[Paladin79]

I'm a vintage Heuer man myself. That and modern Christopher Ward watches.

Heuer, Rolex, and multiple other Swiss for me.

 

[belgiangenius]

how about vitamin-Q teflon or similar "audiophile approved" bypasses (insulate the leads, of course) on the underside of the PCB?

Bypasses are ok with great caps, but IMHO they won't do much for a mediocre cap.

 

[OldRoadToad]

I am a "Cat In The Hat" Man. Really. I have one. The minutes are numbered on the front and the rear is see-thru. Got me more dates in the '70s...

I like watches for what they are. To me.

ORT

 

[sam6550a]

I changed the caps in my Freya+ for VCAPs. I used 2.2uF, but it was expensive. That made a noticeable improvement in sound when in tube mode.

Thinking about trying some 0.47uF Jupiter copper foil paper & wax I have in my collection here. 2.2uF in that variety would not fit.

I also have some 0.47uF Duelund here, but they are enormous. Would need to drill holes in the top of the case for capacitors to extend through like the tubes. Hmmm....

You have a classical engineering tradeoff--sound vs size vs cost. Buy a bunch of clip leads and listen away.

 

[Bonehead7171]

I bought a Freya based upon the price/feature ratio figuring how could I go wrong and I didn't. The Schiit Freya introduced me to the world of 6SN7s and many of its variants: 6F8G, 7N7, 7193/2C22. It gave me great sound at a very good price and a new hobby, tube collecting. I would recommend it to anyone who wants separate components without breaking the bank. The Freya motivated me in a good way to upgrade to an end game (at least in my mind) 6SN7 preamp. We all have our own audio biases, but I can't imagine a Freya with good tubes being disliked. I spent 3X the price to get something better.

And I feel sorry for those who cannot appreciate the pixie magic dust that tubes bring to audio.

It’s funny - I almost always run my Freya and monoblock Vidars in buffer mode. But, after all the tube talk here, I was listening to a Jackson Brown song that was SO BRIGHT, I switched on the tubes and it tamed it PERFECTLY!!!

Freya and the options it offers are amazing!!!

 

[davidflas]

I cant stop buying DACs! I couldn’t resist buying one of those $4 Amazon units! I can’t wait to compare it to my collection of Schiit DAC’s.

 

[artur9]

Zomg you guys, I just realized I have 4 noval lissts! What a dum dum I am. Thought I only had 1. Hard to keep track of this Schiit.

I think, given Jason's EOY summary, you may need an ERP.

 

[theeclone]

I think, given Jason's EOY summary, you may need an ERP.

Careful, you're treading on thin ice with that software talk!

 

[Paladin79]

It’s funny - I almost always run my Freya and monoblock Vidars in buffer mode. But, after all the tube talk here, I was listening to a Jackson Brown song that was SO BRIGHT, I switched on the tubes and it tamed it PERFECTLY!!!

Freya and the options it offers are amazing!!!

Now imagine working with three sets of tube combinations, and the variables those offer.

My son is here visiting and he got to hear my current system for the first time; he will inherit it one day. I will not mention which gear he currently owns but he was fairly amazed by the SQ of my present system. As a matter of etiquette I played a few favorite tracks then turned everything over to him so he could select music he knew well. My choices included some Art Pepper, Nils Lofgren, Warren Zevon, and Rachael Price. He put on some Chris Cornell and Larry Carlton. Unfortunately he heads back to the DC area tomorrow so he will miss out on my DAC comparisons.

 

[artur9]

Mine do as well somewhat

Yeah. Makes it a challenge to find music that really plumbs the depths. I do like some organ music and that helps but old recordings don't have much bass.

My mains are such that my subs are crossed over very low (40Hz) because otherwise the subs are detrimental.

 

[artur9]

My main watch is now an Apple Watch (wrist computer??). I’m not actually a fan of how it looks, but as I’m in every US time zone several times per month I can’t understate the value of a watch that automatically syncs to local time.
Function over form wins this time (no pun intended)

I know people who work in places where some locations forbid electronics with any kind of chip. I think we're on the part of the sine wave where we're allowed to talk about watches again?

 

[OldRoadToad]

Now imagine working with three sets of tube combinations, and the variables those offer.

My son is here visiting and he got to hear my current system for the first time; he will inherit it one day. I will not mention which gear he currently owns but he was fairly amazed by the SQ of my present system. As a matter of etiquette I played a few favorite tracks then turned everything over to him so he could select music he knew well. My choices included some Art Pepper, Nils Lofgren, Warren Zevon, and Rachael Price. He put on some Chris Cornell and Larry Carlton. Unfortunately he heads back to the DC area tomorrow so he will miss out on my DAC comparisons.

Might I recommend the "Sheep Toads" of Aridzona...Nothing quite as soothingly melodic.

ORT

 

[Paladin79]

Yeah. Makes it a challenge to find music that really plumbs the depths. I do like some organ music and that helps but old recordings don't have much bass.

My mains are such that my subs are crossed over very low (40Hz) because otherwise the subs are detrimental.

My subs are set close to 40 hz as well, Castellucci goes down to about 23 hz not counting sub harmonics. I use him more to check volume level at low frequencies.

 

[sam6550a]

Now imagine working with three sets of tube combinations, and the variables those offer.

My son is here visiting and he got to hear my current system for the first time; he will inherit it one day. I will not mention which gear he currently owns but he was fairly amazed by the SQ of my present system. As a matter of etiquette I played a few favorite tracks then turned everything over to him so he could select music he knew well. My choices included some Art Pepper, Nils Lofgren, Warren Zevon, and Rachael Price. He put on some Chris Cornell and Larry Carlton. Unfortunately he heads back to the DC area tomorrow so he will miss out on my DAC comparisons.

Hopefully, the date of inheritance will be far in the future, Tom!

 

[US Blues]

So, if you substitute a regular cable, do you hear a difference? And if so, is it real, or your imagination?

I don't wanna try listening to power cables, I do have two hospital cables that came with used gear .... but I refuse to test myself because of the small possibility I'll be converted to a cable sayer.

What's the problem with becoming a cable sayer? Your system will sound better.

Why not try some Shunyata "NR" noise reduction cables? Those will scare you into becoming a cable sayer.