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'Stereophile' review of the Little Dot MKIII - Page 2

post #16 of 50
4/19/10 at 2:02pm
A report also has to have context. An $200 OTL tube amp is a $200 OTL tube amp. It might be great if all you intend to run are HD650's. But what about low impedance phones? Another $200 for Little Dot MkV then? But with $400 I could have secured a transformer coupled Elekit or a Audio GD C2.
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post #17 of 50
4/19/10 at 2:06pm
Most of the established magazines give only positive reviews. This used to annoy me, but now I realise they do have to do that in order to survive (and this is even before you consider the influence of advertisers).

The only one I regularly read, hifi+, actually stated it once, along the lines of: they only publish reviews of equipment that they are passionate about, because there's so much out there that life's too short to waste time describing ones that don't step up to the mark.

Another way of looking at it is that if they produce too many reviews of the variety "this new $200 amp sounds much like all the other $200 amps we've ever tried" then the majority of their readership would just get bored and stop buying the magazine. It's a hobby - we want to be entertained!

The upshot of all this is that you should use magazine reviews to expand your horizons and help you select a short list - for that they can be very helpful (and forums give additional perspectives). You should NEVER rely on a magazine review to tell you what to buy. Same applies to any headfi review or comment.
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post #18 of 50
4/19/10 at 3:35pm
yes, sadly, review sites/magazines that give honest reviews don't get free review samples or advertizing...like xbitlabs w/ computer audio.

most magazines/review sites play by those shilling rules, just like those so-called "head-fi reviews" where old time members get free samples to post positive reviews(be it on purpose, or not )....I don't trust any review anymore, if the specs look good I buy it, if I don't like it I sell it. problem solved.

and then ppl whine because a review was great but it sounded worthless to their ears it's too easy to put the fault of your own mistakes on other ppl...you wanted to be spoon fed, pay the consequences.

everything can be bought, it's just a matter of price...a 4 figures "sponsorship" and you get the stereophile cover and a gold award. and considering how much it's gonna boost your sales, it's actually VERY cheap.
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post #19 of 50
4/19/10 at 4:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarKu View Post
A 200$ amp will sound as a 200$ amp, nothing less, nothing more...
I trust independent internet reviews much more often than magazine reviews.
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post #20 of 50
4/19/10 at 4:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post
yes, sadly, review sites/magazines that give honest reviews don't get free review samples or advertizing...like xbitlabs w/ computer audio.

most magazines/review sites play by those shilling rules, just like those so-called "head-fi reviews" where old time members get free samples to post positive reviews(be it on purpose, or not )....I don't trust any review anymore, if the specs look good I buy it, if I don't like it I sell it. problem solved.

and then ppl whine because a review was great but it sounded worthless to their ears it's too easy to put the fault of your own mistakes on other ppl...you wanted to be spoon fed, pay the consequences.

everything can be bought, it's just a matter of price...a 4 figures "sponsorship" and you get the stereophile cover and a gold award. and considering how much it's gonna boost your sales, it's actually VERY cheap.
LOL First Little Dot does no advertising and second the reviewer purchased this amp with his own money. So where is your logic. He bought the amp decided to do a review and he has no intentions other than to give his evaluation which was spot on. Sam has been giving his honest opinion since he has been reviewing and I am glad he had no motive other than to see that more people see what a great value that the Litlle Dot amps provide. So your post is utter nonsense.
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post #21 of 50
4/19/10 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank I View Post
LOL First Little Dot does no advertising and second the reviewer purchased this amp with his own money. So where is your logic. He bought the amp decided to do a review and he has no intentions other than to give his evaluation which was spot on. Sam has been giving his honest opinion since he has been reviewing and I am glad he had no motive other than to see that more people see what a great value that the Litlle Dot amps provide. So your post is utter nonsense.
LOL what I said wasn't directly connected to LD duh, so your answer is utter nonsense.

