Schiit - shipments stopped?

There is no HT bypass on this product.

If you want HT bypass you need to buy something else.

Return this during the home trial period and get your money refunded.

The good news is you didn’t buy it used with no return available.

@emergingsoul  - It seems you may have confused a passive output with an HT bypass, which is a unity gain circuit.
 
You state that you must turn up the volume all the way when using HT to get enough volume. This would be correct for a passive output, as at full volume the passive circuit will be passing through "everything" matching the input, i.e. unity gain at full volume.

For an active pre-amp stage, gain is added in the circuit. So unity volume may be at some point on the volume control that is only 1/2 or even 1/3 of full volume on the knob.

For a passive pre-amp, unity gain will only be achieved when the volume control is set to max volume. Any setting of the volume control knob, that is less than full volume, will only be outputting a portion of the input volume.

However! All is likely not lost. If you choose to use the passive output as an "HT bypass", you can simply set the volume control on the pre-amp to a pre-determined setting (like top dead center, or 5, whatever) and re-run the setup routine on your HT receiver. The setup routine will recognize the lower volume output of the channels connected through the pre-amp and the HT receiver setup will increase the relative volume of those channels to match the other channels in your multi-channel setup.

Really, it's easy-peasy, just one additional step you need to make when switching to HT. Just always set the volume control on the pre-amp to the same pre-determined setting you used when you ran the setup routine, and you should be good to go.

You could also use the tube gain output for your "HT bypass circuit" and it will likely more closely match the existing level of the other channels in your multi-channel setup. However, to get it "right", I would still recommend you choose a pre-determined setting, like top dead center, or "5?" This will get you the most accurate relative output of all channels. However, it will have the tubes active during play.

Otherwise, if you don't want to do this, send the Schitt back and get a pre-amp that does have HT Bypass.

Good luck. Hope it turns out well for you. I know it has been a journey and it is not working as you expected.

Sorry, if I've made any incorrect assumptions ok mistakes in my recommendations. I don't own the Schitt Freya, but I have done similar "combo" 2-channel stereo/HT systems using a 2-channel pre-amp/power amp to power the front L7R speakers.

Reubent,

Amazing comments, thanks.

when you refer avr setup, would these be the channel level settings? which normally don’t need to be adjusted, except for many one channnel abit louder than another.

problem with ht bypass for tube preamps is that no one designs a preamp that keeps the tubes off while watching tv.  I do know audio research will do this on their next version of the awesome ref6se unit, has 8 Tubes.

All modern AVR's I've used have an auto-calibration setup routine, running a program such as Audyssey, that uses a microphone to "listen" to the room and automatically sets up the speaker configuration according the the levels the microphone detects.

I just mean the you put together the setup, as I described, set the volume control to your pre-determined level (such as top dead center, etc.) then run the auto-calibration routine. The auto-calibration routine will recognize that the front L&R speakers volume is "low" and it will increase the volume of the L&R speakers relative to the other speakers in your multi-channel setup. It will do this calibration automatically.

Only caveat is that I have never done this using a "passive pre-amp". I do not know if the auto-calibrate routine was enough variability to make up the volume difference. If that were the case, you would need to increase your "pre-determined volume control position" to account for that.

You could try it, using the passive setting, and you can also try it using the tube output, and see if there is any difference. Just remember to always run the auto-calibrate routine on your HT receiver if/when you decide to change from passive to active/tube.

Also, there may still be a volume difference when you switch from the input you use for your passive/HT source and other inputs/sources. I would suggest you try to find the correct "pre-determined" volume control position that somewhat matches the output of your other sources. You could do this by simply listening to music and switching between passive and tube. at some point of the volume control position you will find that the volume is the same for passive and tube "active". This would be approximately the "unity gain" position for the tube output and, if convenient for you, it would be a good position to use for your pre-determined position. 

BTW, this all makes sense to me based on my assumptions regarding the Schiit Freya. I do not own one, and have never used one, so I could be off base. But logically, it all makes sense to me.  

Before I wrote my prior reply, I carefully looked at Schiit's web site and reviewed their owners manual for ANY mention of using the Freya as a HT bypass preamp. I found nothing. 

I, too, would like to see screen shots of the emails from Schiit "marketing" or promoting this feature. 

It is one thing to be able to use a device in a manner not intended in its original design. It is quite another to criticize a company for not including a feature that appears nowhere in their standard literature. 

If you don't like it, send it back.