Little Dot MK VI / Little Dot MK VIII SE Owners Unite - Page 5

Just received my MK VI+ today. I do not hear any buzz from its transformer so far although the fans do make a little bit noise. But this noise is much lighter than that my computer fans make (actually they are all CoolerMaster fans). It does not make any trouble to me. 

It drives my K1000 very loud, and I never heard my K1000 sounded so good. 

Keep burn in it. I remember it needs 100h to completely break in.

hey icefsh, when you have tried, can you post impressions matching this amp with the LCD-2?  

The amp needs to be burned in now. Though the first impression of LCD-2 (SE) with this amp is good to me. I will post some feeling later. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by reiserFS 

I'm having a steal deal for my modded VI on sale for 470$ in the FS forum. Really, really need to have this sold soon.

I wish it were 120v :(

I'm also interested in impressions with the LCD-2. After reading some of Skylab's reviews I was going to go for the Meier Concerto (a solid state amp) since it seemed to be a pretty good bang for the buck amplifier. Being new to head-fi, I'm depending a lot on the reviews and impressions of others.

I've heard a few regular tube amplifiers like some of the McIntosh and love the way they drive loudspeakers, I figured I may like the sound better for headphones as well. What is the general consensus best "under $1000" tube amp for the LCD-2? I don't know much about Little Dot but they seem to be held in high regard and are fairly priced. I think some of the posts of defects on new amps if totally unacceptable and would keep me from buying them but I do wonder about the sound quality. I was considering the MK VI+ and the MK VIII SE but there is a lack of information about it's performance with the LCD-2 and some reports of defects...

Definitely agree with you.Reviews are few and far between for these amps matched with a LCD-2.  I'm pretty worried to see some of the issues with these amps. I owned a MKi+, MKiii, MKV, and DAC_I and had 0 issues at all with them.   In the end, this looks like my contender for a balanced tube amp with my lcd-2. I NEEEEED tubes for my acoustic music and strings. It's just not the same without.

I am listening  my LCD-2 on MK VI+ right now. I just sent back the SAA cables of LCD-2 and HD800 for connector modification. So I have to use stock cable on SE output now. The only problem is the weak buzz on background as some previous posts described. I can not hear it from K1000, but all other headphones have this trouble especially under high gain. This noise does not due to ground loop from power cable since I use cheater power cable. I hope it only happen in SE output. I will see that after I get my balanced headphone cables.

Besides the noise, I have to say MK VI is an excellent amp for LCD-2. Compare to my Bruson HA-160, MK VI bring LCD-2 to another level without any doubt. More details,more smooth, more power, more air, more eveything, and yes, more noise .

Thanks for posting your impressions. Have you tried running connecting the dac/amp to a battery pack to see if that eliminates noise? Is the noise something common with Little Dot tube amps?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by icefsh 

I am listening  my LCD-2 on MK VI+ right now. I just sent back the SAA cables of LCD-2 and HD800 for connector modification. So I have to use stock cable on SE output now. The only problem is the weak buzz on background as some previous posts described. I can not hear it from K1000, but all other headphones have this trouble especially under high gain. This noise does not due to ground loop from power cable since I use cheater power cable. I hope it only happen in SE output. I will see that after I get my balanced headphone cables.

Besides the noise, I have to say MK VI is an excellent amp for LCD-2. Compare to my Bruson HA-160, MK VI bring LCD-2 to another level without any doubt. More details,more smooth, more power, more air, more eveything, and yes, more noise .

No, I don't have any battery based power. And I think it is still a ground problem. I opened the amp and try to find how the ground wire connect. But it looked too complex to trace. I must mention that the SE output of MK VI+ is just an adaptor of the balance output. It is drew from R+, L+ and L ground wire of balanced pre amp output. I don't know whether this noise comes from that L ground wire. 

I don't think this noise problem is common in LD amp. MK VI+ is very special in LD product line. The boss of LD design and tune this amp with a K1000. It does work for K1000. SE output is just an appendix. If you don't have K1000, you'd better choice the flagship amp of LD, MK VIII. It is powerful enough for LCD-2 and HD800.

Good luck solving your noise problem.

As for me, I'm still trying to come up with a good value DAC/Amp combo for the LCD-2. My source will be completely from a Macbook Pro, probably USB or Optical out. I was thinking of going with the Little Dot DAC. Are there comparable DACs within the price range? As for the amp, I was considering the MK VIII SE but as I posted before there is a lack of info on this amp as it relates to the LCD-2. I've stayed steadfast to wanting the Meier Concerto (solid state) based on the recommendation of Skylab but would prefer some tubes. That being said, what other competitors are there when it comes to driving the LCD-2 with a ~$800 amp (solid or tube)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by icefsh 

No, I don't have any battery based power. And I think it is still a ground problem. I opened the amp and try to find how the ground wire connect. But it looked too complex to trace. I must mention that the SE output of MK VI+ is just an adaptor of the balance output. It is drew from R+, L+ and L ground wire of balanced pre amp output. I don't know whether this noise comes from that L ground wire. 

I don't think this noise problem is common in LD amp. MK VI+ is very special in LD product line. The boss of LD design and tune this amp with a K1000. It does work for K1000. SE output is just an appendix. If you don't have K1000, you'd better choice the flagship amp of LD, MK VIII. It is powerful enough for LCD-2 and HD800.

I think the DAC_I is a really great balanced DAC, hard to beat. As for amps. I'd suggest looking at Audio-GD. I picked up a ROC for about 700, and it's simply beautiful with the LCD-2.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by log0 

Good luck solving your noise problem.

As for me, I'm still trying to come up with a good value DAC/Amp combo for the LCD-2. My source will be completely from a Macbook Pro, probably USB or Optical out. I was thinking of going with the Little Dot DAC. Are there comparable DACs within the price range? As for the amp, I was considering the MK VIII SE but as I posted before there is a lack of info on this amp as it relates to the LCD-2. I've stayed steadfast to wanting the Meier Concerto (solid state) based on the recommendation of Skylab but would prefer some tubes. That being said, what other competitors are there when it comes to driving the LCD-2 with a ~$800 amp (solid or tube)?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by log0 

Good luck solving your noise problem.

As for me, I'm still trying to come up with a good value DAC/Amp combo for the LCD-2. My source will be completely from a Macbook Pro, probably USB or Optical out. I was thinking of going with the Little Dot DAC. Are there comparable DACs within the price range? As for the amp, I was considering the MK VIII SE but as I posted before there is a lack of info on this amp as it relates to the LCD-2. I've stayed steadfast to wanting the Meier Concerto (solid state) based on the recommendation of Skylab but would prefer some tubes. That being said, what other competitors are there when it comes to driving the LCD-2 with a ~$800 amp (solid or tube)?

Thanks. But it is really not a problem to me. Because I bought this amp just for my K1000. I can not hear any noise with K1000. It is a bonus to drive LCD-2 so good.

I never try DAC from LD. I heard their new top DAC (DAC3) was coming soon.

Actually price is influenced by lots of factors. Same price range does not mean similar level of performance. You will find it is difficult to compare products made in China V.S. which made in US according to their price. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by elwappo99 

As for amps. I'd suggest looking at Audio-GD. I picked up a ROC for about 700, and it's simply beautiful with the LCD-2.
 

Agree, if you want to find competitors of LD at similar price, other Chinese brands are fair choices.