[GotNoRice]

I currently have a Little-Dot I+ which is what I use for my low-impedance headphones. I have a separate OTL tube amp for my high-impedance headphones. I've had my Little-Dot I+ for a while at this point, and I was considering potentially replacing it with a Schiit Vali 2++.

Has anyone here ever compared a Little-Dot I+ vs Schiit Vali side by side?

One thing that I like is that the tubes that I already use for my TubeMagic D2 DAC are compatible with the Schiit Vali, so I already have a collection of tubes to work with.

Why does the Schiit Vali only use one tube while the Little-Dot I+ uses two?

This will primarily be used with my Sony MDR-XB700 (24ohms) headphones but will also be used with my Beyer DT770-Pro (80ohm) headphones.

The Sony MDR-XB700 is a bass monster. I'm not sure how much power the Little-Dot I+ can put into 24-ohms. They quote power figures as:

800mW @ 32Ω
300mW @ 120Ω
150mW @ 300Ω

If that continued to increase with lower impedance then it might be almost a full watt at 24-ohms, or maybe 800mW is the max?

The Schiit Vali lists power output as:

32 ohms: 1500mW RMS per channel
50 ohms: 1000mW RMS per channel
300 ohms: 400mW RMS per channel
600 ohms: 200mW RMS per channel

Again, have to sort of guess when it comes to 24-ohms but either way it looks like it's more powerful than the Little-Dot I+. Then XB700 can make the Little-Dot I+ clip at borderline excessive volumes so it would be nice to have a bit more headroom.

 

[PurpleAngel]

I'm not seeing any compelling reason for getting the Vali++, to replace the Little Dot+.
A 24-Ohm headphone uses very little voltage, so can't see the Vali++ offering noticeable improvement (but I'm not the expert).
Me, I would replace the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm headphones.