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In Reply to: RE: What are your thoughts on the Little Dot amps? posted by Frank I on September 10, 2011 at 13:09:56
I also currently use vintage equipment to drive my headphones. I had previously used either a Marantz 2325 and then later a 2285B receiver with great results. I currently use a Tandberg TDA3012 integrated amp which blows both of those receivers away for sound quality. I am also considering the Little Dot Mark IV amp as it can use 5687 tubes which I have an abundance of. I am guessing that it will not have the same solidity of the bass as the Tandberg but I am guessing that imaging and sound staging should be better.
"Nothing quite like high voltage DC to sharpen the mind and body!"
Follow Ups:
The only Marantz receiver I owned was the 2220B and uit was only fair. I much preferred the Pioneer SX650 and the SX980 I owned. I used the SX980 to drive the HiFiman HE6 and when I sold the planar I sold the SX980. The Little Dot Mk 1V is an upgraded version of the MK 111. The OP has the hybrid which Little Dot recommends for low impedance cans like the D2000. If you using low impedance cans I believe a SS or hybrid will be better than the OTL. I enjoy my Decware setup and had the Little Dot Mk11 as my first headphone amp. the MK111 is better and I have not heard the 1V but I have seen good reviews on headfi regarding that amp. The Little Dots I have heard are all good amps and play well above their price points IMO.
I have a Pioneer SX800 I picked up at a yard sale and have never used. One of the 7189 outputs would glow red and I was too lazy to check it out and it's in storage. Does that thing have decent headphone output? I dont see a dedicated phones output transformer so I'm curious where the headphone output comes from. (again too lazy to look).From your post you have experience with the SX650 and the SX680 but wondered if the SX800 is similar?
I am not familiar with the SX800 is it a tube amp because the 7189 is EL84 variant tube and was wondering. On the SS receivers the headphone out is better than any headphone amp I owned in SS. I would assume yours would do well also. Try auduiokharma and post a question on their site or in the vintage column here
Sorry if this is OT...Frank I, why did you go with the Decware Taboo over the Mini Torii? I'm trying to decide which way to go!
Thanks for your input. The Marantz 2325 is a 125 WPC boat anchor from about 1973 and the 2285B is an 85 WPC unit from about 1977-78. The 2285B had much better sound quality due to it's dual mono power/dual secondary supply design. Both have very nice sound quality and are pretty powerful. The Tandberg 3012 is a whole different beast. It is a 100 WPC mosfet output dual mono amp with a torroidal power transformer. It is also a direct coupled servoed design so there are minimal caps in the signal path. It is a very nice sounding amp and works very well for driving low impedance cans. I was interested in the Little Dot amp as the rest of my audio system is virtually all tube based. I was hoping to get some of the good tube qualities without sacrificing too much dynamic control. For it's price the Little Dot Mark IV seemed to be the ticket from what I've read so far.
"Nothing quite like high voltage DC to sharpen the mind and body!"
I am aware of the higher end Marantz receivers. I only owned the 2220B which was the lower priced amp and not in the same class as either of those receivers. If you using headphones regularly also may want to check out the decware CSP2 but its twice the price of the Little Dot but if your keeping your budget under 500.00 the Little Dots are all good choices.
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