How Good Is The Little Dot MK IV SE ?

Hi,

I own the LD MKIII, the smaller brother of the MKIV (SE), and I am quite impressed by its performance and build quality (this thing is built like a tank!). I expect the MKIV (SE) to be no different. It also accepts a wide range of quite common tubes, so tube rolling will be easy and affordable.

However, I must add that the only amp I can compare it to is the somewhat mediocre heaphone output of my speaker amp (Harman/Kardon HK680), so I am not qualified to compare it to other amps in its price class.

Regardings the headphones: Do you actually need closed ones? I strongly recommend to get open phones, unless you are a total basshead.
Have you ever tried the Sennheiser HD600 or the HD650? both are a great match with the Little Dot. The HD650 has more bass (too much for my taste) and is a bit more detailed than the HD600. The HD600 is slightly more neutral.
The High End Sennheisers are the most comfortable headphones on the market IMHO, but you should try them first - probably you have a different experience regarding the comfort.

The HD600 is around $300, the HD650 will cost a bit more. But both can be found used for $200 or less. If your budget is really tight or if you don't want used headphones, I strongly recommend to save a bit of money on the amp (and get the normal MKIV instead of the SE, or even the MKIII) and not on the headphones.

However, there are many good headphones in the $200-$300 range, it is up to you to choose. What are your musical preferences? Without any information, recommending headphones is a bit difficult.

i owned mk iv se for several months. i used it with hd580, hd600, hd650, dt990 250ohm, and some other cans.
i havent owned that many desktop amps but this one was extremely good!
all i have to say is that i liked it over gilmore lite with dps.
plus, littledot's customer service was just amazing.
there are several review threads on this product. just read them, and open your wallet!

I think the MKIV (not SE) would be a great amp for you. The good thing about tube amps is that you can improve them by replacing the stock tubes with better ones. From what I understand, the main difference between the MKIV and the SE is that the SE has high quality stock tubes.

Regarding the headphones, the HD600 could suit your musical taste, but it does not have to. Sennheisers sound generally warm and laid-back, which makes them a quite bad choice for agressive music like fast rock, metal or hip-hop. They are great for acoustics and vocals though. If you like the sound signature of your grados, then you might not like the sennheisers.

Isolation with the HD600/650 is better than on most other open headphones (like the grados you have mentioned), but they still leak sound at a considerable volume. If you listen at low volume, it should not be a problem however.

Personally I would recommend the AKG K701/702 for you - they are very comfortable, light, and have a brighter and more forward sound signature than the sennheisers (which is a good thing for my taste). But they are the worst headphones in terms of sound isolation I have ever heard, so you'd probably better stay away from them.

I really don't have any experience with closed cans, and I don't want to recommend headphones I have never heard. But you could try some of the closed AKG's. Probably someone else has more experience with closed cans.

Oh, and get well soon! I really hope it's nothing serious.

comfort-wise, i love both sennheiser headphones (hd580/600/650) and beyers (dt880 & dt990). they were both extremely comfortable but the senns stayed on my head better. their earcups are a little bigger than beyer's and the claping force is slighter greater as well. some people find the senns to be too tight but that can be fixed by flexing the headband lightly.
i liked the sound of grados (sr80, sr325i, alessandro ms2i) but they were not comfortable for me, and i couldnt manage to keep them on my head.

if you dont mind me recommending a set of headphones, i sincerely suggest beyer dt990 600ohm. i didnt use it with mk iv se but i believe they will be a fantastic combo.

I'm personally not convinced that the SE upgrade is worth the extra money over the vanilla version, which is an excellent amp in it's own right. Maybe better to put that $100 towards the headphones? Or perhaps into a tube-rolling fund for experimenting at a later date?

You may want to give the 650's a try - they've got more bass than the 600's, but I personally wouldn't consider them to be excessively so. And they're very unfatigue-ing. I routinely listen for 6-10hours at a stretch with them, with getting the usual symptoms of hearing fatigue.

Steve,

Try here?
Beyerdynamic | DT 990 Premium Open-Back Stereo Studio | 483966

As for comparison between DT990, they're quite different. I spend a good 2 hours trying the DT990, DT880 (both 600 ohms)and HD650. The Beyers (to me) sound light and effortless, accurate and quick. Where as the Senns sound much thicker with the mids and lows, and with more "roar" to it. The DT990 sounded a bit harsh to me, because the highs are a bit more pronounced (these were a new pair at the store, not yet burnt-in), but with good bass.

I haven't tried the 250ohms, but from I read here, the consensus is that the 600ohm is the superior 'phone in terms of balance and smoothness. Would go great technically with a MKIV as well?

But on another note, if you will be staying in a room with other patients... shouldn't you really go back to thinking of closed cans? Other users are suggested open cans purely for sound, but what good is it if you're neighboring patients get annoyed and you aren't allowed to listen to music (or listen to it loud enough for you to enjoy)?

Hope that helps, and hope that you that you will get better and to enjoy your music for much longer, Steve~

Then it sounds like DT990 for you. =)

Out of those 3 that I tried, I ended up picking up DT880, and the DT990 has bigger bass on it (quantity). In terms of balance though, it's going to be DT880, you could check out the DT880/600 thread for more info on those sets.

Skylab, probably one of the most knowledgeable persons on here, have both and love them both (DT880/600 and DT990/600), so I think you can't go wrong with either. =D