P_1
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2005
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First thing I would like to say is that I am going to give a fair review even though I disliked how they handled their customer service.
Everyone already knows how good this thing looks from Penchum's review, so I will skip discussing the aesthetics of the product.
My setup is as follows:
Foobar + Asio + SSRC(44.1khz) -> Digital PC Link(usb to optical spdif) -> Zero DAC(OPA 627's) -> Little Dot MK V -> ATH-W5000
I'll start with the good things I noticed. Upon playing my music I noticed the increased quantity/quality (tighter) of the bass over the Zero's built in amp with the lme49720's.
Upon closer inspection I noticed is that the music was much "smoother" the highs weren't as harsh, everything was just liquid. The details were all there but they didn't force my ears to pick it all up as my Zero's Amp with the lme49720's did.
Due to the facts above, the vocals of any song were noticeably more pleasant/lush.
Now onto the negatives; the very first thing I noticed with the MK V is that it is not fully quiet with nothing playing; there is a slight hiss in the background. This isn't noticeable with music playing but it is noticeable if you have nothing playing, while the Zero's Amp is completely silent.
Also when I switch over to input 2 or turn the volume all the way down, I can still hear music out of the left driver, but this isn't that big of a deal.
Another thing is that I am not completely sure that the highs are not just rolled off or if it truely is just smoother.
One thing I was really seeking an improvement on was the sound stage of the Zero's amp and the MK V did not deliver on that. The sound stage of it is at the most a little bit wider than the Zero's Amp and at the least on par with the Zero's Amp.
I am not sure if this is a testament to how good the Zero's built in amp is or if MK V's sound stage is really lacking.
Overall the MK V helps me enjoy my music more, by allowing me to listen for longer periods of time without fatigue, giving more bass, and having an equal volume distribution between the left and right channels as opposed to the Zero's stock volume pot on the Amp.
Another thing to keep in mind is that these are non burned in impressions, I have only ran the MK V for less than 30 hours. I will update my impressions as it gets burned in.
Also as a side note, I do not believe I have heard the synergy from neither the Zero’s Amp nor the MK V yet. But both adequately power the ATH-W5000's. But one might ask, how could you know if you have not heard the synergy yet if you have never heard it in the first place? From what I have read, when the "synergy" occurs, the sound stage will widen up a lot, the sound stage is still at the level of the AD700's. It also feels like there is more punch left in the W5000's, the sound it is producing sounds like it's not trying at all. Maybe some other W5000 users can chime in here as to how the synergy should sound.
Everyone already knows how good this thing looks from Penchum's review, so I will skip discussing the aesthetics of the product.
My setup is as follows:
Foobar + Asio + SSRC(44.1khz) -> Digital PC Link(usb to optical spdif) -> Zero DAC(OPA 627's) -> Little Dot MK V -> ATH-W5000
I'll start with the good things I noticed. Upon playing my music I noticed the increased quantity/quality (tighter) of the bass over the Zero's built in amp with the lme49720's.
Upon closer inspection I noticed is that the music was much "smoother" the highs weren't as harsh, everything was just liquid. The details were all there but they didn't force my ears to pick it all up as my Zero's Amp with the lme49720's did.
Due to the facts above, the vocals of any song were noticeably more pleasant/lush.
Now onto the negatives; the very first thing I noticed with the MK V is that it is not fully quiet with nothing playing; there is a slight hiss in the background. This isn't noticeable with music playing but it is noticeable if you have nothing playing, while the Zero's Amp is completely silent.
Also when I switch over to input 2 or turn the volume all the way down, I can still hear music out of the left driver, but this isn't that big of a deal.
Another thing is that I am not completely sure that the highs are not just rolled off or if it truely is just smoother.
One thing I was really seeking an improvement on was the sound stage of the Zero's amp and the MK V did not deliver on that. The sound stage of it is at the most a little bit wider than the Zero's Amp and at the least on par with the Zero's Amp.
I am not sure if this is a testament to how good the Zero's built in amp is or if MK V's sound stage is really lacking.
Overall the MK V helps me enjoy my music more, by allowing me to listen for longer periods of time without fatigue, giving more bass, and having an equal volume distribution between the left and right channels as opposed to the Zero's stock volume pot on the Amp.
Another thing to keep in mind is that these are non burned in impressions, I have only ran the MK V for less than 30 hours. I will update my impressions as it gets burned in.
Also as a side note, I do not believe I have heard the synergy from neither the Zero’s Amp nor the MK V yet. But both adequately power the ATH-W5000's. But one might ask, how could you know if you have not heard the synergy yet if you have never heard it in the first place? From what I have read, when the "synergy" occurs, the sound stage will widen up a lot, the sound stage is still at the level of the AD700's. It also feels like there is more punch left in the W5000's, the sound it is producing sounds like it's not trying at all. Maybe some other W5000 users can chime in here as to how the synergy should sound.
