[Jbucla2005]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Svperstar Early Impressions, only 20 minutes of use or so. This smooths out the SA5000s quite a bit. It isn't an extreme night and day difference, but it is very noticable. I like it It gets damn hot, very quick, I am not sure I woudl be comfortable falling asleep with this guy running. When in pre-amp mode with the Gilmore Lite the bass has a wierd little pang to it I haven't ever heard before on any headphone or amp, the soundstage also shrinks on the Gilmore Lite. Also compared to the GL the volume knob on the LD feels cheap, not as cheap as the X-Fi Elite Pro's knobs but not as nice. Than again it costs only 50% as much as the GL. Oh yeah, despite everyone and their mother assuring me it does not this amp does have a slight buzzing as was reported earlier. This disappoints me a lot. What do I mean by buzzing? Hook up your headphones, and turn all music/sounds off, then just turn the volume to the max. It is more noticable in the left channel but is also in the right channel a bit. I don't know if this amp has crossfeed, or if maybe my left tube has a problem, either it I am very annoyed that this amp adds noise to the signal. On the Senn 580s you have to turn it up to about 85% of maximum volume to hear it, however on the hyperdetailed and brutally revealing SA5000s, you can faintly hear it at 55-60% of volume. Music does drown it out but that isn't the point, it is the principle of the thing, the amp shouldn't add noise to the signal. For example the Gilmore Lite adds absolutely nothing to the signal, turn it to full blast when nothing is playing and that is what you hear, absolutely nothing. I am going to try swapping the tubes and also switching the wall socket to see if that makes a difference. Post more later

That amp is very sensitive to all kinds of interference. I had a clicking noise issue when the amp was too close to my DSL router. Also some tubes I've tried have been noisy. Strangely, a quick fix for this noise was sometimes wiggling the tube gently in the socket and trying to secure it. Usually it would come back though... I never had a lot of problems with the GE 1U5's though, and when using the amp in another room away from my router. With other amps, I have had issues with 'ground loop' when hooked up to certain wall sockets. It could be this too...

 

[Svperstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jbucla2005 That amp is very sensitive to all kinds of interference. I had a clicking noise issue when the amp was too close to my DSL router. Also some tubes I've tried have been noisy. Strangely, a quick fix for this noise was sometimes wiggling the tube gently in the socket and trying to secure it. Usually it would come back though... I never had a lot of problems with the GE 1U5's though, and when using the amp in another room away from my router. With other amps, I have had issues with 'ground loop' when hooked up to certain wall sockets. It could be this too...

I just tried taking out all the tubes, and swapping themo the opposite side, I also grabbed a heavy duty extension cord rated for running high voltage devices and plugged the amp in accross the house(I realize this may degrade the sound but I am testing it to reduce the buzz)

Now the humm is still there but it is much less pronounced, instead of hearing it at 55-60% on the SA5000 I have to turn it up to about 80%, far beyond comfortable listening volume

Tubes are strange

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Svperstar Why is it a bad idea to turn it on without headphones in?

The circuit isn't complete without headphones in, and as I understand it, could damage the tubes eventually.

 

[Svperstar]

Well it seems that the problem is my wall socket, going to maybe pick up a power conditioner tommorow and see how that works, don't want this extention cord going around the house.

I wonder why the Gilmore Lite never had the same problem? Maybe it is less sensitive to power noise.

 

[nabwong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbonner1 Hey Nabwong, Can you compare the sound of the LDII+ with the NAD on the: 1-HD 580's 2-Shure E4C Thanks Tom

Hi Tom,

Erm...sure but you'll have to wait till sept. I'm in Singapore and my NAD is in storage in Boston. Would be happy to let you know then.

Najib

 

[Wil]

Hi nab,

Ordered my Little Dot 2+.

Im in Singapore as well. Planning to get the MS2i to pair the LD2+, any thoughts on that?

Cheers!

 

[nabwong]

Hey Wil,

Honestly, i don't like the MS2i because i think it's too harsh. However, i think the LD2+ would probably give it a little more bass and smooth the highs. Hope you enjoy the amp!

Najib

 

[Svperstar]

Well I just picked up a "power conditioner", I know I can return it if it doesn't fix the problem but I hope it does, if an extention cord fixed the problem somewhat I hope a conditioner will even more so, it has a 12 foot cord so I can hook it to an unused outlet far away.

I looked at some devices on the internet but it seems ridiculous to pay $300 + for a power cleaning device that is going to be connected to a $150 amp.

 

[tbonner1]

I always use power conditioners on all things tubey. For me it is a must to keep things quieter.

A good bang for the buck is the Monster HTS-1000 (mkII) power conditioner for around $100. It is the smaller version(read less outlets) of the HTS-2000 with a rave review from Robert Harely of the Absolute Sound issue #118 that is on the Monster Website.

You can also get a power cord with ferrite beads(around $20-$30) that may quiet your power source a bit depending on how noisey your electricity is.

