Schiit customer service seems poor

Hi, jumia,
Schiit does claim that...

All of our preamps offer true home theater bypass. Just plug in your processor’s front channels to any input, select Passive mode, and turn the volume all the way up. Presto! 1:1 home theater bypass, with only a relay in the signal path.

From: https://www.schiit.com/guides/choosing-amps-preamps

Unfortunately HT bypass isn’t fully understood by everyone so the nuance of their claim is lost. And it would be a good idea if Schiit was more clear about NOT using bypass mode unless you always remember to attenuate the volume before switching inputs. Sort of a buyer beware statement. But Schiit’s claim is correct.

I use a Schiit Freya S preamp in passive mode as an HT input source but I’ve added another preamp in the signal path from the HT setup that outputs just the right signal strength so the volume control on my Freya S is at the same setting as my other source inputs. I don’t have to worry about the HT input anymore.
Tom

I use a Schiit Magni 3 Plus for now. It has up to 12dB of gain so the DVD/Blu-ray player has about the right voltage going into the Freya S. I have the Freya’s volume control set at about 60% attenuated (13:00). With that setup I can adjust the volume of movie soundtracks using the Magni (sits right next to the couch) within it’s prime range of volume control. I may look into a more refined, but still simple preamp in the future but the Magni 3 Plus sounds pretty good as is. I’ll probably just keep using it. I don’t listen to my HT setup for the quality of music, for that I listen to other sources, but a good soundtrack off Blu-ray sounds just about as good as a hi-res file played through my streamer/DAC.
Tom

https://forum.audiogon.com/users/jumia,
If you're using both a Marantz 5014 and a NAD M17 into a Schiit Freya + than no one can help you. You seem to be complaining about something that is absurd.

Using a Magni as a pre-preamp is a way to boost the signal so there's not a dramatic difference in volume settings between source inputs. It might work for you. That's assuming you have your AVR's volume already turned up fairly high and you still need to run your Freya's volume control at max. What AVR are you using?

 

The tricky part is determining how much additional gain you need in order to have the HT input voltage similar to your other sources. The 12dB gain of the Magni may or may not be enough for your situation.