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Schiit Audio feedback
I wanted to provide some feedback on Schiit Audio. I had been wanting to get one of their Freya+ tube preamps to try with my recently modified Adcom 555II. John at Musical Concepts did a phenomenal job on my Adcom. I’d highly recommend them if you’re an Adcom owner and you need some work done.
I had been hesitating purchasing the Freya+ and then I ran across one that was barely used in just fantastic condition at a pretty good price. I brought it home, hooked it up to my Adcom and Tektons and have really enjoyed it the last few months. Several weeks ago, I was listening in solid state mode (tubes were bypassed) more for background music as opposed to critical listening since I was getting some work done. I took a phone call, hit stop on my player, and while I was on the phone, I heard a terrible pop or bang from the area of the Freya. I ran over and all I could hear was a sizzling sound coming from it. I unplugged the Freya immediately and it was extremely hot to the touch. I was worried at that point that it might have taken out my amp or speakers. I debated on what to do as I was the second owner so I knew that the warranty would be no good. I figured the repair bill would be a few hundred dollars. I checked with the original owner for the date of purchase and it was 10/21. I am not going to lie – I gave some thought to seeing if the original owner would send it back for me in order to get it covered under warranty, but I decided that was just not the right thing to do. So, I contacted Schiit, filled out the paperwork explaining the problem and that I was not the original owner, got a return authorization, shipped it back, and gritted my teeth waiting for the estimate.
A couple of weeks later I got a shipping notification from FedEx and a couple of days later the Freya+ arrived. No charge for the repair. There wasn’t even a charge for shipping it back to me. I was absolutely stunned. What company does that? They had no reason to cover that repair since I was not the original owner but they did. I hooked everything back up and my amp and speakers seem just fine and everything sounds just as great as before. I can’t thank Schiit Audio enough so I wanted to do it publicly on this forum. This will definitely influence future purchases as I will always look to them first.
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I have a few Schitt items. I find the Yggdrasil+ OG and LIM DACs are reference level for me. That is after comparing (owning) many DACs from the $1k-$3k range, and one $15k. The Yggi+(s) saved me a lot of money to spend on other gear. The Schitt Mjolnir v3 preamp is a beauty and much better to my ears than the Freya+ I sold long ago. Only issue with the Mjolnir is that it does not have a remote. I use that preamp for my RAAL Requisite headphones along with the Schitt Aegir amp (another rather good unit). This setup is almost as good as the king of the hill, RAAL VM-1a tube headphone amp (I also own). I used to think a bit negatively of the Schitt products until I bought a few pieces and listened to them. They ended up replacing some much more expensive pieces. |
Through my countless number of transactions over the many years, luckily, I have had only a few companies that I thought did not treat me right. But those companies I remember and do the best I can to let others beware. Perhaps they (Schiit) are better these days, but after reading your recent purchase adventure, maybe they are not. ozzy |
I had purchased a Freyer + it was delivered with a small pin prick above the volume control, observable when close, they immediately knocked off $100 should I keep it. I said send me a new unit, they still did not and I had to send mine back in and wait two weeks while being repaired. I believe my 30 days were up by then and now it was warranty work on there part. |
I however had a very bad experience with Schiit. I purchased one of those add-on digital jitter reducer devices a few years back with a 30-day money back guarantee. When I returned it in about a week (at my expense) they subtracted out their shipping cost and charged me a 30% restocking fee! I should note: There was nothing wrong with the unit I returned, it just didn’t impress me. Never, ever, will I ever buy another Schiit. Properly named. ozzy |
My Freya+ has fried two transformers during its 5-year warranty period. Both fixed with no charge, return shipping paid. |
@ross6860 that is alarming. I thought mine was a freak accident. Could be a design issue. But I still appreciate Schiit standing behind their product. |
I've had decent luck with Schiit gear except for two Frey+ preamps. Both exhibited the same problem as the OP right out of the box. Sounded like frying bacon and pops and bangs so bad I thought that my speakers would be damaged. Schiit replaced the first unit (after sending me some replacement tubes) but the second one did the same thing. FWIW they only showed the problem in "tube" mode. They played fine in the two SS modes. Also, Parasound serviced my JC-2 preamp for "no charge". I am not the original buyer, either.
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Well, not always. I bought several pieces as an experiment and in helping a friend pick out a system and had no responses from customer service… at all in the three weeks after ordering. I tried to contact them multiple times, no response. This does not condemn the company. But they are a budget audio company and customer service can be spotty. |
That was great that Schiit did repairs in that situation at no charge — I don’t find that kind of customer service very often. I own the Freya+ — don’t really have much to compare it to, but it seems like quality gear for a fair price. I like the option to play it SS, to save on the tubes when I’m not seriously listening. I recommend it to anyone putting together an affordable system, |
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I’ve got a Schitt stack for headphone listening in my den, feeding a Vali 2 and a Modi 3+ (AKM chip) with a cheap WiiM Pro streamer. Has worked fine so far over the last couple of years. Have loved tube rolling the Vali 2+, currently have some 6922 tubes in it. |