Review of the Little-Dot MKIII Tube Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp

[ciphercomplete]

Penchum you saved me $100. I went ahead and ordered the MKIII instead of the MKIV. Combining your extremely well written and extensive reviews and my time spent with the MKII, I am pretty confident that I am going to be completely satisfied (i.e. no upgraditis). I will be getting a MKV later this year but thats another story.

Plus now I have enough left over to get a DAC

[ciphercomplete]

Originally Posted by skipjimson

I'm thinking about buying a LD MkIII, based on this thread... I'm wondering if anyone has heard it with AKG K 601's? I made the mistake of buying 601's without realizing I would need an amp to drive them, and I don't want to make another mistake in buying an amp that won't drive them properly. Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the pairing.

My MKII drove my k-501s to near perfection and the MKIII has more power than the MKII. Another guy on this board absolutely loves his MKIII with his k-701s. If the 501s, 701s and the 601s are anything similar in terms of impedance and sensitivity then you don't have anything to worry about.

[rpveld]

Ok, so here I was, all ready to email David in order to have my MK III repaired.
I was hearing a faint and fast ticking noise coming from the amp through the headphones.
It wasn’t there from the beginning it just started a couple of days ago and I could only hear it with low Impedance headphones and not with the HD 650s.
I changed out all the tubes and it was still there. Lowered the gain setting, no luck.
Before emailing to David and have to go through the hassle of sending it back for repairs, I decided to look at the manual one more time.
And there it was:

Interference: To minimize interference, keep your Little Dot isolated from wireless routers, and other
common sources of RF or EMI noise.

I don’t have a wireless network or something like that, but then I realized the SQUEEZEBOX. It’s there since a couple of weeks standing right beside the MK III.
The only thing is it is connected to my network wired. I decided to move it any way, and presto, the noise was gone.
Then I realized the Squeezebox controller has an infrared connection with the squeezebox. So that must be it.

I just wanted to share and proof “RTFM” to be right once again.

Anyway, there was a big sigh of relief.

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by rpveld

Ok, so here I was, all ready to email David in order to have my MK III repaired.
I was hearing a faint and fast ticking noise coming from the amp through the headphones.
It wasn’t there from the beginning it just started a couple of days ago and I could only hear it with low Impedance headphones and not with the HD 650s.
I changed out all the tubes and it was still there. Lowered the gain setting, no luck.
Before emailing to David and have to go through the hassle of sending it back for repairs, I decided to look at the manual one more time.
And there it was:

Interference: To minimize interference, keep your Little Dot isolated from wireless routers, and other
common sources of RF or EMI noise.

I don’t have a wireless network or something like that, but then I realized the SQUEEZEBOX. It’s there since a couple of weeks standing right beside the MK III.
The only thing is it is connected to my network wired. I decided to move it any way, and presto, the noise was gone.
Then I realized the Squeezebox controller has an infrared connection with the squeezebox. So that must be it.

I just wanted to share and proof “RTFM” to be right once again.

Anyway, there was a big sigh of relieve.

Always nice when a seemingly impossible problem is resolved so simply

I must be the only guy in our entire extended family that reads the manuals. I'm a great proponent of the RTFM methodology. When I get near my comp with my Fender Strat and angle the single coils at the computer the noise goes through the roof into the amp(with and without the wireless router). I knew it would but I was surprised at how much interference was generated at a distance of 5 ft from the computer. So I make sure the computer is off for critical listening and jamming

It sure is a relief when the problem is solved and it doesn't cost a dime !!!

Peete.

[Pricklely Peete]

rpveld what is that object in your avatar ?

[rpveld]

Pricklely Peete,

The object in my avatar is the exhaust from my motorcycle.
It’s an aftermarket exhaust, made by Trident in the UK, for the Triumph Sprint ST 1050.

[Penchum]

Originally Posted by rpveld

Ok, so here I was, all ready to email David in order to have my MK III repaired.
I was hearing a faint and fast ticking noise coming from the amp through the headphones.
It wasn’t there from the beginning it just started a couple of days ago and I could only hear it with low Impedance headphones and not with the HD 650s.
I changed out all the tubes and it was still there. Lowered the gain setting, no luck.
Before emailing to David and have to go through the hassle of sending it back for repairs, I decided to look at the manual one more time.
And there it was:

Interference: To minimize interference, keep your Little Dot isolated from wireless routers, and other
common sources of RF or EMI noise.

I don’t have a wireless network or something like that, but then I realized the SQUEEZEBOX. It’s there since a couple of weeks standing right beside the MK III.
The only thing is it is connected to my network wired. I decided to move it any way, and presto, the noise was gone.
Then I realized the Squeezebox controller has an infrared connection with the squeezebox. So that must be it.

I just wanted to share and proof “RTFM” to be right once again.

Anyway, there was a big sigh of relieve.

