Hey Head-Fiers,
I recently bought the new Cute Beyond Headphone amplifier. I received it today.
It is very similar to the old model, and at the same time different.
It has a 1/4'' output (instead of the 1/8'' output). More handy for the headphones I use. Same volume pot, and different front plating (more formal, and more to my liking).
It has very similar specs as the older model, uses different op-amps, and has also the series and shunt switches. That is what you get to see when you read everything posted in the sites.
As I mentioned before it arrived today to my place. I bought it from firestone-audio European distributor. Good service and fast shipping. It even came with some candy (maybe because it is so "cute", who knows :P). As I have mentioned before I would have liked to spend less on an amp, tried the Pro Ject Head Box MKII, received a faulty unit and it was too small for what I wanted. Even so I plan to keep this amp for long, so the buy is more like an investment
.
It is small. Nice form factor, feels good, and very lightweight. I come from the Little Dot I+, and the metal from the LD seems better quality, more heavy, whereas the Cute Beyond feels sturdy but with less density.
Both old and new models have the shunt or series volume control and the op-amps can be swapped. In the old model you can remove the upper plating and change the fuse or op-amps or volume switches.
On the new model it is easy to change the mode into shunt or series, but the op-amps seem to need more work.
I did the following pictures (sorry for the bad quality, had lighting problems, heat problems -too hot in my room- and had to close it fast to do some stuff). I will eventually upload more pictures once I have time. Even so you can check the inside picture here (what i could take due to the metal case and the lack of light). To open it you need to unscrew the volume pot from the potentiometer. Can be easily done.
ImageShack Gallery
The board layout has been changed. I think that as the ex-designer of Firestone audio left to start travagan's, they had to stop using the old design or they wanted to change it to a new one. (The 1/8'' output was something that set me back from getting the older version). It no longer has a fuse, it has more things directly soldered and the PCB board seems to be more difficult to reach than the previous model.
I have gotten in contact with the distributor to see if they can tell me exactly how am I supposed to change the op-amps without disassembling the entire amplifier. They gave me a free op-amp. Wanted to see how hard it would be to change it once I wanted to do so.
Apart from this "problems" I really like the form factor of the amplifier. I like the low and high gain switch, on and off switch and the volume pot feels really nice. In low gain I can listen to Grados at around 10.00 on normal listening levels. On 12.00 it would be a bit loud for me, still bearable, though.
At least i got what I was looking for, regarding the volume control.
I will also perform some RMAA measurements once I get the cables I need in order to perform it. I am interested in seeing if the FR remains flat with a 32 ohm load, and with different op-amps (the opa2604 stock and the free LM4562 i received) and different load.
If some people have buyed it as well you can contribute with your experience here.
Stay tuned for more
I recently bought the new Cute Beyond Headphone amplifier. I received it today.
It is very similar to the old model, and at the same time different.
It has a 1/4'' output (instead of the 1/8'' output). More handy for the headphones I use. Same volume pot, and different front plating (more formal, and more to my liking).
It has very similar specs as the older model, uses different op-amps, and has also the series and shunt switches. That is what you get to see when you read everything posted in the sites.
As I mentioned before it arrived today to my place. I bought it from firestone-audio European distributor. Good service and fast shipping. It even came with some candy (maybe because it is so "cute", who knows :P). As I have mentioned before I would have liked to spend less on an amp, tried the Pro Ject Head Box MKII, received a faulty unit and it was too small for what I wanted. Even so I plan to keep this amp for long, so the buy is more like an investment
.It is small. Nice form factor, feels good, and very lightweight. I come from the Little Dot I+, and the metal from the LD seems better quality, more heavy, whereas the Cute Beyond feels sturdy but with less density.
Both old and new models have the shunt or series volume control and the op-amps can be swapped. In the old model you can remove the upper plating and change the fuse or op-amps or volume switches.
On the new model it is easy to change the mode into shunt or series, but the op-amps seem to need more work.
I did the following pictures (sorry for the bad quality, had lighting problems, heat problems -too hot in my room- and had to close it fast to do some stuff). I will eventually upload more pictures once I have time. Even so you can check the inside picture here (what i could take due to the metal case and the lack of light). To open it you need to unscrew the volume pot from the potentiometer. Can be easily done.
ImageShack Gallery
The board layout has been changed. I think that as the ex-designer of Firestone audio left to start travagan's, they had to stop using the old design or they wanted to change it to a new one. (The 1/8'' output was something that set me back from getting the older version). It no longer has a fuse, it has more things directly soldered and the PCB board seems to be more difficult to reach than the previous model.
I have gotten in contact with the distributor to see if they can tell me exactly how am I supposed to change the op-amps without disassembling the entire amplifier. They gave me a free op-amp. Wanted to see how hard it would be to change it once I wanted to do so.
Apart from this "problems" I really like the form factor of the amplifier. I like the low and high gain switch, on and off switch and the volume pot feels really nice. In low gain I can listen to Grados at around 10.00 on normal listening levels. On 12.00 it would be a bit loud for me, still bearable, though.
At least i got what I was looking for, regarding the volume control.
I will also perform some RMAA measurements once I get the cables I need in order to perform it. I am interested in seeing if the FR remains flat with a 32 ohm load, and with different op-amps (the opa2604 stock and the free LM4562 i received) and different load.
If some people have buyed it as well you can contribute with your experience here.
Stay tuned for more
They sound how some people would say "transparent, clear, not sibilant -tested with grado-, etc...
