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LD MK III is $199.00 + SH $45.00 = $244 from eBay. Ships from China.
You'll probably want to change the driver tubes. $36 to 48 plus S&H at $8 (Looking at Yen Audio for matched pairs). I got a pair of M8161 for $22. So something like $266 total. The amp also functions at a preamp if you want. Not many options for power tubes based on what I've read.
EF1 is $320 shipped with the thanksgiving special. Ships from New York. Comes with a nice tube, RCA clear top. EF1 has better tube rolling options with the 12AU7. Plus, you don't have to worry about buying matched tubes because you'll only need one. This is a hybrid which means it's more suitable for low impedance phones [also based on what I've read (I don't know the technical reasons)]. It has a weird volume pot that doesn't go down all the way. There's always sound even on the lowest volume. Check the reviews on it.
Shipping is important cause it'll cost more and take longer to ship overseas.
I have them both and I vote for the EF1. I've been listening to the EF1 for about four days now. It does a great job with my low impedance phones. The EF1 has the tube sound (warm and rich) while showing a lot of detail. I feel that it shows better instrumental separation and detail than the MK III. I've been hooked on my GS1000 for the past few weeks, so I haven't spent too much time with the Senns. LD amps tend to run a bit hot, but they seem to be doing fine. I've had them for about a month now. The EF1 is only warm to the touch.
The EF1 sounds great with the HD580/HD650, the best I've heard so far. Although a bit laid back and not engaging at times, I think this is the Sennheiser signature sound. I don't think you can get a significant improvement amp wise without spending twice as much (e.g., Woo 6 with Sophia tube, Dark Voice 337, Glow Audio One '09 - this one looks interesting). I'll be pairing the Senns with the balanced MK VI (with 5998s and various tubes) later this week, so I'll find out if something that costs 3x more is enough to rock these Senns. I'd love to try out these other amps, but I'm going to try out electrostats next.
If there's a reason why I'd tell you not to get the MK III, it would be because I don't think the ipod is a good enough source to justify getting the amp. I've connected my X5L to my amps and the sound isn't good. I have an Ipod touch, but haven't tried it as a source for these amps. Maybe it's different with an ipod.
