[leesure]

Quote:

 

where can I get the cable.any decent cable?better cable?so no DAC needed?

No DAC needed.  Any stereo store will have a mini (male) to RCA (male) wire.  Monster cable makes one.  Otherwise, the same stores will have a mini-RCA (female)  adapter to which you can add any RCA cables you would like.\
 
Alternatively, you can go online and order a LOD to RCA cable for your iPod.

 

[mordy]

So far I like the Tung Sol tubes the best. They invented the 6AK5 tube in 1943. I have several sets, and they do sound a little different, but most have in common a strong punchy bass, and the best ones have a beautiful detailed layered midrange with shimmering highs. There is an unusual tube with a side getter and the getter flash (silver coating) on the wall of the tube and not on top; others have square getters or "street car" getters.
One post stated that the best ones are the 40's Tung Sols, but I can't really say. Many of the Tung Sol tubes I have don't have any dates or date codes that I can see or read.
Anyhow, it's worth trying the TS tubes. With a little patience you can find them on E-Bay for a couple of bucks. I hope that I don't insult any tube audiophiles, but many times I get beautiful sound when I use two different tubes - just forget about the "matching" myth as long as the volume is the same on each channel.
Have fun!

 

[mordy]

I have a couple of 5***** GE tubes - don't find them to be extra special. I think that they were engineered for longer service life (10,000 hours?) I would go with the regular GE5654. One post said to avoid the GE tubes made after 1980.
Tried to find out how the GE tubes are date coded, but did not get too far with the letter designations. Many tubes have the dates printed straight forward such as 62/33, meaning the 33rd week 1962. Other tubes may have a two letter code. The first letter is the month, the second letter is the year.
For the months the letters A-M were used (skipping I) or N-Z. In other words, January could be A or N as the first letter, February B or O and so on.
The second letter denotes the year; G is 1980, H 1981, K 1982 and L 1983 and so on.
The letter code AH or NH would both denote January 1981.
If somebody has better information on the GE date codes or wants to correct me it is appreciated.
 
Regarding the question of comparing the GE5654 to Mullard CV4010 I can only say that the GE tubes are nice and the Mullard very nice. The GE midrange is lush and  beautiful, but the CV4010 sound better across the spectrum with better performance at the low end and top end. Again, YMMV depending on your equipment.

 

[Zudeo]

Hi egoxrt,
 
Where did you get your 6H30P-DR's from?  I'm trying to look for a pair but i'm unsure of the best store online for price and legitimacy.
Quote:

I have just rolled a pair of DR's in my MK IV SE and they have made the single greatest improvement to my system. They are matched to a pair of CV4015 large shield drivers and are just plain magnificent. The difference between the Electro Hamonix gold pins, the Russian 6N6P and the DR's is night and day, the first thing you will notice is the stage is HUGE and the separation doubles. I have AKG K702's matched with a Double Helix cable and i can hear changes to detail very clearly, the DR's seem to have a very special quality to them, please keep in mind the ones i have are early 80's tubes and might be different to the later production units.
 
I have rolled small shield CV4015's from the 70's and 80's, these sound identical, large shield CV4015's from the 50's, similar to later ones with a warmer quality and more defined bass, CV4010 Blue glass, nothing special there. I am yet to try any of the North American tubes, but will do one day and post a detailed review on the entire lot.
 
Quote:

55M8100 is identical to CV4010; one is a civilian version, and the CV a military version. The source you have for $23.00 for a pair including shipping seems to have good feedback.
I paid around $15.00 including shipping for a pair CV4010s a couple months ago, but this guy got smart and upped the price after several orders came in (perhaps from people on this site having seen the recommendation). IF you have patience just check E-Bay on a regular basis and you will find them cheaper - I am big believer in the $8.00 rule - never pay more than $8.00/tube.
Valve Electronic is one of the names Mullard used. If the tube is a CV4010 and it states made in Great Britain it is most likely made by Mullard.
I have the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 headphones and did not notice any distortion with the Mullard EF91s. (However, I much prefer speakers to headphones.)
I bought two different Amperex EF95 tubes which probably are from the 60's. Both state Made in Great Britain and have black plates with a circular hole in the middle of the black plate and look exactly like my CV4010 tubes by Mullard. I think it is a safe bet to say that they are made by Mullard so I don't see the need to pay big bucks for the Amperex EF95 if you could get Mullard CV4010's much cheaper.
Re the power tubes the manual states that the 6N6P-i are the stock tubes. One of my stock tubes went bad and I put in a pair of 6N6P tubes that I bought via E-Bay for around $6.00 each from somebody in Eastern Europe. I can't really hear much of a difference between the 6N6P and the 6N6P-i.
The manufacturer of the Little Dot MkIII (David) claims that the 6H30Pi-DR power tubes will make a difference, but at a cost of $150.00 and up for a pair I feel that it defeats the purpose of a $200.00 amp. In addition, I have not heard from anybody on this forum that these power tubes are so much better. Does anybody have experience with the DR tubes?

