Little Dot III headphone amp
What sort of life can I expect from the valves in the LD III amp, please? My listening is usually 3 hours, most nights, at low-ish levels. I see one on fleabay, by a UK seller, slightly dearer than others direct from China - are import duties going to add to the cost of an imported one? Would it be suitable to drive Grado SR80s via Naim 72/140 amp? I will appreciate any responses.
Thanks, Graham. UK supply would seem the best. Yes, I was of the same opinion, that direct in from my Avondale AAA5+ cdp would probably be best, but both inputs will be checked out.
Geoffrey, you're welcome. Just to add that this little amp is fantastic. I'll sure you'll be very happy with one.
You can make an offer on eBay for the UK based seller one too - I bought through the same seller (but not on eBay). Very good service. 
The power tubes will also need replacing at some point. I found a seller on eBay based in the Ukraine selling sets of 4 (unused) for about £13 delivered.
Graham, I've decided on this amp, in preference to the Graham Slee Novo kit amp. Unfortunately I've prevaricated too long, and he seems to have sold all his LD Mk 3s, so I'm trying to contact him. It's tempting to purchase direct from China from David Z-Z, and hope the import charges aren't too high. I think I'd always regret not buying the LD3.
Geoff
Geoff, there will be more soon I'm sure. You won't regret it either. Fingers crossed he comes up trumps for you!
Hope so, Graham. I'm feeling excited, like a 6 year-year-old, instead if a 66 year-old!
And why not Geoff! There's something about the tubes in the LD3 for us hifi buffs and gadget freaks!
LD3 arrived today, Graham, but awaiting Christmas Day to start using it. I'm alsready looking round for valve improvements.
The bug has hit hard Geoff! Enjoy and merry Chrimble. Let us know how you get on once you get a chance to listen. Remember, about 50 hours run in to hear it at it's best.
I've just bought some spare power valves (6N6P-I) x 4 for £7.00 plus £7.00 postage. Straight from the Ukraine!
Is Christmas ever going to get here? I've already bought some Mullard 8161 valves from e-bay.. This could get expensive.............
Geoff, remember to run in to get a baseline on the stock tubes first!
Not long to go now!
Will do, Graham. Once it's up and running I'll be happier. Can you tell me if there's any limits to running hours please, Graham? When circumstances allow, I was thinking of putting the cdp on repeat, and leaving it running for as long as family life allows, but don't want do damage it. I guess heat will be a factor? Have you tried tube rolling yet? I mentioned the term to my mates at work, and some of them have very dirty minds There's still loads to learn about tube/valve amps.
Hi Geoff. They recommend 6-8 hours maximum running in and then at least a half hour break.
This forum (official) http://www.littledot.net/forum/ provides all the info you need.
I haven't tried rolling yet; I'm still enjoying the stock tubes to be honest. Just having a headphone system has made me rediscover my love of music and my collection, rather than being distracted by PCs, laptops etc. It draws you in and makes you concentrate on the music. I've even found myself reading lyrics too, which is something I've not done for years!
I use Mullard 8161 tubes in my Little Dot III with Sennheiser HD650s. I bought the amp secondhand from UK ebay seller for around £90 and am very pleased. The Mullards sound very good - plenty of detail but no harshness - I find I can listen for hours with no fatigue.
Don't forget that you will have to change the position of the jumpers/switches on the bottom of the amp for the 8161 tubes. My amp had switches to alter but I believe some Little Dot IIIs have jumpers instead.
- Login to post comments
The general message is 1000 to 4000 hours because of the age of some of the valves I guess.
However, the benefit outweighs any cost in my opinion. I've bought some EF92 Mullard M8161s which can be bought for £20 delivered on FleaBay from the UK. Described as 'Best Bang for Buck' valves for the LD III.
There may be duty to pay, but I went for the 'slightly dearer' UK seller route to get one quicker and avoid the hassle and potential damage issues from Asia. Very happy.
Your Grados will be fine but why not simply link to source direct? (I'm lucky and have 2 outputs on my Cyrus) I'm guessing you will be linking to tape out or the like, but direct to me would be the logical step to avoid more electronics.