Schiit Freya S or Freya +?

It is normal.  You CAN touch it.  The Freya+ is filled with a lot of components.  Go to the Schiit site and compare the pictures of the Freya+ and Freya S circuit boards.   The Freya S looks almost empty in comparison.  The heat is not from the tubes, but from the 300 volt rectification for the tubes, I think.  Will the heat affect the long term life of the Plus?  For that answer you'll have to ask Schiit.

This had been looking like a Freya S thread,  The Plus with a good pair of gain tubes sounds great, far better then the SS buffer stage alone.  I suppose the latter is comparable to the S (less the SS gain).  Am I correct?

I much prefer the tube mode of my "original version and no, you can't get one" Freya, and it does get surprisingly warm over the transformers....however, after a couple of years with this thing I've decided that's part of its charm, and the many vent holes seem to insure it will never melt. In my humble (!) opinion I remain a fan as it's a great preamp.

Freya S has now burned in and stands ready for review. The quickly switchable modes and input sources with the ingenious remote is a nifty innovation indeed. Volume control is pinpoint, and for me, the clicking gives a sense of authority. Design is clean and appealing. Balanced in/out also a great bonus at this price level. 
That said, I'll be moving to the Freya+ when Schiit's next batch arrives. Principal reason: having run a tube buffer on digital inputs for 6 years prior to Freya S, I'm finding annoyance with SS brightness. The Freya+ won't likely solve my other quibble, though: the absence of a huge power supply giving the impression of effortless grace. I seem to hear this little 11-lb engine huffing and puffing up the hills that a brute preamp negotiates with ease. Through my speakers, anyhow.

So next we'll give the Plus a couple months to show whether it's up to playing the role of Forevermore Line Preamp. If not? At worst it becomes an instructive yet eminently affordable experiment, while at best it leaves $5K in the bank for other frivolities.

A preamp only needs to create a small line level signal so although I have a preamp with dual large toroidal transformers, it seems the Freya betters that one if only due to the tubes (and likely hipper design). It was Atmasphere Ralph who got me thinking about a tubed preamp years ago when he suggested that tubes can pull more detail out of the mix...I now agree wholeheartedly. Effortless Grace was my great grandmother's name.

Great grandmother Effortless Grace -- LOL!