[ZeusAudio]

I was wondering which of these is best paired with my Sennheiser HD600? I know both of them are currently back ordered so I will have to wait but has anyone heard both of these as they are approximately the same price and have both been reported to pair well with the Senn line-up. Any help is appreciated.
 

 

[mmayer167]

i have not heard the 600 with mkIII. my 600 does pair lovely with the asgard but you probably already know that, just some random input. im using the 650 cable on my 600 as well, not sure if the sound is much better but the cable has a better feel, and its a super cheap upgrade! if you live anywhere near duluth mn you are welcome to aud. my combo

 
cheers happy listening!

 

[Endless]

I have an HD 650, and the Asgard was a godsend for my audio rig. I've been running the 650's from my cMoy for a couple weeks, but the Asgard truly made it shine by refining all the frequencies. Sound-stage definitely widened, bass became punchier, mids were more refined, and the highs sparkled way more than it did on my cMoys. Not sure about the MK III's, but the Asgard runs warm. It apparently uses the entire chassis as a giant heatsink, but it does not affect the volume knob significantly for you to feel anything when you adjust the volume.
 
Plus, it ships from the US and comes with a 5 year warranty. That just sold it for me.  

 

[ZeusAudio]

alright. Two positives for the Asgard but no one has anything to say about the MKIII? The main things I want to know about the MKIII is how often do you need toreplace the tubes not counting tube rolling. Basically how fast do they burn out. I am really stuck between these two as the next amp to power my Senns.

 

[debitsohn]

depends on how much you use the amp i nthe year. some people have to change tubes annually.

 

[Max F]

I've never had to change any tubes in my MKIII after 2 years.  Use is been pretty minnor, maybe 3-4 hours a week average.  The tubes really do last a long time especially the driver tubes.  Its a good idea to have backup power tubes though and tube roll the driver tubes.
 
As far as the sound goes, the MKIII is really good with both my HD650 and HD580.  These are actually very easy to drive with an OTL tube amp.  I keep it at the lowest gain setting.
 
Never heard the Asgard so can't help you there.  Kindof a funny name though As$gard, lol!

 

[drews]

I've owned both amps and ultimately the LD gives me the sound(s) I'm looking for.  I'm happy enough with the MK3 that I don't really feel the need to try other tube amps...  
 
Drew

 

[ZeusAudio]

I have decided but now the quest for which DAC I want to use must begin...

 
Quote:

depends on how much you use the amp i nthe year. some people have to change tubes annually.

I assume these people are the type that listen to music nonstop and are constantly tweaking playing with the tubes. I will be listening but not nonstop. Just when chillin at home or working on school work.

 
Quote:

I've never had to change any tubes in my MKIII after 2 years.  Use is been pretty minnor, maybe 3-4 hours a week average.  The tubes really do last a long time especially the driver tubes.  Its a good idea to have backup power tubes though and tube roll the driver tubes.
 
As far as the sound goes, the MKIII is really good with both my HD650 and HD580.  These are actually very easy to drive with an OTL tube amp.  I keep it at the lowest gain setting.
 
Never heard the Asgard so can't help you there.  Kindof a funny name though As$gard, lol!

Thank you for your input, it really helped and I think I will be going with LD MK3

 
Quote:

I've owned both amps and ultimately the LD gives me the sound(s) I'm looking for.  I'm happy enough with the MK3 that I don't really feel the need to try other tube amps...  
 
Drew

I hope I share the same feelings as you in this regard.

 

[Denys]

I own a LD MKIII, bought the Mullard tube and really love the sound of this little amp. I ordered the Assgard (for office use) last week and should receive it any days now.... I will put my comments later on.
 
But, for sure, you can't go wrong with the Little Dot
 
Denys

 

[Yikes]

I've owned both amps and ultimately the LD gives me the sound(s) I'm looking for.  I'm happy enough with the MK3 that I don't really feel the need to try other tube amps...  


 


Drew

Sorry, I don't buy it. I call BS. I've just read through all of your posts since before the Schiit Audio Asgard even came out, and you never mentioned auditioning one, buying one, selling one, you haven't even posted once in any of the Asgard related threads. And yet you've owned one, hmmmm if it quacks like a shill....

