Asgard 2 & Little Dot MK gives you the best of both types..
Nov 10, 2017 13:22:18 GMT -5
novisnick likes this
Post by Steven Level on Nov 10, 2017 13:22:18 GMT -5
I recently bought a Little Dot MK II with upgraded tubes and a Schiit's Audio Asgard 2 Solid State headphone amp as well so some of this info will save someone some money on either headphone amp.
The Little Dot MKII is actually a wonderful sounding all tube headphone amp when you add the proper tubes and I'll list them here for those that have bought one or are thinking about it but fear the poor reviews from people still using the stock tubes.
Well the first thing you do with a Little Dot MK II ver. 3.0 is buy these tubes to replace the stock tubes from China.
You need to buy a matched pair of either of these 3 Power tubes. The best is the Sovtek 6H30 EB pi Super Tubes with chrome plated pins that will cost you about $70 for a matched pair. Second option is to buy a matched pair of Soviet 6H6N gold grid tubes that you can find for about $40 that come close to the performance of the Super tubes at a cheaper cost but are hard to find. Lastly the Soviet 6N6P gold grids are the easiest and cheapest option to get and they still are far better than the default 6N6P's from China that come with the Little Dot. Now for the driver tubes that you can roll of swap out for other drivers tubes that is a lot of the fun with a all tube headphone amp.
The best sounding driver tubes I found were the $20 matched tube set sold on amaz** by River Stone Audio and trust me these are the best overall sounding driver tubes I have ever heard. I was in denial for a while but these beat out my Mullard Black Hole tubes that cost me $43 for a matched pair.
So if you want the best but lowest cost Little Dot MK II that can drive my HD 650's with ease you buy the Soviet 6N6P power tubes and the GE driver tubes for about $200 total cost. The best Little Dot MK II set is the Sovtek 6H6PEBpis and the GE matched pair driver tubes at $255 overall cost. So this is the best setup for the Little Dot MK II that I have been able to get and I and a friend of mine tried about 10 different driver tubes or more combined. The( Mullard 6AK5W $43)( Vostek 6AK5W $40)Siemens Blue Glass 6AK5W at $33) (Sylvania 6AK5W from 1959 $35) (GE jans $10 for lot of 4 tubes) (GE jan matched tubes $20) this is a list of 5 that I tried my buddy tried many more than I did.
Also the Little Dot MK II has a gain setting adjustment that is inside the unit and needs to be set for your 32 Ohm or your 300 Ohm headphones. It's simple to do but does require you to unscrew the L.D.s chassis but it should be a one time deal.
So this Little Dot MK II $165 All Tube headphone amp easily beats out other all tube headphone amps like the one that Schiit's Audio sells for $350+ shipping and this Little Dot MKII sounds better and allows many different tubes while the others limit you to driver tube only limited changes. I called Schiits and asked about buying the $350 all tube amp they sell and they told me not to use any different power tubes but that I could roll the driver tubes. Wow $350 and they were using tubes from China which are simply bad sounding tubes! So there you have the Little Dot II review slash tube ordering guide.
Now I just bought a new Schiits' Asgsard 2 for $250+ $17 for Priority Shipping so $267 and this thing is a tank! It's very well built and weighs 5 pounds, as well as putting out 380mw into a 300 ohm load it can really drive my HD 650's. I like the Little Dot MKII a lot but this Asgard 2 has me in awe of it's sound stage when using my HD 650's with it. It's such a quiet headphone amp that digital CD's are simply wonderful and I can hear things like noisy CD transports with this solid state Class A amp and my HD 650's. So the Asgard 2 is super clean and has a wonderful overall neutral sound you want in a Class A headphone amp. It's just going to get better and I do not think you can do better at $267 than this Asgard 2 that is also made in America if that matters to you. It also has a gain switch from high to low that is fast and simple when changing headphones.
Two great amps with 2 very different sound signatures but both are worth owning to switch between that nice tube sound or the tried and true neutral sound that the Asgard 2 give you. Hope this helps someone out. Steve
The Little Dot MKII is actually a wonderful sounding all tube headphone amp when you add the proper tubes and I'll list them here for those that have bought one or are thinking about it but fear the poor reviews from people still using the stock tubes.
Well the first thing you do with a Little Dot MK II ver. 3.0 is buy these tubes to replace the stock tubes from China.
You need to buy a matched pair of either of these 3 Power tubes. The best is the Sovtek 6H30 EB pi Super Tubes with chrome plated pins that will cost you about $70 for a matched pair. Second option is to buy a matched pair of Soviet 6H6N gold grid tubes that you can find for about $40 that come close to the performance of the Super tubes at a cheaper cost but are hard to find. Lastly the Soviet 6N6P gold grids are the easiest and cheapest option to get and they still are far better than the default 6N6P's from China that come with the Little Dot. Now for the driver tubes that you can roll of swap out for other drivers tubes that is a lot of the fun with a all tube headphone amp.
The best sounding driver tubes I found were the $20 matched tube set sold on amaz** by River Stone Audio and trust me these are the best overall sounding driver tubes I have ever heard. I was in denial for a while but these beat out my Mullard Black Hole tubes that cost me $43 for a matched pair.
So if you want the best but lowest cost Little Dot MK II that can drive my HD 650's with ease you buy the Soviet 6N6P power tubes and the GE driver tubes for about $200 total cost. The best Little Dot MK II set is the Sovtek 6H6PEBpis and the GE matched pair driver tubes at $255 overall cost. So this is the best setup for the Little Dot MK II that I have been able to get and I and a friend of mine tried about 10 different driver tubes or more combined. The( Mullard 6AK5W $43)( Vostek 6AK5W $40)Siemens Blue Glass 6AK5W at $33) (Sylvania 6AK5W from 1959 $35) (GE jans $10 for lot of 4 tubes) (GE jan matched tubes $20) this is a list of 5 that I tried my buddy tried many more than I did.
Also the Little Dot MK II has a gain setting adjustment that is inside the unit and needs to be set for your 32 Ohm or your 300 Ohm headphones. It's simple to do but does require you to unscrew the L.D.s chassis but it should be a one time deal.
So this Little Dot MK II $165 All Tube headphone amp easily beats out other all tube headphone amps like the one that Schiit's Audio sells for $350+ shipping and this Little Dot MKII sounds better and allows many different tubes while the others limit you to driver tube only limited changes. I called Schiits and asked about buying the $350 all tube amp they sell and they told me not to use any different power tubes but that I could roll the driver tubes. Wow $350 and they were using tubes from China which are simply bad sounding tubes! So there you have the Little Dot II review slash tube ordering guide.
Now I just bought a new Schiits' Asgsard 2 for $250+ $17 for Priority Shipping so $267 and this thing is a tank! It's very well built and weighs 5 pounds, as well as putting out 380mw into a 300 ohm load it can really drive my HD 650's. I like the Little Dot MKII a lot but this Asgard 2 has me in awe of it's sound stage when using my HD 650's with it. It's such a quiet headphone amp that digital CD's are simply wonderful and I can hear things like noisy CD transports with this solid state Class A amp and my HD 650's. So the Asgard 2 is super clean and has a wonderful overall neutral sound you want in a Class A headphone amp. It's just going to get better and I do not think you can do better at $267 than this Asgard 2 that is also made in America if that matters to you. It also has a gain switch from high to low that is fast and simple when changing headphones.
Two great amps with 2 very different sound signatures but both are worth owning to switch between that nice tube sound or the tried and true neutral sound that the Asgard 2 give you. Hope this helps someone out. Steve
