[rosgr63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itdoessuck /img/forum/go_quote.gif @rosgr63 - I am very surprised too, since I've seen several other posts similar to yours about David helping customers. I have to admit that's one of the reasons why I chose the LD 1+ in the first place - it's awesome when a manufacturer gives that level of support. Why he won't help me is anyone's guess; even though the LD 1+ is less expensive than the MK IV SE, in my experience when someone is helpful with one product in their lineup, they're helpful with all of them. What even deepens the mystery more is the tiny amount of information I've requested from him; it's not like I want an electronics tutorial, I just want to know if there's an available tap on the transformer for 120V! BTW, I've never dealt with him before so there's no "history" involved. I'm pretty new to the Chinese amp scene. It's exciting but this has put a damper on the whole thing.

I am sorry to hear this, If it happened to me I would have felt exactly the same.
My final suggestion is to try the LD forums.
Good Luck!

 

[estreeter]

OK, I've come in late, but Google doesnt seem to like the phrase 'Authorized Little Dot Distributors' : did find this recent thread here though -

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/whe...mk-iii-413983/

A bit more digging and I found David's e-bay listings:

eBay Seller: davidzhezhe: Electronics items on eBay.com

Seems that I could own the MKIII for around 245 USD delivered to my home here in Oz, and I'm assuming that this is THE authorized distributor I need ? If so, thats one more on my shortlist

 

[az2123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pariah1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of course, as soon as I stop searching the FS ads something like that comes up... Looks like a good deal, however I am wary about when someone alters things themselves on electronics. I know it's probably a simple process and upgrades the component, but I don't even know what the difference would be in the OPAMPS and if I'd like the stock version better or not. Also, according to the text and pics on the Audiophilechina site, the Little Dot 1+ comes with WE408A tubes so how is that an upgrade? I should probably just let that go to someone who needs a deal more and knows what they are getting!

There are three "stock" versions of the LDI+. The "standard" version comes with Chinese 6JI's, replacing standard tubes with EF92 is an additional $20 USD, and replacing standard tubes with WE408A is additional $50 US.

My guess is that he purchased the "standard" version with the 6JI's and then bought his own NOS pair of WE408A not from Little Dot.

 

[Pariah1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itdoessuck /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can give you a very good reason *not* to buy a little dot 1+ based on a bad experience I've had with the company. Being somewhat new to the concept of inexpensive Chinese-manufactured headphone amplifiers, I was pleasantly surprised to see the wide variety of units available. Based on great information from these forums, I narrowed a list down to a few amps, including the Little dot 1+. I chose this amp specifically because I wanted a unit that would drive low impedance AKG K701 headphones. Finding a place to buy the unit from was problematic. I eventually found my way to suppliers selling the amp on eBay. I did this because I have never ordered directly from any Chinese suppliers and figured that the eBay / PayPal route would at least give me some security. I ordered a unit from one supplier in Hong Kong. Two weeks after paying for the amp I got a message from the supplier stating that he didn't have any in stock! He refunded my $ via PayPal. I then proceeded to order another unit from another supplier, and it arrived configured for 240V instead of 120V - the North American standard. I've sent a message to the supplier; no response yet. In my travel through these forums, I had heard that the owner ?designer of Little Dot was a good fellow who supported the products that he sells. After digging through the forums I contacted "David" by email and asked him if there was an easy way to reconfigure the amp for 120V. I did this because pulling the transformer cover off is moderately more involved than just removing the bottom plate and I didn't want to go through all the effort if there wasn't an easy way of doing this; i.e. no tap on the primary side of the transformer to accept a 120V input. The owner got back to me and politely told me to stuff it; he wasn't going to give me an ounce of help if the amp wasn't purchased through an "authorized distributor". He wouldn't even make the effort to answer "yes" or "no" to the above question. BTW, at this point he did not even know whom I had bought the amp from. After responding with the names of the two eBay sellers he told me that they were "unauthorized". Now, there's no doubt that I received the amp from China in an authorized, unopened factory package. This amplifier was obviously made in the same factory that supplies "authorized distributors" with Little dot units and even came with what looked like a warranty card (in Chinese, of course). It was produced by Little dot, plain and simple. So there's obviously a situation here where Little dot amplifiers are sent to many people in China for distribution, likely with full knowledge of the factory, but only certain people in China / Hong Kong are "authorized" distributors. If an amplifier goes to someone in China who isn't "authorized" to sell it, tough luck for the customer - even though I'm sure that Little Dot is profiting from the manufacture of said amp. I've been in DIY audio for a long time, having started to build amps in the 1970's from "Audio Amateur" magazine articles. I've always found the DIY audio community to be wonderfully helpful. My experience with boutique amp builders has been similar - the people who started Sonic Frontiers in Toronto have helped me through schematics in the early days even when they weren't directly profiting from that activity. Obviously as a manufacturer gets larger, it's difficult to do this. Still, the owner /?designer of this little dot amplifier would rather spend 5 minutes telling me why he's not going to help me a bit, instead of the 5 seconds it takes to be helpful and answer yes or no. I'm sure he will claim that his "authorized distributors" will get mad if he does this. Quite frankly, I doubt if these distributors would really take offense to someone telling a customer whether or not a little dot amp is reconfigurable between 220V and 120V; most of these people are quite helpful and genuinely care about their customers. I have to say that even though the content of his messages were far from helpful, he was always very polite. BTW, if anyone out there can answer this question I'd really appreciate it! many thanks!

