[Metrops]

  The bass is heavily affected by dac/amp. I used a warm tube amp and they responded VERY favourably.

 
Yeah, I had them with a more neutral AMP/DAC (Valhalla 2 and Modi Multibit)

 

[DavidA]

  I think the quality of the bass is quite good--it's very tight and goes very deep. But TBH, I could use a little more quantity. Right now I'm listening with a Schiit Magni 2U, which many feel is not a good match for the HD700. I just ordered a Little Dot MK III, with M8100 driver tubes, which should get here in around 10 days (I hope). I'm very anxious to see how the HD700 sounds with that, though it'll take a while for the tubes to properly burn-in.

I really didn't like the original Magni with the HD700, a bit too bright and it was also the same with the Asgard2 and Jot.
 

  My very limited experience is that tubes are bright before burning in. Enjoy, hope you like the pairing. 

I haven't noticed any tubes that are bright before burn-in but then it might be that all my tubes have been used prior to me using them.
 

​I have 3 tube amps, Lyr2, Ember and BH Crack, the HD700 is good with any of the 3 but its also quite good with the headphone amp of the UD-301 and a Fiio X3.  If I had to pick a favorite pairing for the HD700 it would be the Ember these days, the adjustable output impedance of the Ember lets me fine tune the sound to perfect for me.

 

[Marlowe]

Since I posted last night, I got a text that my Little Dot MK III is at the sorting facility in Hong Kong and scheduled for delivery in New Jersey on Tuesday (4/25). Considering that I ordered it on Wednesday morning (my time), that's pretty darn good.

 

[ibage]

  Since I posted last night, I got a text that my Little Dot MK III is at the sorting facility in Hong Kong and scheduled for delivery in New Jersey on Tuesday (4/25). Considering that I ordered it on Wednesday morning (my time), that's pretty darn good.

Surprised it made it through Customs so fast. Takes weeks whenever I order anything from China. Hope your amp works out for ya

 

[dobigstuff]

  Since I posted last night, I got a text that my Little Dot MK III is at the sorting facility in Hong Kong and scheduled for delivery in New Jersey on Tuesday (4/25). Considering that I ordered it on Wednesday morning (my time), that's pretty darn good.

Marlowe:
 
You will love the Little Dot MK III driving the HD 700's  Just wait till you start Tube Rolling.

 

[Marlowe]

  Marlowe:
 
You will love the Little Dot MK III driving the HD 700's  Just wait till you start Tube Rolling.

Thanks. I've made a bit of a start by ordering it with M8100 driver tubes instead of the stock tubes. I'm thinking of trying Electro Harmonix 6H30PI for power tubes after the stock tubes burn in. Any suggestions? I'd like to keep it < $50 per tube and only a small number of tubes, at least for a while. Like most hobbyists, I can get obsessive.
 
BTW, DHL tracking has the MK III sitting in Cincinnati ATM after being released by Customs. It still estimates delivery tomorrow, so I have my fingers crossed.

 

[dobigstuff]

Below are the Tubes I used before going to the 6SN7 Power Tubes and the C3G Driver Tubes:  (I am still swapping out the 6SN7's)  The C3G's are the Best Drivers.
 
 Electro-Harmonix 6H30Pi for the Power Tubes. Telefunken 5654 for the Driver Tubes. (This combo was really good)  The JAN 5654 are also good Driver Tubes as well.

I hope this helps.

 

[esung]

  Below are the Tubes I used before going to the 6SN7 Power Tubes and the C3G Driver Tubes:  (I am still swapping out the 6SN7's)  The C3G's are the Best Drivers.
 
 Electro-Harmonix 6H30Pi for the Power Tubes. Telefunken 5654 for the Driver Tubes. (This combo was really good)  The JAN 5654 are also good Driver Tubes as well.

I hope this helps.

Looks so pretty...biting the bullet.

 

[Malfunkt]

Had a really good session the other night. Listened to a number of world class vinyl, mostly on speakers but also on both of these.

 

[Marlowe]

  Below are the Tubes I used before going to the 6SN7 Power Tubes and the C3G Driver Tubes:  (I am still swapping out the 6SN7's)  The C3G's are the Best Drivers.
 
