2. amps-preamps
  3. 169186-141093

Thinking Out Loud

I have been interested in checking out the “tube sound” for some time and just bought a Schiit Freya+ to pair with my SS amp.  The Freya+ replaces, or compliments, a Parasound P5 preamp I have been using.  I don’t know whether to just set aside the Parasound pre and go with the Freya+, as I don’t know how to incorporate both into my system so I could just switch between them.

A bigger issue surfaced when I realized the Freya+ doesn’t have a dac, not even for phono use.  So it wasn’t as simple as getting the Freya+ and dropping it into the system, I now need to supply a dac for at least the phono.  I had previously purchased a Audiolab CD transport, which lacks a built-in dac.  To remedy that, I bought a Pro-ject Dac Box 2 that I was just using with the Audiolab via the RCA-type connection.  I know this dac has other connections, but I’m not sure if I can connect it to the Freya+ using the other connections.  The Pro-ject has no power off button, so I have been plugging and unplugging it each time I play a CD.  Now I would have to do that each time I want to play vinyl — a bit annoying.

I think my problem is that I approached things piecemeal, adding/substituting gear without realizing up front the problems in doing that.  Do I just switch to the Freya+ full-time or is there a good way to incorporate both preamps?  Do I try to use the Pro-ject dac with available connections, or do I retire the Pro-Ject and buy a more full-featured dac equipped to handle multiple devices easily?
bob540

Showing 2 responses by hshifi

hshifi
572 posts
 
Hello,
You picked a good product to have fun with. The P5 and the Shiit Freya are both preamplifiers. So they sort of do the same thing at opposite ends of the spectrum and the Parasound P5 is like a Swiss Army knife. You can use both together with your other pieces. Your Parasound has a Home Theater Bypass input. Plug a set of LR RCA cables into the RCA (SE) Preout of the Freya then the other end into the Bypass RCA inputs in the Parasound. Take the Project DAC and plug the RCA out to Input 3 on the back of the Schiit  Freya. Take the Audiolab and plug the (RCA) Coax out into the Project DAC. Take the Audiolab again and plug output toslink (Fiber optic) into the toslink 1 input of the Parasound DAC. For now put the equalizer switch (ON)  the Denon 300F turn table. Plug the Denon RCA cables into the 4th input on the Schiit Freya. A better option would be to buy a Schiit Mani Phono preamp. $129 plus shipping. https://www.schiit.com/products/maniOr you can turn the switch on the Denon to (OFF) and plug it into the phono input on the Parasound 5 which might yield better sound now. Always connect the turntable ground wire.  You can test that. Once you get the Schiit Mani you will also need another set of RCA (LR) cables to hook it up. Again, Make sure the switch on you Denon is set to (OFF). Plug the Denon turntable RCA cable into the (IN) input on the Schiit MANI and with the regular Left and Right RCA cables you have to connect one end to the Schiit MANI outputs to either the Schiit Freya 4th input (RCA) or the Parasound 4th RCA input. NOT THE RCA PHONO INPUT! I am picking the 4th RCA input to make it easy to remember your Denon will be on the fourth input. 
HOW TO USE:
When you want to listen to the Schiit Freya push the Bypass button on the Parasound. When you want to listen to the Parasound push the bypass button again to turn off bypass
To  listen to the Audiolab transport on the Parasound push the Toslink 1 button on the Parasound. Make sure the bypass button is off.  To listen to the Audiolab on the Freya using the Project DAC select the COAX input on the project DAC and the #3 input on the Schiit Freya and make sure the bypass button is selected (ON) the Parasound. When you want to listen to a record for now push the Phono button on the Parasound.  Unless you hooked it up to the Freya then you will need to push the bypass button on the Parasound, select the 4th input button on the Freya. When you get the Schiit Mani the first thing you will do is turn the equalizer switch to (OFF) then hook it up to the preamp as described above. 
Now if you play the turntable through the Freya using the Schiit Mani make sure the Bypass button is on the Parasound is selected. Select the 4th RCA input and spin vinyl. If you hooked the Schiit MANI up to the Parasound make sure the Bypass button is off. Select the 4th RCA input on the Parasound and spin vinyl. I know this was long, but you asked if it could be done. The answer is yes. 
hshifi
572 posts
 
Hello Lowrider57,
The OP asked if he could use both preamps. The answer is yes. To answer your question per my very long directions which I apologize for but I have to be detailed so mistakes are not made. One to the Project DAC and one to the Parasound DAC. This way the OP could have both hooked up to have their cake and eat it too. It was a way to do a fast A/B comparison between the two preamps. If you hook up a preamp with a volume pot into another preamp with a volume pot you can get a lot of distortion. By using the bypass feature on the Parasound you are bypassing the pot on the Parasound so no distortion. This is from my home theater expertise. I use this scenario to play my Marantz surround processor through my two channel system so I can use my really good amp and speakers for home theater. A lot of preamps and integrated amps have this feature. Your basically using a special input to run your home theater as a source into your two channel system. Hegel, Emotiva, Parasound, and Ayre and probably many more have this feature. I will be going to Ayre KX-5 preamp and VX-5 amp because I love the sound and it has this feature. I even upgraded my subs to the JL Audio F110 x2 plus the CR1 crossover so I can have one of the best subs for music and movies. Plus, When you correctly crossover your speakers and subs the sound is unbelievable. Basically I answered the OPS question and gave detailed instructions on how to do it without damaging any of their equipment. 

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