it without opening the casing. I’m just wondering if others see similar in theirs. Can accept it if I’m likely going to get the same again.

 

[ejk1]

I like my Freya but I'm starting to think that QC at the factory is crap. Lots of issues being posted.

 

[Noteless]

I like my Freya but I'm starting to think that QC at the factory is crap. Lots of issues being posted.

I think it’s gotten worse with small things like buttons n paint more than mechanical. I think they’d admit it was some teething issues with supply chains and cost. They got rid of all their stainless steel buttons and now they’re painted silver which is not great tbh. My brand new Vidar 2 has a badly painted button n like this Freya. I still like their products enough that ill deal with it. They’re cost benefit to more expensive brands is hard to beat

 

[Borat]

Update: I was able to get rid of the popping sound I was hearing when rotating the volume knob to 12 o'clock (and the low level hum on my left channel) by switching out one of my RCA clear top 6cg7 tubes in the front gain position/right side if facing the unit (I think this controls the left channel).

So pretty sure that the popping sound I was getting was due to a bad tube.

I hope mch12000 can eliminate the problem like I was able to do.

 

[PoMarantz]

Update: I was able to get rid of the popping sound I was hearing when rotating the volume knob to 12 o'clock (and the low level hum on my left channel) by switching out one of my RCA clear top 6cg7 tubes in the front gain position/right side if facing the unit (I think this controls the left channel).

So pretty sure that the popping sound I was getting was due to a bad tube.

I hope mch12000 can eliminate the problem like I was able to do.

Thanks for that info! That could come in handy for any of us!

 

[Borat]

I also wanted to add that I rewatched mch12000's video and mine did the same thing except only in tube mode, but you could hear the pop in all 3 modes if the tubes are still in the process of cooling down. Once the tubes completely shut off, the pop did not happen in either passive or active JFET mode.

I can't speak for his experience, but that's what was happening with mine until I isolated the problem tube and swapped it out.

 

[mch12000]

I also wanted to add that I rewatched mch12000's video and mine did the same thing except only in tube mode, but you could hear the pop in all 3 modes if the tubes are still in the process of cooling down. Once the tubes completely shut off, the pop did not happen in either passive or active JFET mode.

I can't speak for his experience, but that's what was happening with mine until I isolated the problem tube and swapped it out.

Thanks Borat. While troubleshooting today I experienced the same. Hopefully it's just faulty tubes. However, I still have the issue of the sound cutting out for half a second at the noon position in all modes. But maybe that's just standard on this 128 step attenuator. If so, I can certainly live with that. I sent an email to tech support and am waiting to hear from them.

 

[Smoothstereo]

Anyone’s Schiit Freya have a kind of crooked volume knob? The Freya N i have has a knob that is driving my ocd crazy… it’s a bit angled and i can’t not see it… i just wrote to their customer service for an exchange but not sure if they keep extra close out items.. If this is what other Freyas are like, etc.

My volume knob is slightly crooked too, would imagine its like that on some or most of the Freya N or the Plus. But it doesn't bother me.

My first Freya N had the annoying pop sound at 12 o'clock and then at 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock. I use Freya N on a headphone setup so the pop wasn't extremely loud like that video with speakers, but it annoyed me nonetheless as it is audible during audio playback on my headphones. Ultimately I got an exchange, this new one was better, virtually no popping noise, but I still hear a jump in volume at 12 o'clock, 2 and 3 o'clock crossover points. It's probably by design but wish it was more linear/refined. But given its price especially on closeout discount, I can't be too critical of it. I would suggest getting a new replacement while they still have some inventory left.

 

[rawheadjim]

My Freya+ only pops between 12, 2, & 3 o'clock when I use 6SL7's, which the manual said can be noisier. I don't have pops at all when using 6SN7's. I did have lots of lighter pops that I thought were vinyl defects, when I tried some new Tung Sol tubes on the left side. Once I realized they were the culprit I got some vintage Sylvania's for the left side, and never had that issue again.

 

[Smoothstereo]

I had ruled out the tubes to be the culprit in my case since I have tried 7 different pairs of NOS tubes in different configurations (on the left side vs right side and vice versa) with same results. Some tube combinations made the pop noise louder, while other combinations were less loud but still having the underlying issue. These same tubes used in other preamp were dead silent, hence I was quite sure they were not the problem on my first Freya N.

 

[qwin49]

If it were the tubes, the pops would be on all volume settings in tube mode and not on any if in the passive or jfet buffer modes.

The volume control positions, switch different combinations of relays (128 combinations) each relay is connected to a resistor. This matrix of resistors creates the required 128 steps of attenuation.
If only one relay has an issue, every setting that includes that relay/resistor will exhibit the same problem, but possibly not to the same extent on each position with an issue. For instance, if the faulty resistor is used on its own it might pop louder than if it were one of three or four being activated together to create a summed resistance value. I'm just theorising here.
But I would suspect a single relay is faulty.