[Noldir]

Socket savers are fairly snug to the Freya tube holes on the chassis top, so they also limit lateral movement of the PCB mounted sockets. Assuming a few thousand insertions is 2,500, then it becomes 5,000 because you have to include the removal. I would not want to stress PCB mounted sockets that much. When I decided to buy a Freya, I also knew that I had to use socket savers.

I'm not planning on inserting and removing them that much, I had to test some stuff so I guess they've been in and out of their socket about 2 dozen times if that much at all. I noticed some sockets become slightly more loose but I was wondering if this is the socket getting worn in, the pins on the tube or just my imagination at work.

 

[TGeorgeL]

I'm not planning on inserting and removing them that much, I had to test some stuff so I guess they've been in and out of their socket about 2 dozen times if that much at all. I noticed some sockets become slightly more loose but I was wondering if this is the socket getting worn in, the pins on the tube or just my imagination at work.

FWIW, I put some socket savers (ones recommended by some users here) into my Freya. After a time, one of these savers broke—I don’t know how or why, but it was impossible to get an inserted tube to seat. I tried to remove the sockets savers from all sockets but could only get one of them out. Not wanting to try to remove the cover, I returned the Freya to Schiit and for a very reasonable fee, they removed them, checked the preamp out and returned it to me. That was the last tweak I will ever try!!

 

[Mondo Caliente]

That's an interesting question as I've probably done a dozen or so (maybe less) inserts and removals of the Freya tubes, and just assume I'm doing it right by really gently moving the tubes from side to side...as I've been doing for the last 50 years in other amps (mostly guitar amps), but never very frequently per amp...if a socket failed that would suck but be an easy fix I suppose...however, it's such a a pain to get the LEDs back in their proper holes after removing the top I'd likely send it to Schiit for that.

 

[TGeorgeL]

That's an interesting question as I've probably done a dozen or so (maybe less) inserts and removals of the Freya tubes, and just assume I'm doing it right by really gently moving the tubes from side to side...as I've been doing for the last 50 years in other amps (mostly guitar amps), but never very frequently per amp...if a socket failed that would suck but be an easy fix I suppose...however, it's such a a pain to get the LEDs back in their proper holes after removing the top I'd likely send it to Schiit for that.

Yes, removing tubes from the Freya was no problem. I got the socket savers to reduce heat. The savers I purchased had, literally, so little “wiggle room” because of the holes in the Freya’s top that I could only manage to remove one of them by gently wiggling it and pulling it out. The other three were just stuck and I couldn’t pull them straight up and out. A little arthritis in my fingers didn’t help matters.

 

[brad1138]

I had a couple tubes (Tung Sol NP) tested that I know were both 100%/new when purchased. Now, after less than 500 hrs, probably a lot less. One is at 87% and the other about 74%. They were in left and right buffer.... Could the Freya be wearing 1 side more than the other that drastically?

 

[sam6550a]

I had a couple tubes (Tung Sol NP) tested that I know were both 100%/new when purchased. Now, after less than 500 hrs, probably a lot less. One is at 87% and the other about 74%. They were in left and right buffer.... Could the Freya be wearing 1 side more than the other that drastically?

Tubes never age identically----wide variations in transconductance through their life is normal. When you say "100%", "87%", etc., are you talking about emission or transconductance? Emission is not an accurate measure of a tube's performance.

 

[CouryT]

I’ve had my Freya for about 8 months and it absolutely chews through tubes. I’ve bought mostly NOS tubes that tested well according to the sellers, and each pair sounds great at first — but after three to four weeks, they are full of loud crackles and buzzing. So far, I’ve burned through gray-bottle RCAs, black-bottle NUs, CBS-Hytrons, Tung-Sols, and vintage Soviet tubes from Upscale Audio. I figured it was my bad luck or that the sellers overrated them. So I bought some new-production Tung-Sols from Cryoset— and the same thing happened. The only pair that have been mostly quiet have been the Shuguang Treasures, and they’re pretty hissy, with occasional static. I was about to switch to LISST, but it appears I’m too late.

Does this mean I have a problem with the Freya itself?

Is it the socket savers?

Is my electricity impure?

 

[TGeorgeL]

I’ve had my Freya for about 8 months and it absolutely chews through tubes. I’ve bought mostly NOS tubes that tested well according to the sellers, and each pair sounds great at first — but after three to four weeks, they are full of loud crackles and buzzing. So far, I’ve burned through gray-bottle RCAs, black-bottle NUs, CBS-Hytrons, Tung-Sols, and vintage Soviet tubes from Upscale Audio. I figured it was my bad luck or that the sellers overrated them. So I bought some new-production Tung-Sols from Cryoset— and the same thing happened. The only pair that have been mostly quiet have been the Shuguang Treasures, and they’re pretty hissy, with occasional static. I was about to switch to LISST, but it appears I’m too late.

Does this mean I have a problem with the Freya itself?

Is it the socket savers?

Is my electricity impure?

If it were me, I would buy 4 Tung-Sols from Schiit and see what happens. If it is just what you have been experiencing, it would be up to Schiit re tubes or preamp. I know when I sent mine back they did not want any tubes included, just the preamp. It does sound like a bad preamp to me. I have no experience (nor do I want any) with NOS tubes for the Freya. Good luck!

 

[Noldir]

So I had some hiss in JFET mode from my speakers where I didn't have any with my previous preamp. So I hook up the Freya to my headphone system.
The system (Phone to Freya with Taurus MK2 and HE-4xx / Koss Portapro) was dead silent. Even in tube mode. As in, not a hiss, pop or crackle. I first thought it was because I was running in balanced mode but even in single ended mode same effect.

