[TheBIGKill1998]

Hello fellow Head-Fiers,
 
i currently own the nobsound ns-08e headphone amp, which i modded a bit (i changed the opamps and the tubes) and i am considering to upgrade to another amp.
i thought about upgrading to the little dot 1+. But now i got some questions.
 
How does the little dot 1+ compare to the little dot mk2? 
How does it compare to the nobsound ns-08e? 
And is it even worth buying a little dot amp model or are there better options available in that price range? 
 
Also, i would love to hear the experiences you made so far with this amp.
 
Thank you in advance for your answers.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBIGKill1998 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

How does the little dot 1+ compare to the little dot mk2? 

 

1+ is a hybrid, MkII is OTL tube. OTL tube amps make the most power at 300ohms and have a high output impedance. Lowest output impedance on an OTL amp is the Schiit Valhalla - lower than some (badly designed) hyrid and solid state amps but the 1+ has a much lower output impedance than the MkII. 

 

MkII boosts bass on Grados but makes AKGs sound like tin cans. Made my HD600 a bit dark.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBIGKill1998 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

And is it even worth buying a little dot amp model or are there better options available in that price range? 

 

Pangea HP101 is $50 on Amazon right now. Uses a signle 12AX7 (ECC83, CV4004) tube. Has a built in USB DAC, and has a full Class A circuit. The downside is that the tube mount requires soldering.

 

[TheBIGKill1998]

 

 

1+ is a hybrid, MkII is OTL tube. OTL tube amps make the most power at 300ohms and have a high output impedance. Lowest output impedance on an OTL amp is the Schiit Valhalla - lower than some (badly designed) hyrid and solid state amps but the 1+ has a much lower output impedance than the MkII. 

 

MkII boosts bass on Grados but makes AKGs sound like tin cans. Made my HD600 a bit dark.

 

 

Pangea HP101 is $50 on Amazon right now. Uses a signle 12AX7 (ECC83, CV4004) tube. Has a built in USB DAC, and has a full Class A circuit. The downside is that the tube mount requires soldering.

Okay, thanks a lot for the comparison between the 1+ and the mk2. helps me a lot! 
 
And i will give the amp you named a look. Even though that it is a relatively bad thing that tube rolling requires soldering, since i dont have the ressources to do so. 
 
How good is the built in DAC  of that amp? 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
How good is the built in DAC  of that amp? 

 

Drivers totally sucked with Windows 7 but wasn't a problem since I preferred using my Android with it - takes 24/96 no problems (which is weird, because normally software issues are more normal on Android/iOS vs desktop OS).

 

 

Tonally, just slightly warm off neutral - close enough to my (currently busted) Meier Cantate.2 (will still get it fixed though). Noise floor of course is another matter - the Cantate.2 can be set to max volume at high gain and there will be no noise with nothing playing, not even with a smartphone stacked on it, but the Pangea gets noise at 12:00 on the dial with the smartphone stacked on top, and as in the photo, it comes it at a little over 1:00. However with music playing that is insanely loud on the HD600 on anything but properly recorded classical music, so it's not really a problem (my listening level on that knob is around 10:00, or 12:00 on classical).

 

[TheBIGKill1998]

Hmmmm, alright. 
 
I made a little bit of research and i dont think that this amp/DAC combo is something for me. 
The problem is that i plan to use it on my desktop... and if the drivers are not good, that would be a little bit of a problem. 
 
And the fact that tube rolling is more or less a no... well.... this amp then is not a good choice for me. 
 
Anyways thank you a lot for your recommendation. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
I made a little bit of research and i dont think that this amp/DAC combo is something for me. 
The problem is that i plan to use it on my desktop... and if the drivers are not good, that would be a little bit of a problem. 

 
Well it was Win7 that I tested it on, and that system is in the photo is also on a desk.

 

[TheBIGKill1998]

Its not the desk, which is the problem, with what i said i meant that i am going to use it at my desktop setup on my pc. 
and that is going to be a problem then.
 
and as you see on my profile pic, i already have a "budget amp", for which im searching for a real upgrade, and not for something similar.