Freya's tube gain stage is a totally different animal. Schiit Audio Freya S Preamplifier. These are well known, highly regarded tubes and worked extremely well in the Freya. MacBook Pro-> Schiit WYRD-> Schiit Modi Multibit-> Schiit Loki-> FREYA+ -> Swan Hivi M300 (Just a decent active speaker, I've not heard a KEF or Kii? Schiit Bifrost 2 . I have a Freya S, and like it very much. Not bad gear on my end but bad recordings. From a 4-way blind comparison of Saga S, Saga+, Freya S, and Freya+: "The Saga + fell about halfway in-between the Saga S and the best performing pre, the Freya + (also the most expensive). Schiit is a name that many in the audiophile community know and love. or the like) but theses M300s really bring it. Schiit supplied me with four 6SN7 vacuum tubes. Brian Hunter. I'm currently on a tube sabbatical. You need a preamp for both moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges or a passive preamp starting Now with balanced output and remote control, and featuring Schiit’s unique True Multibit™ architecture with a time-and frequency-domain optimized digital filter, plus there own Unison USB™ input and easy-to-upgrade Autonomy™ platform, Bifrost delivers higher … "Schiit has a real knack for making serious audiophile gear that's also affordable. Freya Plus is a refinement of the original Freya, with higher performance, more features, and enhanced ease of use. Schiit Preamps Schiit Preamps Schiit Preamps. I ran tubes everyday for over 30 years. With a remote control set to the potentiometer and near distortion-free tuning, the Freya plus represents a newly improved preamplifier that would work well in any audiophile's set-up. My first tube amp was actually the Schiit Vahalla, and I have owned the Asgard, Lyr, and Mjolnir in the past and currently have a Gungnir Multi-bit DAC that I use in my office. We have passive and phono preamps to choose from it could not be much simpler. Combine the Schiit Vidar with a single-ended preamp like Saga for a complete system with insane, no-compromise performance—for just a little over a grand. Still, don't get the wrong idea, Freya's sound isn't soft or laid back, there's resolution aplenty. Schiit Freya + is a Balanced Passive or Active Pre amp with Remote Control. Or, run two Schiit Vidar's from a preamp with balanced outputs (like our Freya) for true mono block performance and 400 watts per channel into 8 ohms. I think that if you're tube curious, Freya + would be a great way to go. The Freya S uses Schiit's "Nexus" circuit for the unity gain and 4db gain options , while the Freya + uses a differential buffer for unity gain. I found the ordering process with Schiit extremely efficient and even the courier, FedEx, were good. The Bifrost 2 is nothing less than a complete re-thinking of what an affordable DAC should be. In the case of the Freya S, there was no way I would ever have got one from the UK, as it has been discontinued. But it’s still a true no-excuses, balanced, remote-control preamp. I'm shocked at just how bad some studio recordings of some of my favorite music sounds. The Aegir is a power amp and must be matched with a preamp. I bought my Freya S direct from US and also the Unison USB board for my Yggy. Schiit's Jotunheim, Saga or Freya preamps will be fine partners for use with the Aegir. Schiit have taken their already well-received Freya preamp and have incorporated modifications that fans of the company have eagerly asked for. Anyway this will be my first tube hifi device, I currently use the Yggy directly into an ATI 6002 amp and then a pair of ML Electromotions. Audio-Head: A Four-Way Schiit Shootout. Those four tubes gracing Freya's topside aren't just any tube mind you, Freya uses my favorite preamp type, the 6SN7, which is a bit larger than most.