It could be a bad tube, that preamp should be very quiet.
24 responses Add your response
If you consider that you have a faulty product, the best thing to do is to let the company know and they will do what good American companies always do. They actually want to know if they are shipping defective products so they can fix any quality control issue so it will never happen again. And hear about what may have been an innocent mistake first-hand rather than reading all about it in the forums. A competitor with ill-intent may characterize the Freya as being "cheap" and therefore inherently faulty. Ouch. |
Is the hum through the speakers, if so, both speakers? If it is through the speakers, but only one speaker, try changing the tubes from left to right. If the hum changes speakers, you know it is a bad tube. If the hum doesn't change speakers may be a bad unit. But one last test, gently tap the tubes, and if you get a loud pop it may just be microphonic tubes. The above testing should just take a couple of minutes. If it doesn't help, be sure to send it in for a replacement. |
How many inputs do you have connected? are any TV or cable? You may have a ground loop fault. Turn everything off, unplug all inputs, leave output to amp and speaker connected. Turn it back on, if the hum is gone then it's one of your inputs. Reconnect one at a time. Other method to check (NOT a recommended fix) is to lift the ground on the Freya power cord. |
I'm always surprised how many people suggest call the company which is pretty much my last resort. first they don't answer, you punch 14 buttons and end up leaving a message. When someone does call you back it is a clerk to take a messge. but I'm glad it is working for some. In this case, I doubt it is the Freya, I agree with deadtrader, you have a ground loop. Jerry |
Noise problems are common on this preamp. In fact I refuse to retube them as my experience has been terrible with with this brand. In fact the only returns I got for over 2 years (with probably over 250 6SN7 pairs sold for other components during this time) both came from this preamp. A hum from a bad tube is kind of unusual in my experience and some of the noise problems I have had reported were unusual and not typical of N/M. To make matters worse, tubes often get noisy quickly. I hope you have good luck and fix the problem, but I felt I should share my experience as a tube seller. I wouldnt waste my time and if the next set of tubes doesnt fix this problem I would demand a new unit.
|
In two years you replaced the tubes in two Freyas. This is what is relevant, not other models. Terrible? Given the rather unpredictable nature of tubes sometimes, varying from very reliable and operationally stable to being dead on arrival and everything in between, a tentative intuitive statistical consideration would suggest that your experience with Freyas is well within the bounds of acceptable. More data - including tube failure for Freya, actual user experience using tubes with Freya, brand of tube, type (new or NOS or used) etc would be required for a more robust conclusion, but terrible I think would not be one that I would suggest based on those numbers. Should I be incorrect and a systemic issue be found that suggests a design flaw, then again, I would reiterate that Schiit really needs to hear about these things. Their authorized dealers may have this responsibility - and it is in their own commercial interests to report them. For those people with email, drop Schiit a note on their help and support portal. And they do supply a 5 year warranty on the amp. Off topic - what is really surprising to me is that no other 6SN7s have failed during this two year period. That in itself is quite remarkable given your large sample size. I know 6SN7s are very good, but that is quite an endorsement. |
Well I cant say that there were no others failures just not immediate requests for returns for noise problems. After this rather unusual event I did a search to see if this seemed to be a trend and other customers had reported the same problems. Dont get me wrong I think these products represent a good value, but the types of noises being reported were unusual. In fact I kept track of the Schiit specific tubes, tested them again for noise/microphonics sold them and had no problems. |
I understand anecdotally that Schiit had some quality issues (either build,or design or both, whatever) in the past but that this has been largely resolved and they have been spitting out some affordable and robustly engineered products recently. Must annoy audiophiles a lot. Which leads me to think that they are taking notice and act accordingly. Perhaps its an on-going process and as with many things this usually takes longer than anticipated. But this is the first I’ve heard of issues with Freya +. Maybe I blinked, or people do the right thing and return the product to the dealer or to Schiit. And they must have sold at least a few hundred units worldwide since they were released a couple years (?) ago, so that’s pretty good. I don't own any products by Schiit but something like Freya+ would be one I'd consider if only it was a dedicated tube pre.amp. |
+ 1 on the advice to change the tube locations (swap them). Does it make this humming sound regardless of whether you do anything (no music, no volume, etc.)? Is it emanating through the speakers only or do you hear something coming from the unit itself? It sounds like ground loop hum if it isn't a bad tube. With regard to Freya build quality, that's a superb piece of gear. I've been inside it and in my humble opinion it is very well made and perhaps even better designed. |
Dont take this wrong way guys, but none of us are any better than the best we have heard or have seen. So if you compare a Schiit Freya against a better sounding unit and design, you are not nearly as impressed. I stopped looking for giant killer products years ago but they simply dont exist. I also learned long ago that I am simply not capable of differentiating a poorly made from a well made product and then applying this build quality to sonic performance. |