I at least expected to hear a little tube noise (I tapped a microphonic one to check they where even doing their thing) but nothing.

Did I miss something somehow that it's now dead quiet? Freya was on 100% and Taurus at the "plenty loud" level

 

[DrJam]

I’ve had my Freya for about 8 months and it absolutely chews through tubes. I’ve bought mostly NOS tubes that tested well according to the sellers, and each pair sounds great at first — but after three to four weeks, they are full of loud crackles and buzzing. So far, I’ve burned through gray-bottle RCAs, black-bottle NUs, CBS-Hytrons, Tung-Sols, and vintage Soviet tubes from Upscale Audio. I figured it was my bad luck or that the sellers overrated them. So I bought some new-production Tung-Sols from Cryoset— and the same thing happened. The only pair that have been mostly quiet have been the Shuguang Treasures, and they’re pretty hissy, with occasional static. I was about to switch to LISST, but it appears I’m too late.

Does this mean I have a problem with the Freya itself?

Is it the socket savers?

Is my electricity impure?

I have several pairs of old tubes I got off ebay including Sylvania, GE, RCA, Raytheon, Raytheon/Baldwin. I can't call any of them NOS because I don't know they were actually new, but perhaps used but tested well by the sellers. In any event, other than some tubes that arrived bad I haven't had any problems with any of the tubes - None have gone bad, and I pretty much use my freya all day every day since I got it more than a year ago.

 

[CouryT]

I have several pairs of old tubes I got off ebay including Sylvania, GE, RCA, Raytheon, Raytheon/Baldwin. I can't call any of them NOS because I don't know they were actually new, but perhaps used but tested well by the sellers. In any event, other than some tubes that arrived bad I haven't had any problems with any of the tubes - None have gone bad, and I pretty much use my freya all day every day since I got it more than a year ago.

Well, I think I’ll try filling out the Schiit help form and see what they say. I don’t think I can afford to buy new tubes every month!

Meanwhile, my volume knob makes a popping sound through the speakers at the same point on the dial when I raise or lower the volume. Anyone else have that issue?

 

[DrJam]

Well, I think I’ll try filling out the Schiit help form and see what they say. I don’t think I can afford to buy new tubes every month!

Meanwhile, my volume knob makes a popping sound through the speakers at the same point on the dial when I raise or lower the volume. Anyone else have that issue?

With this being my first tube amp I've wondered how long they will last, but I haven't noticed any issue of tube degradation at all. No degradation of sound quality or any crackles or buzzes or anything else. Right now I'm using some Raytheon/Baldwin and some GE that I've had for a while. No complaints here, and I've had both sets on hand (but not necessarily in use) for a year. Just the normal clicking when I change the volume (which is normal operation) but never any unexpected "pop".

 

[Mondo Caliente]

My Freya has been a tube rolling vehicle for a year or so, and all of the tubes used have performed swimmingly…NOS RCAs and Sylvania Chrome Domes are preferred these days, the Freya runs all day and well into the night (off when I'm out or TV distracted), dead quiet and gorgeous sounding…my experience with preamp tubes is they really last, as the input 6SN7GTB in my amp (single ended) has been perfect for a long time.

 

[papoopeepoo]

I've just received my Freya with new Tung-Sols 6SN7GTBs and octal LISSTs earlier this week. The fake tubes are much shorter than I was expecting. I'm lucky I have dexterous fingers because getting a strong hold on them could be tough for someone with weak hands. I haven't had a chance to listen to much music yet, so these are all just initial impressions. I installed the tubes first, and I noticed the tube in the right rear socket had some extra wiggle. On day one, the tubes were very quiet and clean sounding from my listening chair (86db efficient speakers). I listened for a few hours with no buzz or microphonics. A few days later, I'm now getting an intermittent buzz in the tube stage only. If I tap the right rear tube with a pencil, noise can be heard through the speakers. The other tubes don't act the same way. My stereo system is on a dedicated electrical circuit, and the circuit is used only for a few audio pieces, including a Gumby and a MacBook w an external hard drive for my iTunes. Tonight, I'll try keeping the sources turned off and try the Freya and power amp only to see if there are any buzz sounds. I haven't experimented much with the LISSTs yet. If the tube buzz remains, or gets worse, I'll contact Schiit and get a replacement set of tubes. I do like the sound of the tube stage with older music, so I'd like to, eventually, be able to enjoy the music rather than worry about the equipment constantly.

 

[CouryT]

I’ve had my Freya for about 8 months and it absolutely chews through tubes. I’ve bought mostly NOS tubes that tested well according to the sellers, and each pair sounds great at first — but after three to four weeks, they are full of loud crackles and buzzing. So far, I’ve burned through gray-bottle RCAs, black-bottle NUs, CBS-Hytrons, Tung-Sols, and vintage Soviet tubes from Upscale Audio. I figured it was my bad luck or that the sellers overrated them. So I bought some new-production Tung-Sols from Cryoset— and the same thing happened. The only pair that have been mostly quiet have been the Shuguang Treasures, and they’re pretty hissy, with occasional static. I was about to switch to LISST, but it appears I’m too late.

Does this mean I have a problem with the Freya itself?

Is it the socket savers?

Is my electricity impure?

So today I finally decided to pack up my Freya and send it back to Schiit to have it checked out. Before unplugging it, I gave it one last listen so I could compare it with my old Marsh preamp, which would be filling in for it.

And the tubes were quiet for the first time in months — no crackling or buzzing, just a low-level hiss.

Then I tried rolling the volume knob up and down — no popping sound through the speakers.

What.

After months of making weird noises, it’s suddenly quiet and I can again enjoy tube mode. But how in the heck did it “fix” itself? Should I still send it back?