Review of Little-Dot MKIVse - Page 50

Those are yen's prices not regular prices. Consider those boutique prices! He's offering a service to those who don't want to bother looking very hard.

Yen's prices are always quite inflated,shop around and with a few minute's work you'll find some great deals.

Thanks for the update JDC65. At least you have something similar to compare things to. I have an RSA Predator as my only other headphone amp.

I do have an iBasso D3, a portable DAC/Amp. I don't know how it compares to the Predator; I suspect the RSA is a better amp.

To my ears, I wouldn't put the D3 in the same category as the LD or Shanling. It just doesn't have to power, and in comparison doesn't bring out the full sound of the HD650 or AKG701. I also used it as the DAC behind the Shanling for before I got the second Super DAC. I think the Super DAC noticeably outperforms it as a pure DAC.

I think there is a chance you will like the LD better than any portable amp, but of course everyone has their own preferences.

At least for me, the portable amp and the full size amp will fulfill entirely different functions. Until something like the Sooloos Music Server becomes much more affordable, I will continue to use my cdp as my source for home listening, going through the tape loop out of my Audioprism Mantissa into the headphone amp. My RSA Predator, on the other hand, is for using with my MacBook Pro and iPhone when on the go. I would hope the two sound different even if there were some way to easily hook up the Predator to the home system, and as good as the Predator sounds, I might be a bit disappointed by the results! But my main point is that the portable amp "sees" compromised signal from even the MB Pro, and certainly from the iPhone.

Try this vendor, n7rk's booth - n7rk's Bonanzle booth - Phoenix. I just bought several pairs of 5654 NOS tubes from him, while he has a big stock of NOS tubes produced prior to '70. Ask him to show you some more not be shown on the web page. Usually, he can bundle the goods into one single charge of shipping.

I bought a pair of '73 GE 5 Stars 5654 NOS Matched, a pair of '62 RCA 5654 Black Plate NOS Matched, and another '62 WE403A Black Plate, square getters NOS Matched. He also shows me some WWII age 5654 NOS JAN tubes too.

Thanks a lot for the link, I'm gonna have to order some of these ASAP!

This is good info, thanks! I can't believe I succumbed to internet laziness, I just assumed these would be the most reasonable way to get them. I was obviously wrong!

I hope this doesn't appear twice because I posted it once but it must have got lost in the ether! I wanted to reply to BombayTheIndian to advise him not to go for the Tong-Sols for smoothness. From what I have read they appear to be less smooth - though not harsh by any means. Penchum described the 5687 WB Tong-Sol as crisp, clean, detailed and dynamic with an extended frequency range and IMHO this also applies to the 6AK5W that I recently bought. Apologies for my earlier identification error - I was talking about the 6AK5W not the 6A5KW.

I believe the best way to describe the difference between the Tong-Sols and the ultra smooth Mullards is that the Tong-Sols are more forward with slightly more edge which makes them perfect for rock. With the Mullards the mid base to mids are rounder and fuller - rather as if they were wrapped in a warm blanket. Whereas the Tong-Sols are flatter throughout the frequency range which extends further both ways. I think this gives a better balance with no emphasis one way or the other. The dynamics are incredible, for example when there is a good strong base pumping out you can easily distinguish a quiet Tibetan bell amongst the other instruments. Also the headroom is so vast that a low powerful base is produced exceptionally without detriment to the other frequencies in the music. Furthermore the cleanness and accuracy are such that every instrument is easily defined as that particular instrument, eg guitar, piano, violins etc.

I believe I have found the perfect combination for my set up and am so happy with it I may never want to change it - I said "may!"

I hope I haven't bored you guys but I just had to share the pleasure I get from this amp bearing in mind my source is a humble Ipod. God only knows what it would be like with a decent source!

Let us know what the 6Zh1P's are like.

baron what headphones are you using? Thats really crucial to know what these tubes are doing.

Help! My LD MKIV is smoking!

I posted this under amp forum but thought it might get a better response here.

My LD started smoking after producing some terrible distortion in the right channel.

I use it as a preamp in combination with a Trends power amp.

First sign that anything wrong was that it produced static after I powered on the Trends. I powered down the Trends, waited a few minutes, powered it back on and no problem. 10 minutes later, loud distortion from the right channel. Powered everything down and noticed smoke coming from beneath the LD and an acrid burning smell.

David said to send it back for inspection and repair. Anybody ever experienced or heard of anything like this?

McPanse, have you used the LD with the Trends before? If not, my guess is that your MKIV SE doesn't like your power amp for some reason...

Does the Trends amp run DC by chance? My MKIII manual says that it is not recommended to be used with a DC or direct coupled power amplifier.

My LD and Trends have been making beautiful music together since last summer. I'm thinking something blew inside. There's still an acrid/burnt smell coming off the unit.

Audio Technica ATH-AD2000. The rest of the rig is Ipod Classic with apple lossless files, and ALO vampire copper rca connecters.