Running Vidar as a monoblock to a 4ohm speaker is no bueno. It’s like running it at 2ohms stereo. Wasn’t built for that. Very few amps are. You don’t get to bridge an amp and bypass physics.
Following! I have a Freya+ that I may integrate into a second system someday.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the combo once you have an assessment.
I also agree with some of the statements above regarding the Freya+: #1 the right tubes. #2 Use XLRs (super awesome for the price on the Freya)
I’d like to correct my error. I contacted Hegel to ask how the H120 fits into their line. They said that it’s not the Rost repackaged. The H120 ($3K) has the digital section of the H190 ($4K) and the analog section of the H90/H95 ($2k) but with a 40% larger power supply and some better components. Hegel said the H120 would better for the LRS than the H90/95 thanks to the beefier power supply.
As for power and volume levels. Even though the H190 has double the power of the H120 (75 wpc vs 150 wpc), it will only provide 3 db more volume control value to volume.
And when Hegel finally adds Roon, the H120 will be the lowest model eligible for the upgrade.
The H120 is a fine sounding unit. It is no Rost. I should know as I am listening to it on my modest den system. I chose it to minimize clutter in a limited space for digital only system.
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Hello all,
Since you are talking about tubes with the M700s, has any body tried a Rogue RP-1 with them?
Regards
Jeff
So your den was over populated, but how did the Freya+ and Aegir sound? Did you have them long enough to break in / burn in?
I had them about six months I’d say. They sounded great – the freya sounded REALLY good when i found some NOS sylvania tubes for it. But I will be honest, it wasn’t so much different than my little Audiolab integrated.
Once I threw in an Yggdrasil, it was clear I’d lost my mind. I don’t need this much equipment in such a small room.
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Just to throw this out there as well… I have LRSs and a Freya+ and really enjoy them both. Originally, I ran the LRSs with an SGCD and S300 and things were OK but I suspected I could do a little better. Ultimately, I landed on the Freya+ with a Parasound Halo A 21+ amp and the combo is really quite good. I did a decent amount of research beforehand, looking at the M700s, Schiit Aegir’s, and some of the more expensive options like Bryston or Hegel. The cost/performance ration of the A 21+ intrigued me and I chose it with the idea that I could turn it around later if I wanted to go another direction. The A 21+ puts out a lot of current which helps keep the LRSs happy and singing. Here’s a review of the Parasound with more relevant data:
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Looks to me from the bottom picture with the shelving you made / gotten made your situation was in a perfect existence, perfect balance…
yeah, i’ll be honest, I could have lived with it.
it was kind of a manic phase. I’d like to have it back to listen to it again.
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Yeah, let us know, as well as the other gentleman who ordered the 700s for his Maggies…
I upgraded to the M1200 and am letting them break in, and boy do they sound smooth. Will listen to the M700’s again soon for comparison after getting fully used to the M1200’s
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Congratulations! Emotional attachment to the 700s seems as strong as mine 
I suggest you spend a few days with the 1200s before any comparison with anything else including the 700s.
I’m not “the other gentleman,” since I don’t have LRSs, but I do have .7s and I got M700s for them early last fall. I wrote up a review and posted it here:
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I might be “the other gentleman”. I hope to provide feedback sometime, not only on M700 and LRS but also M700 and Freya+. I was close to a deal on the M700s last week but the seller apparently got a better offer.
In a fit of passion/boredom/insanity, I found a barely used Freya+ (owner had it for a few months waiting for a repair on his regular preamp), and I bought the damned thing.
I’d contemplated getting a new one, but they’re on backorder constantly. I saved a couple hundred over new, with his lower price and no tax and free shipping. So I figured fairly low risk. He also has some upgraded GTB tubes instead of the JJ’s. (I also have a pair of Sylvania’s that worked great in the one I sold, so I’ve got some rolling options.)
I really don’t have a defined use for it yet, but I am going to test it as a preamp with my Parasound HINT6 integrated, using the HT Bypass inputs. Chatted with Parasound to discuss viability of this configuration, and they said this should mimic their A23+ power amp fairly closely.
This pandemic needs to end.
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It wouldn’t have come from Michigan by any chance, would it? I think my brother in central MI was in similar circumstances while waiting on a repair to a Parasound preamp. Or maybe his were phono preamps, I don’t remember.
Illinois I think
well, it was kind of a bust.
Quick recap: Parasound HINT6 HT Bypass inputs make the integrated act like a power amp, but it loses all its functionality, such as pre-outs, subwoofer outs, DAC, etc… So, I needed to get a DAC, and found a Black Ice tubed unit at the same time on USAudio Mart at the same time i spotted the Freya.
Both arrived yesterday, but the DAC was DOA. (Talked with manufacturer and we think it’s a bad DAC board, but I sent it back to the seller. All good.)
It’s just not worth it for this living room system to add the complexity of the tubed pre, while losing the functionality of the HINT6. (Off the Parasound and Harbeths, I also run a Cambridge CXA80 with a Niles selector and four sets of speakers for all the rooms on the main floor, so the Freya just made it that much more complicated.)
Anyway, might keep the Freya in the box for a while, and a plan for it might spring forth in my addled brain at some point. Maybe I’ll hunt down another pair of Aegir amps and use em in my den again! Or maybe I’ll build myself a pair of Pass Amp Camp Amps someday. Those are cute.
Anyway, carry on.
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