Schiit Freya + Class A in Stereophile

Definitely good news for schiit and audiophiles looking to spend less.  however the idea that it competes with $50k preamps is simply not true.  

Owning many class A products past and present whether stated or implied the rating applies to products within its range more or less.  

It would be unrealistic to say a pair of KEF LS50 meta can compete with a pair of Wilson Sabrinas, for example.  

It would be unrealistic to say a pair of KEF LS50 meta can compete with a pair of Wilson Sabrinas, for example.

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.  

OP: this is exactly why i stopped my subscription to Stereophile many many years ago. Their rating system is absurd, or I'm just too dumm to understand it. keep on rockin'!