[LouS]

Well, my 6DJ8 tube rolling always need up with a quad set of Amperex tubes in the AR, I had to bypass the caps in the audio path with Mundorf Silver Golds for them to really shine though.

 

[hornytoad]

Well I have had some weird buzzing tube noise in all three quad sets of tubes I have tried in the Freya:the stock tubes, Tung Sols and Shuangang Treasure's that require socket savers to fit in the Freya.

So I said to myself that there is simply no way that I have bad tubes in all three.

The Freya is quite light for a tube amp so I started to think it was a vibration issue and indeed it was.

I added these underneath the Freya's small feet and not a single buzzing noise during an hour long listening session:https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirec...4584181&id=5477252808439491&widgetName=sp_atf

So if you think you have a microphonic tube, it could very well be a vibration issue.

 

[Ghosthouse]

Well I have had some weird buzzing tube noise in all three quad sets of tubes I have tried in the Freya:the stock tubes, Tung Sols and Shuangang Treasure's that require socket savers to fit in the Freya.

So I said to myself that there is simply no way that I have bad tubes in all three.

The Freya is quite light for a tube amp so I started to think it was a vibration issue and indeed it was.

I added these underneath the Freya's small feet and not a single buzzing noise during an hour long listening session:https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A10115731L7AMJKFUDH5C&url=https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Ject-Damp-High-End-Damping-Black/dp/B00OIJW28M/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1514584181&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=pro-ject+damping&psc=1&qualifier=1514584181&id=5477252808439491&widgetName=sp_atf

So if you think you have a microphonic tube, it could very well be a vibration issue.

Glad you found a solution. I definitely believe vibration management can have a positive impact on sound quality.
FWIW - I have my Freya on DIY roller blocks (furniture caster cups with metal ball bearings).
The cups are on a bamboo plinth and the plinth in turn rests on sorbothane footers on the equipment console.

 

[hornytoad]

Glad you found a solution. I definitely believe vibration management can have a positive impact on sound quality.
FWIW - I have my Freya on DIY roller blocks (furniture caster cups with metal ball bearings).
The cups are on a bamboo plinth and the plinth in turn rests on sorbothane footers on the equipment console.

I think one of the issues withe Freya is its weight. It is light and I think it picks up more vibration than many other tube amps.

It does sound damn good .

 

[Ghosthouse]

I think your comment about the Freya's weight (or lack thereof) and susceptibility to vibration is helpful. I wasn't aware of a specific vibration related problem with mine but I try to do equipment vibration drain to wood plinth and vibration isolation under the plinth for all my pieces. If you are interested, you might want to experiment further with a wood plinth on top of those Project footers and something like Vibrapod cones or DIY roller blocks between Freya and the plinth. Necessary pieces can be found on Amazon for around what you spent on those footers. I haven't experimented with mass loading, though someone here reported a heavy grinding mortar placed on Freya helped improve sound quality.

 

[TheSnafu]

if you want good stone isolators: garden walkway stones cut to right size , easy and cheap
or
if you are handy, get a glass plate of right size and make concrete mold so that glass forms bottom of the concrete block (which you turn upside down and glass becomes the top surface), 2 inches is heavy enough easily to damp all vibrations.

or if you want stone cut in right size, ask local funeral home. i got red granite stones under my speakers, ~40kg each and they cost like $100 together.

cheers

 

[Synergist969]

Speaking of resonance control related to tube use and so forth...

I was hoping to completely circumvent THAT issue, (among others), by purchasing a quad of those LISST's for Freya/(6SN7 equivalent, Linear, Integrated, Solid-State Tubes), that at least a couple of Head-Fi'ers have reported in the the last month or two that they had on good authority that Schiit Audio was attempting to work on offering, possibly prior to the end of this year...?...

Any newer, more definitive information regarding these little cylindrical solutions?

 

[hornytoad]

Speaking of resonance control related to tube use and so forth...

I was hoping to completely circumvent THAT issue, (among others), by purchasing a quad of those LISST's for Freya/(6SN7 equivalent, Linear, Integrated, Solid-State Tubes), that at least a couple of Head-Fi'ers have reported in the the last month or two that they had on good authority that Schiit Audio was attempting to work on offering, possibly prior to the end of this year...?...

Any newer, more definitive information regarding these little cylindrical solutions?

The LISST tubes for Freya are happening for sure . I was hoping they would be out by year end but that is not happening .
Hopefully January .

 

[socklosk]

Everybody seems to emphasize good tubes for the gain stage, and this is true, but I found that the tubes in the output stage are not negligible. I listen to classical, with a lot of vocals, and found that having 6SN7GT - VT-231 JAN RCA in the output stage adds noticeably to vocals (these tubes have been praises for quality vocals.) I have 6SN7GT - VT-231 JAN Sylvania in the gain stage and since most classical is in the mids and highs, they make a great combo for my classical listening.

