[Tribbs]

What are the current best tube and opamp for the LD1+ for Grado headphones. Does any company sell them with the upgraded tube and opamp already installed?

It's been a few years since I've turned this amp on having moved on to better amps. This is what I preferred at the time...
http://www.head-fi.org/t/364043/little-dot-i-tube-rolling/1185#post_7910373

 

[gibosi]

  I finally found the old thread on tube and opamp upgrades on their Forum. I was wondering where you get your opamps from. Is there a seller on ebay that you have had good luck with, or a website you could link for me.

 
It might be possible to get op amps directly from the manufacturer as free samples. For example, check out the link below for instructions on getting free samples from TI
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/364043/little-dot-i-tube-rolling/1275#post_8228747
 
My favorite op amp for the LD1+ is the MUSES02. Unfortunately it is more expensive than most. I have found the eBay vendor janeh2100 to be reliable with competitive prices.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400418607953?

 

[Zeejet]

Do you guys trust Chinese electronics dealers on eBay? I have heard many nightmare stories about fake parts being sold from China with no repercussions. And by that I mean negative reviews do not affect them since they generate fake accounts to boost feedback and offset negative reviews (this is evident in their feedback history where everything is private and doezens identical reviews from the same buyer are posted).
 
Personally, I don't trust anything shipped out of China other than certain amps that are vetted by other users.

 

[gibosi]

  Do you guys trust Chinese electronics dealers on eBay? I have heard many nightmare stories about fake parts being sold from China with no repercussions. And by that I mean negative reviews do not affect them since they generate fake accounts to boost feedback and offset negative reviews (this is evident in their feedback history where everything is private and doezens identical reviews from the same buyer are posted).
 
Personally, I don't trust anything shipped out of China other than certain amps that are vetted by other users.

 
Do you trust American dealers on eBay? Personally, I have had zero problems with Chinese vendors, but I can't say the same about American vendors...
 
But seriously, regardless of where a vendor is located, caveat emptor applies. Due diligence should always be part of the purchasing process. In the end, the buyer should have a high degree of certainty that he will receive exactly what he paid for.
 
To make a blanket assertion that all vendors located in China, with few exceptions, are crooks is nonsense and irresponsible. Yes, there are vendors located in China that I do not trust. But there are plenty of vendors located elsewhere in the world that I do not trust as well. Unscrupulous vendors are everywhere.
 
Regarding the Chinese eBay source for the MUSES02 op amp I mentioned above, I have no reason to believe that janeh2100 is in anyway untrustworthy, based on my experience and that of others in this forum.

 

[Zeejet]

Thanks for your thoughts although I sense that you were offended by my assertion that Chinese vendors are generally peddlers of false wares.
 
I've always been paranoid about counterfeits from China and after buying from a vendor with inflated seller rating, I swore off Chinese sellers altogether. My family is Chinese and from the time I've spent in China, I can tell you that the majority of consumer merchandise is knock off of some sort. The real stuff is far too overpriced for the average Chinese citizen (a Polo shirt over there would be the equivalent of almost 200USD) and so counterfeiting has become the norm. This is not an attack on their character as Chinese people, but rather an observation of a pattern resulting from the socio-economic situation there. 
 
But what really makes me wary of Chinese vendors is not just the counterfeit culture, but the impunity with which they are allowed to operate within eBay. Feedback inflation fraud is also rampant (although your seller seems to check out). See this for example: http://www.ebay.com/usr/polida2008?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2754 Look under the positive reviews and you'll see that it is a series of mass reviews of the exact same users inflating the seller's rating, probably without purchasing anything.
 
I agree that there are certainly exceptions, but all of my dealings with North American dealers have been positive and most of my dealings with Chinese vendors have been negative (either never received or item was counterfeit). I suppose will have to agree to disagree about Chinese vendors.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

   
It might be possible to get op amps directly from the manufacturer as free samples. For example, check out the link below for instructions on getting free samples from TI
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/364043/little-dot-i-tube-rolling/1275#post_8228747
 
My favorite op amp for the LD1+ is the MUSES02. Unfortunately it is more expensive than most. I have found the eBay vendor janeh2100 to be reliable with competitive prices.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400418607953?

Hi Gibosi, can you recommend other opamps that are cheaper but complements Mullards (or other warm tubes) nicely?

 

[adtrance]

Thanks to the many who contributed to this topic (especially gibosi), I've ordered my LD 1+ with the stock tubes with tube rolling in mind. 
 
I ordered the Voskhods, the tall bottle Yugoslav 6HM5, and the MUSE02 chip to start.  I should have the amp to test through a pair of 325e in a couple of days.  That should give me a good base of comparison since the other tubes & chip will be another 2 maybe 3 weeks away.
 
I'll definitely chime in with my impressions as time goes on.  Gotta give back to the community after soaking so much information in! 

 

 

[gibosi]

  Hi Gibosi, can you recommend other opamps that are cheaper but complements Mullards (or other warm tubes) nicely?

 
The 2107 is cheaper and better than stock. But in my opinion, it is not nearly as good as the MUSES02.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/364043/little-dot-i-tube-rolling/2115#post_11241296

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

I think MUSES02 is the way to go then. Do you think that the MUSE is already the best p/p opamp out there for the I+? Actually I was hoping for something of similar p/p, $45 for an opamp is still too high for me

 

[gibosi]

  I think MUSES02 is the way to go then. Do you think that the MUSE is already the best p/p opamp out there for the I+? Actually I was hoping for something of similar p/p, $45 for an opamp is still too high for me

 
The MUSESS02 is the best I have found. But of course, my ears and my gear.
 
edit: typo

 

[Zeejet]

SLightly off topic question:
 
Can I use the Little DOt I+ as a pre-amp for computer speaker such as the Logitech Z623?

 

[gibosi]

  SLightly off topic question:
 
Can I use the Little DOt I+ as a pre-amp for computer speaker such as the Logitech Z623?

 
Well, the 1+ does not have line out jacks, so probably not. That said, it might be possible to use the headphone jack with a cable terminating in two RCA jacks, but I have no idea how well this would work.....

 

[Zeejet]

Thanks for the reply! I was planning to use the the headphone jack. My question was more along the lines of safety and risk of equipment damage.

 

[gibosi]

Although I haven't tried this myself, I can't see anyway that it would not be safe. The only problem I can foresee is if the impedance between the headphone jack and the line-in on your amp does not match up well, it might not sound all that good.  So give it try and let us know!

 

[Zeejet]

  Although I haven't tried this myself, I can't see anyway that it would not be safe. The only problem I can foresee is if the impedance between the headphone jack and the line-in on your amp does not match up well, it might not sound all that good.  So give it try and let us know!

I tried it and it sounds good! Not sure if the improvement is due to the DAC the amp is running through or the amp (I previously had the speaker system going through the internal audio on the computer).
 
I do want to emphasize that I am using this as a pre-amp and not a speaker amp. The speakers I'm using are part of a 2.1 system (Logitech Z623) for computers, which has a built-in amp in the subwoofer that powers all drivers in the system from the satelite speakers to the sub itself. It has a 3.5mm input specifically for digitial devices like onboard DACs, iPods, etc.