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REVIEW: Firestone Audio Amps - Cute Beyond and Fubar III - Page 4

post #46 of 56
9/15/09 at 5:16pm
Thread Starter 
You are very welcome.
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post #47 of 56
9/17/09 at 5:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlwaysAFan View Post
Really awesome review - I do have a question for you though. I went to the site you mentioned above but I purchased a newer version of the Cute and noticed there's a "newer" type of Firestone Audio apparently - different from the images you posted above. Here's an example of one I'm talking about here - Fubar III. Are there any differences between the two? I assume these are newer models?


Anyways - thanks again for your review. Sorry for lack of knowledge, Headphone Amps, etc is kind of a new hobby for me. My wife already loves it lol

Edit: Blah... I should have read the rest of the thread before I posted
The one that's pictured is the Fubar III 2009. According to the US distributor for Firestone products, it's got revised and updated circuitry and an LS4652 op amp in the DAC section. The old Fubar III (without 2009 in its official name) has an OPA2604. I'm guessing this site is selling the old one but used the new model's picture.
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post #48 of 56
10/27/09 at 10:44pm
The Fubar IV is out now. It's 24/96 with a Cirrus Logic CS4344 chip. Has USB/Digital coax/Toslink inputs for $347.

Fubar IV Plus by Firestone Audio | Sound Additions
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post #49 of 56
10/27/09 at 11:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrpetemd View Post
The Fubar IV is out now. It's 24/96 with a Cirrus Logic CS4344 chip. Has USB/Digital coax/Toslink inputs for $347.

Fubar IV Plus by Firestone Audio | Sound Additions
Looks promising. USB input is still 16/44.1/48, but I assume the 192K up-sampling also works for USB and not just the 24/96 S/PDIF DAC (optical/coax). Often the up-sampling with re-clocking improves jitter rejection. This would be a direct competitor for the StyleAudio CARAT-TOPAZ that I reviewed. I'm taking a little break from reviews right now, and I can't buy one at the moment, but I hope to hear it someday and inject my opinion into the discussions about it.
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post #50 of 56
11/24/09 at 10:11am
There's a sale of the Fubar IV coming up in Europe this coming December, directly from the company. I don't know about other countries. Since they're based here, in Taiwan, I'll (ask a Chinese-speaking friend to) inquire.

[Edit:] I didn't ask my friend to call, finally. I decided to wait for news of CEntrance's DACport. Their MicPortPro has made quite a splash in my line of work; I'm curious to see if they can build on that success.
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post #51 of 56
2/26/10 at 2:54pm
HPA - I read in your old review of the Fubar 3 that you liked the iBasso D1/D2 better as dac/amp for PC/Mac. I guess that would mean that now that the D4 is available you also prefer D4 before the Fubar 3? Still - wouldn't the Fubar 3 be better for use with HD650 than D4 because of the DC power? Or am I totally lost here?
Thanks!
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post #52 of 56
2/27/10 at 2:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by trentino View Post
HPA - I read in your old review of the Fubar 3 that you liked the iBasso D1/D2 better as dac/amp for PC/Mac. I guess that would mean that now that the D4 is available you also prefer D4 before the Fubar 3? Still - wouldn't the Fubar 3 be better for use with HD650 than D4 because of the DC power? Or am I totally lost here?
Thanks!
I just didn't think the Fubar III was all that resolving, detailed or spacious. The Travagans White DAC/amp was better in my opinion, and I believe it would have enough power for the HD650. The D4 with 9v power would be more resolving but less powerful and I would not use it with HD650. The HD600 seem to be more easily driven by portables than HD650 to me, and that is why I was okay with the D1 for the HD600. I'd rather have the refinement and detail and less power if I had to pick one.

I might also prefer the Nuforce Icon desktop DAC/amp over the Fubar III, but I believe the Nuforce HDP would be even better suited to the HD650 than any of ones previously mentioned above.
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post #53 of 56
2/27/10 at 10:01am
Ok thanks HPA. Maybe a Fubar would be worth it for $170 (found one on ebay), I guess it's better than nothing...my sad HD650 is ampless right now. Just to clarify - when you say "I'd rather have the refinement and detail and less power if I had to pick one" - doesn't that mean D4? With refinement and less power? Or did I misunderstand? Basically: which would you prefer between D4 and Fubar 3 for amp/dac with HD650 use? Sorry to be another one with HD650 questions. But at least I don't create new treads

Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
I just didn't think the Fubar III was all that resolving, detailed or spacious. The Travagans White DAC/amp was better in my opinion, and I believe it would have enough power for the HD650. The D4 with 9v power would be more resolving but less powerful and I would not use it with HD650. The HD600 seem to be more easily driven by portables than HD650 to me, and that is why I was okay with the D1 for the HD600. I'd rather have the refinement and detail and less power if I had to pick one.

I might also prefer the Nuforce Icon desktop DAC/amp over the Fubar III, but I believe the Nuforce HDP would be even better suited to the HD650 than any of ones previously mentioned above.
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post #54 of 56
2/27/10 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by trentino View Post
Ok thanks HPA. Maybe a Fubar would be worth it for $170 (found one on ebay), I guess it's better than nothing...my sad HD650 is ampless right now. Just to clarify - when you say "I'd rather have the refinement and detail and less power if I had to pick one" - doesn't that mean D4? With refinement and less power? Or did I misunderstand? Basically: which would you prefer between D4 and Fubar 3 for amp/dac with HD650 use? Sorry to be another one with HD650 questions. But at least I don't create new treads
I understand you are on a budget. Before I got a Fubar III I would pick the D4, and use it with 9v battery for HD650. Even the Travagans Green had a little better detail and refinement than the Fubar, with decent power (mentioned in the review). On a budget a HiFiMan EF2 desktop tube hybrid which with stock tubes could add a little sparkle to the 650's, and provide more power than D4; or a uDAC + a small desktop amp for both the extra detail and extra power. The uDAC paired with EF2, Nuforce Icon or Qinpu A-3 all worked well as budget setup for HD600. The brighter stock tubes in EF2 or A-3 might actually be better for the HD650.

I just find the HD650's tonal balance to be not my cup of tea, but the D4 may have the right tonal balance, as well as detail to work with the HD650. With 9v power, the D4 is pretty much as powerful as the Pico, and many people have enjoyed the HD600/650 with that. Among portables, the 3MOVE in high current mode or Vividaudiotech.com V1 seem to have a little more power than the D4. The Cute Beyond with uDAC would be good for HD600 but might sound too warm with HD650 (where the Travagans with LM4562 opamp is crisper but not cold sounding). If the Cute Beyond can accept AD743 opamps upgrade on a 2:1 adapter it might be a good choice for HD650.
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post #55 of 56
2/27/10 at 8:09pm
Thanks for the good info, now I've got to read up on the Nuforce products and the 3move!
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post #56 of 56
3/21/10 at 4:57pm
Hi there -

I am waiting for some AKG 701's to arrive in the mail, and wondering (much too much) what would be the better budget amp option - the Cute Beyond or the CREEK OBH11? (any other suggestions???).

I am running my audio files optically out of an Imac, to a Yamaha AP-U70, which has a DAC (anyone know this unit, in terms of DAC, and particularly, the headphone jack, which is rated as 320mV/61ohms [1 kHZ, 150mV] ?). It also has an optical out - though I wonder how I would connect it to the headphone amp? the RCA line out currently being taken up by my Audioengine A2's.

Advice much appreciated - I am obsessing over the forums again...
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