[gibosi]

  Sorry but I have a friend working in a headphone shop shipped 'em directly to me from China. It come in a cardboard box with just the foam and no manual at all I'm looking up the net for more info. 
 
Thanks you guys. Luckily I've never tried tube rolling on my I+. It came just a few day before I leave to work in another country so I didn't have much time with it.

 
Here is some information on the LD1+ from their website:
 
http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=819&sid=177ddabe1f99c6d8eb21ad3ae90ddc64
 
And here is the manual:
 
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6037680/Little%20Dot%20I%2B%20Reference%20Guide.pdf

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Thanks for the info. Currently my I+ is using 6cq6 tubes, can you recommend some warm, smooth tubes that make a difference? I have the O2 for neutral/accurate amping, so I'd want my I+ to offer a totally different signature.

 

[davstev]

Hi foks,

I became a headphone freak about a month ago, so I am new to this Head-fi thing (first post), although I have a fair bit of enjoyment/experience with non-headphone audio gear and other audio forums.

It all started when I picked up a pair of GRADO HP-1000 drivers in a custom headset made of wood. Lovely 'phones that have replaced my HD600's.

And I'd never owned a headphone amp before, and had a little bit of money to spend, and sought out the best value I could find that was well matched to Grados. Enter the LD 1+, which arrived chez moi yesterday.

I had an ample listening session with the HP-1000's and LD i+ last night. Over all, I totally support the view that this is a wicked wicked value for dollar- build quality, sound, appearance. Super duper.

With regards to sound, the bass is pretty lean, I mean, very lean, when paired with the Joe Grado HP-1000's, which are known to be fairly lean on bass. I am no bass hungry fella, I just want it to be there, be full, and complete the picture, y'know?

Btw, the tubes I have are the WE408A's.

Any quick recommendations for tubes that are bassier, but retain the full soundstage and other desireable characteristics? Cost aside. I mean, within reason.

David

 

[gibosi]

First, I should say that I have no experience with Grados...
 
In my opinion, the first thing you should do is to swap out the stock opamp for something better. Searching back through this forum, a number are highly recommended and I finally settled on the MUSES02.
 
The WE408 is a pretty good tube, but I believe the 6HM5 is better. Tubes manufactured by GE, Sylvania and Ei (Yugoslavia) are all quite similar, so I suggest that you go for the cheapest to start. You will notice that some 6HM5 are tall bottles and some short. In my opinion the short bottles are no where near as good as the tall ones. The 6HM5 uses the EF95 setting.

 

[davstev]

This is an incredibly helpful post, thank you.

I'll definitely do the opamp swap. Easy to do.

For tubes, I'll note your suggestion and do my research. I'll let you know what comes of it.

Have any particular opinions on the Mullard Blackburn 12ax7, a matched pair? I have a lead on a not-cheap but still affordable pair.

Thanks, Kindly.

David

 

[gibosi]

Have any particular opinions on the Mullard Blackburn 12ax7, a matched pair? I have a lead on a not-cheap but still affordable pair.
 

 
The 12AX7 is a 9-pin double triode and thus, is not natively compatible with the LD. A 9-pin tube will not fit into the LD's 7-pin sockets. And the 12AX7 is a double triode. That is, it contains both right and left channels in one bottle, whereas, the LD is designed to use a pair of single pentodes/triodes.

 

[davstev]

All great information for the beginner tuber.

Thanks again.

David

 

[forestitalia]

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[forestitalia]

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[davstev]

  First, I should say that I have no experience with Grados...
 
In my opinion, the first thing you should do is to swap out the stock opamp for something better. Searching back through this forum, a number are highly recommended and I finally settled on the MUSES02.
 
The WE408 is a pretty good tube, but I believe the 6HM5 is better. Tubes manufactured by GE, Sylvania and Ei (Yugoslavia) are all quite similar, so I suggest that you go for the cheapest to start. You will notice that some 6HM5 are tall bottles and some short. In my opinion the short bottles are no where near as good as the tall ones. The 6HM5 uses the EF95 setting.

gibosi,
 
Thanks for the suggestion. Today, I bought a pair of 6HM5 tall tubes. Pretty sure I paid too much but the convenience of NOS in a local radio supply store was too tempting. They sound amazing. A big improvement from the 408's. I also changed the Gain on my i+ to high gain and it suits my headphones nicely, and nice to have a bit more power under the hood too. 
 
Now I need to get a new opamp. I expect that will improve things even more. But the Muses02- it's like $75 plus shipping. That's a lot for a tiny lil' chip. But if it's truly in a league of it's own, I'll pay.
 
Any other suggestions that are almost as good as the Muses that are a bit cheaper or more available? Opinion on the OPA2107?
 
Thanks,
David

 

[gibosi]

  Now I need to get a new opamp. I expect that will improve things even more. But the Muses02- it's like $75 plus shipping. That's a lot for a tiny lil' chip. But if it's truly in a league of it's own, I'll pay.
 
Any other suggestions that are almost as good as the Muses that are a bit cheaper or more available? Opinion on the OPA2107?

 
Well, I do think it is worth it. However, you don't have to pay that much!
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400418607953
 
I have purchased a couple opamps from this vendor, good prices and fast service.
 
To my ears, the OPA2107 is a big improvement over the stock opamp, but the highs seem to be somewhat rolled off, and the mids are almost shouty. I consider the MUSES02 to be a much improved OPA2107. 
 
But of course, my ears and gear... YMMV

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Today when I plugged my 325e into the I+, the sound was coming out from the left side only. I noticed one of the tube were not showing any light and decided to swap 'em, so the left side was off and the right side was on. I haven't used my I+ too much (my version came with the 6CQ6 tubes). Can someone tell me, on average how long can a pair of tubes last? Thank you.

 

[Arsis]

Potentially years and years.

 

[gibosi]

  Today when I plugged my 325e into the I+, the sound was coming out from the left side only. I noticed one of the tube were not showing any light and decided to swap 'em, so the left side was off and the right side was on. I haven't used my I+ too much (my version came with the 6CQ6 tubes). Can someone tell me, on average how long can a pair of tubes last? Thank you.

 
New tubes should last several thousand hours. That said, you have to remember that these tubes are around 50 years old. We often don't know how well they were stored over years. And many times we don't even know if they new or used. Even brand new tubes might have small imperfections in the glass, and if so, the glass may crack after being cycled on and off a number of times.
 
Since we never know when a tube might fail, I always recommend purchasing at least one back-up pair of your favorites.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

That was bad luck for me then. Nevertheless I found out they died right after moving house (I put them inside the original box that they came in). Perhaps it's time for Tung Sol then.