Wow, that's quite a story and I'm truly sorry for your bad experience!

I myself am very dubious whenever I hear of so and so being a "good guy/seller" on any forum. That's because I have talked to a several of them over the years (from audio sellers to other sellers of technical stuff from flashlights to bikes) and have even bought from some and they were only doing business, no matter how "friendly" it all sounded, and if I asked questions after the deal I usually got no response (or a curt one). But their "good guy" status goes unchallenged over many forums (and it will continue to for I, for instance, won't name names here lest some be recognized and I be ostracized by various fanboy true believers in their audio heroes from the forum).

Anyway it's simple to me: I don't claim the omniscience to know whether or not someone who can potentially get money out of me is a "good guy" or not because he is friendly or helpful towards me in a few brief messages when he thinks he might get my business. And neither should anyone else who doesn't wish to be naive.

Thanks for your story, I will consider it when deciding whether or not this is a trustworthy company to order from or not.

 

[Pariah1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by az2123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are three "stock" versions of the LDI+. The "standard" version comes with Chinese 6JI's, replacing standard tubes with EF92 is an additional $20 USD, and replacing standard tubes with WE408A is additional $50 US. My guess is that he purchased the "standard" version with the 6JI's and then bought his own NOS pair of WE408A not from Little Dot.

Gotcha! Now that makes sense and seems like a nice upgrade, but like I said I am still wary about when people start messing with electronics (and what is the reason for the OPAMP change?).

Well, I'm in no hurry (I still haven't totally decided upon the Little Dot 1+ anyway) and like I said there are other buyers who would probably appreciate that deal more than I.

 

[Pariah1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif OK, I've come in late, but Google doesnt seem to like the phrase 'Authorized Little Dot Distributors' : did find this recent thread here though - http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/whe...mk-iii-413983/ A bit more digging and I found David's e-bay listings: eBay Seller: davidzhezhe: Electronics items on eBay.com Seems that I could own the MKIII for around 245 USD delivered to my home here in Oz, and I'm assuming that this is THE authorized distributor I need ? If so, thats one more on my shortlist

I saw that too, and it's about the same shipping (and total) price for the Little Dot 1+ if I just bought it directly from the site.

 

[Trapper32]

Did you save any money buying from an "unauthorized" dealer???


This is Little Dot's published warrranty policy:

Warranty and Support:


Are you intrigued by our Little Dot amplifiers but worry about the process if, Heaven forbid, something were to go wrong? Rest assured, our Little Dot products are backed by arguably the best, and most customer-friendly warranty policy in the business for your peace of mind! Please do note however that our warranty and support only applies to Little Dot amplifiers sold through direct sales (i.e. this eBay listing) or our Authorized resellers. We cannot provide any warranty or support for Little Dots acquired through unauthorized or gray market sellers (i.e. other sellers).



If on the chance a functional problem arises within the first 3 months (we've found that if issues occur, the vast majority crop up within the first month or two) of your warranty period and you send it back to us for repair, we will reimburse you the full return shipping amount once we receive it so there is absolutely no out-of-pocket cost to you!
From 3 months until the end of your warranty period, if a functional problem arises we will reimburse you for half of the return shipping cost once we receive it.
From warranty expiration to as long as you own your Little Dot, repair/labor/parts are always free - the only thing you are responsible for is shipping costs.
Vacuum tubes are not covered under warranty as they are a consumable item, however if there are functional issues with a tube, we can provide a free replacement(s) for just the cost of shipping.

