vixro
11-14-07, 04:48 PM
Alright, I just switched from my opamp amplifier (PIMETA with maxed out parts) to a Little Dot MKIII tube amplifier and the difference is very very nice. It's hard to consider it any better or worse as I have hardly any any burn in time and this thing tends to shine after a few hundred hours of use but out of the box it still sounds great.
Physical changes:
The amp is longer.
The amp is hotter.
The amp is taller.
It's built in China instead of self built in the USA.
It uses tubes instead of opamps.
Sound changes:
The bass has a bit more punch, but has slowly started to become more mellowed out (which is a good thing) since I turned it on.
Mids and highs are more angelic sounding. Still a bit harsh right now since it's still burning in, but it has the quality I am looking for. Very sharp sounding on loud female voices currently though.
Nice wide soundstage, this is still very similar to the PIMETA but probably attributed to my headphones and cabling more than anything.
Piano really seems to shine, I had almost a hiss at high tones on the pimeta, but the MKIII comes really clear on piano.
Rock music is slightly muddled, that low guitar sound needs to clear up a little bit. The rifts sound amazing though as is.
I think after some major burn in I will see some big changes after 100 hours, 200, and 400. Probably clear up some of the really strong bass and the harsh/shrill highs. Anyway, I am very happy with the switch and both ran about the same price after building. The little dot MKIII can be bought off of Ebay from the builder DavidZheZhe (the official/warantee builder). It runs you about $199 + $45 express shipping from China (the only option). The pimeta after upgrades, repairs, building the case and everything cost around the same price plus build time.
This is a fantastic little amp for the price and I would recommend it for anyone that has high quality headphones and is looking for an already built amplifier.
MY setup:
Sennheiser HD580 headphones (300ohm, so I have the Gain set to very high, at 10 on the amplifier. There is a little switch at the bottom that allows you to adjust it between 4 different settings) with HD600 grilles for a wider soundstage.
Cardas cabling, including the interconnect between the sound card and the amplifier. These were custom made for me (5' interconnect to mini-RCA and 10' HD650 Cardas headphone cable) and ran about $225 total cost. The actual cost if you buy them comercially is about $200 for the 10 footer and if you could find an interconnect it would be about $100-$110. I got mine from www.solozaudio.com and he actually frequents these forums and the head-fi.org forums. The cables give you clearer sound, it's so hard to describe. I can't switch back and forth and tell you the exact changes because I don't have the original cable anymore but I can try to sum it up a little bit.
You get clearer sound. More defined bass. You can pick out specific sounds and instruments easier. Changes the soundstage, though hard to describe the best way I can say is that it just allows you to actually choose exactly where the instrument is. This helped me in games even more because in Counter-Strike I can not only hear the direction of footsteps I can hear exactly how far away and at exactly what height. Somebody could reload their gun and I could tell you their exact position to the inch.
I also have a Beyerdynamic leather headband. It's black and matches the rest of the headphones better and it feels soft after a long breakin period.
Anyway I just thought that I would share, the little Dot Series is a very good pre-made amplifier at an affordable price. If you were looking for something a bit higher end you can check out the Little Dot MKIV and MKIV SE (and MKV's are to be released soon). Peronsally I think the 3 sounds great and it's the perfect midrange for those that like high sound quality but aren't quite on the level of an addicted audiophile.
Here is a buy it now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Dot-MK-III-Headphone-Tube-Amplifier-Pre-Amp_W0QQitemZ190173794733QQihZ009QQcategoryZ3280QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
And here is the seller that you can message for ones that aren't listed (he will put up a buy it now for you) or if you have any questions.
http://myworld.ebay.com/davidzhezhe/
The amp does come with interconnect cables and an adapter, but I found that custom interconnect cables work better to reduce any vibration or ground looping issues you may encounter on the MK3 (which were solved in the MK4 and later with stock cables.), because they are better shielded.
If you are curious about what a headphone amplifier does, I can answer you with a huge story or a somewhat simple answer. A headphone amp will 1) give more power to your headphones. High impedence headphones like the sennheisers have 300ohm and need a bit more power than just a sound card to fully open them up. It allows all of the sound to be played without slowdowns or volume fluctuations. The best example can be if you were listening to music and playing a game, if you had a loud explosion within the game then your music volume would actually fluctuate or go down a little bit. The amp can also change and open up the sound that you already have. Each amplifier and it's parts (opamps or tubes, or hybrids) has its own unique set of sound. You can find what fits you best and allow you to listen to your music as it was supposed to be heard. Think of it like a hardware equalizer only on 100 different levels.
Best way to test if you would benefit from an amp or not on your headphones is to plug your headphones into a home receiver. Listen to a song on your computer and then listen to the same song (from the same CD) on your home receiver. Your receiver sound will be amped and your computer sound will not. While this isn't an exact replica of what you will notice with a headphone amplifier (you have different sound sources) it will give you a general idea on how your headphones will sound when amped and if they benefit at all from it.
