Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)BEFORE I purchased a Cute Beyond, I talked for over 30 minutes with a tech at Firestone/Audiophile about their "Cute" headphone amps and power supplier.This alone was amazing to me when phone calls and e-mails are so often left unanswered these days. Good people, good service, and good products.Here is the short version of what I learned...
If you want a quiet headphone amp (my first objective), purchase a battery-powered amplifier like their "Cute II Battery" and run it on the batteries. Most noise is caused by the AC-to-DC power conversion so the "Cute II Battery" is essentially silent when running on battery power. It has two 9-volt, rechargeable, and user-replaceable batteries providing nearly perfect silence for about 10 hours per charge.
If you want a fairly-priced, powerful, and responsive amp (my second objective), purchase something like the "Cute Beyond" and be certain that the company also sells an upgraded power supply like our "Supplier" in case you want even less noise from the AC-to-DC conversion.If you are going to drive a low impedance set of headphones, you will most likely need the additional current-delivering capacity of an upgraded power supply.The wall-warts just can't deliver enough smooth power on their own.
Since they spent so much time with me AND the about-$200 market is so small, I ordered the "Cute Beyond" to give it a listen. The improvement over my Adcom PreAmp and Denon Receiver headphone sections was profound, much quieter and much more musical clarity. But I could still hear the noise floor at -104dB.(It is not ego; my hearing was professionally tested after being in an explosion.I can hear a somewhat farther reaching frequency range than most humans, and at much lower volume levels than the vast majority you.)
So, why not give the "Supplier" a chance to lower that floor still further (another -10dB) and provide me with an enhanced clarity, presence, and rich sound stage that only a lot of good, clean, and responsive power can supply.I did not believe their rhetoric, but I had only return postage to worry about because they offered to waive the shipping cost on their end. Cool, a $10 experiment.
My skepticism was shattered within minutes; it washed away in a sea of brilliant, present, and clear sound.Simply amazing, it blew me away. I just lay their grinning.I can still easily hear the noise floor, but at -115db that is my problem, not the equipment. It has now been two skepticism-shattering weeks -- album after album has had revealed subtleties that I never heard before (both good and not-so-good), new instruments that appeared from a former nowhere, and articulate crescendos that were soft and muddy.
My recommendation is their recommendation.Batteries if portability and low noise floor are your drivers.Step into a Cute Beyond if you want more.Step into a Supplier if you want even more. My total cost, including shipping, was $314.I am having a profound musical awakening on my Sennheiser HD-280-Pros with great anticipation for enough cash to reach a pair Denon AH-D5000s.I already have the current and power to drive them; it will be awesome.
[...]
Great listening awaits you.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Audiophile Products Cute Beyond - Gray Headphone Amplifier
Product Description:
The Cute Beyond is optimized for a wide range of load impedances, and is suitable to most headphones from the Etymotic ER4P (27 ohm) to the AKG K240DF (600 ohm). This high bandwidth, extreme low noise design (lower than -107db) yields greater than 105 dB of dynamic range and exceeds the capabilities of human hearing, ensuring it can handle even the most difficult headphones. Two gain settings, selectable by a rear panel switch, allow for quick and easy optimization for high or low efficiency headphones. To satisfy the tweakers among us the Cute features user changeable opamps and a Shunt/Series type input volume control to suit different tastes. Other features include short circuit and thermal protection. No cheap plastic here! The Cute BEYOND is manufactured with a solid aluminum chassis and features an anodized aluminum face plate in you choice of red, blue, violet, or gray. The volume knob is also machined from solid aluminum for a high quality look and feel.
Want to read more honest consumer review about Audiophile Products Cute Beyond - Gray Headphone Amplifier now ?
0 comments:
Post a Comment