Schiit Freya + line preamplifier

What am I doing with a vacuum tube preamplifier? I haven’t owned a tubed preamp since I bought a Sonic Frontiers Line 3 preamplifier at the turn of the century. I set that aside within a few years as I moved into multichannel because multichannel tube-based electronics were, and still are, rare. My last home experience with a vacuum tube was with a PS Audio Stellar M1200 monoblock power amp, which is a hybrid with a 12AX7-based input stage.

But why not? As I wrote in reviewing a tube preamp back in 1997, “if the results are worthwhile, why should I care if the designer builds an amp powered by rats on a treadmill?”

I included the Freya + when I began looking around for a simple, inexpensive, deadly clean preamp that met my basic requirements: balanced inputs and outputs, a relay-switched resistive-ladder volume control, and a remote control. The solid state Freya S ($599), which lacks a vacuum tube mode, also qualified, but I relished the opportunity to re-expose myself to vacuum tubes. The Freya + ticked all the boxes. It has two pairs of balanced XLR inputs, three pairs of unbalanced RCA inputs, one pair of XLR outputs, and two pairs of RCA outputs. In the active modes, the XLR output signals are balanced for all inputs. The latter is particularly useful because all the outputs are simultaneously active, and they allow the attachment of multiple amplifiers, line-level crossovers, and subwoofers without clumsy splitters. (In the completely passive mode, signals are passed from input to volume control and out; without active elements, there is no way to convert an unbalanced signal into a balanced signal output. Thus, only in this mode, RCA input signals appear unbalanced on the XLR outputs.)

Setup and ergonomics
The Freya + comes double boxed in plain brown corrugated cardboard, with sufficient foam insulation and support. A second, smaller box contains four matched new-production Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tubes. At 11lb, the Freya + isn’t a heavyweight, but considering its compact size, it’s substantial. Most of the weight, apart from the chassis, takes the form of two transformers, a 48VA one for the tubes and a 24VA one for the rest of the circuitry and controls.

Setup was easy. I inserted the four tubes into the only places they can go, installed the battery in the remote control, and inserted the AC cord into the IEC socket on the back. My system uses balanced connections, so I connected a pair of XLR cables to Input 1 and another pair to Bal Out.

The labels on the front panel controls and LEDs are tiny, cryptic symbols—so small that they weren’t very useful; until I committed them to memory, I needed the diagram in the booklet at my side. The volume knob is small with little sensory feedback—just the soft clicking of the relays that it operates. The only indication of the volume setting—apart from the volume of the music playing—is a small, uncolored depression on the knob. Even in a well-lit room, I was unable to see it from 2′ away; in dimmer light suitable for relaxed listening, it was invisible. I could also carp about the remote control’s strange and tiny labeling—and yet, that said, the Freya + controls were responsive and reliable.

All the controls and indicators are toward the right side of the front panel and centered under the tube quartet. On the extreme right is a “Status” LED that blinks when it is starting up and when tube mode is turned on or off—that is, it blinks when the preamp is powered up but not yet passing a signal and is off for normal operation. A line of five LEDs indicates the selected input, and a touch button selects one of the five inputs sequentially. Then comes the volume knob and, to its left, a button that selects the output mode. Activation of the passive and solid state modes is instantaneous; there is a delay of about 45 seconds when tube mode is activated, unless the tubes are already warmed up. The Freya’s power switch is on the back of the chassis, implying that Schiit intends for the Freya to remain on most of the time. If you do leave it on, it’s best to switch it into SS or passive mode to preserve tube life; in either of these two modes, the Freya + removes power from the tubes and associated circuitry.

Listen × 3
The Freya +’s three distinct circuit configurations argue for its consideration as three distinct preamplifiers. I started listening with the Freya + in passive mode; as one might predict, the sound was clean and uncolored. I had recently downloaded some free tracks by Carmen Gomes from Sound Liaison to fritter away some time comparing formats. Regardless of format, the sounds were transparent, balanced, and startlingly spacious—the same as when I physically bypassed the preamp by connecting the input cables directly to the output cables. The Freya was dead quiet at all level settings. If passive mode was the only way to run the Freya +, it would be useful as an input selector and volume control that could be inserted into any system without audible penalty.

However, experience tells me not to presume that the passive mode is perfect in all applications. I run 10m balanced interconnects to the power amps, and the insertion of a competent active line driver has, in the past, improved the sound compared to running direct from volume-controlled DACs. Unable to contain my curiosity, I touched the button to put the Freya + into solid state differential buffer mode. On “A Fool for You” (24/352.8 FLAC), the bass was even better defined, though it was neither more nor less pronounced than in passive mode.

The midrange seemed a trifle restrained, or relaxed, depending on the context. For example, Gomes’s voice was firmly anchored to my center loudspeaker in passive mode but, while still centrally placed, it was a step back and better integrated into the soundstage in buffer mode. Treble detail seemed just a bit increased. Noise at all levels was inaudible.

With larger ensembles, I noticed the same differences, and more. The opening track (“Lunge da voi, ben mio”) on a collection of Kapsberger’s music performed by L’Escadron Volant de la Reine (CD, Il Tedesco a Roma, Harmonia Mundi HMM902645), the solo voices were pure and intimate in both modes, but the SS buffer mode filled out the space around them more completely. When the whole ensemble joined in, the differences between the two modes were magnified.

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Schiit Audio

24900 Anza Dr., Unit A

Valencia, CA 91355

schiit.com

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