Schiit freya preamp - any owners out there? Leave it on?

I emailed Schiit on the topic of Freya+ and tube current, and they got back to me in a few hours on a Saturday.  Other places that I email on a weekend don't respond until the following monday or tuesday.  

On the tube circuit and the life of the tubes when not in tube mode, they said this:

The Freya + has a tube shut off mode, so the tubes are off and it will preserve their life. There might still be current running through it since they are in the signal path so it might affect it somewhat, but the tubes will not be on at least.

From that I gather that tube life will be extended if one disengages tube mode.  This is a 100% improvement over the 1st gen Freya.  However, some current will still affect the tubes, as long as the unit is on. Good to know.

The switch in back is inconvenient. That said I love my Freya +. Best Buy’s IMO like Teton DI and Oppo 205.;I sit it in front of my stack and always power down when done. Never leave anything on as heat accelerates aging no matter what the component is, active or passive.

The email customer service guy at Schiit leaves a lot to desired with his responses. IDK, maybe he is overwhelmed but I’ve never had a question answered adequately. He will answer but not put much thought or effort to it.

This was my question to them:

Is there any benefit (or harm) to keeping the Freya + powered up all the time (obviously with tubes turned off when not in use)? I’ve heard various people offer opinions about this and I wanted to see if there was an official stance on this.

And their answer:

If the Freya + is on, the tubes will still have current going through them, and the tube life will still be diminished faster. It is OK to leave it on all the time, but we suggest turning it off for the life of the tubes.

I agree that it’s a great sounding preamp, especially when you roll the tubes. 

How does schiit compare to high tube preamps?  Schiit seems really good

Woodhart, that doesn't sound quite right, so I looked it up on Schiit's fact page, and they say this:

Freya+’s all-new tube stage with new-production 6SN7 tubes, DC heaters and semi-circlotron, noise-cancelling output stage is whisper-silent. Better yet, it turns off when you’re not using it! That’s right, both the tube heater and high voltage rails go away when not in use, so you can preserve lifetime of costly tubes.

They did this so the tubes life can be extended, so perhaps they didn't understand your question?  BTW, I've got the Freya+ too, and the tubes are completely cool when not in the circuit.  It's a great sounding pre, btw, the SNR and crosstalk numbers set it apart from many other tube pre's.

I own the Freya+ and asked Schiit this question. They said that even in passive the tubes were still getting power and you should turn it off if you are not using it. 

How are you setting up your system?  I have everything side-by-side on a long, low shelf and find no inconvenience to the power switches being on the back.  If you’re stacking it in a rack or a high shelf that would be a problem. I turn it off after each session.

I have never measured any consumption. My last month power bill was only 107.00 for a 2600 SF home so I am pretty sure it is next to nothing. The 4B3 only consumes 500 milliwatts in standby mode so I suspect in passive the Freya Plus will only pull a single watt at most. They list typical consumption (active) at 40W.

Phcollie, you very smart and schiit is looking really good to me now. Have you ever measured watt use when in passive mode?

I have a Macintosh amp and a chord tt2 used to stream qobuz from a nucleus.

Yes, the input selector. One click to go to passive. No need to power off. I run expensive NOS tubes so put in passive after every listening session.
I never use the switch in the back & simply unplug system from wall when on vacation. Amp & DAC stay on 24/7 Being able to put tubes in Stand By was the reason I tried the Freya Plus to begin with, the Amazing SQ when paired with the right tubes is the reason I kept it. Using Bryston 4B3 amp, Nuprime DAC10 and Tubes are KenRad VT231 & Melz1578. Sound is sublime with Magnepan 1.7

Just curious, what amp are you using with the freya?  Which dac are you using?

Do u mean the input selector on remote?  
By switching to passive it does turn off tubes, and will also power down tubes after not being used for awhile.  If only arc could power down tubes when ht was in use, they have power control on remote.

I'm not sure if you know this, but the new Freya+ has a switch to totally turn off the tubes from the remote.