Call me nuts, but I'm seriously considering getting another Freya as a backup since it performance far exceeds my expectations, I have a lot of 6SN7 tubes for backup, and I'm almost 63 and feel that having a backup should allow me to continue to enjoy the sound that I'm now perfectly pleased with for the rest of my life. For $699 their performance cannot be touched even with much of the more costly preamp, none that I have found using the 6SN7 tubes.

I also have a GUNGNIR MULTIBIT DAC, a Wyred 4 Sound ST-500 amp, and modified Maggie 1.7 speakers.

I should also mention that I'm a retired research psychologist and I strongly believe that my listening to classical music is great psychological therapy.

 

[LouS]

I absolutely agree with you about the buffer tubes are also important. I am not sure that I have enough hours on the Freya to judge specific tubes yet, but I know there is a difference with different tubes in the buffer stage. I was thinking about trying their amps, but my amp is probably going to sound better, so your idea about buying a second preamp is appealing to me. I would like to upgrade some capacitors and would feel better about it if I had a stock preamp to compare it too.

 

[Ghosthouse]

Everybody seems to emphasize good tubes for the gain stage, and this is true, but I found that the tubes in the output stage are not negligible. I listen to classical, with a lot of vocals, and found that having 6SN7GT - VT-231 JAN RCA in the output stage adds noticeably to vocals (these tubes have been praises for quality vocals.) I have 6SN7GT - VT-231 JAN Sylvania in the gain stage and since most classical is in the mids and highs, they make a great combo for my classical listening.

Call me nuts, but I'm seriously considering getting another Freya as a backup since it performance far exceeds my expectations, I have a lot of 6SN7 tubes for backup, and I'm almost 63 and feel that having a backup should allow me to continue to enjoy the sound that I'm now perfectly pleased with for the rest of my life. For $699 their performance cannot be touched even with much of the more costly preamp, none that I have found using the 6SN7 tubes.

I also have a GUNGNIR MULTIBIT DAC, a Wyred 4 Sound ST-500 amp, and modified Maggie 1.7 speakers.

I should also mention that I'm a retired research psychologist and I strongly believe that my listening to classical music is great psychological therapy.

I'm running a Freya with Gungnir MB myself. I hear what you are saying about getting a spare! BTW - have done a little tube swapping but more with interconnects. DAC to Freya and Freya to amp. Changes with wire are even more noticeable to me than changes with tubes. Hope you get to enjoy your music for many more years.

 

[LouS]

Now that Freya's are beginning to come into possession of more/many(?) of us "Schiit-O-Philes"...

Of those of you who have owned or at least heard both and Freya and Ragnarok, (as a pre-amp), in your audio systems, would you please compare/contrast the sound qualities of both Freya and Ragnarok...?...frequency curve/timbre, image size/breadth/depth, image specificity, etc...as I currently use my "Rag" as my stereo system pre-amp, but am VERY curious/interested in the Freya as a dedicated pre-amp, so as to not have to power-up another amplifier within my pre-amp, (60 watts/channel...), when I am listen to my speakers, (driven by an Aragon 4004 amp)...

Speaking of which, I DO wonder how Vidar would compare to my venerable Aragon...(200 watts /channel dual mono-block design, driving a pair of Lipinski Sound 707 monitors rated at 4 Ohms...)...

Oh, and again, I wonder if some sort of a circuit/switch(?) could be designed/installed into the Freya so that one could use it as a pre-amp in either the passive or solid-state active mode of operation, without having the tube section under power, thus saving tube life AND some energy/heat generation...?...

Anyone out there with a solution?...(other than to remove the tubes every time...lol...)

If Freya had a circuit/option that would do the above, I would purchase it in a New York City gnat's heartbeat!...(even faster than a New York Minute... ...)

Edited by Synergist969 - Today at 8:07 am View History

If the schematic was public I am sure a modification could be made. You could trace out the circuit and make a schematic, but that's a pain in the rump. This is a definite design flaw. The result of either one person's opinion, or group think is what you have, it's pretty impressive, but for a few dollars more it could be much nicer, as you have noted.

 

[winders]

For $699 their performance cannot be touched even with much of the more costly preamp, none that I have found using the 6SN7 tubes.

The Freya is a great value. But, this preamp crushes the Freya:

http://www.dsachsconsulting.com/custom line stage.html

I had one made for my system and the difference is massive. I sold my Freya days after getting it. It's not cheap but is not all that expensive for what it is....and it uses 6SN7 tubes.

 

[hornytoad]

The Freya is a great value. But, this preamp crushes the Freya:

http://www.dsachsconsulting.com/custom line stage.html

I had one made for my system and the difference is massive. I sold my Freya days after getting it. It's not cheap but is not all that expensive for what it is....and it uses 6SN7 tubes.

at 2,500 or so with xlr , I would hope so.

 

[winders]

at 2,500 or so with xlr , I would hope so.

I was responding to this:

"...[Freya's] performance cannot be touched even with much of the more costly preamp, none that I have found using the 6SN7 tubes."

Note the bolded text.