I had a Freya not the plus. I thought it was noisy even with XLR cables. To me the sound was a bit grainy. But for the price it gets you into tubes and it gave me no trouble. I liked the remote, it worked will and when I lost mine it was cheap to replace. As stated it is close to entry level. I have a Decware CSP3, not the anniversary edition, it has some cap upgrades. It is single ended only but wow in another league in terms of smooth and silky, great harmonics. It was however also noisy. I sold the Freya and replaced it with an Allnic L-3000 which is above your price point but also in another nother league and dead quiet. I can't bring myself to sell the Decware it was so good. The Decware responded much better to tube rolling than the Freya.
Tubed Preamp recommendations?
Hi all- so im looking for a tubed preamp (used) in the $1k-$1.5 (max) range. I can’t decide. the list of contenders is too strong...I was looking at a PrimaLuna 3, BAT Vk30 as well as various ARC’s..then a Levinson 38 popped up...wow.
I prefer my sound on the warm and silky side of things..but not dark/syrupy. Thoughts, comments are much appreciated.
My system: Meridian 556, Musical Paradise tubed DAC, bluesound Node2i, Schiit Saga/Psvane, KEF Q150, pinetree audio IC’s/Cords throughout, MonsterPower line conditioner.
I prefer my sound on the warm and silky side of things..but not dark/syrupy. Thoughts, comments are much appreciated.
My system: Meridian 556, Musical Paradise tubed DAC, bluesound Node2i, Schiit Saga/Psvane, KEF Q150, pinetree audio IC’s/Cords throughout, MonsterPower line conditioner.