theory goes that salt forms are more easily absorbed.. To be honest though, I had very strong experiences with dmt freebase orally too, but it was harsh on the stomach, so I suggest making it a salt, either with FASA method or simply dissolving it in an acidic juice/tea and drinking it.
As rOm said, I also agree that you should test out different combinations and try for yourself. It's pretty hard to define, also because, unless you are taking aya/pharma every couple of days in the exact same set and setting and nothing else changes in your life except that every 10 or whatever trips you change the dmt/harmala source, then how can you really tell that the differences are because of the different form? I mean, if you take a couple of aya experiences in winter, then you take again some pharma in spring, or if your intentions or expectations are different, or whatever other important variables that can affect, then your trips may be different for other reasons appart from the dmt and harmalas. Even with the exact same product one can have completely different experiences depending on the day IMO.
In any case a couple of differences I do notice: There is a bigger chance of purging with plant material than with extracted alkaloids (though that isnt a rule, Ive purged on pharma and ive had many aya trips without purging, but in general I think there is this tendency, probably due to tannins and so on).
Also, I feel that its easier to misfire with pharma (extracted alkaloids), than it is with aya. I think there is something related to the bioavailability or absorption of the alkaloids that the full plant brew might help... So if you take extracted alkaloids, i suggest either taking the MAOI and the DMT dissolved in juice, or "bombing" it by wrapping in some smoking paper and swallowing with some acidic warm tea. Capsules work the worse IME..
Regarding taking harmalas before or together with DMT, im still not decided on that. Traditionally, ayahuasca is brewed with both components together, but also traditionally it is very common that people re-dose after an hour or two... It might be the dmt in first dose will be partly destroyed by MAO before the MAOI inhibits it all.
You can also try out different combinations and let us know: Harmalas 30 mins before, then dmt, or both together, or half harmalas 30mins before and half together with DMT (which is usually what I go for, just out of pure guessing/intuition). The good thing is you can always redose, even the same day, since no tolerance builds up, in fact the effects just keep increasing the more you take
Another thing is that you have to find your ideal harmala dosage. Some people like it really high on harmalas and low on dmt. I like a decent but not too strong dose on harmalas and a strong dose of DMT.. The thing is, you have to find the strenght of your brew.. So I recommend first trying the harmalas by themselves, find a dose youre comfortable with (for me its the dosage where I definitely feel some effects from harmalas, light-headedness, sensitivity to light, somehow dreamy state, maybe a little groggyness, but not overly dizzy nor very hard to walk), and then next time add your DMT on top of that dose.
Check the sticky in this information subforum (also linked in the FAQ) for some suggested doses. For me, caapi dosage is often around 40g, rue around 3.5g, extracted mixed harmalas around 200mg if pure white or 400mg if darker stuff, 150mg if pure harmaline and 250mg if pure harmine.. Sometimes I like to go a bit higher on harmalas but not always. As for DMT, with pharma im a bit of a rarity, because, as with a small amount of people, I need extremely large amounts of DMT (like 200mg+), but many people are more than happy with 50-70mg, so find your dosage, start low. I still have to experiment with caapi + extracted DMT to see if I also need large doses like that or if whole caapi somehow helps absorption and my doses are more 'normal'. With brewed ayahuasca, I still have to experiment more, because most times I brewed back in SA, it was unknown dosages just eyeballed, the traditional way, but I dont really recommend it. With known good chacruna I think it will be around 50g, but as I said, plant material can vary a lot in quality. With mimosa, the dosage for me would be around 5g, but Ive taken up to 10g of some strong mimosa and that was quite a kick in the ass.. I hear some people taking even higher doses of mimosa but it makes me wonder if their mimosa isnt very bad quality or if their brewing method isnt completely off, because im usually a hardhead and 10g was already too much for me. First timers should take 3g mimosa. I dont like drinking mimosa brews anymore, now rather extracted DMT from mimosa or chacruna as plant source.... But each one has their own preference.
Lastly, I just want to link purges thread which was about the same and I had not answered yet because I knew it would be a long answer like this one.. but now here it is, so..
https://www.dmt-nexus.me...spx?g=posts&t=28924
Hope that helped a bit