 Electro-Harmonix 6H30Pi for the Power Tubes. Telefunken 5654 for the Driver Tubes. (This combo was really good)  The JAN 5654 are also good Driver Tubes as well.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for your advice. It's very helpful and most of those tubes seem to fall into my rough price range.
 
BTW, what gain setting do you use for the HD700? I assumed a medium setting of 5 would be appropriate and asked David of Little Dot; he agreed that 5 should be fine, but that it was largely a matter of personal preference and I should try out different settings.

 

[minh278]

Just got these. I have to say i'm quite impressed with the sound. Might end up selling my akg 7xx. These do feel a bit more in your face regarding the sound compared to the akg's (my opinion) so may not be as great study headphones for me.

 

[dobigstuff]

Thanks for your advice. It's very helpful and most of those tubes seem to fall into my rough price range.

BTW, what gain setting do you use for the HD700? I assumed a medium setting of 5 would be appropriate and asked David of Little Dot; he agreed that 5 should be fine, but that it was largely a matter of personal preference and I should try out different settings.

Marlowe:

Truthfully I never really adjusted my Gain (I bought the Amp used) because everything sounded so good. However, when you asked me what gain I use, I had to double check. I was using 3. Now I have adjusted my gain to 5 and what a difference. Bass is powerful and clean with tons of slam. Mids and Highs sound great as well. There is plenty of gain now. I don't think I need to go past 9:00 on the Volume Knob very much.
Thanks.

 

[Marlowe]

Marlowe:

Truthfully I never really adjusted my Gain (I bought the Amp used) because everything sounded so good. However, when you asked me what gain I use, I had to double check. I was using 3. Now I have adjusted my gain to 5 and what a difference. Bass is powerful and clean with tons of slam. Mids and Highs sound great as well. There is plenty of gain now. I don't think I need to go past 9:00 on the Volume Knob very much.
Thanks.

Glad to help, even if somewhat inadvertently.

I got the MK III since my last post. (Ordered it in New Jersey last Wednesday and it arrived from China on Tuesday. Pretty amazing.) The factory gain setting was 3 and I changed it to 5 before powering up the amp; LD recommends trying different settings and I probably will eventually. So far, I'm usually between 9 and 10 o'clock on the knob for music, closer to 11 for movies/TV (and was around 12 for the La La Land Blu-ray last night). And I like it loud. I haven't really A/B-ed the MK III with my Schiit Magni 2U, but I am very happy with it initially. It's certainly not a night and day difference, but to my (admittedly untrained) ears, the HD700 now sounds a little warmer and fuller, with just a tad more bass. After the tubes burn in, I'll probably start some rolling.

 

[dobigstuff]

Glad to help, even if somewhat inadvertently.

I got the MK III since my last post. (Ordered it in New Jersey last Wednesday and it arrived from China on Tuesday. Pretty amazing.) The factory gain setting was 3 and I changed it to 5 before powering up the amp; LD recommends trying different settings and I probably will eventually. So far, I'm usually between 9 and 10 o'clock on the knob for music, closer to 11 for movies/TV (and was around 12 for the La La Land Blu-ray last night). And I like it loud. I haven't really A/B-ed the MK III with my Schiit Magni 2U, but I am very happy with it initially. It's certainly not a night and day difference, but to my (admittedly untrained) ears, the HD700 now sounds a little warmer and fuller, with just a tad more bass. After the tubes burn in, I'll probably start some rolling.

Wait until you get those 6SN7's and C3G's. My Musical Fidelity M1 Dac / Little Dot MK III combo beats my Schiit Bifrost / Asgard 2 Combo. The Little Dot MK III is warmer, the Schiit Stack is a bit leaner.

 

[Marlowe]

Wait until you get those 6SN7's and C3G's. My Musical Fidelity M1 Dac / Little Dot MK III combo beats my Schiit Bifrost / Asgard 2 Combo. The Little Dot MK III is warmer, the Schiit Stack is a bit leaner.

Do these tubes slot into the MK III without any adapters and/ or (in the case of the driver tubes) any jumper change? Some comments I've read seem to indicate the C3Gs needed an adaptor, but weren't real clear nor was I able to locate them in the MK III manual list of which tubes require which jumper settings..