[maruzen]

swapped the ef92 driver tubes on the mk2 and i can't put down my beyer dt 880 600 ohms! very good recommendations! highs kind of rolled off, perfect for the dt 880. the bass slightly pronounced with amazing tightness, the mids sound good! overall i would describe the sound as thicker. never thought the mk2 can do this to the beyer! can't wipe the smile from my face... whatever i throw at this combo, i end up finishing the song! wow!

 

[Frank I]

How does your Mk11 compare to your Audio GD amp

 

[Frank I]

Are you using the 6H30 power tubes. That brought myamp to another level and I like the Mullard CV4010

 

[maruzen]

still using the stock power tubes and i haven't anything besides the stock power tubes 

 would upgrading these stock tubes bring a very discernible change? i am very amazed at the sound improvement using the ef92 mullards!
 
before the tube upgrade, i was using the c-2c exclusively for the dt880 because the c-2c improvement in the bass felt more pleasing over the mids improvement that the mk2 with the stock tubes seemed to provide...now i prefer the mk2. these tubes have very good bass tightness that i like more, and the mids stand out better now than before 

 
not sure if these are the result of the dt880 being burned in (they are at the 400 hour mark i guess), but the mullards are also at the 100+ hour mark... it would be great if the sound would improve over time... but right now i am loving this mk2 sound!

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

still using the stock power tubes and i haven't anything besides the stock power tubes 

 would upgrading these stock tubes bring a very discernible change? i am very amazed at the sound improvement using the ef92 mullards!
 
before the tube upgrade, i was using the c-2c exclusively for the dt880 because the c-2c improvement in the bass felt more pleasing over the mids improvement that the mk2 with the stock tubes seemed to provide...now i prefer the mk2. these tubes have very good bass tightness that i like more, and the mids stand out better now than before 

 
not sure if these are the result of the dt880 being burned in (they are at the 400 hour mark i guess), but the mullards are also at the 100+ hour mark... it would be great if the sound would improve over time... but right now i am loving this mk2 sound!

Buy a matched set of 6H30 Sovtek tubes and the bass will be deeper and tighter. I had both the Russian and stock Chines tubes and there is a big difference with the Super Tube. The MK11 is a great amp for the money.

 

[maruzen]

thanks will try out those soviet tubes!
 
and i fully agree regarding the bang-for-the-buck part, these are really solid amps for the price point. using stock tubes, i prefer it over the c-2c for the beyer dt880 250 ohms (sold this after i got the 600 ohm version), and now after the tube change, i'm exclusively pairing  it with the dt880 600 ohm now 

 

 

[dynasonic]

Quote:

thanks will try out those soviet tubes!
 
and i fully agree regarding the bang-for-the-buck part, these are really solid amps for the price point. using stock tubes, i prefer it over the c-2c for the beyer dt880 250 ohms (sold this after i got the 600 ohm version), and now after the tube change, i'm exclusively pairing  it with the dt880 600 ohm now 

 

I just received the tubes I ordered for both the power and preamp sections for the MKII. I also have 600 ohm Beyers but I went with the DT990's. I went from stock tubes to:
 
Power Amp - NOS 6N6 Russian tubes
Pre - NOS Mullard M8161
 
After letting them warm up for just a few minutes I had to see how they sounded. (I listen to rock mainly) My immediate reaction was... "Where did the bass go?" but upon listening a little longer I realized what I was hearing. Listening to the stock tubes for so long I guess I never realized how bloated and hollow the bass really was. The bass is still there with the new tubes, but it is MUCH tighter and a WHOLE LOT deeper. With the stock tubes, the attack of the bass drum was pronounced in the mid-bass and it sounded very forward. With the new tubes this mid-bass hump is gone. I can't get over how much deeper the bass is now. A low B on a 5-string bass is downright scary low. I always thought the DT990's had just a touch of shrill in the upper registers. The highs are smoothed out. The cymbals still shimmer but they don't make my ears bleed like before. It will be interesting to see how these tubes develop once I get them properly seasoned.
 
 

 

[novanine9]

Most excellent review!
 
