4 New Schiit Preamps (Saga and Freya variants)

Discussion in 'Preamps' started by rlow, May 28, 2019.

  1. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,070
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Well my 2c for battles of the future - remote switchable outputs. And yes, two balanced outs, please. One for 2 channel and one for a headamp. Or for biamping. Ta.
     
  2. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,973
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Denver CO
    Home Page:
    This. Please. With volume control.

    I know they'd love it if I got two Yggdrasil, one for the speakers, and one for my headphone amp (both requiring balanced connections), but a remote switch would be incredibly useful.
     
  3. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 4, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,684
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    NH
    spot on !

    @schiit just wanted to say thanks for all the options, we are spoiled and should be thankful. Maybe I'll save up for a freya and be done with it !
     
  4. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,750
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Calgary, Alberta
    Home Page:
  5. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,735
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    For those who are interested, the internal board pics for each of the new preamps are up on schiit.com.

    @schiit, just wondering if you have any comments about the passive circuit/mode for the Freya S? Is there anything worth noting that you feel might improve transparency over the previous Freya passive mode (recognizing you don’t generally comment on sound quality specifically, unless you’re cornered by some guy with a phone camera at an audio show ;-)? Or pretty much the same passive design as the previous Freya?

    Same question I suppose for the Freya+ as well, but my primary desires are in the S. From the external view of the board, overall the S certainly looks a lot simpler compared to the tube versions (for obvious reasons).
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2019
  6. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 3, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,446
    Trophy Points:
    93
    What the hell is Nexus? I'm really intrigued, cause...

    IMG_0023.jpg


    ...this pic was at a friends house, it's a Vidar with later rev Freya (the one with lower gain) speakers are big Energy Veritas 2.4i's -- setting up & listening.

    Here's the thing... (don't have a pic) but visualize a Lyr3 as preamp sitting on top of that Vidar.

    The sound was friggin' AMAZING*.

    It was a deep expansive soundstage you could walk thru, it was holographic and physical.

    Using the Freya lost the physicality and seemed a bit more diffuse and ragged/simplified to me, still deep nice soundstage, but kept wanting to readjust the speaker placement, the bass/mids just not as good.


    Is Nexus the Lyr3/Aegir/FreyaS circuit or is it Continuity doing this (Lyr3/Aegir) (whatever the better than classA term is)?


    Really hoping the FreyaS (only one with new Nexus) can pull off whatever the Lyr3 is doing...

    Anyone else try Lyr3 as preamp?!?

    *Was gonna play around with this some more, but Schiit dropped these new preamps... ie this whole post is more premature than I planned, also I've NOT seen anyone ever mention Lyr3 preamp performance.
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2019
  7. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,735
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    Nexus was first announced as coming with Rag 2, but ended up coming first in Freya S, as per Jason’s post on the previous page.

    Lyr 3 I think is Continuity and Coherence. Aegir is Continuity I believe.

    Have never heard Lyr 3 as a preamp, but you have me intrigued.
     
  8. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,831
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    East Coast
    upload_2019-5-30_22-8-28.png

    Wow, didn't expect these available to order this fast.

    It seems that all new products are in stock and ship in 1-3 days, as promised in the chapter.
     
  9. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,026
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rapallo, Italy
    And it'll prolly take 6 months for them to be available at the EU distributor. :(
     
  10. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    @Scott Kramer What was the source used when comparing the Lyr 3 and Freya as preamps? If a DAC, was it hooked up via single-ended outputs to both preamps?

    I don't think that Continuity is relevant in the comparison because it's an amplifier output stage. It couldn't be Nexus as the only product released with this topology is the Freya S, with Ragnarok 2 to follow shortly.

    Re: Coherence:
    Might be worth posting in the Lyr 3 thread and seeing if others have used a preamp in a speaker system.
     
  11. Bloom

    Bloom MOT: Bloom Audio

    Joined:
    May 5, 2019
    Likes Received:
    495
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    NJ
    Home Page:
    These are outstanding additions to the Schiit lineup. But man, I'm frothing at the mouth for news on the Rag 2!
     
  12. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 3, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,446
    Trophy Points:
    93
    @zonto: Same DAC and SE each time. Can't give you a good reference/comparable re DAC cause it's a oneoff optimized LPS/pi3B+/piCoreRT/384_upsampled_to_bypass_burrbrown_filters_bla_bla_bla/alloBOSSdac lol (it's realllly good tho) he's just not ready to do a gun/ya2, sorry--

    I'm sure the Lyr3 when "preamping" is using that amp output stage (the full circuit), it's just a very light load driving SE (you have to disconnect the headphones to activate the preouts), so yeah probably not what the FreyaS or + is at all, and def not like OG freya. But interesting, possibly a superlinear better than classA preamp, def gonna experiment more and will be fun to try it against these new pre's!

