Schiit Audio Freya+ Tube Preamp with Remote

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General:
Well regarded budget-friendly tube preamp from Schiit. Super clean, tested and working perfectly, and includes remote (with new watch battery) and power cord.

More from Schiit:
Freya+ is a true high-end, balanced, remote-control preamp. Switch between passive, differential buffer, and differential tube gain modes, enjoy the fine control of a 128-step relay-switched stepped attenuator volume control with perfect channel matching, and control it all from the comfort of your favorite chair.
 
Whisper-Silent Tube Stage—With Tube Shutdown
Now, you can enjoy a tube preamp without the hiss and hum of classic designs. Freya+ offers super-quiet tube modes with DC heaters and semi-circlotron, noise-cancelling output stages. Better yet, the tubes turn off when you’re not using them! 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. 
 
Choose Tubes...Or No Tubes
Freya+ ships with your choice of no tubes (if you're planning to use your own), matched NOS 6N8S, matched new production premium 6SN7 tubes...or choose our LISST "solid state tubes" that are super-reliable and last virtually forever (so you always have a tube backup).
 
Easiest 128-Step Relay-Switched Volume, Ever
The benefits of a relay-switched stepped attenuator for volume are clear. Compared to a potentiometer, they give you essentially perfect channel matching and near-unmeasurable distortion. However, some preamps with relay-stepped attenuators confuse you with buttons and screens. Not Freya+. Freya+ has a volume knob that works just like a volume knob—just grab and turn. And if you use the remote control, the motorized potentiometer changes to match the remote setting. 
 
Yes, Remote Control Included
When you’re talking about gear that doesn’t sit on your desktop (like our headphone amps), you need the convenience of remote control for volume, input switching, output switching, and muting. Freya+ includes a custom remote control, standard.
 
Perfect Companion to Our DACs
Want a remote-controlled system to interface your digital gear with the rest of your system? Stack Freya+ and Gungnir Multibit or Freya+ and Yggdrasil+ (or any other of our DACs) for a true no-compromise remote-controlled system.
 
Designed and Built in California
By “designed and built in California" this is what we mean: the vast majority of the total production cost of either Freya—chassis, boards, transformers, assembly, etc—goes to US companies manufacturing in the US. Our chassis are made minutes from our facility. Our PCBs are done just over the hill from us, or done in NorCal.

Ownership:
Single Owner

Connections:
RCA in XLR inputs and outputs. IEC power cord.

General Sound:
Smooth, uncolored, undistorted natural and clean

Cosmetic Condition:
8/10 = Very Good. Excellent front faceplate, one minor flaw on chassis side or top.. See our detailed rating description here.

Working Condition:
Working perfectly and tested in our lab and listening room.

Included:
Unit, remote, and power cord.

Packing:
Will be packed using our highly developed in-house process and custom packing materials.Specs:

Compound Differential Buffer
Gain: 1 (0dB)
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.2db, 3Hz-500KHz, -3dB
THD: <0.004%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS 
IMD: <0.0055%, CCIR 
SNR: >120dB, A-weighted, referenced to 2V RMS 
Output Impedance: 75 ohms SE, 600 ohms balanced
Topology: JFET differential amplifier compound pair with equalized-gm followers 
 
Tube Gain 
Gain: 4 (12dB)
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.2db, 3Hz-200KHz, -3dB 
THD: <0.01%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS 
IMD: <0.01%, CCIR 
SNR: >115dB, A-weighted, referenced to 2V RMS 
Output Impedance: 75 ohms SE, 600 ohms balanced
Topology: differential triode input with semi-circlotron follower stage

LISST Gain
Gain: 5 (14dB)
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.2db, 3Hz-150KHz, -3dB 
THD: <0.005%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS 
IMD: <0.006%, CCIR 
SNR: >114dB, A-weighted, referenced to 2V RMS 
Output Impedance: 75 ohms SE, 600 ohms balanced
Topology: differential depletion MOSFET with semi-circlotron depletion MOSFET follower stage

Input Impedance: 10K ohms
Crosstalk:>85dB, 20-20kHz
Inputs:2 XLR pairs plus 3 RCA pairs, selectable via front switch or remote
Outputs:1 XLR pair plus 2 RCA pairs, selectable via front switch or remote 
Volume Control: relay-switched stepped attenuator with discrete thin-film resistors, 128 0.625dB steps
Power Supply: One 48VA transformer with regulated 300V rail, plus 24VA transformer with regulated +/-18V rails, plus 6.3VDC tube heaters and regulated 5VDC for microprocessor 
Power Consumption: 40W typical

Dimensions:
16” x 8” x 2” + tube height (about 2.5" more)

Weight:
11 lbs.

Link to Manual:
Click Here

Recommended Cables:

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Better

Kimber Kable - BALANCED XLR Connectors - Better

Kimber Kable - Power Cords - Better 

Testing Process:

We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCB’s for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR.

When we first power on a preamplifier we connect its RCA output to a Sencore PA81 Power Analyzer which simulates real world loading conditions and gives us an oscilloscope interface. The first order of business is checking that the volume control works smoothly throughout its entire range with acceptable channel balance. This is accomplished by feeding a 1KHz sine wave into one of the preamp’s line level inputs while monitoring the preamp’s output on an oscilloscope. We then switch to a 1KHz square wave to test the tone controls, loudness function, and filters where applicable. During this step we are watching for equal alteration of the test signal by both channels. This also helps us identify dirty controls that will need treatment. Once the basic line stage functions are verified, we test each input individually. This is especially important for devices that use relays to select their sources. If the preamp is equipped with a phono stage we test that as well. We use an inverse RIAA filter which allows us to feed a reference test signal into the phono input with the proper RIAA equalization and level. A square wave or sine sweep is used to verify that the device’s phono stage is faithfully reproducing the RIAA curve. If the preamp under test has balanced inputs and/or outputs these are tested as well.

We finish up our bench testing with a listening test with our bench amplifier and reference speakers. During this test we check for hum or hiss that may not have shown up in earlier testing. We also check that all of the tone controls and filters perform as expected. If the preamplifier has remote control functions these are also tested. Preamps with tube circuits or complicated power supply topologies are connected at our long term test rig for extended stress testing under real world conditions.