Little Dot MKII Tube Headphone Amp Discussions | Drop

Mar 19, 2018

octagonLate reply, but I made my research too some time ago and what I found is that the biggest difference is form factor and build quality, both external and internal (circuits). The MKIII uses better components: from caps to volume pot, soldering, everything's a bit "better done". But the difference is not that big, both can come defective, so just for that they're not different enought to justify the price gap. HOWEVER, when you consider the MKIII comes with 5654 & 6H6PI tubes installed by default, it makes more sense.
So, if you already have some good quality tubes (like me, as a LD I+ owner) I'd say go for the MKII. If you have nothing and/or just wanna plug & play without looking for replacement tubes or anything, MKIII is the way to go, because stock MKII sounds terrible with stock tubes.

Mar 19, 2018

octagon

Mar 19, 2018

Eli35well, i guess i'd better invest in some better tubes soon then! i just didn't get them with the drop cuz i found that they're quite a bit cheaper buying separately. thanks for the reply!

Mar 19, 2018

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maheider

Mar 19, 2018

octagonThere are many places online that you can purchase tubes that will work in either the MKII or III for very reasonable prices. Many of them are sourced from former Soviet-block countries, where there must have been a lot of NOS tubes sold off by the military after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But, the quality is very, very good in my experience. The only issue is you may need to wait a while for them to be delivered.

Mar 19, 2018

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Mar 19, 2018

octagonYes, they are. Maybe not exactly the same models, but for example the Voskhod 6zh1p-ev are cheap and easy to find on eBay, even in matched pairs. My two favorite tubes are Voskhod & Mullard M8161/CV4015, both great but different enought to justify having both lying around on my desk (Voskhods are more warm & balanced, Mullards are brighter and airier).

Mar 19, 2018

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maheider

Mar 19, 2018

Eli35Two good recommendations there. I have both types you mentioned and they are both very good. Getting matched ones is definitely the way to go. You can tell the difference between channels when they are not matched closely.

Mar 19, 2018

Mar 22, 2018

Eli35No actually the stock Chinese tubes on the Mk II sound very nice. I have 15 different preamp pairs and a few power tubes...and the Chinese tubes can hang with all. Not sure why people spread this false information.

Mar 22, 2018

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Mar 22, 2018

octagonStart with some GE 5654 JAN and some Russian 6N6P-i Gold Grids. Shipping from Russia was about 2 weeks. From there try some 6HM5 and 6CB6A preamp tubes and the CV4010 which are nice. There are at least a dozen types that work. Possibly more. I'm still learning. I have about 15 different preamp pairs....so far.

Mar 22, 2018

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Mar 22, 2018

Assimilator702Holy shit you went a bit too hard on tube rolling hahaha, you're probably having some fun, congratulations! Now speaking of the stock tubes, you got the typical chinese 6J1? Because I had a pair of 6J1 that came with a preamp DIY kit bought some time ago, and they sounded really bad: too bright, lacking bass, congested, noisy... They only "good" thing is that these added some brightness to my dark 6XX, but it wasn't a enjoyable sound, by far. Also, If I wanted a good bright sound I'd go with a solid-state amp, tubes are cool for the extra warmth and relaxed sound (kinda opposite to what you get with the 6J1 lol).

Mar 22, 2018

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Mar 22, 2018

Eli35Well as I understand it there are 2 maybe 3 major Chinese tube factories. I received tubes with the star marking in the middle of a circle which according to something I was reading are from the more reliable and higher quality factories. I was expecting them to sound like trash and the sound sig was very close to my Magni 2U. Nothing in the frequency range stood out. It is just a very clean sound sig. It wasn't until I tried different tubes that I got a more tube like sound. This amount deffinately punches WAY above it's price at the $165 I paid and even more so at lower prices.
Now for as many people that say the tube rolling guide on head-fi is SO GREAT I have to say it's not organized very well. The chart on page 585 doesn't specify which Little Dot amp each tube can safely be used plus there are TONS of nice sounding tubes that work that aren't listed in the chart..... making it criminally incomplete. Sometimes I feel like a headless chicken trying to find out solid info. eBay has been the BEST source of info since you have sellers that know tubes and they list them with the neccesary tube classification markers. But there are still DOZENS of USA made Pentode tubes that will work in the preamp section that are undocumented. It's a matter of someone having the balls to try one out and see what happens. And then there might be only one post where a new tube is mentioned so you have to sift through every page and of course find a post pertaining to the MK2 and not one of the other amps. It would be nice if there was a SOLID PRIMER on the things that need to be looked for to determine if a tube is suitable to use in our amps. LITTLE DOT tube guide for dummies? Rant over.

Mar 22, 2018

Mar 22, 2018

Assimilator702You're right, there's a lot of tube families that can fit the Little Dot amps. But all of them share the pentode configuration, as well as voltage/current specs. Find the latter, and you've found the information you're looking for. I read these specs long time ago, don't remember where but you should be able to find out quite easily. Good luck!

Mar 22, 2018

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octagon

Mar 22, 2018

Eli35so regarding tube rolling, which pair of tubes are the ones that people actually replace? i wasn't entirely certain as to the function of the bigger pair.

Mar 22, 2018

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Mar 22, 2018

octagonBoth. Preamp tubes are either EF95(6AK5), EF92 or EF91. Power tubes you only have the 6N6P vareties. This are mostly available from Russia or Ukraine. Shitloads on eBay. I've picked up 60 tubes in the last month and spent less than $200.

Mar 22, 2018