My Freya S arrived today. I am VERY impressed! It is in my basement workout room and signal is from a Classe CDP.5 cd player via Black Cat IC's into the Freya into a fully SMcAudio modded McCormack DNA.5 amp and then into circa 1977 Large Advents that have been modded (cross-overs, internal wiring) on small stands that tilt the loudspeakers upwards. Speaker cable is Monoprice bulk 12 ga stranded and I am using no connectors-just bare wire.
The sound right out of the gate was smooth, dynamic, detailed, and spacious, nothing out of place at all. I listen down there while riding a bike on a smart trainer to a program called Zwift so it is a different type of listening-my blood is pumping and I'm sweating and up and down out of the saddle. Not exactly critical listening. But after five years of riding Zwift five to six days a week during winter time, always to music with a multitude of different amps, sources, and loudspeakers, I think I know when there is a marked improvement. This is one impressive $600 preamp. I am a fan.
The sound right out of the gate was smooth, dynamic, detailed, and spacious, nothing out of place at all. I listen down there while riding a bike on a smart trainer to a program called Zwift so it is a different type of listening-my blood is pumping and I'm sweating and up and down out of the saddle. Not exactly critical listening. But after five years of riding Zwift five to six days a week during winter time, always to music with a multitude of different amps, sources, and loudspeakers, I think I know when there is a marked improvement. This is one impressive $600 preamp. I am a fan.