What tube amp?
Jun 2, 2008 at 1:47 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 31

craiglester

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OK, finally, I'm seriously thinking about getting a tube amp. I've had a couple of S/S amps, but never felt they really drove my K340s or K240m with any real authority

I've had a home made AD823/Buf634 amp - not sure what design it is. Works good on everything under 300 ohms. I also have a Headfive - again, great on the lower impedance headphones. I sold a Gilmore Lite with DPS - probably the best amp so far, but it still didn't really cut it with the K340, and Man that thing ran HOT.


So basically I'm thinking a Tube amp is the way to go, but with a limited budget, I'm wondering where's a good place to start?

I've looked at the Little Dot II, Darkvoice Figaro, Darkvoice 336/i/se and if i were to really stretch things, i might be able to get a Little dot IV or a Darkvoice 332..

That's about it choicewise as far as I can see.. Am I missing something else that might be out there?

I suppose it would help to list my headphones..

in no particular order:

AKG K340, AKG K240M, Koss A/250, MS1 (Woodied) and AL IM716

As you can see there's some very different amping needs there.. the source is either going to be a PC with a Number Cruncher, or a Squeezebox, or possibly an old Nakamichi CDP. Oh and one more thing.. all the music I have ripped is Wav gained/MP3 gained to 89 DB (ish), so is a little quieter than from the CD (so i'm not too worried about the whole bit perfect thing, I can't tell the difference to be honest)

So my question is.. what amp would you recommend, and why?

Thanks in advance.
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 4:30 AM Post #2 of 31
For $200 + shipping, I think the LD MKIII is a great value, and it has lots of what your looking for. On the high gain setting, it should drive all of those phones no problem. Mine has about 200 hours on it, and the sound has really opened up. Much more of that warm, lush, tube sound. There is also a great base of LD users here to get advice from on tubes.
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 4:37 AM Post #3 of 31
Quote:

I've looked at the Little Dot II, Darkvoice Figaro, Darkvoice 336/i/se and if i were to really stretch things, i might be able to get a Little dot IV or a Darkvoice 332..

That's about it choicewise as far as I can see.. Am I missing something else that might be out there?


I guess you're missing this
wink.gif
:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/min...be-amp-330777/
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 12:23 PM Post #5 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by wharfrat1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
For $200 + shipping, I think the LD MKIII is a great value, and it has lots of what your looking for. On the high gain setting, it should drive all of those phones no problem. Mine has about 200 hours on it, and the sound has really opened up. Much more of that warm, lush, tube sound. There is also a great base of LD users here to get advice from on tubes.


Good point, I had missed the Mk III, I'll look into that further.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rds /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I guess you're missing this
wink.gif
:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/min...be-amp-330777/



Are Millets not hybrids? I'm not interested in a solid state output anymore, I'd prefer all tube.
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 12:53 PM Post #6 of 31
x2 on the Little Dot amps. They are a great value, you can roll tubes after initial burn in to pick your favorite sound, build quality is excellent, and the highest gain of 10 has quite a punch. The specs say the amp (MKII or MKIII) can run headphones up to 600 ohms impedance. My MKII has more than enough power for HD650s (300 ohm).
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 5:26 PM Post #7 of 31
anybody got opinions on the darkvoice amps over the little dot's? I'm leaning towards a Little dot right now, but i'm open to suggestion.

And with regards to the LD III , is it THAT much better than the LD II? Is there a great deal of difference, apart from looks between the Mk II and Mk III?
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 6:24 PM Post #9 of 31
Hmm the Eddie Current looks nice, but I'm concerned that the minimum load of 150 ohms is too high for my MS1 or my Koss A/250

Good stuff though, keep the ideas coming
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 7:02 PM Post #10 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif
anybody got opinions on the darkvoice amps over the little dot's? I'm leaning towards a Little dot right now, but i'm open to suggestion.

And with regards to the LD III , is it THAT much better than the LD II? Is there a great deal of difference, apart from looks between the Mk II and Mk III?



PM Penchum. He's done extensive reviews on the entire LD line. If anyone knows the differences between the II and the III, it's probably him.

That said, my LD MKII drives my 580's (300ohm) with absolute ease.
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 7:10 PM Post #11 of 31
Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hmm the Eddie Current looks nice, but I'm concerned that the minimum load of 150 ohms is too high for my MS1 or my Koss A/250

Good stuff though, keep the ideas coming
smily_headphones1.gif



I don't know why Craig hasn't updated that yet. The newest model comes with a switch for high and low impedence headphones, so I don't believe that would be an issue.
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 7:22 PM Post #13 of 31
Have you thought about one of the used Singlepower amps in the For Sale Forum? Last time I checked, several were for sale. They might cost a little more, but you get a lot more amp for your dollar and a considerably better power supply.
 
Jun 2, 2008 at 7:40 PM Post #14 of 31
I have a Darkvoice Figaro 220v. Have heard the Little Dot. They have 2 way different sounds. Partial to mine. Joshatdot would probably say the same thing about his Little Dot. I have listened to both at the last Seattle meet, since then gathered a box full of tubes, Replaced the IEC male connector with one from Oyaide, installed a IsoClean gold plated fuse, and have a PSAudio Punch Power Cable. It is a completely different animal. Oh yeah, replaced all the screws with capped hex bolts and can roll tubes in Ninja Speed. Everything done to this amp made an improvement. The Step Up/Down converter is not a big deal. Got one from eBay for around 30 bux. Yes I am crazy for this amp.
 

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