[chews89]

Hey all, i have pretty much no experience in terms of amps and would like to get some advice concerning the Little Dot amps.

My limited audio equipment includes the AD500, es7, rp-htx7, JVC marshmallows and a Fiio amp. My main source is my Samsung T10 DAP.

I've recently discovered little dot amps and have read about the incredible value for the prices of the amps. I'm currently thinking about the LD II, LD II+ and LD I+. Initially i was leaning towards getting the LD MK1 or LD MK1+ but realised that i'll probably just use the fiio amp when im on the go.

Can anyone recommend any of these particular amps? Are some amps better for use with my current headphones than other amps? Or will there just be a general enhancement in audio quality with any amp used? With my current equipment, will amps like these really be effective?

Ohyeah, i read about the arching issue with the LDII+ amps, so maybe i won't risk it with those..

Any comments/recommendations would be greatly appreciated

 

[johnation33]

i have the LD MKII, which I believe is the upgrade to the LDII+ model, but to me it sounds great. I'm using them to power my grados, but I think they would work fine with your phones.

I do recommend you buy other tubes though, the stock tubes imho dont do the amp justice. After I switched out the tubes to the mullard 8100 military spec, the sound got much more warmer and a lot more detailed

 

[chews89]

Thanks for the input johnation33. I'm not sure if i can afford the MKII although it does seem to be more popular then the other amps. Does anyone know much about the LDII ?

As for tubes, i think i'll wait until i get the amp first haha. I've read some stuff about tubes and man..those names are confusing..

 

[tako_tsubo]

I opted to get the LDI+...not even here yet but would recommend it based on the reviews so far. It is at a great price...especially using the live.com discount and would serve your HP's well and still have plenty of room to upgrade when you get the funds.
I have been primarily into the electrostatic sound but realized I needed a simple set up...and wanted to try tubes... this was the way to go. The different family of tubes that are compatible and easy to obtain and the ability to adjust the gain make it an obvious choice for me.
This amp apparantly will allow you to scale up/upscale thru the Grado line if that was ever thought.

 

[tako_tsubo]

oh and lots of Little Dot threads to read thru with a lot of information!

 

[Tridacnid]

Why would you get the LDII over the LD MKII? No arching problems, less of a heat issue, and you don't have to get it used.

 

[JamesL]

Is there any reason at all you want a Little Dot in specific?
Either way, I'd prefer to listen through my hd650 or dt880 out of my computer, rather than the hd555 through a thousand dollar amplifier.
my 2c

 

[Tridacnid]

James, please explain your post.

Are you implying that he needs better phones? I can name several reasons why LD can be a good choice, the biggest of which is the cost.

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

Either way, I'd prefer to listen through my hd650 or dt880 out of my computer, rather than the hd555 through a thousand dollar amplifier.

 

[chews89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tridacnid /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why would you get the LDII over the LD MKII? No arching problems, less of a heat issue, and you don't have to get it used.

From what i've read, the arching problems only occured in the LD II+, not the LD II, am i correct? And the LD MKII is actually $100AUD more expesive than the LD II which is quite significant to me. Ohyea, and you still can get the LD II new off ebay from Davids store. (i just realised the LDII is a very old model as i read posts about it from way back in 2005 or so)

 

[chews89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesL /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is there any reason at all you want a Little Dot in specific? Either way, I'd prefer to listen through my hd650 or dt880 out of my computer, rather than the hd555 through a thousand dollar amplifier. my 2c

Like Tridacnid said, I'm thinking about a Little Dot mainly because it has a reasonable price for a tube amp to start off with. Most of the other amps available tend to have incredible prices that i think i would never be able to afford or never willing to spend that much money on.

Do you have any other recommendations for quite cheap, decent amps?

As for my cans, i purchased them quite recently and doubt i will be upgrading anytime soon.(plus i'm quite content with them for now)

 

[Tridacnid]

Where on ebay? All I see are MKII's.

 

[tintin47]

I know this wasn't on your list, but I would go with a 2++ or mk III. They aren't too expensive but leave you some room to power better headphones when you want to upgrade. As far as the mk III goes, x 2 on the mullard 8100 tubes. They sound great.

Also, I'm not sure what the low end Dark Voices are going for, but they are nice, generally affordable tube amps.

 

[olblueyez]

AD500 is 66 ohms making it a low impedance headphone. Choose a Little-Dot with more power output at a low impedance, MK I+ is a good example. If you plan on going with something like a Senn 650 at some point then I would recommend something like this:

Mini Millet DIY Tube Amplifier - Default Store View

Id probably go with the millet either way but thats just a preference thing. The millet has a gain switch so it can drive low or high impedance cans.

 

[chews89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tridacnid /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where on ebay? All I see are MKII's.

You can find it in Jasmine Hifi Audio store.