[jonoliew]

+1 on Noctua. Its the quietest fan on the market i think.
So are all the interconnects xlr too?

 

[JimP]

thanks for the fan brand suggestions

on the xlr question, all inputs/outputs are XLR balanced. there are no single-ended or rca on the amp

 

[cafe zeenuts]

Noctua FTW

 

[cafe zeenuts]

The LD MK VI is here

, what a beast of an amp truly beautiful. Build quality is very nice as you would expect from Little Dot. A heavyweight of an amp weight in at about 8.5KG!!! The amp is well packed and arrived in a safe manner. Great customer service from Little Dot (David), answer my entire question promptly. A great transaction highly recommended.

But the MK VI stock fan sounds like a Boeing 747 engine!!!

The first thing I did is change the stock fan to Noctua NF-R8 80mm fan, one of the best Airflow to Noise Ratio fans on the market.

Its spring right now so the weather is still cool. As it hit summer I will run the fan without the adapter at full speed.

Right now I’m running the fans with the Ultra-Low-Noise Adapter that came with the fan its around 800rpm @ 7db(A) very quite on this setup and cool.

The amp is still raw and plus my XLR IC and headphone cable are all brand new they need some time to cook. I’ll give my opinion on the sound once the amp and cables are fully cooked.

Cheers.

 

[Penchum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cafe zeenuts /img/forum/go_quote.gif The LD MK VI is here , what a beast of an amp truly beautiful. Build quality is very nice as you would expect from Little Dot. A heavyweight of an amp weight in at about 8.5KG!!! The amp is well packed and arrived in a safe manner. Great customer service from Little Dot (David), answer my entire question promptly. A great transaction highly recommended. Snip But the MK VI stock fan sounds like a Boeing 747 engine!!! The first thing I did is change the stock fan to Noctua NF-R8 80mm fan, one of the best Airflow to Noise Ratio fans on the market. Snip Its spring right now so the weather is still cool. As it hit summer I will run the fan without the adapter at full speed. Right now I’m running the fans with the Ultra-Low-Noise Adapter that came with the fan its around 800rpm @ 7db(A) very quite on this setup and cool. The amp is still raw and plus my XLR IC and headphone cable are all brand new they need some time to cook. I’ll give my opinion on the sound once the amp and cables are fully cooked. Cheers.

Hey CZ,

Any impressions you can give along the way, would be greatly appreciated! Man, that is one seriously nice amp!! Congratulations to you, for sure.

 

[JimP]

OK I did my fan swap as well. Went down to local computer parts store but they did not carry any of the recommended fans. The guy swore that the one he had (Zaward Quiet Golf Fan) was ultra quiet, so I said what the hell. Swap is very easy (I'm not mechanically/electrically inclined) - just studied how the oriignal two fan wires were spliced, and replicated with the two new fans. So if I can do it, anyone can. Very pleased with result - THE DIFFERENCE IS NIGHT AND DAY. (maybe I'll order Noctuas in the future, but I'm fine with my fans and also knowing it is very easy to swap out).

 

[wkwlb]

I got myself on the order list, might be a long long wait...hopefully by the time my set was shipped, they have already did some improvement on the fan...not only reduce the speed, but use some quality ones..

 

[penguindude]

The review unit is being shipped this week. I'll let you guys know the latest installation of the two fans once it arrives.

 

[jordanross]

It nice to see a budget amp, with balanced input/output.
I love little dot, I think I am about to order my first amp from them, MKIII.

 

[cafe zeenuts]

Ok just an update, I was running my fan around 800rpm before and right now I'm running it at fullspeed @ 1800rpm. The fan is sucking air out of the mk vi and I found that the chassis temperature is about the same (warm to touch)!

For you guys that is fan rolling on the mk vi which way did you install your fans sucking air out or blowing air in??? And what kind of temperature are you getting on the chassis?

And suck air out or blow air in, which is better cooling option for the MK VI???

I also change the factory gain setting from high to low to drive my HD650 better! On high gain setting it was just too powerful driving the HD650!

My initial SQ impression to come later.

Cheers

 

[DaMnEd]

One pumping and one sucking would probably result in lower temps and better air-flow.

 

[wkwlb]

eagerly anticipating your review. I just got confirmed that they are short on output components and my set will only be built 2 weeks later.

 

[JimP]

I just put mine (2000rpm) in same config as original fans, so it's sucking air down. Side and top panel are warm to touch (not uncomfortable), transformers are hot (can keep finger on it, but it's uncomfortable). Bottom plate is very slightly warm. Too lazy to try it the other way, now that it's screwed back together.

 

[cafe zeenuts]

hey JimP I just saw your pic on the fan, it seem that you have your one blowing air into the MK VI!

 

[JimP]

btw, now that I've gotten the fan noise tamed, I would point out (again) that this amp produces no hiss/hum. That's what used to really bug me with some of the other tube amps. It may be a function of the wiring in my house (which I can't change). Even my current Almarro (which has headphone out) is all but unusable for headphones because of hum (except very high Z DT880-600). My Leben has a wonderful SE headphone out but it also produces an ever slight hum. Don't know if it's general attribute of balanced amps or specific to LDVI, but the LDVI = zero hum/hiss (besides mechanical fan).