$150 Headphones That Pair Well With The Little Dot 1+
Nov 9, 2013 at 1:18 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 14

Sony Slave

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Found out that a while ago, that my Shure 840s don't respond too well to the Little Dot 1+. Now I don't want to sell my LD, because I had spent a lot of time and money buying tubes an op amps for the little thing. It'd be a huge waste of time and research just to sell it tbh. I wanna keep it, just to see what it can actually do.  I'd like something  that would sound good with hip-hop, jazz, and electronic music.
 
Cans that go $150 used would be nice to know about as well.
 
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 
Nov 9, 2013 at 1:26 PM Post #2 of 14
Grab yourself a set of Grado cans....it is a very nice pairing with the LD1+
 
$150 would probably snag you a nice 2nd hand pair of SR225i
 
That would be a killer combo
 
Nov 9, 2013 at 2:40 PM Post #4 of 14
+2 to the SR225i
Consider DT770-80 as well.
Also look into Ultrasones.
 
Nov 9, 2013 at 4:52 PM Post #5 of 14
I think I am going to pull the trigger on the SR225i, I really want to try something different.
 
Nov 9, 2013 at 5:03 PM Post #6 of 14
I think you will need to find a second hand pair to hit your budget of $150.....but it can be done.
 
I believe they run $200 brand new.
 
Grados sound nice with jazz, rock....I can not say on the hip hop and electronic, as I do not listen to those genre.
 
Nov 9, 2013 at 7:50 PM Post #7 of 14
I'll buy them and see how they pair with the little dot 1+.
 
Do the Grados have an advantage over the Shure 840s in any way?
 
Moreover, are there any other headphones that go used for $200 that might be good? This is for when I get more money in the future.
 
Nov 9, 2013 at 9:03 PM Post #8 of 14
  Found out that a while ago, that my Shure 840s don't respond too well to the Little Dot 1+. Now I don't want to sell my LD, because I had spent a lot of time and money buying tubes an op amps for the little thing. It'd be a huge waste of time and research just to sell it tbh. I wanna keep it, just to see what it can actually do.  I'd like something  that would sound good with hip-hop, jazz, and electronic music.
Cans that go $150 used would be nice to know about as well.

I was under the impression that the Little Dot 1+ was designed to work well with low impedance headphones (44-Ohm SRH840)?
Do the SRh840s sound better plugged into other stuff?
Check out the AKG K612 Pro (120-Ohm) headphones, Amazon sells them new for a little over your budget.
B&H Video has used for $149.95
 
Nov 9, 2013 at 10:17 PM Post #9 of 14
  I was under the impression that the Little Dot 1+ was designed to work well with low impedance headphones (44-Ohm SRH840)?
Do the SRh840s sound better plugged into other stuff?
Check out the AKG K612 Pro (120-Ohm) headphones, Amazon sells them new for a little over your budget.
B&H Video has used for $149.95

The Shure840s sound exactly the same plugged into anything.
I plugged them into my computer, and the sound good.
Into an mp3 player, sound was a little better.
Plugged it into a little dot 1+, no change in sound for the most part, but the Tung-Sols added a touch of warmth and distortion that I was actually pleased with. But I ended up breaking one of the Tung-Sol tubes. 
frown.gif
 They were the only tubes that actually changed the sonic signature of the 840s. 
I then decided to add a Bi-Frost uber analog DAC on top of the little dot and 840's....it sounded exactly the same with just an MP3 player. 
 
The 840s aren't bad, they're just extremely efficient phones.
 
I was just gonna ask about the DT-770s.
I see you have them, i'm actually considering getting those, since people say that the bass actually gets more refined when they are amped.
Plus they have a lot more music versatility as opposed to the Grados. 
 
Would you recommend the DT's? 
 
Nov 9, 2013 at 11:06 PM Post #10 of 14
  The Shure840s sound exactly the same plugged into anything.
I plugged them into my computer, and the sound good.
Into an mp3 player, sound was a little better.
Plugged it into a little dot 1+, no change in sound for the most part, but the Tung-Sols added a touch of warmth and distortion that I was actually pleased with. But I ended up breaking one of the Tung-Sol tubes. 
frown.gif
 They were the only tubes that actually changed the sonic signature of the 840s. 
I then decided to add a Bi-Frost uber analog DAC on top of the little dot and 840's....it sounded exactly the same with just an MP3 player. 
The 840s aren't bad, they're just extremely efficient phones.
I was just gonna ask about the DT-770s.
I see you have them, I'm actually considering getting those, since people say that the bass actually gets more refined when they are amped.
Plus they have a lot more music versatility as opposed to the Grados. 
Would you recommend the DT's? 

The DT770s really have to be used with a headphone amplifier.
The DT770s are good headphones, but I prefer to use open headphones as much as possible, or my ATH-A900X closed headphones.
Are you looking at the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm (straight cable) or the DT770 Pro 250-Ohm (coiled cable) or one of the Premium models?
The Pro 80-Ohm is a touch more bassy (currently listening to them right this second), then the Pro 250-Ohm.
 
Nov 10, 2013 at 12:43 AM Post #11 of 14
Grados are okay with electronic music, and it depends on the music at that.  DT770 is indeed quite versatile, on the other hand.
 
Nov 10, 2013 at 9:57 AM Post #12 of 14
  The DT770s really have to be used with a headphone amplifier.
The DT770s are good headphones, but I prefer to use open headphones as much as possible, or my ATH-A900X closed headphones.
Are you looking at the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm (straight cable) or the DT770 Pro 250-Ohm (coiled cable) or one of the Premium models?
The Pro 80-Ohm is a touch more bassy (currently listening to them right this second), then the Pro 250-Ohm.

I'm looking at getting the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm, since my Little Dot 1+ can not handle the 250-ohm pro one.
 
The Little Dot is capable of driving the  80 ohm DT-770 correct?
 
Nov 10, 2013 at 10:05 AM Post #13 of 14
  I'm looking at getting the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm, since my Little Dot 1+ can not handle the 250-ohm pro one.
The Little Dot is capable of driving the  80 ohm DT-770 correct?

I would very much "assume" the Little Dot 1+ can drive the 80-Ohm DT770s.
But you can always ask in these threads, maybe they will recommend a tube?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/364043/little-dot-i-tube-rolling
http://www.head-fi.org/t/348639/new-hybrid-amp-by-little-dot-i
 
Nov 10, 2013 at 10:25 AM Post #14 of 14
  I would very much "assume" the Little Dot 1+ can drive the 80-Ohm DT770s.
But you can always ask in these threads, maybe they will recommend a tube?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/364043/little-dot-i-tube-rolling
http://www.head-fi.org/t/348639/new-hybrid-amp-by-little-dot-i

I'm actually a huge lurker on the general Little Dot tube rolling thread. The posters there have actually found the god tier tubes, like the top of the top. But they are crazy expensive, i'll probably buy those god tubes around January, then i'll be done with tube rolling.
 
I asked them for tubes that are dynamic with lots of detail and they were Sylvanias 6AQ6s, and I ended up buying them.
 
I'll put them in the LD soon.
 

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