[frosne]

Hi, I'm looking for a tube amp for my HD600 for under $400.

 

[jackmccabe]

A bottlehead crack with speedball upgrade, you can either build one or buy one used on the for sale forum.

 

[frosne]

Any other recommendations?

 

[drandall]

i have a little dot mk III for my HD600 and while it's definitely a starter amp, i find it sounds very good, especially if you will upgrade the stock tubes. DIP switches on the bottom of the amp make it possible to use a wide variety of tubes, which is a nice plus.
 
total cost shipped from asia is around $240. for $100 more (including shipping), you can get the mk IV which offers more power output at 300ohms plus some upgraded components. for about $100 more than that, you can get the special edition model which is their high-end, non-balanced amp. that adds more upgraded parts plus mullard and EH gold-pin tubes in place of stock.
 
out of curiosity, i recently ordered a schiit asgard SS amp to compare and while the detail and impact of the solid-state asgard was a great match for the HD600, i definitely preferred the little dot overall.
 
later this year i'm going to build a bottlehead crack and then keep the better of the two. i'd expect that to be the bottlehead, but we'll see...
 
here is a link:
http://littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=820&sid=8791f42f77fb1a1a683db386898e013a
 

 

[frosne]

Yeah I was thinking about getting the asgard but I figured that tubes would be better. I'm currently using the Audinst HUD-mx1 as a DAC/Amp combo. So what would you recommend between the Bottlehead Crack and the little dot mk IV?
Quote:

i have a little dot mk III for my HD600 and while it's definitely a starter amp, i find it sounds very good, especially if you will upgrade the stock tubes. DIP switches on the bottom of the amp make it possible to use a wide variety of tubes, which is a nice plus.
 
total cost shipped from asia is around $240. for $100 more (including shipping), you can get the mk IV which offers more power output at 300ohms plus some upgraded components. for about $100 more than that, you can get the special edition model which is their high-end, non-balanced amp. that adds more upgraded parts plus mullard and EH gold-pin tubes in place of stock.
 
out of curiosity, i recently ordered a schiit asgard SS amp to compare and while the detail and impact of the solid-state asgard was a great match for the HD600, i definitely preferred the little dot overall.
 
later this year i'm going to build a bottlehead crack and then keep the better of the two. i'd expect that to be the bottlehead, but we'll see...
 
here is a link:
http://littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=820&sid=8791f42f77fb1a1a683db386898e013a
 

 

 

[drandall]

the crack is less expensive, but only if you build it yourself. i suspect with its point-to-point wiring and overall construction, it would be the better sounding choice. that being said, little dots offer very good value and are a great way to explore the tube sound without laying out tons of cash.
 
 

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'd also go with the Bottlehead Crack, or DIY one of the simpler amps at HeadWize.

You don't want a cheap amp on a PCB. They cut too many corners, especially in the power supply.

You'd be better off with a Dynalo.

 

[frosne]

Does the Bottlehead Crack come with good instructions? I've never done any soldering before so I'm not sure if I can build the Crack.

 

[KingStyles]

I would go for a Woo Audio 3. A little more than your price range but should be well under used. It really can sound good with the senns.

 

[jackmccabe]

The crack has very good instructions and is a pretty east build, but you could also buy one off the for sale forums (I think there is one currently listed).

 

[frosne]

Just found out a prebuilt Bottlehead Crack falls within my $400 budget. Should I go for it and will it pair well with my Audinst HUD-Mx1 as a DAC?

 

[jackmccabe]

That sounds like a great setup, personally I would build the crack myself just because I love diy.

 

[rymd]

Bottlehead Crack, or you can go hybrid with a SOHA II 

 

[frosne]

After reading many threads, I've decided to go for the Little Dot MK IV SE. Thanks

 

[jackmccabe]

Nice choice, it's a great amp.