[Nachkebia]

Hey there, I got HD650 couple of day ago. before I was enjoying Shure E5c with Ibasso D10 and I was extremely happy as far as portability goes. also DAC part on D10 is very useful, mostly because I use mac laptop with optical out and most of my library is in FLAC, some are in 24/96. now to the topic, I need proper desktop amp for HD650, I found D10 to be understandably light, so after some research here I have chosen these two models Little Dot MK IV SE or Figaro 336. they are in my budget and I am willing to roll some amps later

Please help me out, share your experiences, direct me to reviews also recommend me other models in the same price range. As a note I want to say that I am noob and I have actually never heard tube amp but general consensus here seems to be that HD650 is great with Tubes

Thanks in advance!

Edit : How about Woo 3+?

Edit 2 : As for my musical reference I listen to everything http://www.last.fm/user/Nachkebia , I don`t like very clinical or analytical sound...

 

[Nachkebia]

Bump?

 

[Ozer]

I have HD650 too, and I'm going to buy the new La Figaro 332 Classic... I've heard that it's very good with Sennheiser HD650... Or there's the new La Figaro 336 Classic and La Figaro 332S... The former is a little cheaper and the latter a little more expensive than the 332 Classic...
If you didn't know, the brand "La Figaro" is almost like Darkvoice... I don't know everything about it, but the Darkvoice owners split up and one of them started La Figaro... So LF332C is an upgraded DV332, LF336C an upgraded DV336 and LF332S an upgraded DV3322...

I don't really like the 2 volume knobs on the 332S/3322 (one for left, one for right channel)... So I will buy 332C.

You can't find much on these amps right now, because they come out some days ago (332S came today I think..), but just read what people thought about the Darkvoice amps, as I said the La Figaro amps are just upgrades from the Darkvoice amps... So if people like the Darkvoice amps, they would like the La Figaro amps even better....

 

[Nachkebia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have HD650 too, and I'm going to buy the new La Figaro 332 Classic... I've heard that it's very good with Sennheiser HD650... Or there's the new La Figaro 336 Classic and La Figaro 332S... The former is a little cheaper and the latter a little more expensive than the 332 Classic... If you didn't know, the brand "La Figaro" is almost like Darkvoice... I don't know everything about it, but the Darkvoice owners split up and one of them started La Figaro... So LF332C is an upgraded DV332, LF336C an upgraded DV336 and LF332S an upgraded DV3322... I don't really like the 2 volume knobs on the 332S/3322 (one for left, one for right channel)... So I will buy 332C. You can't find much on these amps right now, because they come out some days ago (332S came today I think..), but just read what people thought about the Darkvoice amps, as I said the La Figaro amps are just upgrades from the Darkvoice amps... So if people like the Darkvoice amps, they would like the La Figaro amps even better....

Thanks for the reply, problem with 322c is that its HUGE, I need amp for the office

 

[cswann1]

I can't speak for the Figaro, but as a MKIVse owner I can recommend it without any reservations.

I don't have much experience with tube amps but to me the MKIVse has a fairly non-tubey sound. Might be a plus for HD650 owners.

Little Tube customer service is first-rate, so if there is any problem you'll be in good hands.

Good luck.

 

[Nachkebia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cswann1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can't speak for the Figaro, but as a MKIVse owner I can recommend it without any reservations. I don't have much experience with tube amps but to me the MKIVse has a fairly non-tubey sound. Might be a plus for HD650 owners. Little Tube customer service is first-rate, so if there is any problem you'll be in good hands. Good luck.

Thanks for your input but what I read is that MKIV se has limited rolling capacity over normal version MKIV?

 

[Frank I]

shoot an email to david zhezhe from littledot and ask for his advice. He will tell you which amp works best and he will be spot on.

 

[Nachkebia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank I /img/forum/go_quote.gif shoot an email to david zhezhe from littledot and ask for his advice. He will tell you which amp works best and he will be spot on.

littledot website is not working and I can not find david zhezhe in the user list

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nachkebia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for your input but what I read is that MKIV se has limited rolling capacity over normal version MKIV?

This is not true...Nothing has a limited rolling capacity...

The driver tubes are upgraded (M8100 instead of JAN 5654), they are from the same family (EF95).