As you can see, we stand behind our products and are fully committed to providing the best ownership experience we can provide. Again, our warranty only applies to Little Dots sold through direct or authorized resellers as otherwise we cannot guarantee the initial quality and A-stock, new status of Little Dots sold through unauthorized or gray market sellers.


I'm not sure why you don't demand your "unauthorized seller" to either provide either a refund or information. I don't think David is under any obligation to provide any support for you. If he chose to do so, it would be nice of him , but I think it would be bad business practice. Walmart doesn't provide support for items purchased at Sears. A bit of homework on your part would have alleviated your distress.


Quote:

Originally Posted by itdoessuck /img/forum/go_quote.gif @rosgr63 - I am very surprised too, since I've seen several other posts similar to yours about David helping customers. I have to admit that's one of the reasons why I chose the LD 1+ in the first place - it's awesome when a manufacturer gives that level of support. Why he won't help me is anyone's guess; even though the LD 1+ is less expensive than the MK IV SE, in my experience when someone is helpful with one product in their lineup, they're helpful with all of them. What even deepens the mystery more is the tiny amount of information I've requested from him; it's not like I want an electronics tutorial, I just want to know if there's an available tap on the transformer for 120V! BTW, I've never dealt with him before so there's no "history" involved. I'm pretty new to the Chinese amp scene. It's exciting but this has put a damper on the whole thing.

 

[JeepnHeel]

Pariah,
To your question posted a while back-- No, neither the MKII nor the MKIII are hybrid amps. The Grado's need a lot of juice to really shine, so the Little Dot most suited to doing that in your range is the I+. What you give up is a portion of the 'tube warmth', as it is indeed a hybrid. I have seen a lot of folks giving awesome reviews for the MKIII & II/Grado combo, though, so I think you'll be happy either way you go. I think basically it comes down to -- Do you want to sacrifice a little 'tube' effect for a better power match for your Grado's?

One thing to consider, though, is whether you see yourself getting another pair of cans down the road that might have different needs (Senns, etc). If so, the MKIII has a wider range of good matches there....

I'm a newbie too, so please correct me if I've gotten it wrong, board elders!

 

[Pariah1]

Thanks Jeep, that sums it up well.

Considering that I've never had any tube anything and I like a more analytical/accurate presentation over warm, a hybrid seems right for me to try. I also don't plan on upgrading cans anytime soon.

 

[Pariah1]

Just saw this, a little more than I want to spend but if it's worth it...


http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/fs...-conus-469687/

Any thoughts on the EF1 and 225i's?

Btw, I listen to mostly rock and metal (and some 80's) with my cans.

Edit: Looking around the forum a bit it seems the EF1 is a good match for the 225i's.

 

[itdoessuck]

Trapper32;

- I did contact the seller, szclever88 and I found a message from him today offering to send a new transformer. Now that's a nice guy

- re David's "fine print" warranty policy; most of us don't read it and don't do the extra homework you suggest. Do you select which amplifier you want to buy from by reading each and every manufacturer's warranty policy? Do you always read the warranty fine print on everything you buy? If you do you're certainly a more thorough and detail-oriented person than I am!

I find that the comments posted in these forums regarding how a seller treats his customers far more helpful than the warranty fine print when deciding which unit to buy. It would have been incredibly easy for David to reply "sorry to hear about your situation; there are no user configurable voltage taps on your unit. You'll have to contact the seller to replace the transformer." Instead he basically said "stuff it, I'm not telling you a damn thing because you didn't buy one of the unit that I manufacture directly from me or one of my buddies. In fact, I'm not even expending the energy it takes to type the letters "yes" or "no" to your query". As noted before, he was more polite than this but it was quite clear what he was saying. Of course, David is under no contractual obligation to help me; but a tiny bit of goodwill would have gone a long way and actually would of taken much less effort on his part than the path he chose.

No, I didn't save any money, and I wasn't looking to save any money. I was just trying to find somewhere to buy this amp from. I chose eBay because I am leery of sending my credit card number off to a Chinese vendor that I've never dealt with before. I would of been happy to buy it from David or an "authorized distributor" off of eBay if I had been able find them in the first place. BTW, I have since found what looks to be David's eBay ID, but I'm not sure. I didn't see the same ID when I did a search for this particular amp prior to buying it.

