The Little Dot Mk IV / SE Appreciation Thread - Page 12

This is my first post on this board and the reason that I joined is becuase of the LD MK IV SE. 

I'm curious on how much better my setup will sound if I purchase this amp. 

Here is my current setup.

 

VPI Scoutmaster TT

Dynavector 17D3 Cartridge

Dynavector P-75 Preamp

Outlaw Audio 2150 Reciever

Grado RS2i

 

Can anyone comment on how much better my RS2's will sound if I connect from my preamp directly to the LD MK IV SE driving my Grados?  In a perfect world someone will respond that has used the Outlaw Audio 2150 and the MK IV.  I really have nowhere to test this thing, but I've read a lot of reviews stating that the MK IV and the RS2s are a perfect match.  My only concern is how much of an improvement over my existing reciever will this amp make?

 

Any thoughts, comments, or info is highly appreciated.

 

Regards,

Matt

I just ordered my MK IV SE, anyone got any got tubes to recommend?

Can also recommend the tubes from the previous page. They are a vast improvement!

I just got conformation from David that my MK IV SE shipped today!

 

I should have it in >2weeks.

After trying most of the recommended driver tubes for Little Dot Mk4 SE, I ended up preferring the Hytron JHY-6AK5 (mine are from 1953). I raved about them here but I see today they're out of stock. That said, the Russians are good, no doubt about it.

Hi! I recently bought a Little Dot MK IV SE  and paired it with my HD650. Although out of the box it sounded nice  (atleast for me) while i was browsing through the manual, i noticed there is a gain switch at the bottom of the amp. in what gain should i switch them into? Thanks!

I set 1 on and 2 off for a gain of 5 for my 250 ohm Beyer T70s.

 

There's 2 sets of switches, 1 for each channel.

 

by default they're all on for a gain of 3.

 

The next highest setting for me is a gain of 10 which would be entirely too much, I'd only set that for something like the HE-6

Edited by mab1376 - 12/8/11 at 6:55am

I'm still on its 10th hour of burn in. Ill play with the gain when i reach atleast 50hours or so :D

i'm only about 20 hours in myself.

 

the bass extension is already getting much better, can't wait till i reach 100 hours or so.

I bought my Mark IV more than three years ago, when it was a relatively new "phenomenon" on this Board. At the time, my headphones were AT AHD700s, Denon ADH2000s, and AKG 701s. Sound was OK, but I was not particularly thrilled, even after I had splurged for a pair of Russian 6H30P-DR "super tubes". A week ago I received a new set of phones, the much ballyhooed Audeze LCD-2s with Moon Silver Dragon V3 cables. From everything I had read on this Board and elsewhere, I was prepared to buy a new headphone amp, and expected the Little Dot to mate poorly with the Audeze LCD-2s. From what is out there on this topic, I was expecting to hear audible distortion. So far, I am pleasantly surprised at the sound quality. I am hearing rock solid bass and palpable midrange. The highs are extended and plenty "bright", not dark as others have reported about the headphones. Whenever I have heard audible distortion, I have confirmed that the distortion is with the source material and not due to the amp and phones combo-a prime example is the new Bon Iver release on vinyl. The distortion is more audible when listening with my Audezes than through my loudspeakers, but I can tell it's recorded and not a by product of the amp-phone combo. Immediately after listening to Bon Iver I put on a different cleanly recorded record and heard crystaline sound. I have plenty of gain. I will likely audition the Violectric V200 and the Bryston BHA-1 (once it comes out) to determine if I simply don't realize what I am missing (quite possible), but there is certainly nothing glaringly wrong with this duo, irrespective of those who report that an OTL single ended tubed head amp like the LD Mark IV SE will sound distorted and lack sufficient gain for the Audeze LCD-2s.

That's good that it works well with solid Orthos, I was looking into getting a pair soon.

 

definitely intrigued with the Super Tubes, I just ordered a pair of M8161's and I read the Super Tube is a perfect companion.

 

Edited by mab1376 - 12/13/11 at 5:28pm

Great 12 pages.

I use my iPod Classic , line out dock into LD MKIV into Beyer DT880 600 ohm headphones.

Sound is incredible.

My question if I got some mullard 8100 tubes would the fit without any adjustments and are they that much better than stock. Also what tubes do I swap the others for? Again I just want an easy swap. No pin adjustments.

Hi! Nevertheless anyone compare this amp and Darkvoice 336SE? Especially with HD650...

I found a good UK company that supplies tubes. £16.50 inclusive of shipping for a pair for Mullard M8100.

Already swapped over from default tubes on the MKIV. Result. A lot better. More dynamics, more precision and more bass. Very pleased with my little investment.

Just waiting for my Caig DeOxit to arrive so I can give all the pins a good clean for optimal performance, although sound wise everything is lovely.

I've been using mine with WE 403b tubes and they sound very nice, very good bass extension.

 

Definitely worth a shot if you can find a pair, I bought mine from another head-fier.

 

I also bought a pair of M8161(EF92) and accidentally destroyed one of them by not changing the jumper.

 

now the broken one has no bass from it at all.

Edited by mab1376 - 1/6/12 at 12:17pm