[justhavingfun]

After I saw this latest portable amp offering from Little Dot team, I wanted to try this amp so I ordered through David and received the amp yesterday. It contained LD MK I portable amp, english manual, mini to mini cable along with cloth pouch carrying bag. It cost me little less than $150 which included shipping and insurance. First of all, this little guy looks beautiful and well made. It is far more professional looking than LDM+ that I had before. My LDM+ didn't stay with me very long and sold it soon after I got it. Go-Vibe V3 was better sounding to me at that time. One of the reason that I decided to try LDMKI was its capability of opamp rolling, it contained LM4562 as default. After initial charge up time of 4 hours, I hooked this amp and gave it a listen. Right out of box, its sound signature was nothing to write home about. Everything sounded congested with little definition on both upper and lower range. I was definitely disappointed in its initial sound. It just sounded boring and lack of three dimensional sound stage. So I decided to let it burn for about 20 hours and gave it a listen again. The battery was going still strong after 20 hours of burn in. I tried to listen to my usual portable headphones first then full size headphones. The sound quality definitely improved over my initial listening right out of box. I would say this amp gives me laid-back sound with warm side. It is lot more forgiving to mediocre recording cds. Many of the cds that I have can't listen to them very long because they are very fatigueing after short time but with this amp, I can listen to them without getting tired easily. It tames harsh cd sounding very nicely. Although it improved quiet alot after initial 20 hours burn-in, I doubt this amp will be the giant killer. Compare to Supermacro IV, this amp is lacking many areas that I like about the portable amps. SMIV can take the advantages of higher end headphones have to offer and I feel LDMKI will be lacking in that regards. Considering the price differences between two, it is not surprising to me at all. So if you have many harsh sounding cds with not so good recording and yet like the music itself, this amp might fit the bill nicely. Who knows, after some burn in, I might change my mind about this amp. I ordered this amp while I was waiting for SMIV to arrive. While my SMIV will be keeper for me, I am not sure about this amp yet. It was same situation with my LDII+ tube amp for me. Initially I didn't too much care for its sound signature but more I listen to it, more I like about the LDII+ amp and it gets usual rotation from me from time to time. I am thinking about trying out Little Dot's MKIV tube amp in near future. As usual this is my opinion only and YMMV.

 

[justhavingfun]

Yeah, that's what I am planning to do after initial burn in. I have several different opamps that I like to try. I am pretty sure I will find some aggressive opamp in this beauty. I might have to obtain AD8066 in near future for sure. The light finally went out in this amp so it is getting charged up now. 20 hours of battery estimation is right on target, I got little more than 20 hours from initial charge. With few more charging, I am sure I will get lot more than 20 hours of battery playtime.

 

[fkclo]

A nice looking amp at least - showing the marked and continuous improvements in build quality of Little Tube products.

Not sure, though, if the comparison against Supermacro IV is a fair one. I am a strong supporter for Xin's amps and personally I think not many amps - portable or stationary, can beat Xin's SMIV in 150% of its price (i.e. sub-US$500), let alone one at less than half its price.

Great write-up, nontheless.

F. Lo

 

[justhavingfun]

No doubt. It is not fair comparison between LDMKI and Supermacro IV. I would have been shocked if LDMKI was even close to SMIV in sound quality alone. But on aesthetic department, LDMKI is better IMO. I just ended up comparing these two amps due to recent purchase of both amps at the near same time. If it wasn't for the excellent sound quality of Xin's amps, with relatively high price and more importantly loooong wait will kill the Xin's amp business.

 

[fkclo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justhavingfun /img/forum/go_quote.gif No doubt. It is not fair comparison between LDMKI and Supermacro IV. I would have been shocked if LDMKI was even close to SMIV in sound quality alone. But on aesthetic department, LDMKI is better IMO. I just ended up comparing these two amps due to recent purchase of both amps at the near same time. If it wasn't for the excellent sound quality of Xin's amps, with relatively high price and more importantly loooong wait will kill the Xin's amp business.

I agree the Xin business model is not perfect for the consumer market. And I keep telling people that the Xin Amp is not beginners who are eager to have their first amp on hand the next day they pay. The bitter experience of long wait and lack of communication really hurts for some. For those with more than one amp, AND understand Xin's philosophy AND trust him, the Xin Amp is a perfect addition to the inventory. I am sure not everyone qualifies

F. Lo

 

[fkclo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musique /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't like much Xin. He acts as if he were "The Genius" and he despises even his customers ... let alone, I would guess, those who don't buy or speak highly of his amps. As to if he is a genius or not, let me hear his amps first. If they were priced more modestly ($169 for the Supermicro is a bit optimistic to me, looking at it; probably he wants his genius rewarded) I would.

I can understand where you come from. Xin is not arrogant, but a scientist who happens to be a perfectionist, and a poor saleman all at the same time. When in his "research" mode, his customer is not important to him. Many have been left in the cold as a result. He doesn't even send a note to confirm orders or payment, or even receipt of a returned amp. He seldom, if not never, ships on time. Bad enough for most.

