[Jozurr]

  I have been experimenting with an idea from an audio friend and it has delivered results better than using the Freya direct as a headamp.
 
I am using the Freya as a preamp to drive the M9. The M9 is running at 90% gain, the volume control coming from the Freya. So the M9 is acting as a headphone power amp.
 
I don't know why this works so well, but it does. The softness in the bass has disappeared. I am getting punch, slam and attack from the M9 almost as good as I get from the modded HE6 driven from my Accuphase power amp.
 

 
So my chain is Bricasti->Freya->M9->Utopia

 
That is somewhat something I do with my setup too. I run the Liquid Glass as a tube preamp into the Anthem MCA20 power amp for the HE-6.
 
How are you using the Freya as a headamp?

 

[MefAudio]

After my uninspiring spin with 5692s, I'm trying one more thing just to understand the field of 6SN7:  I ordered a platinum matched quad of new issue Tung-SOL 6SN7GTB from Upscale audio, since they seem to have among the best quality control and matching procedures going.

We'll see how they compare.

Those are guaranteed to be very low noise and highly matched, so hopefully I can be hum and noise free on the single ended outputs of the Freya.

That is a great idea they are fantastic! Please let us know your impressions.

 

[mhamel]

I might have done a bit of shopping over the past several days...
 
 
Originally I had picked up a quad of PSVane UK-6SN7 to try out... not impressed.
I also ordered a quad of the 1960s 68HC from Upscale - which are, to my ears, a big improvement over stock, and what I've been running for a few days now.
 
Since the end of last week I've ordered:
 

1. Quad of Tung-Sol re-issues
2. Quad of 1578s - genuine if everything I've read about identifying them is true.
3. Quad of 6F8G National Union Round Plate
4. Pair of early 1943 RCA gray glass 6F8G
5. Quad of 1947 RCA gray glass 6F8G
6. Quad of 1943 Ken-Rad 6C8G
7. Adapters

 
There's going to be just a bit of rolling ahead...

 

[Chrispb1]

Static, I get this at times. Supprised me at have tiled floor. Seems more to do with what I wear as in I'm generating it and the Freya dumps it to ground.

 

[Chrispb1]

Freya 2 weeks in. Over brightness I observed initially has gone completely. Spent more than a few hours comparing passive/buffered/tube options. I'm very interested that most if not all users seem to prefer the tubes even "out of the box" whilst I find it, well, crude, by comparison to the passive and buffered, which I can hardly, if at all separate. Having lived with a Mcintosh C2500 for the last 4 years I'm used to tubes, in this Mcintosh style and I find the passive/buffered very, very similar to Mcintosh sound with only very subtle differences and for digital 2 channel only I actually prefer the Freya. High praise indeed. That said it's sooo close that if I needed the flexibility of the Mcintosh, I'd choose that as it's a beautiful piece of kit and does everything so well and tube v tube it's Mcintosh all the way. Has anyone started off preferring the Freya passive/buffered (by a significant margin) and then rolled some tubes and genuinely got it to perform better than the passive/buffered. Now that would be interesting. At least with the tubes out it's powered on all the time, bearly gets warm and sounds brilliant from the off, not 20 mins or so down the line.

 

[bwanaaa]

Has anyone heard this next to a backert labs rhumba or rhumba extreme?

 

[RoundRound]

Hello guys,
I got two matched pairs of NOS Brimar and they sound great. 
However I think I hear micro phonics - when I change the volume and it clicks... Is that a problem or any issue? Will it get worse? I don't hear it when playing music...
 
Thanks,

 

[jseymour]

I have a Freya and I think you are hearing the relays in the resistor based volume control. Without playing music adjust the volume know several times and you will hear the clicking in both directions as the relays turn on and off to enable/disable different resistor combinations.  Since 128 (steps of volume) is 8 bits binary, there should be 8 relays.

 

[RoundRound]

  I have a Freya and I think you are hearing the relays in the resistor based volume control. Without playing music adjust the volume know several times and you will hear the clicking in both directions as the relays turn on and off to enable/disable different resistor combinations.  Since 128 (steps of volume) is 8 bits binary, there should be 8 relays.

Thansk mate, 
I know how the clicking sounds - with these specific tubes I hear a little 'ring' in addition to the usual clicking... I think it's microphincis no?

 

[jseymour]

I would be surprised if the contacts opening and closing on these very small relays are causing microphonics, but anything is possible.  Do the old tube tap test with a pen or similar device and you should be able to identify if any of your tubes are microphonic.  If they don't ring you may have a problem with the Freya itself.

 

[TonyNewman]

  ...How are you using the Freya as a headamp?

 
I stopped doing that as I am getting much better results from using the Freya as a preamp to feed the M9. I set the M9 to 90% output - effectively as a fixed power amp - and the Freya does the volume control. This transformed the M9 into a transparent amp with punch and great dynamics. I have no idea why using a preamp would make such a huge difference to the M9 performance, but it does.

 

[watchnerd]

Static, I get this at times. Supprised me at have tiled floor. Seems more to do with what I wear as in I'm generating it and the Freya dumps it to ground.

 
Are you using the stock tubes?
 
I had static with the old stock tubes.  Went away when I plonked in new issue Tung Sols.

 

[Chrispb1]

Yes was, now no tubes since thus far prefer without. Can't say I've noticed since as it was only intermittent. Is the sound significantly better with Tung Sols or just different? I found the tube stage just sounded interesting at first maybe more texture but the more I listened and compared it was just a dirty crude sound like a really cheap amp. I really like the open clean spaciousness of the passive and buffered stages that I can't really tell apart. However, technically speaking it's a good match with power amp (Levinson 433) so maybe that helps. Maybe tubes are too much gain.

 

[watchnerd]

Is the sound significantly better with Tung Sols or just different? 

 
In my case, it is objectively better with the Tung Sols.  I'm not talking about audiophile nuances.  My stock tubes degenerated pretty quickly after a few weeks, becoming defective with static (sounded like a bad old LP) and microphonics.  
 
Schiit was kind enough to send me a 2nd set of stock tubes, which did a little better. If I cherry picked between the two sets I could probably isolate the defective tubes, but it's just easier to listen to the new production Tung Sols.

 

[rnros]

I might have done a bit of shopping over the past several days...


Originally I had picked up a quad of PSVane UK-6SN7 to try out... not impressed.
I also ordered a quad of the 1960s 68HC from Upscale - which are, to my ears, a big improvement over stock, and what I've been running for a few days now.

Since the end of last week I've ordered:

• Quad of Tung-Sol re-issues
• Quad of 1578s - genuine if everything I've read about identifying them is true.
• Quad of 6F8G National Union Round Plate
• Pair of early 1943 RCA gray glass 6F8G
• Quad of 1947 RCA gray glass 6F8G
• Quad of 1943 Ken-Rad 6C8G
• Adapters

There's going to be just a bit of rolling ahead...

Looking forward to your impressions on this group. Nice selection.
I have the 43 Ken Rad 6C8G. Excellent tube. Have a 42 Sylvania 6F8G that is also excellent.
Keep us informed. : )