[TrollDragon]

  i live in scotland

Oh aye!
 
One day i must visit one of the most sacred of Masonic Shrines just south of Edinburgh, the wee Rosslyn Chapel.
It is on my bucket list of things that must be experienced.

 

[adrockthewalrus]

I've been there, it's quite a tourist spot now though it's REALLY small. The surrounding area is actually really nice for a good walk too The bus there goes from outside my front door.
 
sooo many things I'm considering at the moment:
 
the DT880s it's a case of when not if.
 
New IEMs, i'm torn for going as like for like as I can (RE-400) or upgrading to something like the logitech UE 900s.
 
Also looking at new speakers (B&W 685, AE 301, Rega RS-1) for the vinyl system.
 
And of course, new speakers might need a new amp (rotel RA-10, Rega Brio R, Marantz PM6004/5).
 
RIP My Wallet, 1982 - 2013
 
All these decisions will be made this weekend as I continue to burn in the LD and browse ebay for tubes

 

[CJG888]

As you appear to be based in the UK, you should try Langrex for tubes (they have their own website with more choice than their ebay store). They are not the cheapest, but they are among the most reliable (the only time they sold me a faulty one, they replaced it immediately as a matter of course). There are a lot of fake / relabelled tubes in circulation, so it is important to have a trustworthy source (but the LD Mk III's tubes are not among those faked, this applies more to the more popular types, esp. Telefunken and Amperex brands...).

They have the correct milspec Mullard driver tubes (that's where I got mine).

 

[adrockthewalrus]

thanks for the link for langrex, i think i'd looked at some of their ebay stuff and didn't realise they had a proper site. I've a shortlist of tubes i was searching ebay for from one of the threads on here, i might send the whole list on to them and ask them to tell me what they've got and at what prices

 

[Makiah S]

As you appear to be based in the UK, you should try Langrex for tubes (they have their own website with more choice than their ebay store). They are not the cheapest, but they are among the most reliable (the only time they sold me a faulty one, they replaced it immediately as a matter of course). There are a lot of fake / relabelled tubes in circulation, so it is important to have a trustworthy source (but the LD Mk III's tubes are not among those faked, this applies more to the more popular types, esp. Telefunken and Amperex brands...).

They have the correct milspec Mullard driver tubes (that's where I got mine).

indeed, I also want to try some Sophia Tubes my self, they have variants for common pre amp tubes and what not. Read an excellent article on them actually the other day! Cheaper than NOS and better in some cases 

 

[adrockthewalrus]

care to link me to the article?
 
trying to find out if my NAD amp is AC or DC coupled, but it's so old there's not that much material on it.

 

[Makiah S]

  care to link me to the article?
 
trying to find out if my NAD amp is AC or DC coupled, but it's so old there's not that much material on it.

http://www.avguide.com/blog/giant-killers-new-tubes-sophia-electric
 
Enjoy!

 

[adrockthewalrus]

sent a query to Langrex about the mullard 8083 and 8100. The Sophia tubes look cool and sound intriguing but it doesn't look like they do any which would work with the LD mkIII on their website.
 
only 1 week to payday and the dt880s (and possibly IEMS). I got more suggestions on IEMs in this thread than the thread i started for 'what should i replace my RE-0s with?', so thanks for that. I'm still torn on whether to go for the UE 900 or something cheaper.
 
the LD is burning in nicely

 

[Ebonyzer]

I too am interested in the LD Mk III or Mk IV SE (although would prefer to spend a little less than the IV SE if I'm not trading too much). I am considering the IV SE because I don't reckon I will be interested in tube rolling for a while but also want to consider the future and what I might want from the amp them. While there's an increase in expense now, amortized over years, it would seem affordable if I enjoyed it for a long time. What I appreciate about the LD's are the price points for performance and their appearance. I am relying, of course, on multiple reviews/recommendations/threads etc. My goal (which sometimes changes) is to pick up one headphone tube amp and use it for many years under differing conditions/circumstances.
 
I would primarily be listening with either Grado SR60i's, Beyerdynamic DT880s, or Etymotic ER4's (although a few others would make it in the rotation). I am not yet sure if the Mk III or IV SE would be appropriate for the Ety's, and I have no idea what the resistance is on my DT880s. (Any way to determine the resistance on them? There don't seem to be any indication on them anywhere. I assume it's not as easy as throwing a digital multimeter up on the plug, although maybe I should try that.) 
 
And while the primary purpose of the amp would be headphones, I have some thirsty Martin Logan planars that might be able to use another gain stage in the middle. 
 
Full disclosure though, I am a novice at any of this and have little experience, but I'm interested and am reading as much as I can to get some sense. 
 
Any advice on the Mk III or Mk IV SE being appropriate for some headphone diversity, line-in/out use, and varied listening tastes (jazz, rock, funk, classical, electronic.) Any perspective is appreciated! 

