[pez]

Hey guys, I'm wondering what the best will be?  I'm not sure I really need portability, so that's not a big issue.  It seems the difference between the two that is the biggest is USB/Aux/Line-out vs. Optical/Coaxial/Line-Out.  I recently got a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD and I love it.  It improved the sound over even my XtremeMusic greatly.  I'm basically just asking the question of which will be better for my situation?  The primary use is going to be for a desktop PC.
 
If there are other amp suggestions, then I'd appreciate those as well.  My budget is at the most, the cost of a new or used D10.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Tubes and Grados are like PB&J. Little Dots seem to have a great synergy with Grados. I love my 325/Little Dot 1+ pairing.

 

[pez]

I've always seen people recommend tubes for Grados, but I've also heard of tubes needing to be rolled, etc.  I'm sure it's not as scary as it sounds, but I've never really found a straight answer.  I would like to delve into the tube amps, but it would be nice to get more info on them.  How much did you pay for your Little Dot 1+ and where did you buy it from?

 

[stringgz301]

Either is very good.  The problem with a Little Dot is you also need a DAC.  The iBasso has a good DAC and a good amp and you can roll the opamps.  It's a very good first step.

 

[pez]

I've always had my eye on the D4, so I have a bias towards it, but I'd still need a DAC with the Little Dot even though I have a (what I'd consider) fairly nice sound card with optical?