[HungryPanda]

Just got a used little dot mk2 with matched Russian 6N6P+6J1P-EV

I'm a complete novice how are these rated ? Should I be looking to try something else

That is a great start

 

[gibosi]

 
i think its good to have a load during start up and turn-off, and LD recommends the same. high impedance cans like the 600 & 650 are great for that. a 16 ohms load might not be the best though but the 300 works. 
 
these things are not 100% accurate so during turn on and turn-off it helps to have a high imp load to absorb some of the leaked power. else its building up and amped.

 
Transformer-coupled amps require a load when turned on or off. If they are not loaded, the amp can be damaged. On the other hand, OTL (Output Transformer-Less) amps do not need a load. You can run them for hours and hours with no load and with no worries.
 
And in fact, as pointed out by Mikelap and TrollDragon, when using an OTL amp, the best practice is to make sure the headphones are disconnected before turning the power on and off. The reason for this is that output tubes often fail at the time power is turned on and off. Keep in mind, your headphones are connected directly to the plates of the output tubes. There is nothing in between. If they were to short out, they can damage your headphones. And they can damage your ears. So it really comes down to safety. Following this advice protects your ears and your headphones. And again, the amp doesn't care one bit if the headphones are plugged in when it is turned on and off.
 
All that said, the output tubes used in the LDs are pretty puny, so perhaps if they do fail at startup, no harm will be done. But still, better safe than sorry. Therefore, I encourage anyone who has an OTL amp to wait a few minutes for the output tubes to reach normal operating temperature and stabilize before plugging in the headphones. And don't put them on your ears until after they are plugged in! And then again, when shutting down, disconnect the headphones first.
 
Protect those expensive headphones, and especially, protect your ears. Be safe!

 

[stoke1863]

Wondering if someone could help.
 
Got a used MKII with 6N6P+6J1P-EV tubes.
 
I can barely tell a difference when comparing the sound vs my Solid State amp also not much difference with my ears to the stock tubes.
 
What would be best combo for a more tubey sound? Or are my ears just broken?

 

[kristylers2008]

Just got a used little dot mk2 with matched Russian 6N6P+6J1P-EV

Should I be looking to try something else

 
you can check  6N6P-I Novosibirsk and early 6J1P-EV Voskhods (1970-1972),
sound will be amazing
 
Regards, Mike

 

[stoke1863]

  Wondering if someone could help.
 
Got a used MKII with 6N6P+6J1P-EV tubes.
 
I can barely tell a difference when comparing the sound vs my Solid State amp also not much difference with my ears to the stock tubes.
 
What would be best combo for a more tubey sound? Or are my ears just broken?

I have to backtrack on this, I didnt allow my ears to adjust to the tubes, Just swapped back after many hours to stock and the Russian tubes are much much much better vs stock tubes.

 

[muscleking]

  Wondering if someone could help.
 
Got a used MKII with 6N6P+6J1P-EV tubes.
 
I can barely tell a difference when comparing the sound vs my Solid State amp also not much difference with my ears to the stock tubes.
 
What would be best combo for a more tubey sound? Or are my ears just broken?

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/6HM5-EC900-EI-Yugoslavia-NOS-matched-pair-Little-Dot-Amp-FREE-SHIPPING-WW-/251691711374?hash=item3a99febb8e:g:~~QAAOSwyjBW6~mr
 
these makes a difference vs stock tubes. also the older the better. bigger bottle are also better than short ones.
 
great seller, I ordered 2 and one wasn't working and he sent me 4 more. so now I have 5 of these tubes.

 

[stoke1863]

ok i got an issue, id say every 10-30 mins i get an audible pop (from both channels i think) i switched back to Stock power tubes and they are less frequent but they still happen, its literally one pop and thats it for 30 minutes.
 
Any ideas what the issue may be?

 

[spiderking31]

I would contact an electronics technician, as your amp may need servicing. To contact David in China, and shipping it to Asia is going to cost an arm and a leg I would keep the cost and complications to a minimum. Hope I helped you

 

[EinTheVariance]

Just got the MK III today and have been enjoying them  I got them with a pair of voshkods also, but I noticed the 6J1P-EV (gold rocket logo, three grooves) makes the sound bright, it sounds good, but sounds more like an SS amp.  I'm sure these are great with the HD 650, but with the HD 600, it felt a tad too bright at times.  I much preferred the stock M8100, probably just because of my combo.
 
I wanted to ask if you guys are disconnecting these every night or just leaving it plugged in always?  The manual seems to suggest unplugging it after you are done to minimize the risk of brownouts, surges, etc 
 
Also, I noticed that my tubes don't get anywhere nearly as bright as some of the other pics I've seen.  Is this just a difference in tubes?  Or perhaps it's the gain or how long it's been on?  For instance, here's a pic I found:

 
vs what mine looks like:

 

[superdux]

I disconnect from the power after I've finished listening.I guess it depends on your Fotografie skills how much the tubes are illuminated.

 

[EinTheVariance]

I disconnect from the power after I've finished listening.I guess it depends on your Fotografie skills how much the tubes are illuminated.

haha I do admit that my photography skills are close to nil.  My pic was taken with a smartphone after all, but you'd think it'd look brighter especially under what looks to be a lower light condition in the room.  Hell, my tubes don't look that bright even with my the lights off in the room.
 
Another thing I'm noticing is that the amp seems to be transferring heat to the headphones itself...is this normal?  After wearing for about 15 min, my right ear especially is warm.  This definitely doesn't happen if I'm powering the HD 600 with the O2.  If I take the headphones off my head and keep the music playing, I can feel the warmness on the right earcup especially if I place the back of my fingers against the cup/foam covering the driver.

 

[TrollDragon]

I just flip the power switch to Off, that disconnects the hot side of the AC line from the amplifier.
 
That's a new one for me, where the amplifier causes a headphone to warm up...

 

[EinTheVariance]

  I just flip the power switch to Off, that disconnects the hot side of the AC line from the amplifier.
 
That's a new one for me, where the amplifier causes a headphone to warm up...

that's what I thought people would do usually, but not sure so I wanted to see how many people just turn off vs unplugging every time.
 
Hmm...I guess it could just be a coincidence.  It's definitely not too warm or anything, kind of like hovering your hands above the tubes a bit.  Actually, the first time I auditioned the setup yesterday, I didn't notice it till I put the headphones down and went out to dinner.  I noticed that my right ear was oddly warm.  Then when I came back after dinner for another session, that's when I noticed the warmness from the right cup...It's not a big deal I guess.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I will say, the tubes on this thing are STUPID HOT. 

 

[Gezzaman]

Hi guys, a quick question,
 
When trying to use 6AS7G  as powertubes for my LD3, is this external power supply usable?
 
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-15A-180W-Switching-Power-Supply-Transformer-For-LED-Strip-Light-New-OK-/251742156213?hash=item3a9d0075b5:g:BMkAAOSwuMFUfsaw
 
or should it find something else