Preamp help for First Watt J2/ZU Omens combo

First of all, "drinking from a fire hydrant" is an awesome descriptor thank you! Looking at some of the current preamp listings this jumps out:

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/phono-edge-electronics-si-1-2017-12-22-preamplifiers-59ecf403-a357..

$695 is well below your $1K budget, for a preamp that retailed for $2150. I've not heard it specifically but I've owned two other pieces from Edge over the years, a Signature One preamp and one of their more entry level amps. Both were excellent. You are right about no return policy but buying something used at the right price can make for pretty easy resale if it doesn't work out. As always just one opinion YMMV.  Good luck!

Sorry the Freya wasn’t your "cuppa" with the J2. Am using one with a First Watt F7 but it is well broken in and I’ve rolled tubes. Very happy with the sound.  More than tubes, interconnects from source to Freya and from Freya to amp seem to have a big effect on sound when that pre-amp is in the chain.  Driving Silverline Prelude Plus speakers, a Cardas Golden Reference XLR is between Gungnir and Freya and a Cardas Parsec SE between Freya and F7. It works for me and I’ve battled "harsh" in the system long enough to know! :-)  The F7 is very mellow and mates well with the Freya, or so I think.  Good luck in your hunt.

Thank you! Well, I am still giving the Freya go.  I have a buddy that has supplied me with a bunch of different tubes.  There are some that are definitely making it more smooth.  That's interesting about the interconnects.  I am running ZU missions to my Freya and ZU mission balanced XLR's to my J2.  I hear you that yours sound mellow but mine just seems very forward and fatiguing  so far.  I only have about 10 hours on it so I am hoping it will break in more so we shall see. 

Ghosthouse makes a good point about rolling tubes and just for fun can you try single ended cables from the Freya to your J2? It might relax the sound a bit you never know.

Good luck tk. Hope you find a good combination of tubes and wire for that Freya. There is a LOT of Freya discussion on HeadFi if you are interested. 81 pages ! (but they’re short ;-)

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-freya-impressions-and-tube-rolling-thread.832177/page-81

re my "mellow" comment...it’s definitely the combination gear, tubes & wire that gets it there. My sense coming from a 6H30/EZ80 tube preamp is that Freya is pretty neutral. I wouldn’t call it "mellow" as in slower with rolled off highs.  Hopefully it will open up and SQ will improve as well with further playing time; 10 hours is still pretty new.

+1 re jond suggesting trying SE vs XLR. I had an AQ Columbia XLR from DAC to Freya. Nice clarity but often too bright and/or lean with my gear. Tried a Cardas Parsec RCA from Freya to amp. I thought I heard a clear difference. Sounded better with RCAs which surprised me as I expected XLR would always be better. Much more relaxed sound. Not as bright. Of course had to adjust volume a bit. Could have simply been a preference on my part for Cardas vs AQ sound there but whatever the reason, another variable to experiment with.