Physical changes:
The amp is longer.
The amp is hotter.
The amp is taller.
It's built in China instead of self built in the USA.
It uses tubes instead of opamps.
Sound changes:
The bass has a bit more punch, but has slowly started to become more mellowed out (which is a good thing) since I turned it on.
Mids and highs are more angelic sounding. Still a bit harsh right now since it's still burning in, but it has the quality I am looking for. Very sharp sounding on loud female voices currently though.
Nice wide soundstage, this is still very similar to the PIMETA but probably attributed to my headphones and cabling more than anything.
Piano really seems to shine, I had almost a hiss at high tones on the pimeta, but the MKIII comes really clear on piano.
Rock music is slightly muddled, that low guitar sound needs to clear up a little bit. The rifts sound amazing though as is.
I think after some major burn in I will see some big changes after 100 hours, 200, and 400. Probably clear up some of the really strong bass and the harsh/shrill highs. Anyway, I am very happy with the switch and both ran about the same price after building. The little dot MKIII can be bought off of Ebay from the builder DavidZheZhe (the official/warantee builder). It runs you about $199 + $45 express shipping from China (the only option). The pimeta after upgrades, repairs, building the case and everything cost around the same price plus build time.
This is a fantastic little amp for the price and I would recommend it for anyone that has high quality headphones and is looking for an already built amplifier.
MY setup:
Sennheiser HD580 headphones (300ohm, so I have the Gain set to very high, at 10 on the amplifier. There is a little switch at the bottom that allows you to adjust it between 4 different settings) with HD600 grilles for a wider soundstage.
Cardas cabling, including the interconnect between the sound card and the amplifier. These were custom made for me (5' interconnect to mini-RCA and 10' HD650 Cardas headphone cable) and ran about $225 total cost. The actual cost if you buy them comercially is about $200 for the 10 footer and if you could find an interconnect it would be about $100-$110. I got mine from www.solozaudio.com and he actually frequents these forums and the head-fi.org forums. The cables give you clearer sound, it's so hard to describe. I can't switch back and forth and tell you the exact changes because I don't have the original cable anymore but I can try to sum it up a little bit.
You get clearer sound. More defined bass. You can pick out specific sounds and instruments easier. Changes the soundstage, though hard to describe the best way I can say is that it just allows you to actually choose exactly where the instrument is. This helped me in games even more because in Counter-Strike I can not only hear the direction of footsteps I can hear exactly how far away and at exactly what height. Somebody could reload their gun and I could tell you their exact position to the inch.
I also have a Beyerdynamic leather headband. It's black and matches the rest of the headphones better and it feels soft after a long breakin period.
Anyway I just thought that I would share, the little Dot Series is a very good pre-made amplifier at an affordable price. If you were looking for something a bit higher end you can check out the Little Dot MKIV and MKIV SE (and MKV's are to be released soon). Peronsally I think the 3 sounds great and it's the perfect midrange for those that like high sound quality but aren't quite on the level of an addicted audiophile.
Here is a buy it now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Dot-MK-III-Headphone-Tube-Amplifier-Pre-Amp_W0QQitemZ190173794733QQihZ009QQcategoryZ3280QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
And here is the seller that you can message for ones that aren't listed (he will put up a buy it now for you) or if you have any questions.
http://myworld.ebay.com/davidzhezhe/
The amp does come with interconnect cables and an adapter, but I found that custom interconnect cables work better to reduce any vibration or ground looping issues you may encounter on the MK3 (which were solved in the MK4 and later with stock cables.), because they are better shielded.
If you are curious about what a headphone amplifier does, I can answer you with a huge story or a somewhat simple answer. A headphone amp will 1) give more power to your headphones. High impedence headphones like the sennheisers have 300ohm and need a bit more power than just a sound card to fully open them up. It allows all of the sound to be played without slowdowns or volume fluctuations. The best example can be if you were listening to music and playing a game, if you had a loud explosion within the game then your music volume would actually fluctuate or go down a little bit. The amp can also change and open up the sound that you already have. Each amplifier and it's parts (opamps or tubes, or hybrids) has its own unique set of sound. You can find what fits you best and allow you to listen to your music as it was supposed to be heard. Think of it like a hardware equalizer only on 100 different levels.
Best way to test if you would benefit from an amp or not on your headphones is to plug your headphones into a home receiver. Listen to a song on your computer and then listen to the same song (from the same CD) on your home receiver. Your receiver sound will be amped and your computer sound will not. While this isn't an exact replica of what you will notice with a headphone amplifier (you have different sound sources) it will give you a general idea on how your headphones will sound when amped and if they benefit at all from it.