jdfrakes

I'd believe the plate voltage on the Freya+ would be to hot for 6SN7GT's. Best to look for NOS 6SN7GTA's and GTB's (they are cheaper to boot!)

I have a Schiit Freya+ that first ran a Schiit Vidar Class A/B amp and then a monoblock pair of Vidars into a pair of Klipsch Forte III's. In bypass and buffer only mode the Freya is kind of meh to me, in tube mode the sound really begins to have a warmer "tube" sound and the soundstage and instrument separation are improved. As I rolled tubes things got progressively better as I tried NOS tubes. Other than the stock 6SN7's I tried new Elector Harmonix Gold pins 6SN7GTB(matched quad), NOS Admiral matched pair with NOS GE 6SN7GTB matched pair, and finally a NOS matched pair of Sylvania 6SN7GTB with NOS Canadian GE's. the differences between the EH's and the Sylvania were very apparent. Both sets of GE's were closer to the Sylvanias but still in a distant second. the Sylvania tubes really solidified the "Valve" experience in my system. The soundstage was wider, higher and deeper. The imaging and instrument separation was much improved, the "air" around instruments people talk about was now in my system even with the solid state amps. When/if you decide to tube roll with the Freya remember to put your best tubes in the right-hand tube sockets (i believe these are the gain stage and give the biggest bang for the buck.) The Freya+ scaled well too when I went to monoblock SET tube amps. I got Yuri kits from Mellow Tone Kits which are 2W each using Russian 6S8S driver tubes and 6P7S power tubes. That "tube" sound was further enhanced with the SET amps, the Freya didn't get in the way of the sound. It is warm and the details are there without becoming fatiguing. In conclusion I'd give the Freya+ a strong recommendation. It has enough connectivity options (balanced and single ended) to give you room to modify your system and it has three preamp sections you can try. Also, they have a really good secondhand market value right now so you would be able to break even on it if you decided you didn't like it.

I've run a couple different configurations with my Forte III's. First my system: Rega Planar 3 turntable Denon DL-103 MC cartridge MoFi StudioPhono preamp Raspberry Pi 4 for streaming with Roon Schiit Modius balanced DAC Schiit Fryea + Preamp with NOS Sylvania 6SN7 tubes Schiit Vidar SS amp(s) have run both stereo and mono-block Mellow Tone Kits "Yuri" mono-block SET tube amp My room is 11.5Ft x 14.75Ft with some sound deadening foam and a large area rug. My Fortes are on the short wall about 35.5inches from front wall and 27.5inches from side walls With a single stereo Vidar the system had good headroom, soundstage and imaging. The overall tone was balanced with the high bass to low mids lacking to my ear. I liked this setup but wanted to try mono-block. With balanced mono-block Vidar's the system had even more headroom. the soundstage and imaging were improved which I assumed was the reduction in crosstalk. The high bass and low mids were not improved. I was able to start picking out instrument sounds that had been buried in the mixes before. With the Yuri's (which are 2 watts per channel) the sound is as good as its been. The slight deficiency in the high bass and low mids is gone, I would say the tone was warmed up. The soundstage is as wide as the mono-block Vidar's but the imaging was much improved. Where the performers and instruments have some separation in previous iterations of my setup, they are now distinct with a good amount of "air" around each element. I've heard much better systems than mine but my current setup is the best so far in my room. You can check out the Yuri amps at valvesnmore.com in their Mellow Tone Kit area.