Little dot in Europe + Alternatives for K601

[Wazza]

Hey,

I've been thinking about getting an amp for my K601's, and the Little Dot MKIII seemed like a good amp.
Problem is, I can't find an European distributor of these products, Ordering from China isn't a great option, the costs in Holland of importing products outside of Europe are outrageous, So I'd rather buy an amp from withing Europe.
If you guys know some other amps that would work well with the K601 that are easy to get within Europe please tell, price around 200-250 euros.
I thought about the Corda Arietta as well, it seemed like a good amp for its price and is easy to get within Europe, but I'm held back by people who claim that the K601 & Arietta aren't a great match, If anyone has different experiences with the Arietta and the K601/K701, It would be great to hear your findings.

Thanks in advance,

 

[Shad3925]

I use the MKIII with the 701's and its quite impressive.
If you order the MKIII direct from David(Little Dot) the shipping is not to expensive, 51USD to UK and the delivery is quick and can be tracked from start to finish.
You say ordering from China is not great option,then you have not experienced the backup and customer service you get with Little Dot, it is second to none.

 

[Wazza]

Quote:

I use the MKIII with the 701's and its quite impressive. If you order the MKIII direct from David(Little Dot) the shipping is not to expensive, 51USD to UK and the delivery is quick and can be tracked from start to finish. You say ordering from China is not great option,then you have not experienced the backup and customer service you get with Little Dot, it is second to none.

Yeah, thats why I wanted the MKIII, it seemed a good match with my AKG's, the problem is not shipping costs, the problem is taxes, import charges and some other costs, the MKIII + shipping costs 170 euros to Holland, but taxes are at least 20%, add 20 euros administrative costs you get a total of 224 euros (= $348), and now I'm being optimistic, they might charge more for certain electronic equipment.
But I could live with 224 euros for a LD MKIII, another problem comes with warranty, If the thing doesn't work or if something needs fixing, I have to send it back to China, when they send it back to Holland I have to pay import-charges again.
So, I'm not sure whether I should go for it or not, I really do like the MKIII, but the whole ordering from China and importing process kind of scares me.
I do not know how good Little Tube's service is, but I hear it is pretty good, Although I wish they did something about their website, I'm having a hard time accessing it, I keep getting DNS/Time-out errors, and they do not really have proper webshop either, which I think is a bit unprofessional.

 

[xenithon]

Just a heads-up: there is a Little Dot Mk V currently available in the FS section. It is located in Europe so would save you the shipping costs and EU customs.

 

[Golden Monkey]

...and I HIGHLY recommend the MKV, for what it's worth. Excellent amp, and works great with HD650's and AKG 701's.

 

[Wazza]

The MKV doesn't seem too bad, but isn't a Tube amp

.
Then again, the seller asks 220 for it, which is pretty much as much as I would pay for a brand new MKIII, hmm choices, but the MKIII has shiny tubes LOL

, and warranty...

 

[Golden Monkey]

Depends on if you prefer the SOUND, not the looks, lol...tubes = warmer, smoother. Solid state = accuracy, transparency, etc. That said, I find the sound of this amp to be very tubelike. It's warm, detailed, intimate, and silky. The dual-mono setup is great...incredible detail and separation, huge soundstage, and just GOBS of headroom...you can't kill the dynamics on this amp during demanding passages. Read Penchum's review thread...you'll be sold.

 

[ricco87]

I bought a LD MkIII direct from their forum/website thing and I think it was about £12 for delivery. No tax no import duty nothing. Don't see the problem there???

 

[Wazza]

Quote:

I bought a LD MkIII direct from their forum/website thing and I think it was about £12 for delivery. No tax no import duty nothing. Don't see the problem there???

I guess you got lucky

, I don't think Holland is as forgiving, a few years ago it was quite common that an order slipped trough and people didn't have to pay anything, these days you can count on paying big time.

Quote:

Depends on if you prefer the SOUND, not the looks, lol...tubes = warmer, smoother. Solid state = accuracy, transparency, etc. That said, I find the sound of this amp to be very tubelike. It's warm, detailed, intimate, and silky. The dual-mono setup is great...incredible detail and separation, huge soundstage, and just GOBS of headroom...you can't kill the dynamics on this amp during demanding passages. Read Penchum's review thread...you'll be sold.

*Sigh* Choices...
Well, I do like a lot of detail, but I personally I find my current set up a bit too harsh, So I though a tube amp might be the answer, do tube amps still have a reasonable amount of detail?

 

[Skywatcher]

Wazza, just a quick side note. If, by any misfortune, you'd have to send it back to China for repairs, you wouldn't have to re-pay any import taxes when it came back to the UE. It'd be classified as repaired item coming back from manufacturer. That is not classified as a commercial transaction, and, as such it's exempt of any taxes. (as long as you still had the customs documents you filled when you sent it to China for repair to prove you had sent it in the first place

)

 

[webghost]

my MK3 is still for sale.

@Wazza
you got mail

 

[Wazza]

I've been wondering, do you need a paypal account to pay stuff through paypal?
I read somewhere on the paypal website that if someone requests payment through email you didn't necessarily need a paypal account.
I just made an account, but now it needs to check my bank account, which could take up to a week.

 

[tfarney]

Perhaps you just need to save a bit longer and purchase a Meier or Graham Slee or something else made in the EU. I sometimes wish we had import duties in the US. Or at least I wish we still made things here. What are you amping your K601 with now?

Tim

 

[Wazza]

Quote:

Perhaps you just need to save a bit longer and purchase a Meier or Graham Slee or something else made in the EU. I sometimes wish we had import duties in the US. Or at least I wish we still made things here.

I could buy a more expensive amp such as the Graham Slee Solo, but I simply do not want to spend that much money on an amp, I'd rather not go over 250 euros.


Quote:

What are you amping your K601 with now?

My Marantz CD-5001 OSE's headphone jack

, So it isn't being amped properly at all, and I was hoping an amp would improve sound quality.

But does anyone know whether or not I need a paypal account to accept paypal payment requests by email?

 

[SawaFish]

I don't believe you have to verify your bank account with PayPal to be able to make transactions. It was only added less than two years ago and before that I could pay everyone I wanted through PayPal with a unverified account.