one thing I know is that many ppl feel that the LD amps are grossly overhyped on head-fi, and a friend of mine recently had a pretty bad experience w/ their tech support.....also, their QA looks highly questionable...I don't care what "Sam" said.
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post #22 of 50
4/19/10 at 5:06pm
If the review said the LD MKIII was crap then most people would comment and say the review was spot on! Why can't you all just admit that it's a good amp for the money.
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post #23 of 50
4/19/10 at 6:31pm
I have seen no quality issues regarding Litlle Dot or their service. Their is nothing but good reviews posted here.The guy's feedback is 100 percent. The amp get to the customer in a week it uses all high quality parts including Alps, Rubycon and Wima. You opinion to its quality is unqualified since you don't own it. Stop smoking the crack and get back to reality. This post is directed not at you MAx but the turkey before you
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post #24 of 50
4/19/10 at 9:20pm
Thread Starter 
'FrankI', i'm afraid I don't fully understand the connections on your subwoofer. Basically, the 'hard Y' connector enables one to get 2 RCA connections out of a single RCA output on the MKIII's preamp out. One set goes to your amplifer, and the other set to your subwoofer. You state that your subwoofer has only 1 RCA input connection. My Velodyne subwoofer has 2 RCA inputs (a 'L' and an 'R'), so I simply connect these to the respective 'L' and 'R' jacks on the 'hard Y' connectors on the back of the MKIII. Now I am not an audio engineer, so I am not sure if low bass information can be gleaned by only connecting one channel (as you may have to try since you only have one connection cable on your subwoofer). I am hoping someone more knowledgeable can chime in and help you with what you're attempting to do here.
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post #25 of 50
4/21/10 at 11:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CQ DX View Post
Has anyone seen Sam Tellig's 'Stereophile' (page 17) review of the MKIII in the latest May 2010 issue? Very positive praises!
I'm new to this forum but I was really surprised how this comment caused so many people to attack Stereophile, Little Dot, magazine reviews, and other members without reading the text, knowing the writer, or listening to the amp.
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post #26 of 50
4/22/10 at 1:28am
There are many here that hate the idea of a cheap (what they perceive as being cheap) amp sounding good,they would much rather spend all day tube rolling there expensive amps (Singlepower) even if the said amps are of a quality that would make Chinese amp builders look like saints.
Besides these amps being on the less expensive side they are made in China,and there seem to be a few that do not seem to accept the fact that well made good sounding gear can be produced at a cost that is reasonable.
Some do not like LD because it has been very successful with absolutely no marketing at all,I have always maintained that good gear will sell itself.
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post #27 of 50
4/22/10 at 2:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bronzboy View Post
I'm new to this forum but I was really surprised how this comment caused so many people to attack Stereophile, Little Dot, magazine reviews, and other members without reading the text, knowing the writer, or listening to the amp.

Yes a few subjects can strike a nerve around here... anyone for a double blind
test of high price cable?
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post #28 of 50
4/22/10 at 9:47am
I am also new around here. I have been a long time reader of several different audio magazines, Stereophile included. I enjoy the read. However, I do not take their word as gospel. I don't think anyone should. I agree that their opinions could be used as a guide if you are looking for equipment in a certain category and price range, but ultimately, any purchase decision needs to be made on how you feel about the products sound. Not what anyone else says. I do not feel Stereophile is completely slanted toward positive reviews. I have seen much more less than positive reviews, especially lately. Lets not forget that the gear they review is very high priced in most cases and usually gear in that price range is well engineered and should sound good! I would like to see more affordable, every mans gear reviewed more often, not only by Stereophile, but most of the other big name mags also. And I love to see affordable gear get good press!
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post #29 of 50
4/22/10 at 10:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarKu View Post
A 200$ amp will sound as a 200$ amp, nothing less, nothing more...
i semi-disagree. I feel that the Mark 3 is truly special tube amp which provides excellent price/performance ratio for those who don't want to exceed their budgets.

It's just one of amps that hit the nail on the sweet spot + provides good overclockability, [if ya know what i mean]

this is just one of those legendary amps that won't be forgotten. Little Dot has done a fantastic job with this little gadget !
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post #30 of 50
4/22/10 at 10:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by David.M View Post
i semi-disagree. I feel that the Mark 3 is truly special tube amp which provides excellent price/performance ratio for those who don't want to exceed their budgets.

It's just one of amps that hit the nail on the sweet spot + provides good overclockability, [if ya know what i mean]

this is just one of those legendary amps that won't be forgotten. Little Dot has done a fantastic job with this little gadget !

About 2 years ago i had a Dr.DAC2 from Audiotrak which is a DAC/Amp combo and pretty cheap (about 300 $)
Even Dr.DAC2 was better in every area than LD MKII++ when I compared the two. I had SR-325i at that time, and it clearly sounded better on Dr.DAC2. I'm not even speaking about Corda Cantate that i had after, or others more expensive amps. Little Dots are nice at their price, but higher you go, you got nicer and nicer sounding amps. I remain at my first statement... Nice amp at 200-300 $, at 500$ you can get a Woo allready, which is clearly superior.
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