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Re: Headphones
F107plus5 #159225 03/23/07 06:49 PM
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aficionado
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I have a new toy:





I decided headphones would be a cheaper way to try out tubes. It's a Little Dot II++ (not the coolest sounding name...). So far, I think I like this kind of distortion! Both my Senn 595 and 580 (595 in particular) sound better out of this than my other amp (HeadAmp Gilmore Dynamic V2), and that one cost over twice as much. The Gilmore sounds a little quicker - maybe even a little more revealing, but the Little Dot sounds more natural than the Gilmore. Midrange seems a little smoother (vocals in particular seem more lifelike) and bass is much better (though maybe a bit bloated) - overall it's a really satisfying presentation. And it can function as a preamp as well. Plus you can modify the sound with a different set of tubes. Pretty nifty if you ask me - and all for $200!

Re: Headphones
AdamP88 #159226 03/23/07 06:51 PM
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shareholder in the making
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Adam:
Where did you get it?


::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
Re: Headphones
MarkSJohnson #159227 03/23/07 06:53 PM
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via eBay. It comes from China, but there's a nice following on www.head-fi.org, so I decided to give it a try. Shipping was actually quite quick - under a week.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Dot-2-PLUS-PL...1QQcmdZViewItem

Re: Headphones
AdamP88 #159228 03/23/07 07:26 PM
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W
Wid Offline
axiomite
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W
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Nice amp from what I have read. I put in a bid on a used one some time back, to bad it didn't end up being the winning bid.


Rick


"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud

Re: Headphones
Wid #159229 03/23/07 11:27 PM
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Apparently this newest ++ version is a pretty noticeable improvement over the older Little Dot 2 and 2+, from what I've read. Better power tubes and better parts throughout, basically. It really is a great little amp. I did a little more comparison to my other amp, and the Little Dot's bass is just so much better there's no contest - the Gilmore sounds downright anemic in that respect. The Gilmore does do imaging noticeably better though - much more precise. But the more I listen to the Little Dot, the more clinical the Gilmore sounds.

I've also found out that this thing runs quite hot. Not just the tubes, but the entire chassis gets warm enough that it becomes uncomfortable to leave my hand on it for more than a few seconds. Not that I regularly do that while listening, so I'm fine. And it can act as a heater on cold nights.

Re: Headphones
AdamP88 #159230 03/24/07 04:09 AM
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axiomite
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Very nice, Adam! Looks to be a pretty good buy for $200 bucks. Brand new amp and you're already talking about tube rolling! Actually, I think it's pretty cool to be able to slightly modify the sound. What kind of tubes does it run?


***********
"Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose
Re: Headphones
St_PatGuy #159231 03/24/07 04:23 AM
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Stock it comes with Chinese military spec 6C19 power tubes and Ediswan EF92 drivers. Not the most common tubes out there, but after reading a bit on head-fi about equivalent tube types, I did a quick google/ebay search and came up with some possibilities for both.

Also realized that you can remove two internal jumpers that supposedly allow the amp to drive lower impedance cans better. I dunno if I like the changes to the sonics, though. Bass actually tightens up well, but it loses something in the midrange.

What a weird world, this tube amp stuff.

Re: Headphones
AdamP88 #159232 03/24/07 05:39 AM
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axiomite
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The good news is that the amp runs only four tubes. That'll keep cost down if you want to start experimenting. I'd say run them with the stock tubes to familiarize yourself with the sound and it'll be easier to discern any differences once you start "rolling."

Aargh, you're gonna make me want to start looking at headphone amps again. Must stay away from head-fi. . .


***********
"Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose
Re: Headphones
AdamP88 #159233 03/24/07 06:01 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
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connoisseur
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GAH!

I have 595's..eeeh...must...not...look...longer



M22s|VP100|QS4s|HSU STF2
Re: Headphones
AdamP88 #159234 03/24/07 08:33 PM
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Tubes? You're dead to me.


Actually, I look forward to hearing your pleasing distortion generator when I'm out there in June for WWDC.

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