Schiit freya preamp - any owners out there? Leave it on?


Evaluating schiit freya preamp and it seems like a good preamp.

is simply leaving it on all the time make sense as switch is in back and that is not the greatest. Mode can be changed to passive which reduces current flow to tubes so electricity use is less.

is this preamp worth buying when ht is used most of the time? Thanks
emergingsoul
Woodhart, that doesn't sound quite right, so I looked it up on Schiit's fact page, and they say this:

Freya+’s all-new tube stage with new-production 6SN7 tubes, DC heaters and semi-circlotron, noise-cancelling output stage is whisper-silent. Better yet, it turns off when you’re not using it! That’s right, both the tube heater and high voltage rails go away when not in use, so you can preserve lifetime of costly tubes.
They did this so the tubes life can be extended, so perhaps they didn't understand your question?  BTW, I've got the Freya+ too, and the tubes are completely cool when not in the circuit.  It's a great sounding pre, btw, the SNR and crosstalk numbers set it apart from many other tube pre's.
This was my question to them:

Is there any benefit (or harm) to keeping the Freya + powered up all the time (obviously with tubes turned off when not in use)? I’ve heard various people offer opinions about this and I wanted to see if there was an official stance on this.

And their answer:

If the Freya + is on, the tubes will still have current going through them, and the tube life will still be diminished faster. It is OK to leave it on all the time, but we suggest turning it off for the life of the tubes.

I agree that it’s a great sounding preamp, especially when you roll the tubes. 
The switch in back is inconvenient. That said I love my Freya +. Best Buy’s IMO like Teton DI and Oppo 205.;I sit it in front of my stack and always power down when done. Never leave anything on as heat accelerates aging no matter what the component is, active or passive.

The email customer service guy at Schiit leaves a lot to desired with his responses. IDK, maybe he is overwhelmed but I’ve never had a question answered adequately. He will answer but not put much thought or effort to it.
I emailed Schiit on the topic of Freya+ and tube current, and they got back to me in a few hours on a Saturday.  Other places that I email on a weekend don't respond until the following monday or tuesday.  

On the tube circuit and the life of the tubes when not in tube mode, they said this:

The Freya + has a tube shut off mode, so the tubes are off and it will preserve their life. There might still be current running through it since they are in the signal path so it might affect it somewhat, but the tubes will not be on at least.

From that I gather that tube life will be extended if one disengages tube mode.  This is a 100% improvement over the 1st gen Freya.  However, some current will still affect the tubes, as long as the unit is on. Good to know.