Little dot 1+, LDIII
- Thread starter opa1
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
JimmyNeutron
Super Member
I have a LD MKIII paired with AKG501 cans. The sound is great. It can be used as a standalone pre as it has a 2nd set of RCA outs for an amp.
[/URL][/IMG]
Chris Brown
Super Member
I have a Little-Dot II+, Little-Dot II++, and a Little-Dot I+.
The II+ (~2006) and II++ (~2007) were predecessors to their current line, but are full-tube units that have pre-amp out capability. I originally got my II+ when I got my Yamaha M-2 amp and had nothing good to use as a preamp.
I like all three units and used them for years, but I eventually bought a Yamaha C-80 preamp to use with my Yamaha amps. The surprise came when I tried using my C-80 to power my headphones. It, quite frankly, blew away all three of my little-dot amps and I've barely touched them since.
The II+ (~2006) and II++ (~2007) were predecessors to their current line, but are full-tube units that have pre-amp out capability. I originally got my II+ when I got my Yamaha M-2 amp and had nothing good to use as a preamp.
I like all three units and used them for years, but I eventually bought a Yamaha C-80 preamp to use with my Yamaha amps. The surprise came when I tried using my C-80 to power my headphones. It, quite frankly, blew away all three of my little-dot amps and I've barely touched them since.
Last edited:
rnorton
Super Member
Be careful when using a Little Dot as a pre-amp. There's no blocking capacitors and I've measured startup transients at the speaker outputs of a DC coupled amp of +60V. Enough to rip your voice coils out in a second or blow them in two. Works great with DC blocked amps, though.
rnorton
Super Member
LDIII is great with the Grados but marginally underpowered with the 600 ohm K240's. Usable, but not optimum.
opa1
Tenacious
I thought the LD1+ was for low impedance hp's and the LDIII was for high impedance.
Mark
rnorton
Super Member
Nope. The LDIII works best under 300 ohms.
opa1
Tenacious
I guess I'm chasing my tail. I'm looking for the air, space and harmonics of tubes. Do either of these deliver it? If not, what amp will? My SS pre and integrated amp are clear and sound good. I'm I asking more than I can get from these two tube amps?
My K240's sound fine with the c-2. The grados are nice on both sources. In choosing a tube amp, I'd like the one that works best with the grados.
Mark
My K240's sound fine with the c-2. The grados are nice on both sources. In choosing a tube amp, I'd like the one that works best with the grados.
Mark
Last edited:
StevenZ
Texas or nothin'
You're exactly right. And for that reason when I had mine I would fire up the preamp and let it warm up for a minute or so, and THEN fire up my amp. That way I was able to avoid whatever the heck it was doing to my speakers upon startup.
-steven
KevinCorr
Super Member
Coincidentally, I was looking for a headphone amp too, recent post, small enough for an over crowded bedroom set and I went with the Little Dot III because of the size, the low price, and great reviews, eg Stereophile and others. It is on Stereophile Mag yearly best components list along with a lot more expensive ones. Just ordered it.
From Stereophile comparing it to a Music Hall:
"...This tubed headphone amp revels in being tubed. If you already love tubes, or if you want to try tubes for the first time, here is a way to do so without a lot of expense, commitment, and has- sle. I suggest you connect your source (DAC, CD player, etc.) directly to the Little Dot and bypass your line-stage preamp or integrated amplifier. But this advice applies to any headphone amplifier. Like this one . . .
I recommend the Little Dot Mk.III for the music lover who wants a rich, romantic, spacious, unfatiguing sound. It’s for those who want to revel in the beauty of tubes—who want a pure tube product, as it were, with no solid-state components in the signal path…"
http://musichallaudio.com/product_reviews/ph25.2-Sam.pdf
Last edited:
My headphone path led me to the Yamaha c-80 as well
I was looking to pick a little dot III but as I was testing some gear out with phones as the misses was studying I cleaned up and tried an old C-80 and it is now my top headphone amp....still trying to get the volume board clean as there is the slightest bit of static/ noise. The sound is pretty awesome, very dynamic, musical, controllable.
I was looking to pick a little dot III but as I was testing some gear out with phones as the misses was studying I cleaned up and tried an old C-80 and it is now my top headphone amp....still trying to get the volume board clean as there is the slightest bit of static/ noise. The sound is pretty awesome, very dynamic, musical, controllable.
I have a Little-Dot II+, Little-Dot II++, and a Little-Dot I+.
The II+ (~2006) and II++ (~2007) were predecessors to their current line, but are full-tube units that have pre-amp out capability. I originally got my II+ when I got my Yamaha M-2 amp and had nothing good to use as a preamp.
I like all three units and used them for years, but I eventually bought a Yamaha C-80 preamp to use with my Yamaha amps. The surprise came when I tried using my C-80 to power my headphones. It, quite frankly, blew away all three of my little-dot amps and I've barely touched them since.
Mr. Lin
Lunatic Member
I have the I+, here's a lengthy thread I started years ago detailing my experiences with it, including op-amp and tube rolling:
http://mail.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=259926
For the money I think it's a great little headphone amp (used with Grado SR-60 and 325i headphones), but eventually I compared it with a first-generation Pro-Ject Head Box SE, which I modified, and the Head Box turned out to be in an entirely different league. I'm still using it to this day and the Little Dot has been retired to "back up" status.
Keep in mind it's a hybrid tube/solid state amp. You'll get some of the tube goodness, but it's not a 'pure' tube amp.
I hope this helps somehow.
http://mail.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=259926
For the money I think it's a great little headphone amp (used with Grado SR-60 and 325i headphones), but eventually I compared it with a first-generation Pro-Ject Head Box SE, which I modified, and the Head Box turned out to be in an entirely different league. I'm still using it to this day and the Little Dot has been retired to "back up" status.
Keep in mind it's a hybrid tube/solid state amp. You'll get some of the tube goodness, but it's not a 'pure' tube amp.
I hope this helps somehow.
I've used a MK III with 650s for over 5 years now. If you like tubes, this will get you there. I've upgraded the driver tubes on mine, and I'm using some nice mullards for the front ends. I think it sounds quite nice - make sure you adjust the gain settings internally on the amp - I've found it makes quite a big difference.
KevinCorr
Super Member
Thanks opa1.
Oh, I had not thought of using it on a PC.
In that case I think I would want a DAC/headphone amp?
On my Headphone amp shopping thread several people suggested DAC/Headphone amps but I don't know why I would use a DAC for a non computer connected integrated amp/cdp hifi system. (unless it is better than the DAC in the cdp?)
Oh, I had not thought of using it on a PC.
In that case I think I would want a DAC/headphone amp?
On my Headphone amp shopping thread several people suggested DAC/Headphone amps but I don't know why I would use a DAC for a non computer connected integrated amp/cdp hifi system. (unless it is better than the DAC in the cdp?)