That being said I do own an Asgard, but since I haven't listened to any Little Dot* amp in several years I have no comments about the two amps relative merit.

*except to say that I found the Little Dot (no idea which model, except it had tubes) unremarkable, and that it warranted no further investigation. For all I know it was a damaged 1967 LD Ultra 10,000. My point being that what I thought of 1 amp at a meet 5 years ago doesn't matter.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Sorry, I don't buy it. I call BS. I've just read through all of your posts since before the Schiit Audio Asgard even came out, and you never mentioned auditioning one, buying one, selling one, you haven't even posted once in any of the Asgard related threads. And yet you've owned one, hmmmm if it quacks like a shill....

That being said I do own an Asgard, but since I haven't listened to any Little Dot* amp in several years I have no comments about the two amps relative merit.

*except to say that I found the Little Dot (no idea which model, except it had tubes) unremarkable, and that it warranted no further investigation. For all I know it was a damaged 1967 LD Ultra 10,000. My point being that what I thought of 1 amp at a meet 5 years ago doesn't matter.

Drew's opinion is as valid for him as yours is to you, therefore you must have respect for the opinion that he rendered.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

alright. Two positives for the Asgard but no one has anything to say about the MKIII? The main things I want to know about the MKIII is how often do you need toreplace the tubes not counting tube rolling. Basically how fast do they burn out. I am really stuck between these two as the next amp to power my Senns.

They should be good for 5000 to 7000 hours as drivers.

 

[Yikes]

Drew's opinion is as valid for him as yours is to you, therefore you must have respect for the opinion that he rendered.

I "Must"'. So now you're the thought police. I respect opinions of people who offer honest opinions. I view his claim that he has owned an Asgard with extreme incredulity. As I clearly stated in my post.



His opinion of the L.D. Is as valid as any, his claim that he has owned the Asgard however IMO is not.

If he could offer any evidence, any evidence whatsoever I would post to the world that I was wrong. A picture (many of us take pictures when we receive a new toy), an old post where he mentioned having the amp, anything, anything at all. I welcome being proven wrong.

 

[Maxvla]

Just because he hasn't posted about the Asgard doesn't mean he hasn't owned it. I too would find it a bit strange, but to blow him up about it isn't fair to anyone, especially the OP, who's thread you just crapped on.
 
Perhaps asking him, instead, why, if he's owned an Asgard, hasn't he posted about it would have been a more polite way to ascertain the facts.
 
on topic:
 
I've owned the LD MKIII (Yikes you going to check me on this?) with the HD600 and found the sound good, but I could tell there was more to be had. For the money it's a great amp that will give you most of the HD600's sound, certainly a much more filling sound than without a dedicated amp.
 
I haven't owned an Asgard, mostly because I've time and time again demonstrated that I prefer tube amps in almost every situation. I'm sure it's a great value, but I just don't get the feeling of the music nearly as well. The Asgard does have a trial period so you can't lose if you like it right out of the box if you order it first instead of the MKIII.
 
Service from both companies appears top notch. I've dealt with David at Little Dot a few times in emails and it's always a courteous and honest exchange. He never uses form letters in my conversations, so his reply is right on topic and always answers my question right away.
 
From the posting I've seen in the Asgard thread, Schitt's service appears to be just as excellent. I think someone had a DoA Asgard and it was fixed and back in the owners hands in less than a week. That's great stuff.

 

[ZeusAudio]

No doubt from reading around I have seen the customer service from both of these companies to be extraordinary. With both of them I have emailed asking specific questions regarding the product/warranty and I also receive a reply with a personalized answer within the next 12 hours it seems like.
 
That being said, I think I have officially decided to plunge into the world of tubes with the LD MKIII and see where it goes from there. I am just trying to get a comfortable setup running for home where I can just listen to music for hours and am not looking for the analytical sound that seems to be associated more with SS than tubes. Not hearing both these amps, I know that I can not state whether this is true in this case though but from reading around, I know that my choice would be a well made one with either of these entry-level amps.