[Ghosthouse]

Odd question. Do the LISST tubes get hot?

Not an odd question, I don't think. Mostly agree with purehifi...maybe not as hot as conventional glass 6SN7s, but hot is a better descriptor in my experience than calling them "very warm"!
Their operating temp was a bit of a surprise to me. Along with the noise that eventually developed, their heat contributed to a decision to return them for refund and not for replacement. Maybe the heat I experienced had something to do with a defect...don't know.

 

[winders]

Wouldn't say hot, but they do get warm. I had to wait maybe 10-15 min before I was able to pull them out after having my Freya on for half of the day on Saturday w/ four LISST.

If the 6SN7 LISST tubes are so warm that you have to let them cool off for 10 to 15 minutes to pull them out, they are by definition "hot".

 

[purehifi192]

If the 6SN7 LISST tubes are so warm that you have to let them cool off for 10 to 15 minutes to pull them out, they are by definition "hot".

Good point. Relative to the mechanical 6sn7 tubes I have, the LISSTs run cooler and that's what I was trying to convey.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I do the same with my tubes, they actually get much cooler after 5m.
So are you saying that the LISST operate warmer than a tube?! So much for being able to squeeze the freya in a tight spot.

Wouldn't say hot, but they do get warm. I had to wait maybe 10-15 min before I was able to pull them out after having my Freya on for half of the day on Saturday w/ four LISST.

----------------

Good point. Relative to the mechanical 6sn7 tubes I have, the LISSTs run cooler and that's what I was trying to convey.

Oh ok. Maybe I can get away with 2 LISST and 2 tubes with the Freya in an entertainment stand with little clearance where the Freya would sit.

Another question, with a combination of LISST and tubes, do you put the LISST in the left column or right column (power)?

 

[purehifi192]

I do the same with my tubes, they actually get much cooler after 5m.
So are you saying that the LISST operate warmer than a tube?! So much for being able to squeeze the freya in a tight spot.

They run cooler than mechanical tubes and you can touch the LISST without burning your hand, but I wouldn't/didn't want to pull them out immediately after turning off my Freya till they cooled down a bit.

 

[Synergist969]

The LISST's get warm/hot to the touch, but certainly no where near the "skin-blistering/frying(?)" temperature of the glass tubes...I did not attempt to measure the temperatures generated by either tube type however...

 

[Synergist969]

To anyone interested...
The LISSTs are on their way back to Schiit. During the second day of use they started producing noise in the right channel. No signal being applied and Freya in mute mode. Something getting through that shouldn't have. Sounded like a short and, actually, a lot like a conventional tube going bad. Shut things down. Pulled the LISSTs. Installed a quad of conventional glass tubes. Powered back up. Everything okay...no damage done. Given the long expected service life of 6SN7s in Freya and their affordability, I personally don't see an advantage to LISST. Maybe if they ran cool...but they don't.

By the way, Laura in Schiit customer service was very quick to respond to my email about the problem and provided a prepaid FEDEX label for the return.

I guess I was a fortune one...my LISST's seem to be OK...though when I thought to remove one right after installing it, it came out without the alignment/center post, so, I guess it is LISST's forever...lol...

I concur that relative to the new production Tung Sol's I was using, the LISST's are a bit softer/smoother in the high frequencies...and the bass sounds to me to be appreciably more solid...even relative to the "JFET mode", so, who knows, YMMV...however, in my system, the slightly more damped highs sound better to MY ears...in MY system...in MY home...lol...

I am curious about what others hear, and feel about the LISST's in their systems...?...

 

[kazsud]

I put my Freya up for sale w/ a new pair of current production Tung Sols if anyone is interested.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-freya-w-new-tung-sols.872948/

 

[kazsud]

Tube'd monitor setups are one of my favorites. The tubes that came w/ mine had all kinds of microphonics, but when I got the new Tung Sols it made me a happy boy.

I still need to hear how Genelecs sound....

