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Little Dot I+ VS Little Dot MKIII with Grado headphones?

post #1 of 13
3/3/10 at 1:59am
Thread Starter 
What is better for Grado Headphones: Little Dot I+ VS Little Dot MKIII

Is there a tube amp, better for Grado headphones, in the same price range as those two?
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post #2 of 13
3/3/10 at 2:08am
My guess is the I+ is going to be better. It's a hybrid, so it does a good job driving low-impedance phones like Grados and still introduces the warm rolled off tube sound to calm their highs.

The MKIII is, being a pure tube amp, designed for high-impedance headphones and might have trouble keeping control of Grados.
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post #3 of 13
3/3/10 at 2:22am
I was contemplating between these two tube amps for my Grado as well. But after reading several threads and reviews, it seems like the Little Dot I+ is the better choice. I can't really comment on how it actually sounds, still waiting to place my order for one.
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post #4 of 13
3/4/10 at 2:29am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Head Injury View Post
My guess is the I+ is going to be better. It's a hybrid, so it does a good job driving low-impedance phones like Grados and still introduces the warm rolled off tube sound to calm their highs.

The MKIII is, being a pure tube amp, designed for high-impedance headphones and might have trouble keeping control of Grados.
i'm thinking i'll be going for the I+ then
+ its cheaper
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post #5 of 13
3/4/10 at 2:37am
I've had both and with Grados I always plugged in the 1+
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post #6 of 13
3/7/10 at 5:17am
The exact question I've been pondering about.
Any other impressions?
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post #7 of 13
3/7/10 at 1:56pm
The I+ is absolutely the choice for me and my Grados 325is every time. I've owned the MKIII for a while now - and although I felt it sounded ok with the Grados - I felt it just didn't do it for me and the Grados (a little laid back if that makes sense - maybe too smooth). So much so I wasn't convinced tube amps were a good match with these cans since it was my only point of reference.

I specifically bought the I+ hybrid for my Grados around the 1st of the year (although it's a great match for my Denons too) - plus the tubes I had accumulated with the MKIII could be used with the I+. I was so very pleased with my choice when I plugged them in. I was even a bit down on the 325is' until this arrived. It really brings that up-front Grado sound to a nice new level - punchy, clear - and is significantly better than the MKIII IMO. If you are looking at the 2 for your Grados - absolutely the LD I+.
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post #8 of 13
3/8/10 at 1:13am
woo, yes this is exactly what i am going through right now. I use my PC as a source, and as of right now using a Musiland US 02, which for the amping section with my 225i is so horribly under whelming. After pluggin my phones into my dads yamaha home theater receiver, i can truly hear the potentional of them.

So as of right now im considering the Little Dot range for the amplification side of things, and was leaning towards the MKIII, but i can see that opinions are leaning towards the I+ instead which is good to see a consensus about.

Anyone got a direct link to davidzhezhe on ebay, can't find him to purchase from
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post #9 of 13
3/8/10 at 1:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by oblivious View Post
woo, yes this is exactly what i am going through right now. I use my PC as a source, and as of right now using a Musiland US 02, which for the amping section with my 225i is so horribly under whelming. After pluggin my phones into my dads yamaha home theater receiver, i can truly hear the potentional of them.

So as of right now im considering the Little Dot range for the amplification side of things, and was leaning towards the MKIII, but i can see that opinions are leaning towards the I+ instead which is good to see a consensus about.

Anyone got a direct link to davidzhezhe on ebay, can't find him to purchase from
Here you go.

He hasn't stocked the store yet. Said he's going to this week. You can e-mail him your PayPal account e-mail and phone number and he'll send you an invoice you can buy it with. Surprisingly smooth process.
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post #10 of 13
3/9/10 at 12:39am
Cheers for the link, will keep an eye on the link. Have my money transfered and waiting

What im just wanting to ensure is that this amp will rectify what i find is the problem with my Musiland amp/DAC.

When i currently have it plugged in, the music is very distant, and some frequencies seem to be completely missing in music that i know very well. For example guitar overlays in some of the Mars Volta songs seems to just be transparent, and others more pronounced. I don't believe this to be a fault with the device itself, just possibly its just doesn't have enough grunt or what have you to bring it all to the front if that makes sense.

The comparison with plugging the phones into a reciever with alot more power i suppose, just sounds very surrounding and in no way distant. This is what i want to have, should i feel confident that this would be the case with a Little Dot I+ hybrid? Would seem by the comments it would be? Just a little concerned that the Musiland turned out like it did after good comments about the amp section and the Grados not needing much amping(just not finding that the case).
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post #11 of 13
3/9/10 at 7:31am
Hmm to save the doubting i might do, i may try and arrange a test listen here in NZ first before going this route just to make certain
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post #12 of 13
3/9/10 at 9:18am
Could I expand the scope of this thread a bit and ask if this consensus for the LD I+ carries across all lower impedance phones? I'm using D2000's right now and will probably get AD2000's eventually.
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post #13 of 13
3/9/10 at 11:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ichiboy View Post
Could I expand the scope of this thread a bit and ask if this consensus for the LD I+ carries across all lower impedance phones? I'm using D2000's right now and will probably get AD2000's eventually.
I ma using four headphones with the Little Dot 1+ which includes the Denon D2000 HD555 HD380 and even the 50 ohm Fostex T50 RP which requires more power than the rest with Little Dot 1+
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