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Is Darkvoice 332 an upgrade from Little Dot MKIII?

post #1 of 9
12/16/09 at 5:37am
Thread Starter 
My apologies if this has been touched on before, but I could not find anything upon searching. My question is: how much better is the Darkvoice 332 than the Little Dot MKIII? Is it worth the upgrade? Or should I just stick with the LD until I can afford something better?

In particular, I never felt the synergy so many praise about the Little Dot MKIII and my Sennheiser HD-600s. The soundstage is a bit small, and the low end doesn't quite go as deep as I would like. Perhaps an HD-650 is in my future?

Either way I like the Sennheiser house sound, and thought maybe an amp upgrade might help the problem before switching cans. I have been tube rolling quite a bit, and I seem to prefer all of the EF-92 family of tubes over the EF95 / 6AK5s if that's any indication of the sound I prefer.

Thanks in advance.
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post #2 of 9
12/16/09 at 7:19am
Save money for a WA6 or the like, otherwise be happy with the Littledot. An amp is a major component, IMHO an upgrade should be a significant improvement and not a second guess. I put LD and DV amps in the same low to mid-fi catergory, you can umm and ahh about each others merits and faults till the cows come home, you need to go the extra yards for a clear upgrade.
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post #3 of 9
12/16/09 at 1:54pm
As a brand, DARKVOICE is now out of the game. Following a break-up between the two brothers who owned DV, one has broken away and started a new company - LA FIGARO. They have revamped the DV range, producing the 332 Classic, which is basically a face-lifted 332, and the 332S, which is a reworked 3322.

Yuking09, one of the DV brothers, is offering "special discounts" on the 332S for a limited period. My advice is to PM him and ask him how much the 332S is. I have an old 3322, and its a great amp with the HD600s. Gradofan has had both the DV 332 and the WOO AUDIO 6SE, and he says that the 332 offers 95% of the sound quality of the 6SE at a fraction of the price. That's good enough for me!
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post #4 of 9
12/17/09 at 4:11am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the advice. I just sent Yuking09 a message about the price. Does the 3322 / 332S use the same tubes as the Darkvoice 332? That is one of the attractions of the amp, is that I already have a lot tubes that will work on this amp.

Are there any other amps that use this driver tube combination? (EF95 / EF92 / EF91)
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post #5 of 9
12/17/09 at 8:07am
Yes, it uses the 6S19P/6J1 combo.
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post #6 of 9
12/31/09 at 4:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Godkin View Post
As a brand, DARKVOICE is now out of the game. Following a break-up between the two brothers who owned DV, one has broken away and started a new company - LA FIGARO. They have revamped the DV range, producing the 332 Classic, which is basically a face-lifted 332, and the 332S, which is a reworked 3322.
Anyone else heard this amplifier (the 332S)? I know shipment has been delayed because of packaging issues, but I'm curious if it's worth the extra cash and trouble to sell the LD.

Any other opinions on this whole matter (LD vs DV 332, or wait for a larger upgrade)?

Thanks.
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post #7 of 9
12/31/09 at 5:34am
What Godkin said. That is where I would put my money. LD is not bad, but Darkvoice to me is just more musical.
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post #8 of 9
12/31/09 at 11:17am
The La Figaro 332S is a revamped Darkvoice 3322. Some different components, but basically the same amp.
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post #9 of 9
1/6/10 at 4:15am
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone for the replies. I just purchased a Head Direct EF1, and I must say so far it's quite spectacular with my Denon D2000s, and my AKG 501s have finally come to life. Now, just for the HD-600s...

I am heavily considering a Figaro 332s, and maybe a WA6 if it will really give me what I am looking for. My other contemplation is the HD650. I posted another thread involving the HD650 in the headphone section here:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/hd6...4/#post6294708

Still not sure if the amp or new headphones are the solution. Thanks again for all the input.
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