Schitt Freya or older pre instead

If you could wait and double your budget,
You should look at the Linear tube audio MZ2S,beats or rivals preamps much more expensive.

I tried a Freya with very good nos tubes but found it noisy and just didn't sound that good,sent it back at the end of the trial period.

The MZ2S greatly responds to different tubes and you can voice it for the sound you like,the only thing I don't like is only remote volume and no selection but I can live with that especially with the good sound I'm getting.

Kenny.

Running a Freya into a Taranis amp w/balanced interconnects.  JFET buffer mode exclusively.  Took the tubes out.    It sounds great to me.  NOT noisy at all - though there is some low level "warbling" that can be heard when "muted", oddly enough.   With volume up and nothing playing, very quiet...no noise, warbling or otherwise.  Solid state sound for me was more refined and detailed than with the single-ended tube pre I was using previously.  It supports long listening sessions.  No fatigue.  Seemed to respond with heightened clarity to vibration/isolation measures.  I was NOT that impressed with sound running the as supplied Russian NOS 6sn7 tubes.  Might need to revisit those now that the unit is well run in but I'm entirely happy with the JFET mode.

Expectations and experience levels differ so I'm not trying to pick an argument with Kenny.  5% restocking fee is all you have to risk if you order from Schiit and decide to return it.   DO put signal through it continuously for a couple of days before any critical listening.  

Ghosthouse,

I'm very glad to hear how much you like the Freya,
I always keep a open mind and trust me I much wanted to like the Freya,It just didn't work out for me.

As you know I do Dig the YGGY best dac under 2k that I've had the pleasure of using.

Kenny.

OP, if I were to buy a new line stage preamp in the $800 price range, I would buy a Mapletree Line 2C Line Preamplifier even though I have not personally heard it in a system. It just looks like an awesome piece for its asking price. I have also not heard anything negative about it from folks who have heard it. It does apparently have a long wait time, especially if you specify any upgrades.  

rich3549

I’d go the Freya, because

1: Gives you choice between passive, tube or solid state output.
2: Has both single ended or balanced in and output.
3: It has 64 position relay based volume control, one of the best there is.
4: Has remote control for that volume control and input/output and mute
5: If you don’t like it you can send it back.

And it was deigned by Mike Mike Moffat, the head designer at Theta when they were on top.

Cheers George

Look for a Rogue Audio Metis. A very nice preamp for the money.
Used should be in the under $1000 range. And it also comes with a remote and tube rolling can be fun.

rich3549 - Seems to me you will get a pretty well-rounded picture of the Freya reading the posts from kdude66, stfoth, and georgehifi.

The unit (mainly the remote) has some quirks; e.g., switching inputs briefly triggers mute but there is a definite click or slight pop when the next input is engaged (whether it’s actively carrying signal or not). That and the low level warbling when mute is engaged long term were the "noisy" aspects of the design I encountered.  I did return a couple of tubes to Schiit for exchange due to noisiness...but counted that as an issue with the tubes not the Freya design.  Things were okay with the replacement tubes installed, though maybe not as quiet as in passive mode...don't recall.  Tube gain IS a lot higher than with passive or JFET.  Also, using the remote, you can only go forward changing input or output selection. There’s no "reverse". Sequential changes to output mode using the remote will eventually hit the tube stage which because of its much higher gain can result in some loud and startling blasts of sound, unless you remembered to lower the volume first.

Like stfoth wrote, the tube mode did nothing for me either but I was really looking to get away from tubes so not a problem. In fact, I was initially a bit put off by the fact it had tubes at all! Ultimately, my buy decision was on the strength of it being a balanced design, offered passive options, could be used without tubes and had a good volume control. Can’t deny the price was a big attractor too (as well as the return option if it really stunk).  Ultimately, it has worked out for me (but maybe I have low standards!  :-)

If I wanted to upgrade from the tube preamp I have now (Opera Reference 50 Mk I), to another tube pre, I’d be saving my pennies for something from Aesthetix or, more affordably, maybe a deHavilland UltraVerve. In my limited auditioning of tube preamps I do think getting a design that uses tube rectification brings something good to the sound. Good luck whatever you decide.

WOW. Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I think I will hold off - for now. I do not think I can handle the Schiit's quirks. Save some more coin and check out something else that fits my needs more. 

rich3549
 I do not think I can handle the Schiit’s quirks.

There are many here that have the Freya from Schiit, can’t remember anyone else saying this, could be a one off. And you can send it back anyway if you don’t like it, or these "quirks" are a common thing, and you can’t "handle" them.

Cheers George