 

[hornytoad]

Tube'd monitor setups are one of my favorites. The tubes that came w/ mine had all kinds of microphonics, but when I got the new Tung Sols it made me a happy boy.

I still need to hear how Genelecs sound....

Genelec’s are treble forward , execellent mid and high range , little light on bass and low end .
Some may have a different opinion .
The treble sparkles on their speakers , some may not like that.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

These KenRad vt231 black bottles really bring a visceral bass to the system via Freya. Considerably more than JFet and other tubes I've heard. This without bleeding into the mids/highs.

I did lose a little bit of euphonics to the mids/highs over the EH 6sn7gt which I really enjoy in jazz. I may swap the tubes and put the EH as drivers and see how much bass I retain while adding tube syrup goodness.

 

[guitarforlife]

Hello all. This is my first post here. I have been a lurker for some time. I have read all about the freya preamp here. I have a few things I would like to add. Hope it helps anyone that is curious about it.
First I have two systems. I run the saga in one and the freya in another.

That being said. I will describe my system with the Freya.
I run a Loki as well with this and a modi for phono. They are awesome as well. I using a Emotvia XPA-2 amp running a pair of Magenpan 1.7 speakers with a SVS sub out of the second out put from the freya.
I am using a Macintosh CD player along with a Marantz CD player and a Rega RP3 turntable.

Like so many I have read on here I had a noisy static sound come and go at times. Very annoying during quiet passages or in-between songs. The Saga NEVER has done this.
I tested everything replaced every cable and speaker wire. I then started likes many here to rearrange the tubes. That change the noise from the left to right speaker.
I then ordered new tung sol 6sn7 tubes a matched quartet from tube depot. I replace the stock tubes. And guess what all is great.

The Saga on the other hand has been fine since the minuet I hooked it up. That is running a 1962 Dynaco ST-70 amp again with a Loki and a Modi. I'm using a Macintosh CD player along with a Oppo and a Pioneer 707 Reel to reel deck and a kenwood turn table. Elac speakers and a SVS sub out the second output on the Saga. This is a fantastic system. I did replace the stock tube in the saga with a NOS Raytheon tube.

Thanks for you time, hope this was helpful I have read so many post with strange noise issues and I know it is time consuming to trouble shoot at times. For me new tubes did the trick.
As far as the Schiit gear I have I love it all. It has been fantastic and great sounding. Trust me I have a ton of gear on shelves as "Spares" But their stuff is great.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

The stock tubes on the Freya are really there to just get people running. I don't think you can fire up the Freya without tubes in the socket... With that said every owner should at least reach for a quad set of EH 6sn7gt. Cheap and miles ahead stock.

The only time I'd even run stock tubes would be if i just strictly used passive or jfet..

---------------------

You can use the Freya without tubes if you stay in passive or JFET mode.

Didn't know this! What happens if you accidentally push the remote or selector wrong and it goes into tube mode? Catastrophic consequences?

 

[jseymour]

You can use the Freya without tubes if you stay in passive or JFET mode.

 

[LouS]

These KenRad vt231 black bottles really bring a visceral bass to the system via Freya. Considerably more than JFet and other tubes I've heard. This without bleeding into the mids/highs.

I did lose a little bit of euphonics to the mids/highs over the EH 6sn7gt which I really enjoy in jazz. I may swap the tubes and put the EH as drivers and see how much bass I retain while adding tube syrup goodness.

Oddly, it seems to me that the slightly newer Ken-Rads sound better than the black ones, BUT, I have only 1 set of the black ones, so that's a pretty small sample. I would recommend Treasure II's, or Raytheons as your second set of tubes, they both immage exceptionally well. With the Ken-Rads that I have, imaging is not their forte, truth in tone/timbre and bass are, so mixing and matching is, IME, the way to so. Also, after trying out insanely expensive cables, the inexpensive Signal Silver Resolutions are the best sounding in my system.