Schiit Freya + Class A in Stereophile


I know there are a lot of audiophiles who don't think sterophile knows what they are talking about but I think its' pretty impressive that a 1000 preamp is put in the same category as 50K and up.  I can't really believe that the Freya + is that good.  I have one and do think it's pretty amazing for all that you get and you can really make it even better with some better tubes.  I am constantly blown away at the sound of the Freya + into the Decware Zen triode amp. 2K for the combo and just about the best sound I have ever had in my home.  Great news for less well heeled audiophiles.  

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I sold my Freya+ last week because I had 2 other preamps that I liked better. However, the Freya+ was very good. I was surprised at how quiet it was.

Someone mentioned the Freya+ and Topping pre90 in a post above. I had both and they are both really good with a Benchmark AHB2.  Add a KEF LS50 and KEF KC62 sub and you can get some excellent sound for not too high a price.

You need to understand what class A means. It means for the money. I have compared Class A equipment from Stereophile and The Absolute Sound for decades. A class A component that cost $200 is class A against other $200 components… not against $20,000 Class A components. I have confirmed this many times.

Been a long time since I looked at a Stereophile (or other audio mag), but didn't they used to put the "for the money" components in a separate class or something?  I'd swear I remember something like that.

Most, but not all, people who post here don't listen to music. They listen to equipment instead.