Thats great you found the source! More and more when someone says they have noise coming from their amp, I cringe a little because it usually isn't what they thought. For me, it was a cordless phone in my room. I mounted it on the wall, away from everything else...problem solved.

[Mike_TNT]

Hey guys,
I made myself some jumper handles by duck taping 3/4 inch long pieces of plastic to 2 jumpers. Good idea or will they fall apart and possibly damage the LD because of the heat? It certainly makes them less of a PITA to install though.


ps. Bump.

[Penchum]

Originally Posted by Mike_TNT

Hey guys,
I made myself some jumper handles by duck taping 3/4 inch long pieces of plastic to 2 jumpers. Good idea or will they fall apart and possibly damage the LD because of the heat? It certainly makes them less of a PITA to install though.


ps. Bump.

DUCK TAPE! Quack, quack! Duct Tape. Sorry, couldn't resist!

I really don't know if the heat will make them drop to the bottom of the case, but I don't think it will hurt the amp, because of this. Get a few pieces of model car plastic, and super glue a rod shaped piece to the jumper, so that when installed, the rod part sticks out of the hole just a little. This should work pretty well, I think.

[Mike_TNT]

Originally Posted by Penchum

DUCK TAPE! Quack, quack! Duct Tape. Sorry, couldn't resist!

I really don't know if the heat will make them drop to the bottom of the case, but I don't think it will hurt the amp, because of this. Get a few pieces of model car plastic, and super glue a rod shaped piece to the jumper, so that when installed, the rod part sticks out of the hole just a little. This should work pretty well, I think.

I made a silly quack of myself again. They should start selling horse glue and duck tape as a package.


Well I'll give my rustic design a go then. See how it holds. Otherwise super glue it is.

[coredump]

Two questions.

Will I damage anything if connect my LDIII RCA out to the RCA in on my already amplified Audio Engine A2 speakers?

If I connect the speaker this way and have the headphones plugged into the LDIII where will the sound come out? Headphones or Speakers?

[JimSmiley]

Originally Posted by coredump

Two questions.

Will I damage anything if connect my LDIII RCA out to the RCA in on my already amplified Audio Engine A2 speakers?

If I connect the speaker this way and have the headphones plugged into the LDIII where will the sound come out? Headphones or Speakers?

1. No, I don't think so, but you're double amping which won't be the best sound quality.

2. Both

[Pricklely Peete]

Originally Posted by rpveld

Pricklely Peete,

The object in my avatar is the exhaust from my motorcycle.
It’s an aftermarket exhaust, made by Trident in the UK, for the Triumph Sprint ST 1050.

That's friggin' cool, and they double as 30 mm grenade launchers when the Fuzz is hot on your tail ?

Peete.

[shamu144]

I have been now using my LDMKIII for a month, and I still enjoy it a lot, though I have to say I use it only for FM reception, paired with my AKG K501.

Recently, I tried again to connect it to my main source (CDP SONY SCD-555ES european version).

Compared to the headphone output of my CDP, the sound provided by the LDMKIII is more liquid, smooth, with a great midrange and good extension in lows and highs - highly enjoyable -. BTW, the K501 goes as low as 20 Hz with some CD tests and definitely do not lack bass.

But the overall presentation is also softened, and you can notice many details are now inaudible, making it in my opinion a far less involving experience. You miss reverberated sounds, as well as spatial dimension.

I would say this flaw is probably due to the preamp section of the LDMKIII which is lacking transparency. Have you guys experienced the same ?

It doesn't bother me as I do not use it for critical listening sessions, but I think I would be if I used it only as main headphone amp.

Still it remains for the price and excellent bargain, as the sound it provides is definitely charming.

[vvanrij]

Originally Posted by shamu144

I have been now using my LDMKIII for a month, and I still enjoy it a lot, though I have to say I use it only for FM reception, paired with my AKG K501.

Recently, I tried again to connect it to my main source (CDP SONY SCD-555ES european version).

Compared to the headphone output of my CDP, the sound provided by the LDMKIII is more liquid, smooth, with a great midrange and good extension in lows and highs - highly enjoyable -. BTW, the K501 goes as low as 20 Hz with some CD tests and definitely do not lack bass.

But the overall presentation is also softened, and you can notice many details are now inaudible, making it in my opinion a far less involving experience. You miss reverberated sounds, as well as spatial dimension.

I would say this flaw is probably due to the preamp section of the LDMKIII which is lacking transparency. Have you guys experienced the same ?

It doesn't bother me as I do not use it for critical listening sessions, but I think I would be if I used it only as main headphone amp.

Still it remains for the price and excellent bargain, as the sound it provides is definitely charming.

The frequency range doesn't have much todo with the 'lacking of the bass'. Its more how much db it produces in the lower part compard to the other parts of the frequency range. 'Lacking of bass' is also very person depending.

Is the LD already fully burned in? My 4se also lacked detail in the beginning, but now after 100hrs its really opened up, and shows as much detail as my SS amp.