Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › New Cute Beyond (With 1/4'' output)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

New Cute Beyond (With 1/4'' output) - Page 2

post #16 of 25
8/11/09 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I will make some picts soon. EDIT: Got camera and it had no battery. Have to charge it.

I got the response from the representative on what to do to change op-amps. Will post it when I come back.
Reply
post #17 of 25
8/11/09 at 12:14pm
Thread Starter 
Well, as promised here are the pictures. I did some with the HF-2 because they match perfectly.

Hope you guys like them






(Click on the image in link to get a full sized pict. I resized original pict to 1600x1200)

Oh and this is the comment on how to change op-amps.

Quote:
Just take the little hex screw and unmount the front screws of the faceplate.
Also on the side of volume button you can loosen as screw, so the volume button can be removed.
Quote:
If you have removed front panel, also remove the back panel (only the 4 HEX screws in the 4 corners)
Now you can pull gently on the back-face plate and the whole amplifier board comes out
Note that we do not want user to swap opamps daily,.
Reply
post #18 of 25
8/11/09 at 5:16pm
Mmmm....silver is sexy. The Firestone gear looks so much more "professional" now. I'm sure the "cutesy" look of before must have scared away a few serious buyers.
Reply
post #19 of 25
8/11/09 at 5:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nighted View Post
Mmmm....silver is sexy. The Firestone gear looks so much more "professional" now. I'm sure the "cutesy" look of before must have scared away a few serious buyers.
I didn't like the older model front plating... It was not serious enough for my tastes. Another "downside" of the older model was that it had a 1/8'' output and for the majority of headphones 1/4'' is the usual.
Reply
post #20 of 25
8/11/09 at 6:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bullseye View Post
I didn't like the older model front plating... It was not serious enough for my tastes. Another "downside" of the older model was that it had a 1/8'' output and for the majority of headphones 1/4'' is the usual.
Agreed. I like the concept if having a mini rack type setup sitting on my desktop. All funky colours doesn't quite achieve that.

I'm going to grab the Beyond first (maybe). It's the Burr Brown chip that seals the deal for me. Also, I'm going to add the power supply on top of that as I'm really curious how much of a difference that's going to make.
Reply
post #21 of 25
8/31/09 at 10:18pm
I am looking into the cute beyond. A concern I had is would I be better off going with an amp to start, plugging right into the computer or ipod, or would a DAC be a better place to start?
Reply
post #22 of 25
9/1/09 at 5:34am
Thread Starter 
^None of those possibilities, if your ipod/dac gives you good sound, no cracks or annoying hum.

Between having a DAC or an AMP first, I think it wouldn't really matter too much. If the headphones you are going to use have low impedance, the cute beyond might help you drive them well, if your computer outputs cracks or hum then the DAC would be the best option.

You just want to get a clear signal delivered to your headphones. If it doesn't have cracks or hum and sounds good to you, then you won't need to buy anything.

Oh, and if you don't have any of the mentioned problems, but you want to have a dedicated volume control, then the Cute beyond is great for that!
Reply
post #23 of 25
9/10/10 at 1:10am

I recently (last couple of days) purchased a Cute Curve on fleabay....

 

Then started asking some questions, which resulted in the following bits of information

 

  1. Cute curve is NOT Class B - it is in fact Class AB (Like most opamp based amps)
  2. The Cute curve can be run with supply voltage of up to 30V DC - which will raise opamp supply from +/1 12V to +/- 15V
  3. The Firestone 24V components are compatible with the Creek power supplies which are also 24V and use identical connectors (with identical polarity)

 

This of course raises the question..... if the Cute Curve was being advertised as Class B while being Class AB - what is the Cute Beyond?

 

Is it in fact a Class A design? (wouldn't it require a bigger PSU, and wouldn't it run hot if it was?)

 

Is it another Class AB design? (if so then what is the difference between the Curve and the Beyond?)

 

Is it a Class AB design biased deeper into Class A ? (if so how is it done? is it similar to the resistor mod that Purrin has done to his Matrix M-Stage? - or is it a more sophisticated method?)

 

In terms of modding and opamp rolling - understanding whether/how the Beyond is biased into Class A would tell people what mods might work...

 

In the meantime I am considering the Class A mod for the Curve.

 

Final question - What does the series V shunt switch do? (never mind found the answer to this in the Firestone FAQ's) 


Edited by dlaloum - 9/12/10 at 10:14am
Reply
post #24 of 25
5/28/11 at 8:54am
anyone know the rated power output into 300ohm HP (for both Cute Beyond and Curve)?

Looking into driving a pair of 360ohm,91db/mW K340.

also is the opamp socketed/rollable to LME49720?
Edited by svyr - 5/28/11 at 8:58am
Reply
post #25 of 25
7/15/11 at 6:10pm

Yes it is socketed / rollable

 

It drives my 600ohm Revox 3100/Beyer DT880 fine....

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphone Amps (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › New Cute Beyond (With 1/4'' output)