But his dedication in his design result in some of the best products in this segment. He offers upgrade / repair service at no or little cost - even for amps which were outdated; and he always delivers, though sometimes late. He is also a honest & generous person from my experience.

As a research scientist, Xin naturally is proud of his inventions. He is the only person I have seen in this circle who is willing to spending days, weeks, and even months just to look for the right combination of caps (different size, differen brands), the ideal batteries, opamps, and settings of his amp, or plot curves of freqency response for different opamp combination, despite the possibility that only a few in a hundred may hear the real difference. This attitude is adorable in my opinion because this is what push the evelop and set new heights in our enjoyment of music.

F. Lo

 

[justhavingfun]

Ok after 48 hours of burn-in, I gave another listen and the sound improved very nicely to my ears but not as much as after first 24 hours of burn in though. I am not sure whether this amp will continously change over longer burn in. However, it was tad too warm sounding to me, maybe it is the nature of the default opamp LM4562 sound signature. And being little impatient, so I swap with AD8620 and this little amp respond to the change of opamp nicely with punch and more impactful bass. Give this little amp good burn-in and change of opamp before you judge its sound character. The built quality is definitely step up from LDM+ from inside and out.

 

[kramer5150]

Nice thanks for the impressions!! (Note to self.... He's comparing it to a $350++ SM IV)

IMHO those Panasonic SL-CT series PCDPs are on the dark and laid back side. I have the CT430 and CT570 and they are both noticeably more mellow than My D335 or Magnavox AZ series players.

I'm wiling to bet a more energetic/dynamic source would change your mind. When I use either as an optical transport into my modded entech, its a very night and day transformation.

anyhow... back on topic!! Looking forward to your extended impressions.

 

[justhavingfun]

Here are some photos of inside of the amp.

What happend to "Musique" posts???? He is the one who wanted to see inside photos of the amp.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justhavingfun /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here are some photos of inside of the amp. What happend to "Musique" posts???? He is the one who wanted to see inside photos of the amp.

His comments were rude and uncalled for, and way off topic for this thread. He insults/degrades Dr Xin without having HEARD any of his products. Mods will delete threads (and even forum members if they deserve it) when they can forsee them dragging the forum through the mud. If you want to sling base-less insults on the www, this is not the place to do it.

Anyways... thanks for the pics. Whats that HUGE chip on the bottom? part of the recharge circuit? that huge solder-blob looks a bit odd. Might want to try different OP amps too.

thanks!!!

 

[justhavingfun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif His comments were rude and uncalled for, and way off topic for this thread. He insults/degrades Dr Xin without having HEARD any of his products. Mods will delete threads when they can forsee it dragging the forum through the mud. If you want to sling base-less insults on the www, this is not the place to do it. Anyways... thanks for the pics. Whats that HUGE chip on the bottom? part of the recharge circuit? that huge solder-blob looks a bit odd. Might want to try different OP amps too. thanks!!!

Ah, I see. I thought that was the case and you are right. I thought his comments about Dr. Xin was uncalled for. Anyway, I have no idea why there is huge solder-blob in the middle of PCB. I have few other opamps that I can try in due time.

 

[rlanger]

Nice write up.

One suggestion if I might; when creating a long post like that, it's easier for the reader if you create spaces between paragraphs by using the enter key.

 

[holland]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Whats that HUGE chip on the bottom? part of the recharge circuit? that huge solder-blob looks a bit odd. Might want to try different OP amps too. thanks!!!

The huge chip is the amp, the TPA6120. The opamps are just pre-amps. I don't know what's with that solder blob. It looks like an intentional solder bridge.

I personally think this amp will be very good and would buy one if I weren't going to build 4 Mini3 amps.

Here's better pics, btw.

http://www.little-tube.com/forum/for...osts=1&start=1
http://www.little-tube.com/forum/for...osts=1&start=1


BTW, I'm surprised the OP found the LM4562 warm. The LM4562 is anything but warm. It has a more clean and dry presentation.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by holland /img/forum/go_quote.gif The huge chip is the amp, the TPA6120. The opamps are just pre-amps. I don't know what's with that solder blob. It looks like an intentional solder bridge. I personally think this amp will be very good and would buy one if I weren't going to build 4 Mini3 amps. Here's better pics, btw. http://www.little-tube.com/forum/for...osts=1&start=1 http://www.little-tube.com/forum/for...osts=1&start=1 BTW, I'm surprised the OP found the LM4562 warm. The LM4562 is anything but warm. It has a more clean and dry presentation.

I'm speculating that a good part of that "warmth" is from that panasonic PCDP (see my comment above). The SL-CT players I have, it takes a pretty harsh/aggressive amp to "un-darken" them.

 

[justhavingfun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm speculating that a good part of that "warmth" is from that panasonic PCDP (see my comment above). The SL-CT players I have, it takes a pretty harsh/aggressive amp to "un-darken" them.

kramer5150 might be right about Panasonic PCDP being warm sounding player. I am going to try the original opamp and listen with different PCDP that I have also with full size cd player as well in a couple of weeks. Will report back if there is significantly different from my original impression. So far opamp AD8620 is just right combination for my portable setup. My SMIV is going back to Dr. Xin for latest updates.