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Please rate my future setup

post #1 of 26
6/26/12 at 2:19am
Thread Starter 

I plan to upgrade (well I wonder if you call it upgrade as the only thing I have right now are Sennheiser HD555) my audio system:

Laptop (Malibal/Clevo P170HM)
ODAC (or would you recommend something else?)
Little Dot MK III
Sennheiser HD600

Thanks to  filus for helping me with choosing the Little DOT MK III for the HD600. I think it's a great combination?

Thanks

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post #2 of 26
6/26/12 at 6:50am
Thread Starter 

Or should I rather get:

 

ODAC + o2

Sennheiser HD 600
 

 

Thanks

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post #3 of 26
6/27/12 at 1:47am
Thread Starter 

No one? :O

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post #4 of 26
6/27/12 at 7:31am
Heya,

It's a great setup. I used the ldmkiii with my hd580 (the older hd600) and it was a great combination.

Very best,
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post #5 of 26
6/27/12 at 8:06am
I'm using a Teradak V3.1D into a LD Mk. III + HD600s in my desktop system and am extremely pleased with the result (using AIFFs via Foobar2000 and Teradak's own ASIO driver). Particular strengths are dynamics and soundstage.
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post #6 of 26
6/27/12 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 

Hmm the Teradak V3.1D is a lot more expensive compared to the ODAC. I hope the ODAC will be fine as well?

 

Is there any guide for the right foobar settings?
 

 

Thanks

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post #7 of 26
6/27/12 at 11:34am

I can't recommend the LD MKIII. In this price range, I think you're much better off with a solid state amp - and the O2 seems to be a perfectly fine option. Don't bother with cheap tube amps.

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post #8 of 26
6/27/12 at 12:07pm
Thread Starter 

So which soild state amp would you recommend? So far I haven't heard anything bad about the MK III :/
 

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post #9 of 26
6/27/12 at 12:35pm

I don't want recommend a particular amp that I have no personal experience with, so you'll have to rely on other people's opinions. However, I think that any properly built solid state amp will be able to drive the HD600. Look for something with a low output impedance. Personally I'd go with the O2, though I'm sure there are other options...

 

Regarding the LD MKIII, it is not a bad amp, it just doesn't perform well enough for its price. You'll find so many positive reviews because for most people who buy a LD MKIII, it's their first amp - and since they have nothing to compare it to, it will sound great of course. I've made exactly the same mistake a while ago. It was only when I bought other (not particularly more expensive!) amps that I noticed that the LD MKIII didn't drive the HD600 (and other headphones) to anywhere near their potential. There was no dynamics, no soundstage, just a rather lifeless sound like what you get when using the HD600 out of a DAP...

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post #10 of 26
6/27/12 at 12:38pm
Thread Starter 

If you are able to tell me that the MKIII doesn't bring the HD600 to it's limits and that they sound kinda boring with the MKIII, then you should be able to tell me which amp will be awesome for the HD600 ? :P

 

Thanks
 

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post #11 of 26
6/27/12 at 12:45pm

That entirely depends on your definition of "awesome". wink.gif My Decware CSP-2 sounds awesome with the HD600, as did the audio-gd Roc SA. However, both are not neutral sounding, but coloured (albeit not in a bad way). My Meier Audio Concerto does drive the HD600 to its full potential without adding anything (tube coloration, widened soundstage with balanced drive etc.). But that's just my opinion. In any case, these amps are probably out of your price range. For something more affordable solution would perhaps be the Meier Audio Rock or the Matrix Mini-i - or, as mentioned before, the O2.

I have no experience with either of them so I can't make a clear recommendation. But I can almost guarantee that all of them will perform better than the Little Dot - except, of course, they don't have pretty tubes.

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post #12 of 26
6/27/12 at 2:15pm
Thread Starter 

Hmm this is really the first comment against the MK III. So I would love to hear more comments :P

Especially as you havent heard any of the amps in my price range yet.

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post #13 of 26
6/27/12 at 8:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Dude View Post

I don't want recommend a particular amp that I have no personal experience with, so you'll have to rely on other people's opinions. However, I think that any properly built solid state amp will be able to drive the HD600. Look for something with a low output impedance. Personally I'd go with the O2, though I'm sure there are other options...

 

Regarding the LD MKIII, it is not a bad amp, it just doesn't perform well enough for its price. You'll find so many positive reviews because for most people who buy a LD MKIII, it's their first amp - and since they have nothing to compare it to, it will sound great of course. I've made exactly the same mistake a while ago. It was only when I bought other (not particularly more expensive!) amps that I noticed that the LD MKIII didn't drive the HD600 (and other headphones) to anywhere near their potential. There was no dynamics, no soundstage, just a rather lifeless sound like what you get when using the HD600 out of a DAP...

Did you listen to the LD Mk. III with the stock driver tubes, and are you sure that the gain setting was optimized for the HD600s (by adjusting the DIP switches underneath the unit)? The reason I ask this is that the stock tubes that came with my LD were noisy, microphonic and lacked resolution - upgrading to Mullard CV4010s made a big difference. Also, changing the gain makes a substantial difference to dynamics. If it is set too low, the HD600s can sound lifeless.

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post #14 of 26
6/27/12 at 8:51pm

Surprised the Asgard hasn't been mentioned yet.

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post #15 of 26
6/28/12 at 2:39am
Thread Starter 

I also thought about some products of Shiit (Asgard or Valhalla). I guess everyone will have a different opinion on the MK III but most user in here claim that with the right tubes the MK III is perfect for the HD 600 :/

 

So I wonder if there is someone here who had the MK III + HD 600 for some time and thinks that he found some other amp for the same price range twhich is better with the HD600.

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