 

 

[AlexRoma]

 Well.. Here are my 2 cents of experience for the thread : 
 
 
I used 3 different tubes with my MKIII  :  Mullard CV4010 ,  Russian groove 6J1P-VE and Stock GE..  
 
After some detailed A-to-B comparison with my Solid State DAC/AMP here are my subjective results for my ears :
 
Mullard CV4010 M8100:
MidBass : No changes
Mids : + 2 db
Treble : - 2 db
 
Russian 6J1P-EV :
MidBass :  + 6db 
Mids : + 2db
Treble : - 2db 
 
Stock GE5654 Tubes : 
MidBass : + 2 db
Mids : + 5 db
Treble : -4 db
 
For low gain (3,4) settings I prefer Russian , for high Gain (10) - Mullards..
Stock GE are overall worse. They have the poorest extension and poor detail in direct comparison
 
 
None of this 3 tubes are warm enough to equalize DT990 headphones, their trebles still cause my ears bleed. I am not gonna recommend this tube amp as a solution for really bright headphones. The results are not as impressive as I expected

.  I think, I change my mind if I could get my hands on really warm tubes, capable of reducing the 6khz-10 khz region with at least 5db, and have the spectrum extension of CV4010-s.. 

 

[leesure]

None of this 3 tubes are warm enough to equalize DT990 headphones, their trebles still cause my ears bleed. I am not gonna recommend this tube amp as a solution for really bright headphones. The results are not as impressive as I expected

.  I think, I change my mind if I could get my hands on really warm tubes, capable of reducing the 6khz-10 khz region with at least 5db, and have the spectrum extension of CV4010-s.. 

Might I suggest switching headphones rather than searching for an amp with an intentionally flawed top end to tame the cans?  What about the DT880's?  I keep hearing that the mids are the same as the DT990, but the treble is much warmer.

 

[Zudeo]

I have a question about the stock 6H6PI Power Tubes that come with the LD MK III.  Are they only in use if I use the LD MK III as a pre-amp or do they affect the sound if I connect the MK III to my soundcard or a DAC. 

Thanks in advance.

 

[mordy]

My best guess is that if you removed the power tubes the preamp would not work. As I understand it, the preamp works as a package, and anything you connect to it is going to be influenced by the sound signature of the four tubes.

 

[mordy]

One of my stock 6H6P-i power tubes burnt out and I had a set of 6N6P tubes sitting around (around $4 each). Substituting these the sound was OK, but when I finally got a replacement set of the 6H6P-i tubes from Siberia, Russia ($6 each), I realized that these are better with punchier and better defined bass.
Still holding out trying to find the 6H30-DR tubes at a reasonable cost; however, I came across another tube called 6N6P-IR which costs around $25 each. Does anybody have any experience with these tubes and how they compare to the 6H30-DR tubes?

 

[Dynasty62]

My Review/Impressions of the LD MkIII and some tubes can be found here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/536556/review-little-dot-mkiii-amplifier

 

[Dynasty62]

So I'm listening to the Tung Sol 6AK5s right now after about 8 hours of burn in. I notice that the sound is pretty accurate and powerful. There is punchy bass, but I do notice that the highs can sound pretty sibilant at times. Perhaps this is just due to my not burning in enough yet, as well as my ADH700 headphones, which do put a slight emphasis on high-end sparkle. As of now, these do not sound as warm, full, and "liquidy" as the stock tubes, but they are definitely more accurate sounding, especially on complex passages. I probably should burn these in a little more and reaudition them. I still have to try tube rolling my Amperex EF95, Amperex 5654W, and Mullard EF91 and do a comparison.

 

[mordy]

I have similar experiences with the Tung Sol tubes. However, different Tung Sol tubes sound different, and some of them have a more mellow upper range, still retaining the punchy base and the detailed, layered and accurate sound - it's just trial and error. (One post liked the early TS tubes from 1945.)
I am also able to "tame" the sibilance using the treble control on my receiver, admittedly listening through speakers.
 

 

[Dynasty62]

What are the warmest, fullest sounding driver tubes anyone has heard for the LD mkIII ?

 

[leesure]

Lol...I just posted about this thread in your review thread...as to lush warm and tubby, try your Mullards...just don't expect 'sparkly' highs. Best I've found top to bottom are the Western Electric 6AK5's, but I've been looking for the Amperex's and haven't heard them yet.

 

[Dynasty62]

So I notice there are some char- like marks / rings that are forming on top of my tubes. Strangely enough, it seems to only be happening to one channel and not the other. Is this normal, or is there a problem that I can avoid? Do people have these markings on their tubes too? The power tube is developing a noticeable ring, whereas it looks like the driver tube is getting burned. How hot do these things normally run? I touched one of the driver tubes once, and I thought I had almost burned myself because it was so scalding hot. I did move the jumper to the EF92 position to test out another set of tubes, but moved them back to the EF95 position when i switched back, however, the jumper is in the correct place and all the way in.