Member Reviews: 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...

Little Dot the title can be telling in many different ways - I read one head-fier refer it as a small and unimportant smear (when comparing to the Darkvoice). But in this case the Little would be how much you'd pay for something, but in return you get more than you could have bargained for. Here's why:   If you've considered to try out tube amps then the LDMKIII could be either a good or not so good start for different reasons. If you're after considerable warmth and alteration of sound toward the darker side then the LDMKIII can supply you with that, but only to some extent - this amplifier is not all about warmth but also detail. If you're going from a transparent or clinical...

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...

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...