 

[Makiah S]

  I too am interested in the LD Mk III or Mk IV SE (although would prefer to spend a little less than the IV SE if I'm not trading too much). I am considering the IV SE because I don't reckon I will be interested in tube rolling for a while but also want to consider the future and what I might want from the amp them. While there's an increase in expense now, amortized over years, it would seem affordable if I enjoyed it for a long time. What I appreciate about the LD's are the price points for performance and their appearance. I am relying, of course, on multiple reviews/recommendations/threads etc. My goal (which sometimes changes) is to pick up one headphone tube amp and use it for many years under differing conditions/circumstances.
 
I would primarily be listening with either Grado SR60i's, Beyerdynamic DT880s, or Etymotic ER4's (although a few others would make it in the rotation). I am not yet sure if the Mk III or IV SE would be appropriate for the Ety's, and I have no idea what the resistance is on my DT880s. (Any way to determine the resistance on them? There don't seem to be any indication on them anywhere. I assume it's not as easy as throwing a digital multimeter up on the plug, although maybe I should try that.) 
 
And while the primary purpose of the amp would be headphones, I have some thirsty Martin Logan planars that might be able to use another gain stage in the middle. 
 
Full disclosure though, I am a novice at any of this and have little experience, but I'm interested and am reading as much as I can to get some sense. 
 
Any advice on the Mk III or Mk IV SE being appropriate for some headphone diversity, line-in/out use, and varied listening tastes (jazz, rock, funk, classical, electronic.) Any perspective is appreciated! 

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/680824/little-dot-mk-iv-se-m8161-6h30pi
 
Here is one for sale here at head fi! If you have a pay pal I recommend you buy here! I've had like 20 great easy tranasctions and from those I've meet some really cool people! Still I like OTL tubes with Open and very airy and detailed cans. match a SUPER detailed can with a Warm amp for balance imo 

 

[Ebonyzer]

I appreciate the heads-up. Great timing! I have some open and airy, detailed cans that should do the trick. Would you say the IV SE is a warm amp that could be the right one for this balance? I haven't had a tube amp up until this point, so not sure when one could be considered warm yet. Thanks again! 

 

[mink42]

Would the little dot 1+ be ok to drive the HD600's? Seems to be the only little dot amp I can get in NZ. Only other tube amp I can get locally is the schiit vahala and Aune T1 (which is a tube dac really).

 

[TrollDragon]

I have no idea what the resistance is on my DT880s. (Any way to determine the resistance on them? There don't seem to be any indication on them anywhere. I assume it's not as easy as throwing a digital multimeter up on the plug, although maybe I should try that.)   
And while the primary purpose of the amp would be headphones, I have some thirsty Martin Logan planars that might be able to use another gain stage in the middle. 

Are your DT880's Pro's or Premium? The Impedance is stamped into the square part of the 3.5mm plug body.

If there is no number marked there then they are most likely 250Ω
 
 
About the Martin Logan's...
 
Just a little word of warning with Little Dot amplifiers used as pre amp's...
 
Quote: Directly from the Little Dot Manual

The Little Dot MK II is not recommended for use with a direct or DC coupled power amplifier.

 
The pre out circuitry of the LD headphone amplifiers has no protection built in, so under certain tube failures the LD can dump 100+ VDC into your amplifier inputs. If your amp is DC coupled then that will destroy the amplifier and your speakers with it.
 
There can be many causes of failure in the existing amplifier system that could do the same thing, but adding pre amp with no protection is a risky proposition.
 
It's highly likely that this will never happen but it could, one sketchy tube from 50 years ago that shorts and the smoke will roll...
It's a bit of Russian Roulette with your home system IMHO.

 
Headphone amp by all means, as a Pre Amp well that is your gamble...

 

[TrollDragon]

  Would the little dot 1+ be ok to drive the HD600's? Seems to be the only little dot amp I can get in NZ. Only other tube amp I can get locally is the schiit vahala and Aune T1 (which is a tube dac really).

The LD I+ is a hybrid amplifier, basically solid state with a tube in the mix, made to support low impedance headphones. The Valhalla is all tube and designed for high impedance headphones since it outputs 3 times the power of the LD into a 300Ω load.
 
Pick which ever one you want from Little Dot as they will ship to Oceania for the same price as USA & Canada and it was only 5 days for mine to arrive.

 

[Ebonyzer]

TrollDragon, my DT880s appear to be older in style. They have no markings indicating any impedance, so perhaps 250. Although I've heard all of these older ones were 600, so I'm not sure. Here is a picture of them: http://imgur.com/pkS9KvQ
 
I appreciate the advice about the preamp situation. I don't know enough about amps to know if mine is DC coupled however. It's a PSE solid state used for the Martin Logans, which are each plugged in on their own. It sounds risky enough that I will likely avoid using the LD IV SE as a preamp until I learned more about what DC coupling is and such. I also have a set of powered studio monitors but I suspect they might be in the same boat. 
 
I've decided to move forward with getting the LD IV SE along with a Peachtree DAC-iT for my first foray into tubes. After 1 post here at head-fi, I've decided this is a dismal foreshadowing of my wallet's demise.