Can someone recommend tubes that are widely viewed as being a step up from the stock ones (like how everyone agrees that mullards are usually the go to tubes on the little dot mk3)   (and from what I understand, the bigger tube in the back is the power tube, does that have to be replaced?)  ...

Do the Mullard M8161 work with the mk iii?

I know this post is six years old, but if you haven't figured it out after over half a decade, A Tribe Called Quest is a clean group, and all censorship was intentional. Let this benefit someone else if not the op. 

I'll keep that in mind, I'm familiar with the principle in pc building 

Wouldn't a little dot 1+ be a step down from te iii?     No tube withdraws going ss?   (don't have amp yet)   Thanks for all the details, I needed them.

Banus if you prefer lol   So are you saying that as long as there is enough juice to back up the demand, the amp will not falter? I know orthos are needy but, they are 30something ohms...

People told me it was a bad match & that solid states work better with Orthodynamics but thanks for the assurance!

Particularly the Little Dot mkiii with the HiFiMan HE-400. I am aware that many have used this combination with success but I don't want to run into major problems after spending $650.  

tell me more about this OTL because I really like the idea of having a MKiii with the he-400 it seems to work for other people...

Decided to trash the Audio-Technica idea and just save $400 for a good one. With a little dot MKiii as a pre-amp, would it be loud enough?

I'm actually looking into the little dot mkiii. I also want to replace the stock tubes with the Mullard M8161.   But the thing is I have no idea how to tube roll, and am clueless as to which of the 4 tubes must be replaced.  

Like the title says I am unsure if this set up will work well having no prior audiophile experience. Some reviews say that the pairing works fine others say that it is a whisper with the e17. (The E17 is a higher class model than the E12 so the Mont Blanc could only fair worse, right?) I do...

Sorry for the late response. My budget is $400. (I said no USB turntable because I read a thread where someone had a static issue with it but after seeing the audio technica pl120 I realized that wasn't the case.) I will just use it for listening to records. But for $200 the at lp120 seems...