[Kramertc]

I own both (APPJ and Little Dot I+) and in my case the APPJ is dead quiet while the Little Dot has a faint buzz that comes and goes.  This buzz isn't present all the time.
I've even swapped places/power cords but the buzz is still there.  Even swapped tubes on the LD to no effect.
 
While I haven't been able to eliminate the faint buzz I still like them both a lot.  The buzz from the LD doesn't bother me as it's not always present and when it comes its so faint it's only audible if no music is playing. 
 
At this stage of my early ownership of both I prefer the APPJ. The sound is slightly less congested than the LD but I also suspect that it's the tubes in the APPJ that are making the difference.
I have an Amperex Bugle Boy in the APPJ while the LD has the cheapest russian tubes I could buy (Voskhod but not the "-EV" model that's everyone raves about).

 

[CZ4A]

Quote:

   
How did it work with the Tung-Sol KT66's?

I have to give them another listen since I haven't in a while. What I do remember is the soundstage is massive, but some mid or mid-lows sounded distant, almost like they were being played farther away than the rest of the music (recessed I think is the correct term?). The preamp tube probably has an effect on this too- IIRC I was using the 8416 most of the time and another type of tube may compensate for this. SECOND EDIT: May have been the recording? I listened with the 8416 and a GE black plate 5751 and didn't get that recessed feeling on some mids I thought I had heard.
 
Physically, the T-S KT66s are very wide- you can't use 12SN7-types in the preamp socket as the KT66s will foul against the 12SN7's base.
 
EDIT: Here's a picture.
 
 

 

[1800yolk]

  I use the Hi-gain on mine ...I agree with Braam, it doesn't sound as good in low gain. My DAC also allows me to use the volume on it, so I turn my appj up to 75%, and run my DAC around 10%-20%...everything seems to work pretty good that way! I think you get more headroom from the amp.

i'm in the same boat, high gain w/ 400is = less sibilance and more balanced sound. Planars need all the juice they can get!

 

[Preludio]

It finally arrived! i'm really happy with the sound of my set . Thanks for the great advice! The RCA NOS Grey Plate works fine, maybe i'll roll the power tubes soon . Those big Tung sol's looks awesome o.o!
 

 

[1800yolk]

this is already on massdrop again if anyone missed it before
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/appj-1502a-tube-headphone-amplifier
 
still researching tubes. I have seen a few people mention that the tubes this comes with are pretty ok. maybe mine still need burn in, but i can't stand having stock. Sibilance is a huge issue, and distortion happens pretty frequently w/ my 400i. But it is silent, I can attest to that.

 

[stolikat]

Just got in on the drop. I have some RCA clear tops that I hope will sound awesome with this. Now what power tubes to buy....

 

[stolikat]

RCA clear tops for the preamp for sure.

 

[Zulkr9]

  I have to give them another listen since I haven't in a while. What I do remember is the soundstage is massive, but some mid or mid-lows sounded distant, almost like they were being played farther away than the rest of the music (recessed I think is the correct term?). The preamp tube probably has an effect on this too- IIRC I was using the 8416 most of the time and another type of tube may compensate for this. SECOND EDIT: May have been the recording? I listened with the 8416 and a GE black plate 5751 and didn't get that recessed feeling on some mids I thought I had heard.
 
Physically, the T-S KT66s are very wide- you can't use 12SN7-types in the preamp socket as the KT66s will foul against the 12SN7's base.
 
EDIT: Here's a picture.
 
 

Does the KT66 work without any problems ? someone said that it draws too much current and the transformers of the little amp can't handle it. 

TIA

 

[Kryl0071]

Hi!
I got one. This is really good amplifier. I was skeptical, but decided to try it. You must take several steps to improve the sound. First - replace the two coupling capacitors to wima mkp4 0.47 µf pitch of 15 mm. Secondly, to replace two electrolytic capacitors in the cathode of the tubes at Slimic ELNA 220uF 25V. The third is to replace all the tubes in accordance with your choice.

 

[Terrynj]

  Does the KT66 work without any problems ? someone said that it draws too much current and the transformers of the little amp can't handle it. 

TIA

I never would have thought you could run those in the 1502a? The big McIntosh AMPs run KT88's in them... I am very new to tube rolling, and have played it fairly safe, but I would love to try these!

 

[CZ4A]

Does the KT66 work without any problems ? someone said that it draws too much current and the transformers of the little amp can't handle it.


TIA

I never would have thought you could run those in the 1502a? The big McIntosh AMPs run KT88's in them... I am very new to tube rolling, and have played it fairly safe, but I would love to try these!

Only the Tung-Sol Reissue KT66s will work on the PA1502A. Please read my reply for an explanation.

So I said I would post some more tube rolling results here. First of all, I got two new pairs of power output tubes - a pair of matched, nearly-new Tung-Sol Reissue KT66s (seller said they only had about 2 hours of use on them) and a used pair of 50's Soviet 6P3S tubes. "Wait," you say, "didn't you post earlier that KT66s draw too much current?" Well, the T-S KT66 is essentially the guts of their 6L6GC stuffed into a KT88 bottle, which also means the heaters draw only 0.9A, well within the PA1502A's capabilities. All of the other KT66s I looked at, both new and vintage, draw 1.3A, so they can't be used in this amp.

 

[stolikat]

So massdrop is shipping my amp on 4/22 and I am sure that there will be more people poking around here in the coming days. I see that people are in to those E/H KT66's but what would be a good value tube to try? I already have some 12UA7 RCA clear tops but I am unsure what budget 6V6 I should try...

 

[Kryl0071]

I put RCA 5751 and RCA 6V6GT. Sound superb!!! But I have changed capacitors also.

 

[CZ4A]

I put RCA 5751 and RCA 6V6GT. Sound superb!!! But I have changed capacitors also.

What caps did you use?

 

[Kryl0071]

Post#219