Big question for you:
 
I'm a recording artist and would want to use this as a preamp to process through my signal sources (vocal microphones, electrical guitar, synths), before going into the digital recorder...as a means to warm up and color the sound in a flattering and musical way.
 
www.myspace.com/novaconsultationsllc
 
I am torn between the mkII and the l2++
 
is the mkII, as warm and pocess the same amount of the so called..."liquid mids"
 
I am not going for transparency, in the least since this would only be used to process individual tracks/instruments/vocals...at a time...prior to mix down and mastering of the entire song tracks into stereo left and rights
 
I WANT SOMETHING SLUTTY AND BUTTERY, DEPTH...WARMTH...LIQUID-LIKE
 
Should I, just, get the mkII instead of trying to hunt down a used ld2++?
 
I know if anyone has the answer...it would be you.
 
Best regards,
 
B

 

[David.M]

Slutty, Buttery and Warmth?

Yeah, you'll definitely want the Amperex 5654

 

[REDH0RN]

Quote from initial review:
 
The two dip switches are for changing gain.
Each dip switch box represents a channel (L&R)
Make sure you configure each channel the same as the other channel. 

A. Switch 1 off, Switch 2 off = Gain 10 (Highest Impedance)
B. Switch 1 on, Switch 2 off = Gain 7 (Medium Impedance)
C. Switch 1 off, Switch 2 on = Gain 5 (Low Impedance)
D. Switch 1 on, Switch 2 on = Gain 3 (Lowest Impedance)
 
 
Would B be the appropriate setting for 120 ohm phones?

 

[Max F]

I think Little dot changed their veiw on the gain settings (check out thier forum).  Its not only ohms that is important, but also the sensitivty of the phones and the output level of the source.
 
For example, i use the lowest gain setting on my HD-650 even though they are 300 ohm.  They have high sensitivity and my source output is pretty loud.
 
I'd try all of the settings and see which one sounds best.  If you don't hear a difference in the sound (other than volume) just pick the one that gives you the most use of the volume knob - i.e., the one where you listen comfortably at around 10-11 oclock.
 
Hope that helps! 

 

[navii]

i just got my LDMKII and noticed that one of the front tubes is slightly different to its brother. it also has print on it, while the other is blank. is this bad? should I get some matched tubes? thanks.
 
 

 

[Max F]

Probably, not a big deal.  You should be rolling tubes anyway.  That's the whole fun of getting one of these amps!

 

[xaf-bcn]

Hello!
 
I'm new here and just enjoying my second day with my LD MKII. After a lot of years loving tubes finally got my first tube amp.

 
My amp came with one of the driver tubes broken so I had no more chance than finding a replacement. Thanks to God I was able to find a couple of new Philips/Miniwatt 5654 tubes in one of the electronic devices store in my city (Barcelona). Does someone has any comment about the Miniwatt tubes?...perhaps they are not very common out there but were used very often here years ago (they were also made in Barcelona). Only used it for around 10 hours but they seem to sound quite dense with nice bass and highs while the mids seems to be a little dark. But of course I can't compare so it's only a personal feeling.
BTW this morning got on the mail a couple of Mullard CV4015...now I don't now if keeping it as a spare or replacing the Miniwatt ones...
 
Another doubt I have is using it as a pre-amp. Tried yesterday with my little ONKYO (it has a "processor" IN & OUT), and found that one of the channels was much loud than the other one (It doesn't happens as a normal headphones amplifier). Any suggestion?
 
And the last one...which should be the best way to listen my computer music. I own an iMac (whithout optical line-out) and I plug the heaphones out to the entrance of the ampli. I think this way is quite "nasty" as I imagine the little amplifier used in the iMac isn't especially good, so I'm re-amplifiying a degraded signal. Is this the only way?...any idea?
 
Thanks!

 

[TMRaven]

Does anybody have any personal experience with audiotubes on ebay?
 
I'm looking at some mullard ef92 drivers for my litlte dot mk2, and I was wondering if these would be the right ones to use, or is there a big hit in performance if I don't use a matched pair?
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/EF92-MULLARD-TUBE-NOS-/200535187608?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2eb0d42098#ht_2264wt_908