[ibbz]

Hi guys
I need some advice
I'm thinking of buying the Little Dot Mk ii .

Will I be able to use it as a pre amp and connect from my Macintosh and to my TEAC AH-300 Amp to power my bookshelf B&W 601 speakers ?
Will I get the tube sound through them?

Will the sound through headphones direct from the Little Dot be the same as if headphones plugged into the TEAC (connected to ore amp LD Mk ii) ?

Any info will be most appreciated.

Cheers

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Will I be able to use it as a pre amp and connect from my Macintosh and to my TEAC AH-300 Amp to power my bookshelf B&W 601 speakers ?
Will I get the tube sound through them?

 

Yes, you will get the tube sound. However, in this case the MkII isn't a preamp, it's a redundancy, and not in terms of a safety measure. The Teac has no direct input into its power amplifier section, so you will end up with both preamps still in use. The MkII isn't really a preamp at that point but just a complexifying signal colorifier.

 

Quote:

Will the sound through headphones direct from the Little Dot be the same as if headphones plugged into the TEAC (connected to ore amp LD Mk ii) ?

 

No, the sound will not be the same since you will be getting that tube sound vs the Teac on its own. If you use the MkII as a preamp and then use the Teac's headphone output, you will have to mix two potentiometers in the same signal path, and again the MkII isn't really a preamp but a complexifying signal colorifier.

 

[ibbz]

Thanks for that
So iMac > LD 2 > teac > speakers will give me tube sound for sure
How about if when I want to use headphones I turn the teac off (while still rigged this way) and plug the phones into the LD? Will that be ok to get the LD sound for headphones ?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Thanks for that
So iMac > LD 2 > teac > speakers will give me tube sound for sure
How about if when I want to use headphones I turn the teac off (while still rigged this way) and plug the phones into the LD? Will that be ok to get the LD sound for headphones ?

 
Yes. Normally what is done is to use a pure power amp for the speakers, or active monitors that only have gain controls, but in that case at least you avoid the redundancy on the headphone.

 

[ibbz]

Thank you ! The LD2 arrived today and I hooked it up - phono cable from Mac headphone out to LD2 then out Phonos from LD2 to Teac - volume control on Mac at Max - Volume gain on LD2 I put at 50% - used Teac to adjust final levels (inc the treble and bass knobs) I was able to adjust volume using both Amps - sound through B&W's wired as mentioned is noticeably different more nuanced fuller and far more pleasurable - or are my ears deceiving me ? I was able to switch off the teac and listen to headphones direct from LD2 .

 

[TsukiNick]

I used my Little Dot a pre-amp (no it's not a redundancy as all preamps change the level of the sound) for my Q701s because the Little Dot sucked at driving the low impedance low sensitivity load.  Set it to low gain and check for clipping of the input for the second amplifier.  Also you shouldn't use it with Direct Coupled amps (Little Dot says it's not recommended)  I only connected it to the Schiit Magni after Schiit said it would be fine with the magni, but for some speaker amps and other amplifiers I guess it will cause issues.  I'd set it to the lowest gain you can although different gain settings can change the sound differently, and the highest volume you can without clipping with a loud test signal.

 

[ibbz]

Ok that's interesting - so hooked up as it is (in my case) and low gain on the LD2 tasking final level using Teac?

Or should I replace the teac to benefit from the LD2? I'm reluctant to as I've had it for 15 years - it's Mark 1 and served me very well in my small bedroom set up -

Is the LD2 a pre amp only in some cases ? This is only a bedroom set up

 

[ibbz]

I would consider a Teac AH500 - would this make any difference? Is it still direct coupled ?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Ok that's interesting - so hooked up as it is (in my case) and low gain on the LD2 tasking final level using Teac?

Or should I replace the teac to benefit from the LD2? I'm reluctant to as I've had it for 15 years - it's Mark 1 and served me very well in my small bedroom set up -

Is the LD2 a pre amp only in some cases ? This is only a bedroom set up

 

It's a preamp in ALL cases you use it in your system, the problem in how it's set up is that your Teac unlike some NADs and Rotels, only has the normal input that goes through the Teac's preamp. Some NAD and Rotel integrated amplifiers for example have the connection between their preamp and power amplifier stages in the back, with a jumper connecting their RCA jacks, meaning you can rout the signal from their preamps to a different amp or send a signal from a different preamp directly into their amps.

 

The problem with having two preamps is that now you have to deal with two levels of volume control.

 

If I was in your case - meaning I had an existing speaker system that I like, and then I want to have the capability to drive headphones better - I would just get a DAC-HPamp with a fixed voltage output from the DAC to feed the speaker amp while it can drive the headphone on its own. Then again, the main difference is that you need a complexifying signal colorifier.

 

 

Quote:

I would consider a Teac AH500 - would this make any difference? Is it still direct coupled ?

 

Not sure what you mean by that. If it's a direct coupled amplifier design then no matter how it's hooked it's still a direct coupled design, it's not like there's some nanobots in there that can modify the amplifier depending on what it detects is hooked up to it at either end.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-coupled_amplifier

 

 

[greenstreet]

Hi everyone.

I am bumping this thread because I want to confirm my understanding with your expert opinions.

I have a Pro-ject debut turntable and a Yamaha A-S501.

I want to color my output with a Little DOT MK2 (LD) as a preamp.

I was wondering if I could do the following set up :

Turntable > Yamaha amp PHONO IN >Yahama LINE 2 REC OUT > LD > Yamaha LINE 1 IN.

As I understand it, the turntable would go through phono amp inside the Yamaha, go out through LINE 2 REC OUT (ignoring Yamaha's volume / loudness etc knobs, but being amplified to line level by the phono amp) , get in the LD, get out of the LD (still at line level), and get back in the Yamaha amp in LINE 1 IN.

Then, if I select Input 1 on my Yamaha, I should get preamped sound from the LD right ?

Can anyone confirm ?

Many thanks !

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Turntable > Yamaha amp PHONO IN >Yahama LINE 2 REC OUT > LD > Yamaha LINE 1 IN.

As I understand it, the turntable would go through phono amp inside the Yamaha, go out through LINE 2 REC OUT (ignoring Yamaha's volume / loudness etc knobs, but being amplified to line level by the phono amp) , get in the LD, get out of the LD (still at line level), and get back in the Yamaha amp in LINE 1 IN.

Then, if I select Input 1 on my Yamaha, I should get preamped sound from the LD right ?

Can anyone confirm ?

To make that possible the Yamaha has to work with TWO input signals running simultaneously - Phono Pre and Line 1. You're basically trying to make it work like a mixer console, and I don't think it can work that way. Only way to see if it works is for you to try it and see if it will with all the gear. Oh and one more thing....even if it works, like by simultaneously pushing both Line 1 and Phono Pre input (assuming this isn't a receiver that has an electronic switch) buttons, you're likely to get some noise and interference from looping the signal back to the Yamaha.

Your best bet here really is to just get a tube phono pre to work with the Yamaha. If you need the MkII to drive headphones and would prefer the tubes there then get a separate phono pre (can be SS, can be tube) and run that with the MkII and a dedicated power amp to drive your speakers (ie if you want the sound to improve I'd be more inclined to use the MkII with a better amp than just add a tube tone to the Yamaha).

 

[6patrik]

Hey. Hey,
I'd like to connect a Little DOG MkII as a preamp between a Pioneer N50 ae streamer and a CA Azur 650A amp because of the "tube" sound. Will this work? Thanks.