    EDIT: I'll shut up now, will continue sometime on the Lyr3 thread. Also please see post #46 above for reference!
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2019
  13. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,735
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    “Rag Mouth” - I think they have pills for that. Talk to your Schiitr-inarian :p
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2019
  14. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,320
    Trophy Points:
    113
    A reference point for your impressions would actually be useful as a starting point, what preamp/set-up do you use regularly?
     
  15. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,682
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    NOVA
    Home Page:
  16. Wilhelm E Vormer

    Wilhelm E Vormer New

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2017
    Likes Received:
    14
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    London
    Already in stock at Schiit Europe.
     
  17. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,026
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rapallo, Italy
    More like pre-orderable, but thanks for the heads up, grabbed Freya S at a small discount.

    Guess I'll put in a small order of cables with Gotham so I can actually use it when it gets here.
     
  18. mattking52

    mattking52 New

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2017
    Likes Received:
    22
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Pasadena, CA
    Received my Freya+ yesterday evening, and after doing some "baseline" listening with my OG Freya first, hooked it up to my system. I also took the same tubes I was using in the OG Freya (platinum-grade Russian 6H8C/6SN7 from Upscale Audio) and transferred them to the new Freya+ to keep things as "apples-to-apples" as possible.

    I left it on for a few hours while out running some errands, and am now revisiting the same playlist (ALAC files via Gungnir Multibit).

    Looking forward to posting some more detailed impressions as I spend more time with it, but here are my first observations:
    • The refinements and added attention to detail are really satisfying. The "fastenerless" chassis looks stunning; it's amazing what a difference that [a lack of] four screws can make. The volume knob also doesn't have the set screw in it like the original Freya, making it a lot more attractive, and the light pipes are quite nice.
    • Mode/input switching on the remote is instantaneous, but there is a *slight* bit of latency between a volume button press on the remote and the response from the motorized pot (and the corresponding relay switching). Small price to pay, however, for the mechanical tracking of the volume pot with the remote. I had gotten used to that quirk on the old model long ago, but this new functionality elevates the user experience quite a bit.
    • Switching between the modes works exactly as Jason described; you can easily toggle rapidly between the differential buffer and passive modes without getting your ears blasted by the increased gain of the tube stage as would happen with the older model. When you have the tube mode selected, you hear a nice, reassuring click after 5 seconds as the tubes are switched on and the 45 second warm up starts. Once the tube mode is fully engaged, there is another 5 (maybe 10?) second delay before the tubes are switched off, so you can easily get back to tube mode again without having to wait another 45 seconds. Really nicely executed!
    • I can say right off the bat that the tube mode is definitely a LOT quieter than in the previous model. Looking at the specs, you certainly didn't need me to tell you that, but it is pretty staggering. Using the same tubes as before, I can put my ears next to my tweeters [which are efficient compression drivers/horns that revealed an audible amount of hiss with the previous model] and am struggling to hear any hissing from the tubes. Will be interesting to try the Tung-Sols supplied with the unit.
    • To my ears, differential buffer mode currently sounds ever so slightly more "closed in"/compressed than passive mode, which is very open and transparent, but I will expect that to change as the unit gets more hours on it. I listened to my OG Freya primarily in JFET buffer mode (just because I like the idea of a lower output impedance driving my cabling, even though my cable lengths are as short as possible), and I could usually switch between the two modes and not be able to distinguish any audible difference whatsoever. I do admit that I could be imagining this, as I've obviously not done any A/B/X testing here.
    Overall, the improved user experience and fit/finish made this worth the extra $200 over the cost of the original unit, and for me, further solidifies this preamp as being in a class of its own at this price. Bravo, @schiit!
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2019
  19. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

    Preliminary Freya S vs Goldpoint (2 hours)

    Goldpoint wins

    Goldpoint
    +++ Oozes plankton

    Freya S nexus
    + More even tonality
    + more 3Dish like tube, perhaps more "fun"
    ++ Midbass thump

    Freya passive
    * Worse goldpoint

    Remote of Freya is nice but I am leaning more towards dealing with remoteless goldpoint for plankton buffet and I'm one lazy mofo.
     
  20. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    @Hooncake How much “worse” is the Freya passive than the Goldpoint, and is that impression solely based on plankton or other factors as well?
     

Share This Page