Schiit Freya + Class A in Stereophile
I know there are a lot of audiophiles who don't think sterophile knows what they are talking about but I think its' pretty impressive that a 1000 preamp is put in the same category as 50K and up. I can't really believe that the Freya + is that good. I have one and do think it's pretty amazing for all that you get and you can really make it even better with some better tubes. I am constantly blown away at the sound of the Freya + into the Decware Zen triode amp. 2K for the combo and just about the best sound I have ever had in my home. Great news for less well heeled audiophiles.
Exactly. There is class A then there is class A. I do think that if you could get a good match with your system you could be knocking on the door of a very fine system with the Freya+ or Topping Pre90. Knowing what gear work might work with your system is half the battle. |
I have the Freya + and it replaced a Parasound SS amp. A long while back I had a Odyssey Candela. What a disaster! Hum issues that plague that company. The Freya has been the best sounding but it's really just breaking end. I have a low power exhaust fan above it to keep it cool. I don't think of it as a Class A component, I just think it's a great sounding bargain audio piece of gear! |
Yes I can attest to the comparison between the LS50 and Wilson speakers. I had been running some LS50 for a few months moving them around from room to room as I was doing some remodeling. I thought wow these rooms really sound bad, hopeless for audio. I got a deal on some Wilson duettes and put them in the system that had the LS50 in on of the rooms and OMG what a massive difference. We need to re do the alphabet if LS50 and Wilson are both considered class A. I am pretty happy overall with the sound of my Freya + and when you read that it's considered to be in the same ballpark of sound at the 16K Audio Research pre then I think why bother. |
+1 @avanti1960 . I noticed that in the latest Recommended Components, there is very little recommended that is not in Class A or Class B. Grade inflation? |