Finally, if I buy a Sony TV from either Sears or Walmart, I still expect Sony to give warranty support. This situation is analogous to Sony specifying that they will honor their warranty if you purchase a TV from Walmart USA but not from Sears USA.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pariah1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for your input, but as stated in my original post I'd like to keep it under $200 and more like around $150 (I'm actually satisfied with my X-Head which doesn't have any great following, so I figure another budget amp that does will be all I need). So that and the good synergy with Grados makes the Little Dot 1+ attractive.

Don't forget that upgrading the op-amp and tubes will cost an additional $60 or so to your costs. It is better to buy it at the cheapest possible price and then to purchase the upgrades yourself.

When my Little Dot I+ arrived and I listened to it stock, it was so disappointing that I immediately put it up for sale. I am so fortunate that it did not sell and that I tried some of the recommended upgrades. It has become my favorite amplifier and I just purchased a second one for another room.

 

[john57]

You raise a point there does not seems a way to contact the manufacture of Little Dot directly and it appears that mauszclever88 and davidzhezhe are sellers for Little Dot equipment and both are based in Shenzhen, China I noticed that there are diferent names for what looks like Little Dot products on E-Bay. I do know that sword yang is the designer since his name appears on the circuit boards in the photos.

 

[Trapper32]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itdoessuck /img/forum/go_quote.gif Trapper32; - I did contact the seller, szclever88 and I found a message from him today offering to send a new transformer. Now that's a nice guy - re David's "fine print" warranty policy; most of us don't read it and don't do the extra homework you suggest. Do you select which amplifier you want to buy from by reading each and every manufacturer's warranty policy? Do you always read the warranty fine print on everything you buy? If you do you're certainly a more thorough and detail-oriented person than I am! I find that the comments posted in these forums regarding how a seller treats his customers far more helpful than the warranty fine print when deciding which unit to buy. It would have been incredibly easy for David to reply "sorry to hear about your situation; there are no user configurable voltage taps on your unit. You'll have to contact the seller to replace the transformer." Instead he basically said "stuff it, I'm not telling you a damn thing because you didn't buy one of the unit that I manufacture directly from me or one of my buddies. In fact, I'm not even expending the energy it takes to type the letters "yes" or "no" to your query". As noted before, he was more polite than this but it was quite clear what he was saying. Of course, David is under no contractual obligation to help me; but a tiny bit of goodwill would have gone a long way and actually would of taken much less effort on his part than the path he chose. No, I didn't save any money, and I wasn't looking to save any money. I was just trying to find somewhere to buy this amp from. I chose eBay because I am leery of sending my credit card number off to a Chinese vendor that I've never dealt with before. I would of been happy to buy it from David or an "authorized distributor" off of eBay if I had been able find them in the first place. BTW, I have since found what looks to be David's eBay ID, but I'm not sure. I didn't see the same ID when I did a search for this particular amp prior to buying it. Finally, if I buy a Sony TV from either Sears or Walmart, I still expect Sony to give warranty support. This situation is analogous to Sony specifying that they will honor their warranty if you purchase a TV from Walmart USA but not from Sears USA.

I think that szclever88 was obligated to do the "right thing" since he's the one that sold you the unit that arrived screwed up. Suppose szclever had modified or cloned the LD and had used a different transfromer than the original. Had David given you incorrect information and you damaged your amp because of it would you then hold David responsible??

The "fine print" is stated in "big print" in all of the eBay listings. I do worry about warranty when I buy any product on eBay and expecially from China. A lot of manufacturers , i may say most, don't offer support or warranty if you purchase through unauthorized dealers on eBay (check out Sennheiser for instance) . I also check out the eBay sellers feeback and enquire about shipping if the product arrives defective. Not thorough by any means, just common sense.


I also rely on the forums to find out who stands behind their products and who doesn't. David has a stellar reputation in this regard and I've read most of the threads regarding Little Dot. He doesn 't need me to defend his reputation, its there for anyone to read. Headfi has more than a few posts regarding buying from unauthorized dealers or unscrupulous ones and the headaches that ensued. And there are more than a few posts about cloned products from China that look the same but have inferior components.

Glad the seller is taking care of your problem!!

 

[Palpatine]

Yes...I think the LD 1 + would be great for Grados. Buy from David or used from a headfier.