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Little Dot Tube Amps: Vacuum Tube Rolling Guide
Nov 4, 2019 at 5:44 PM Post #11,973 of 13,434
Long story, short punchline/questions from an amateur audiophile. I purchased a little Dot MKii about 5 years ago and initially changed out the stock tubes and replaced them with 2x Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV and 2x Novosibirsk 6H6P-I. I never wound up using the amp all that much because I had ground loop issues and I must not have explored solutions at the time or realized they existed. I recently became interested again and solved the loop issue with a device I found on Amazon that worked real well. (If someone thinks there is a better solution I would appreciate it, but this removed the static and did not appear to interfere with the sound quality.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L1NP7YI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also just acquired a Dragonfly Cobalt and I got the Little Dot sounding really good with a number of different headphones...Sennheiser HD600, HD6xx, EE-MU Teak's, etc. streaming through Tidal on Master quality.

In any case, I just ordered a bunch of tubes to roll into it (GE JAN5654W, Mullard M8100 / CV4010, Tung-Sol 6AK5) and honestly didn't even remember what I ordered the first time (and couldn't read the labels) but I must have used this thread to order the first time, because apparently I ordered the exact same Voshkod/Novosibirsk Tubes from the exact same company (Yen Audio) without even meaning to.

First off, thanks for the advice that led me down this road! I just received the first pair and I think they already sound great and better than the older versions, which must have deteriorated over time.

That said, I have read a bunch about burning in the tubes, but literally as soon as I put the same combo in they sounded livelier and drove louder than the existing tubes. The question I have is whether or not there is in fact a burn in period for all tubes, and if so, what can I expect to hear differently? In Addition, I haven't seen much mentioned about power tubes. Do they impact the quality also, and if so is there a chart similar to that on the first page of this thread that someone can point me to that has reviews? if not, recommendations?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Nov 7, 2019 at 1:59 PM Post #11,974 of 13,434
I own a Grado GH2, an Oppo PM3 and a Hifiman HE400i.
Which of the Little Dot (MK1+, MK2 or MK3) would fit best with the headphones?
Which tubes work best with it?
 
Nov 9, 2019 at 3:53 AM Post #11,980 of 13,434
NYGator said:
Long story, short punchline/questions from an amateur audiophile. I purchased a little Dot MKii about 5 years ago and initially changed out the stock tubes and replaced them with 2x Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV and 2x Novosibirsk 6H6P-I. I never wound up using the amp all that much because I had ground loop issues and I must not have explored solutions at the time or realized they existed. I recently became interested again and solved the loop issue with a device I found on Amazon that worked real well. (If someone thinks there is a better solution I would appreciate it, but this removed the static and did not appear to interfere with the sound quality.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L1NP7YI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also just acquired a Dragonfly Cobalt and I got the Little Dot sounding really good with a number of different headphones...Sennheiser HD600, HD6xx, EE-MU Teak's, etc. streaming through Tidal on Master quality.

In any case, I just ordered a bunch of tubes to roll into it (GE JAN5654W, Mullard M8100 / CV4010, Tung-Sol 6AK5) and honestly didn't even remember what I ordered the first time (and couldn't read the labels) but I must have used this thread to order the first time, because apparently I ordered the exact same Voshkod/Novosibirsk Tubes from the exact same company (Yen Audio) without even meaning to.

First off, thanks for the advice that led me down this road! I just received the first pair and I think they already sound great and better than the older versions, which must have deteriorated over time.

That said, I have read a bunch about burning in the tubes, but literally as soon as I put the same combo in they sounded livelier and drove louder than the existing tubes. The question I have is whether or not there is in fact a burn in period for all tubes, and if so, what can I expect to hear differently? In Addition, I haven't seen much mentioned about power tubes. Do they impact the quality also, and if so is there a chart similar to that on the first page of this thread that someone can point me to that has reviews? if not, recommendations?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...


Hi NY, see my sig for a link to a page with the low down of our findings at the time.
This covers tubes including adapters but not plus additional external power supplies
Power tubes also make a difference, even though a little less than driver tubes, but significant enough. The best combination without socket adapters were the 6N6P-IR, ideally up to 1984 or so, when the Cold War QC was still in place. Best value driver were the 6HA5 long bottle. With socket adapters, you can use 6SN7 as power tubes, but bear in mind that they don’t power lower impedance headphones like the HE-400i or 500 well. Best drivers with adapters were the C3G/S.
This is all a matter of taste of course but quite a few people agreed.
Possibly, a power regenerator could solve the power loop as it generates a new power sine wave signal from a battery. Also, the amps sound better with cleaner power. An quite affordable model comes from PowerInspired, the AG500.
Good luck on your journey!
 
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Nov 9, 2019 at 6:46 AM Post #11,981 of 13,434
Anybody thought of using CV181 power tubes ?
I'm running 1950s Sylvania 6SNGTs with adapters at the moment (my all time favourite tube for the LD mk2) along with Mullard CV4014s
The CV181 should be a direct replacement for the 6SN7GTs
 
Nov 9, 2019 at 11:08 AM Post #11,982 of 13,434
Datun Walnut said:
Anybody thought of using CV181 power tubes ?
I'm running 1950s Sylvania 6SNGTs with adapters at the moment (my all time favourite tube for the LD mk2) along with Mullard CV4014s
The CV181 should be a direct replacement for the 6SN7GTs
Click to expand...

If you are talking about the original Mullard CV181 / ECC32, it might be OK. My only reservation would be heater current. The 6N6P draws at most 0.8 amps while the CV181 draws 0.95 amps. The difference is small enough that it might be OK, but since I do not know the maximum rating for the LD transformer I have to assume that there is some risk of transformer failure.

On the other hand, if you are talking about the Chinese Shuguang CV181, it is electrically identical to the 6SN7, drawing 0.6 amps, and is as safe as any other 6SN7.
 
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Nov 14, 2019 at 10:44 AM Post #11,983 of 13,434
Two old Sylvania 6BU6 for my Little Dot Mk II.
9941750.jpeg
 
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