Little Dot MK III

First let me declare that I am new to the head-fi world and this is my first dedicated amplifier. But with that said I would like to give my subjective review of the Little Dot MK III. Testing equipment is a MacBook Pro i7 (newest model if it matters) running to a HRT Music Streamer II DAC and then into the Little Dot MK III. Also I am using the AKG 702s with a gain setting of 10x on the amp. 

A quick note the 702s only have roughly 80 hours of burn in and the amp only has about 6 hours as of this writing and i will update accordingly to the changes that burn in presents. With all of the formality stuff out of the way I can get into this exciting review!

First off as you can likely see the build quality and looks are simply wonderful and built to top notch standards. Everything got shipped perfectly no damage or anything and was packaged well. It came with some useful cables though I already had some so I just hooked it up to pre existing cables. First thing I did was set the gain to 10x for my 64 Ohm AKG 702s.

Starting it up I was impressed too say the least. I was presented with warmth and musicality and a nice soundstage. The soundstage managed to feel nice and wide on the songs that deserved it but also managed to stay nice in close when that was needed as well. Very adaptable to your taste of music and is definitely not limited to conventional classical, or jazz. In fact it worked quite well even with things like pop or heavy rock. It manages to retain great detail at the same time bringing the 'tube" sound too the table. Just for fun I turned off music and cranked the knob up the whole way and what I heard was pure silence and that is reflected in the great noise floor during music that can show it. 

Day 2 and 20 hours of burn in later. 

Much much more detail is now present and I am now hearing things that are extremely subtle with accuracy and detail. Bass has tightened up considerably and is now very present and and is not now as smudgy as it was before although I did not think it was at all bad in the beginning. Highs are not as bright as they first were and that is very pleasant cymbals now have striking detail,realism, and musicality and are not as harsh as yesterday. Separation of instruments also appears better.

This amp continues too impress me. I feel as though they have brought musicality too the 702s which were a little analytical but are now very musical and soothing too the ears. On another note this tube amp easily drives these phones, I rarely move the volume past half way if ever. I love the way pianos and guitars are rendered on this they sound stunning too say the least. 

Day 4 and about 35 hours of burn in 

I now feel that the burn is complete and I am getting the most from this amp excluding tube rolling and other mods.The signature tube sound is now more transparent and is a welcome audition to the sound. Musicality has also increased listening too jazz and classical is truly a delightful experience it sounds astonishingly realistic. I am blown away by the sound quality and since I lack the vocabulary terms to describe it I will end here. What this device is able to transcend from music is beautiful and must be heard. If your considering a tube headphone amp in or close to this price range definitely put this on your list to consider. 

My only complaint is that I wish David would start making speaker amplifiers . I hope I was of use to somebody with this review. With that said good luck on your audio journeys and enjoy the music!

Heya,

If you're looking for a beast of a tube amp that will output enough power to satisfy volume and push those drivers to get what you can out of your headphones, the Little Dot MK III is the best performer for the price out of the little dot line. I got mine used so I saved over $70 compared to new, but otherwise, be prepared to pay $244 for the unit because they're essentially $199 with $45 shipping. Build quality is solid, it's very heavy, very tight, and you don't hear any rattles or weird creek noises. Style is nice, the face is brushed, the rest of the body is black and so the tubes just stick out when you're listening in a dark room with their little lights. Gain switches are under the unit (you do not have to remove any covers). Tube rolling is easy. Just find the tubes, plop them in, and you're golden to roll. Mullards are highly regarded as the tubes for the Little Dot MK III and reviewed over and over as making the amp sound much more like something that costs twice or more the cost. But note that the stock tubes it comes with are very good tubes as it is. Sound is very good. It's tubey and warm, but not overly bloomy. It has a musical hint to it, but doesn't turn into a concert hall of echos on your music. That's the stock tubes. You can alter it of course with other tubes, which is part of the fun of having a tube amp that can roll tubes. Power is enough to push basically any headphone you plug into it. Those headphones with sensitivities and high impedance can be pushed to high volume with this amp. Warm up time is about a minute before listening, you can hear it expand through your headphones if you have them on when you initially power up as she heats up. I like to hear it, it's interesting, but if you don't, don't listen on your headphones until about a minute after turning the unit on. Then leave her on for as long as you wish.

This is a nicely made and great-looking amplifier. Solid construction, good quality connectors and although I have not opened it up, from the pictures the innards/PCB look very well built. An opening in the bottom provides access to the gain DIP switches, if you want to try tweaking these.

My Audio Technica A700 phones sound great anyway. My only sound source is a PC and I prefer to use a proper volume control... the boost to sound quality from this outboard amp is definitely well worth having - and I now can't imagine living without those nice glowing tubes.

The pre-amp function meant I could trade in my amazing Rotel RA1412 integrated amp for a Quad 303 power amp (vintage, without modifications) - I just felt sure that the combination would work well. I am happy to say that the LD MkIII and Quad 303 combination is an absolute winner. My speakers are B&W DM602 S3 if anyone's interested and the whole system just sings (and kicks ass too).

The only issues I have had are:

1: The amp can easily pick up RF noise and for any proper listening I basically need to switch off the DECT cordless phone and base station I have in my basement office. I will just need to move them further away when I get the chance

2: Tube collecting / tube swapping (all this "tube rolling" business) is addictive. If you're the kind of person who will blow the required cash on audiophile headphones and a headphone amp, you are going to end up "tube rolling". I'm sure I've blown £60 / $100 on tubes already. They make great photographic subjects though - and they are just nice objects in their own right. I've had one tube go bad on me (a military spec Mullard - I suspect the seller might let me swap it...)

All in all a beautiful product and highly recommended.