[db597]

My Little Dot Micro+ just arrived! Bought it on the 30th May on ebay, and got it on the 6th - so that's 1 week build and shipping time to the UK.

Notes on packaging:
- came in bubble wrap, no box
- there was a box for the ac adapter, but was rather mashed up in transit
- items came through undamaged though

Notes on build quality:
- smaller and more compact than expected (great for travel)
- good finish and seems quite sturdy
- words are printed on, some letters are not perfect and may rub off after a while

Notes on sound quality (tested on Ety ER6i with an Audigy ZS playing LAME standard preset MP3s as source. This is my only headphone amp, so I cannot compare against anything else. This comparison is versus running the headphones unamped):
- bass is more weighty than without an amp. Prior to this, I had given up on my ER6i when it comes to bass. Being a low impedance IEM, I thought it won't improve much with an amp, but it did! More extension to the deeper notes and more punch.
- overall sound feels fuller and a bit more forward
- there's a slight boxy colouration that I hadn't noticed on my ER6i before. This was unexpected. I'm not sure if this will improve with use. The amp has been on for 30mins only.
- background noise is more than when unamped. But this is not noticable when the music is playing. This is a high gain model of the LDM+ and used with the ER6i, so it shouldn't be as noticable with higher impedance headphones.
- I don't hear any extra buzzing noise when the AC adapter is plugged in (someone here complained about this, but I don't have this problem).

Conclusion:
For the rock bottom price I paid, it's a worthwhile upgrade. The sound quality is noticably better than running unamped. Unlike other upgrades where I struggle to hear much difference, this was a big enough an improvement for my untrained ears to notice.

 

[jriems]

May I ask what volume level yours is set at for normal listening levels? I just got the low gain version and found it needs to be between 12 and 2 o'clock to yield satsifying results with my UM1's.

 

[db597]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jriems May I ask what volume level yours is set at for normal listening levels? I just got the low gain version and found it needs to be between 12 and 2 o'clock to yield satsifying results with my UM1's.

Mine is hooked up to the PC, with the PC's volume control at 50%. On the amp, I use approximately the 12 o'clock setting for my ER6i. This level is not overly loud, but neither is it too soft to be unenjoyable. I'm not sure we can make direct comparisons between your setup and mine. It depends on what volume you've set on your source, and what the gain is on the source.

Strange thing is that when I hooked up my Sennheiser HD497 instead of the ER6i, the loudness is only a bit softer (volume setting kept constant). But when I remove the amp and connect directly to my PC, there's quite a big difference in volume between the ER6i and the HD497. Maybe it's my soundcard running out of juice with the higher impedance Senns, but the LDM+ maintains the loudness well with both pairs of cans.

 

[db597]

Update:

1. About on the boxy colouration I mentioned earlier - it's improved after the last 4 hours of running. There's still some, but I suspect whatever colouration is left is more an issue with the ER6i than the amp. I've not heard much bass from the ER6i before, and the amp has brought it out (both louder and lower extension). It could be that the lower bass range of the ER6i is what has the colouration.

2. More about the build - I've just noticed that the 3.5mm minijack of the "input" on my LDM+ is not perfectly straight (it's at a slight downwards angle). It's not shakey or loose, but this shows that manufacturing quality is not perfect. The minijack to the headphones is fine though.

 

[luvdunhill]

on my Little Micro+ the jack slants down and also over time (1 month) the volume pot got noisy. I'm curious if yours will become noisy as well. It's not a huge concern for me, but just something I noticed. Also, the battery is quite excellent. Make sure you listen to it with the AC cord plugged in!

-Marc

 

[CookieFactory]

You can most likely re-set the jack position to straight by unscrewing the front face plate, adjust position of the PCB board, and then re-attach the faceplate.

Most portable amps are just some kind of enclosure with the PCB board set in place inside. You can "reset" jack positions and other stuff just by opening it up. Come on, don't tell me you guys don't like to take a peek under the hood of your gear!

 

[db597]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CookieFactory You can most likely re-set the jack position to straight by unscrewing the front face plate, adjust position of the PCB board, and then re-attach the faceplate.

Problem is that 1 jack is ok and the other is slanting down. So no matter how I adjust the position of the PCB, one of them will be slanting.

 

[db597]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvdunhill on my Little Micro+ the jack slants down and also over time (1 month) the volume pot got noisy. I'm curious if yours will become noisy as well. It's not a huge concern for me, but just something I noticed. Also, the battery is quite excellent. Make sure you listen to it with the AC cord plugged in! -Marc

What you do mean that the volume pot get's noisy?

Yep, agreed with the battery life. I fell asleep with it on last night. This morning it was still playing!