Another trick is to separate your analog components from digital by pluging them into non-serial power lines that are not daisy chained. This may mean running a separate power line from another room.

Oh no, I am not obsessed.....

http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/s...hreadid=485515

 

[Svperstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbonner1 I always use power conditioners on all things tubey. For me it is a must to keep things quieter. A good bang for the buck is the Monster HTS-1000 (mkII) power conditioner for around $100. It is the smaller version(read less outlets) of the HTS-2000 with a rave review from Robert Harely of the Absolute Sound issue #118 that is on the Monster Website. You can also get a power cord with ferrite beads(around $20-$30) that may quiet your power source a bit depending on how noisey your electricity is.

Well the power conditioner I bought didn't really help

I did eliminate the noise somewhat by rearanging plugs but I think the best solution maybe by to run an extention cord from another room that isn't in use. I thought about returning the conditioner I bought and trying an IsoBar but I don't know if that would work, though the Isolated plugs sound pretty cool.

 

[Svperstar]

Some initial impressions for those curious about the amp vs. the Gilmore Lite.

Now that I have the dirty power noise reduced quite a bit I am comfortable saying a few things about this amp. I am running the Loop Out of the Gilmore to the LDII+ and have both powered on, this makes it as simple as swapping headphone jacks to make a comparison.

First thing, the volume knob on the LDII+ feels very cheap and flimsy compared to the GLs sturdy knob which has a bit of weight to it and just feels very solid. The knob on the LDII+ just feels bleh compared to it. As to the sound though....

I am amazed at how close it sounds to the Gilmore Lite. I was expecting them to be be vastly different since one is a warm tube amp and the other is an analytical solid state amp. I thought they would be different the way the Sony MDR-SA5000s and the Sennheiser HD580s are.

However they have an extremely similar sonic signature. The do emphasis the music in different was. The main difference is that on the LDII+ clipping isn't as bad.

For an example, the Sigur Rós track Svefn-G-Englar has VERY noticable clipping from the beginning to about the 20 second mark as it increases in volume with the main singer. On the Gilmore Lite this clipping is rather painful and extremely obvious.

However on the Little Dot II+ the clipping is still very present but not quite as wince inducing. All the qualities you either love or hate about the Sony SA5000s are still there, hiss and hum is out on display plain as day, it just isn't quite as ugly.

Everytime I think I hear a detail on the LDII+ that isn't present on the Gilmore Lite, I switch headphone jacks and sure enough, it is there, it just has a slightly different tone.

Bass sounds a bit cleaner on the Gilmore lite, but more distant. The LDII+ makes the bass a bit more musical to my ears. Reguardless the sloppy overpowered Sennheiser bass is still too much on either amp and makes me feel like I am at a sub competition.

The amp is a real champion and sounds terrific but I am disappointed. Why? I bought the amp because I wanted to see what the Big Deal is with the "Tube sound" from what I am hearing it isn't that different from the "bright, cold, analytical, distant" solid state Gilmore Lite. I am confused more than anything.

Let me put it another way, the common opinion on this forum is that the Sony SA5000 is bright, cold, analytical, brutally revealing, and with a smallish soundstage. The common opinion on the Sennheiser 580s is that they are warm, colored, bassy, and have a large soundstage and the "middle of the concert hall" Sennheiser sound.

Anyone that compares those two cans can immediately hear why people say that and is plain as day. You don't have to be an expert audiophile to hear that the SA5000 and 580 are almost polar opposites.

However the same is said about the difference between tubes and solid state. The Gilmore Lite in particular has a reputation for being on the cold anayltical side, compared to "tube warmth" like the LDII+.

What I hear from the LD is the same sound as the Gilmore only a little less harsh, slightly different bass, and maybe a bit wider soundstage. It is hardly night and day. I would absolutely LOVE to do a blind test where someone turns their back and does an ABX test between the Gilmore Lite and the LDII+ I am willing to bet it would be nearly 50/50.

Keep in mind I have only had it running for about 10 hours total vs. the Gilmore which has 100's of hours on it.

Will post a full review after I have had more time to listen, maybe tube roll

 

[Towert7]

Interesting findings Svperstar. Can't wait for your full review (although make sure you give it a few weeks so your ears get used to the different sounds, etc etc).

 

[nabwong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Svperstar The common opinion on the Sennheiser 580s is that they are warm, colored, bassy...

Really? I think the 580 has very little bass. The LD2+ does a good job of providing more. And to me the 580 is not warm at all. The 650 is warm. The 580 is neutral to me.

 

[Wil]

Hiya Svperstar,

Any further impressions on the LD2?

 

[Svperstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wil Hiya Svperstar, Any further impressions on the LD2?

Yeah I have more thoughts for sure, but I am waiting a few days to let it settle in.

Not to worry, I am going to post a pretty lengthy review I am guessing in a week or so.