Firestone Products - Page 10

Just wondering if anyone knows if the Little Country or FubarIII would run a pair of Sennheiser HD600 nicely?
(am more interested in feedback on the Little Country) If so, does anyone have any suggestion on what tubes would go well with the little country as I have heard that the tubes that come with the amp are not that great.

anyone tried LT1028ACN8 in the 2009 Cute Beyond? does it still have a rollable opamp at all?

it works fine in the old Spitfire:

AD797A is said to work in the old Cute Beyond: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/cla...4/#post3427064

I'll try AD797B in the Spitfire today or tomorrow

My Fubar and Supplier. More dynamic and a wider soundstage than the DAC in the X-CANV8P. I also like the idea of only paying for connections I will use, just the USB is needed.

Hi Leeperry,
Been following you around the opamp thread...and elsewhere...
The 2009 Beyond still has rollable opamps, TL072 buffer input (I think it's called) and OPA2604 amp, the internals are somewhat similar, lost the fuse holder and a couple of caps replaced by IC.
I tried the OPA2627 SuperChip in lieu of the 2604 and found the sound very good but kind of lifeless...lacked midrange dynamics I think not an expert...
I'm very curious about the LT1028ACN8 might do it in the futur, I'm still educating myself at this stage...
Let me know how you like the LT1028.
Cheers

hi, well I don't discuss opamp rolling on zillion forums ^^

I just put the 797B in the Spitfire:

1028A gives a very sweet sound and tight bass, but 797B kills it in the SS department...actually this chip is the all time outsider on a DAC output IMHO....but I'll also try Burson V2 for fun, as I plan on trying several combos.

but I honestly think that the best combo will be 797B in the Spitfire, fed to the Burson HA-160(and its mesmerizing thick analog sound )

LT1028 can be hard to stabilize as it's only stable for <1 gain, I don't think it'd work in the Cute Beyond...but I've asked the Firestone tech.support anyway, as they always come back to me w/ thorough technical replies

hehe, 797 is really eye popping...Scott Wurcer is a living god.

on one of my fav albums, one song had a hardly bearable synthetic snare drum on the 1028, and now it's perfectly fine...and at some point I can hear some really really faint tiny bit of static for a quarter for a second, the 1028 didn't register it at all...and its X-Z SS is simply astonishing.



PS: yes, the Z SS is very clear and separated, slight imperfections become VERY audible.

OTOH, PRaT is much higher on 1028A..tough call, PRaT or SS

Yes the 797 seems to be well liked, I did read that the LT1028 wouldn't work in my beyond without alteration...not gonna go there...

May I suggest that we take this conversation back to the opamp thread, this is good info.
Cheers

I don't see a reason for you not to try AD797BR..as this module is dead cheap on ebay.

maybe I could use it in the Cute Beyond, and put LT1028A in the Spitfire...as it does work fine there! but I'd rather do the opposite tbh, not sure.

I might as well keep 797B in the Spitfire and put a Burson V2 in the Cute Beyond

what annoys me a bit is that the old non-2009 Firestone products are full of liquid caps and the boards are very populated, and the new 2009 versions use solid caps and use far less components

also, the volume pot on the 2009 Cute Beyond has poor stereo tracking apparently?

I've also been told that the gain on the Beyond 2009 is rather high? I'd need a gain of 2 for the cd3k drivers.

ok, I've been confirmed by Firestone than the Cute Beyond is compatible w/ LT1028A! YAY

but getting the Burson discrete opamp might be risky, because the Supplier discrete PSU can only feed 200/250mA and the Burson needs 38mA...they advise to use the wallwart instead, which can feed 500mA.

I think LT1028A on a Beyond+Supplier would really be amazing! only last issues are 1) stereo imbalance at low volume 2) pretty high gain even when set to low from what I was told 3) all the liquid Nichicon caps in the old model have been replaced by solid caps.

Cute Curve and Cute Beyond

 

What is the difference?

 

The websites say Class A vs Class B - but I just received my Cute Curve, and the spec sheet says Class A....

 

Anyone got any info?

 

I was planning on having a play with opamp rolling and Class A biasing using the resistor mod..... but there is the possibility that this mod has already been built into the circuit board - in which case there would be no point (and undesirable / unpredictable results!)

 

Anyone know what the deal is?

 

thanks

you could send them an email, they always come back w/ proper informations in a timely manner.

 

most ppl think that Class A biasing on recent opamps is not worth the trouble. If you want a real substantial improvement, try to get a (possibly second hand) Supplier PSU.

Edited by leeperry - 9/9/10 at 6:00pm

I did e-mail them, and the answer was prompt... here is the answer (thank you Kerry.Ko):

 

 

 

1.        I am sorry the information of our products that may not consistent in the manual and website so let you feel confused.

           Curve is Push-Pull Class A/B Amplifier.

2.        There is part of Virtual Ground in the circuit and there is a chip as TL071 that will limit the increasing of the voltage.

           No matter TL071 or TL072, we do not suggest to usage the voltage to +/-18V. The highest level will just reach +/-15V.

           Therefore, it is ok that the curve can be used with 30VDC adapter.

 

As an aside, I already have an audiophile 24V PSU which I intend to try out (Creek OBH2).... Had a brief look around for off the shelf 30V DC PSU's - it is an uncommon voltage and I didn't find any. (mind you I didn't spend more than 10min looking online)

Just confirming - the Creek OBH2 power supply is a good match with the Cute Curve - likely to work well with other Firestone bits too....

 

It is sounding better - how much better will be determined by more listening... TBA

Hey lookee: http://www.audiophileproducts.com/digital-to-analog-converter-audio

 

New Spitfire DAC \o/

 

A friend of mine was seeking a small and efficient DAC, he just ordered it...this thing just sounds exquisite w/ the Supplier DPS and some beefy opamps. I will post a mini-review ASAP.

Edited by leeperry - 12/8/10 at 3:29am

I recently added a Korora Phono Stage and Supplier PSU to my vinyl rig and am quite enjoying it.

Anyone else using a Korora in their stack?