Differences in IV and SE (from David's ebay page)-

Quote:

The Little Dot MK IV SE is a special edition version (limited 500 sets) of the Little Dot MK IV which is a Neutrik headphone jack upgrade, as well as American CMC or Van Den Hul RCA jacks. The SE version also replaces the normal MK IV vacuum tubes with M8100/CV4010 driver tubes and 6H30PI (Gold-Pin) power tubes!

...

I have had the SE for a while and only rolled the driver tubes. The 6H30PI power tubes have not been rolled. An upgrade to the power tube is the 6H30PI-DR...A Russian super-tube. For about $150.00 a pair, I was not interested. The drivers are very rollable and if you feel guilty about getting the SE and not the regular, you can always roll in some JAN5654...

In reference to your original topic- The HD650s sound delicious with this amp...Add the pre-out and it can become a nice package. The pre-out was not an afterthought...It really was a great addition with nice power. In case you go for it and want to use the pre-out too, set the gain at 5....

Roll-on...

 

[McPanse]

Here's David's e-mail: little.tube@gmail.com

 

[Nachkebia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeatFan12 /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is not true...Nothing has a limited rolling capacity... The driver tubes are upgraded (M8100 instead of JAN 5654), they are from the same family (EF95). Differences in IV and SE (from David's ebay page)- ... I have had the SE for a while and only rolled the driver tubes. The 6H30PI power tubes have not been rolled. An upgrade to the power tube is the 6H30PI-DR...A Russian super-tube. For about $150.00 a pair, I was not interested. The drivers are very rollable and if you feel guilty about getting the SE and not the regular, you can always roll in some JAN5654... In reference to your original topic- The HD650s sound delicious with this amp...Add the pre-out and it can become a nice package. The pre-out was not an afterthought...It really was a great addition with nice power. In case you go for it and want to use the pre-out too, set the gain at 5.... Roll-on...

Thanks but it is still unclear for my, sorry I am a serious noob

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...mkivse-266751/

Conclusion:
For the headphone amp and tube pre-amp buyer who wishes to purchase a unit, plug it in, burn it in, and then just enjoy the music, the MK-IVse is an outstanding unit to fulfill your needs. You will have everything you will need for years of uninterrupted enjoyment. For the buyer who wishes to dabble in tube rolling a little, listen to headphones some, use the pre-amp some and generally use a new unit to its fullest extent, the MK-IVse is a custom fit for your needs too! For the buyer who is a “Tube Rolling Fanatic”, I would recommend the MKIV regular version. It has the ability to switch from the default family of tubes (like the “se”) to the same family of tubes used by the LD II++ unit. This will give you an additional 10-15 possible tube selections.

 

[drews]

I have a new LD MKIII with Mullard M8161 driver and 6H30 power tubes and couldn't be happier...

Drew

 

[Trapper32]

That review was done 2 years ago and was a review of the initial MK IVse. Since then the MK IVSE changed over to the same driver tubes as the MK IV and there are a huge number of tubes available to roll (a fact that my wallet knows only to well ) The SE version does come with an upgrade in tubes but I think its less expensive to buy the regular version and purchase the upgraded tubes yourself. I think the SE does come with a two year warranty however which may or may not be worth the extra cost to you.



Quote:

Originally Posted by Nachkebia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks but it is still unclear for my, sorry I am a serious noob http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...mkivse-266751/ Conclusion: For the headphone amp and tube pre-amp buyer who wishes to purchase a unit, plug it in, burn it in, and then just enjoy the music, the MK-IVse is an outstanding unit to fulfill your needs. You will have everything you will need for years of uninterrupted enjoyment. For the buyer who wishes to dabble in tube rolling a little, listen to headphones some, use the pre-amp some and generally use a new unit to its fullest extent, the MK-IVse is a custom fit for your needs too! For the buyer who is a “Tube Rolling Fanatic”, I would recommend the MKIV regular version. It has the ability to switch from the default family of tubes (like the “se”) to the same family of tubes used by the LD II++ unit. This will give you an additional 10-15 possible tube selections.

 

[kunalraiker]

I would have to say Woo 5 or Woo 6

 

[Nachkebia]

Thanks for that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trapper32 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That review was done 2 years ago and was a review of the initial MK IVse. Since then the MK IVSE changed over to the same driver tubes as the MK IV and there are a huge number of tubes available to roll (a fact that my wallet knows only to well ) The SE version does come with an upgrade in tubes but I think its less expensive to buy the regular version and purchase the upgraded tubes yourself. I think the SE does come with a two year warranty however which may or may not be worth the extra cost to you.