[JimSmiley]

At work I use the Mk III with Mullard 6CQ6 with my SR125s and I love it. Never fatiguing everything sounds great. Now I would like to get back to listening to my headphones at home again as well. I'm looking for impressions from Grado users who have tried the MK II or above and those who have heard the LD I+.
It seems that the hybrid with high current my be a good match for Grados. I would like the smaller footprint of the MK II or LD I+, but not at the expense of sound quality. I wouldn't mind getting another MK III, it's a little larger than I would like for bedside listening, but I know I like it.

TIA

 

[Trapper32]

I've got the LD 1+ , LD MKIII and MK IV and have tried them all with the Grado 225. I have tried them all with a great assortment of tubes and the synergy with the 225s is outstanding with the 1+..In fact the Grados weren't seeing any use till I got the 1+ ..I prefer the Mullard 8100 or the Sylvania Gold 408a. If the Grados sound a bit harsh try the 2107 or the 627s as opamp....

 

[cristox]

I own the LD 1+ (currently with Sylvania 408a gold, thanks Trapper32 ) and Alessandro MS-1 (from Grado Labs).
They sound really good together.

The Grados and Alessandros are low impedance phones wich benefit from the hybrid construction of the LD1+ or the pure SS construction of the MK5. The lower the impedance the more current it can produce to drive the phones properly
LD MK3, MK2(+), MK6 is a pure tubeamp which produce more current the higher the impedance of the phones is.

Correct me if i am wrong...

edit: well, i just re-read the first post, but making the current-thing even more clear can not hurt.
edit2: corrections according to post #5

 

[MaZa]

Sonically any Little Dot fill do as they are quite warm sounding amplifiers and can tame headphones like SR325i well, but they dont give much current on low impedance loads so they cannot drive Grados to their best abilities. Hybrid designs might very well be much better choice than cheap pure tube amps. I prefer pure class A solid states for Grados myself, tons of power and good sound. You dont have to have tubes to have a warm sounding system. (frankly, being tube-based have little to none to do with it)

 

[Tridacnid]

@Cristox: The MK5 is a pure SS amp. The MKVI (6) is a tube amp, and so are the MKIII and MKIV.

 

[synaesthetic]

none. dynalo/gilmore lite will give you better results with grado.

MaZa knows what he's talkin' about.

 

[minusthetom]

I think there's a little bit of mis-information in this topic.
The Little Dot I+ outputs 800mW at 32 Ohms making it ideal for a pair of Grado's surely?

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minusthetom /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think there's a little bit of mis-information in this topic. The Little Dot I+ outputs 800mW at 32 Ohms making it ideal for a pair of Grado's surely?

Yes, by numbers atleast.

 

[QQQ]

No good LD for Grados.

 

[Brighten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by QQQ /img/forum/go_quote.gif No good LD for Grados.

Haha... x2

 

[Trapper32]

Quote:

Originally Posted by QQQ /img/forum/go_quote.gif No good LD for Grados.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brighten /img/forum/go_quote.gif Haha... x2

Have either of you spent any time listening to Grados through a LD 1+??? By your comments I would assume not.

 

[Brighten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trapper32 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have either of you spent any time listening to Grados through a LD 1+??? By your comments I would assume not.

Oh, I have... and they just don't have the juice to drive them like they should be driven.

In my opinion...

 

[goorackerelite]

any little dot amp will tame the grados obnoxious treble. Grab a MK2 to save some money and put in some M8161 tubes in it and call it a day. Or Grab a MK3 if you want better looks and more power. Grados don't need all the power of the MK3, unless you're considering using the home amp with other headphones that you may acquire in the future, which is a guarantee if you hang around here long enough.

 

[Trapper32]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brighten /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, I have... and they just don't have the juice to drive them like they should be driven. In my opinion...

Uh huh

800mW@32 ohms isn't enough juice to drive them like they should be driven????

Hmmmmmmm...in another thread you commented "Maybe a pair of Grado sr225 or sr325i? These sound great directly out of an iPod or computer so you wouldn't need to worry about buying an external amp for now." But now 800mW isn't enough?

These forums are a great resource only if the opinions expressed are based on some factual experience. IMO

 

[FallenAngel]

Not likely about "juice" it's the electrolytic caps on the output that roll off bass and distort high into frequency range (or opamp output stage in the other models).