Schiit Freya plus. Is this an upgrade?

Aside from the usage of circlotron which caught my attention( maybe Ralph can chime in), I am also a little confused about no 2 of Ghasley's FAQ cut and paste:
Were there incompatability issues of single ended sources with balanced outputs or vice versa?

If so, I wasn’t aware of it on this forum

Received the Freya plus and so far am very impressed. The volume clicks are louder than I thought, almost like a ratchet wrench but that is really not a problem for me. I don't move the volume while listening to music%-/

The led lighting of the 3 modes is a little too dim imo. My only gripe.

Initially preferred passive and jfet but after several hours the tubes started sounding much better. Will have to continue to evaluate over 2 weeks.

No noise hiss or hum, and so far not noticing a loss of resolution  or transparency which was a main concern with preexisting oppo 205 direct to amps.

The clicks come from the unit and are about as loud as a socket wrench. I don’t move the volume much after sitting but the mute button comes in handy. So far the volume has been at 12o,clock with tube gain. 2oclock without.

 I have been running tube and ss amps through, also using different speakers. So far am very impressed for the money. It gets a little warm but nothing like class A amps can get. The tubes are what’s hottest and I believe they shut down if not in use? - maybe someone else can clarify this.

I don’t think there is an amp that won’t mate well with it melm. It has three modes including gain and buffer so you can’t go wrong. I would definitely put it in the Best Buy category. You have 2 weeks to return for refund. There are others here on Agon that have more experience with the original Freya and other preamps in general....

Still very happy with unit. No problems whatsoever.

Liked the SQ from tube mode the most with my F5(DIY) and oppo205. Just to add, the speakers are tekton DI's which are driven very well, particularly on the low end, by the F5.

The JFET came in handy during the record breaking summer heat, also streaming from bluesound node.

Have not had the urge to tube roll. In fact may be done with searching for the ultimate SQ. Although am planning on dabbling with an Aleph J in the near future;-)

Tung Sol
GTB
brown base