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Little Dot MKIII & MKIII SE Tube Headphone Amps

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01 / 07

ALL PRODUCTS / AUDIOPHILE / SMSL

Little Dot MKIII & MKIII SE Tube Headphone Amps

Name: Little Dot MKIII & MKIII SE Tube Headphone Amps
Brand: SMSL
SKU: littledot-tube-amp
Price: 189 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.46875 (32 reviews)

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Product Description

Instead of a single cheap tube that gives off muddled sound, the Little Dot MKIII features four tubes: two dedicated input tubes and two dedicated output tubes. Letting your left and right audio channels enter through separate RCA ports and pass through channel specific input and output tubes before joining up at the headphone jack, you get a clear signal on both sides with little to no crossover Read More

Customer Reviews

4.5

(32 reviews)

(20)

(10)

(0)

(1)

71% would recommend to a friend

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eternal-spirit

Dec 12, 2018

Verified Buyer

Almost as satisfied as possible. I had read many reviews which mentioned there might be a humming noise (white noise if you like to call it! ) and I was really afraid that it wouldn't worth the investment. I am so pleased with the choice; the background is fairly dark especially with high impedance can (I used HD 600), and the sound is really engaging, however, I rolled tube as well, and I confess it's beneficial to spend a good deal of money on that department, but out of the box, it is really good. In comparison with my aune X7s, the sound is warmer. Definitely, both worth investment, though this one is really more fun to listen especially for electrical guitar including songs, of any genre. Hifiman HE-4XX and little dot are not especially pleasant combination, but tolerable, but HE-4xx gets fuzzy with this amp. So, if you got a non-planar can like HD-600 don't hesitate, I had heard so much more expensive tube-amps, and I can firmly say it is on par with Cayin amp (at least double the price of the little dot) if you put a good tube on it.

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Tickler136

Apr 19, 2020

eternal-spiritAppreciate that this comment is a long time after the original, but upgrading the power tubes to 6N30s takes away the distortion that blights the LD/he400i combination. I don't have any properly high impedance cans but it sounds great with my 400i and my AKG K702. I'm using 6N30s by EH and a pair of vintage RCAs.

Sune1966

Apr 15, 2019

Verified Buyer

I received my LD MK3 March 30 here in Denmark. It took about 15 days to arrive which is fair time. It took a few days in custom here in Denmark and I paid totally 1450 (LD)+ 550 DKR (custom fee ) for the amp. It was in fine condition when I opened the box, only had one of the driver tubes been pushed by the protection foam but no damage. I turned on the LD and I listened only for short time at the included tubes: there was very notable distortion and the sound was very dark, no great high frequency quality here... I had ordered GE5654W JAN and EH 6H30Pi (all paired) in Germany at tubeampdoctor (TAD) for approx DKR 1100. So the amp is totally about 3000 DKR. When those tubes was inserted instead of the included, the sound was then great. Perfect L-R balance, clean, smooth and no noise at all. I use Sennheiser HD650 (300 Ohm) + Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon (25 Ohm) + AKG K712Pro (62 Ohm)headphones. All fits the amp, no distortion with any of them. I have just bought DEKONI pads for HD650 and 712Pro. Elite sheepskin for HD650 and fenestrated sheepskin for 712Pro. The sound LD MK3 + HD650 with DEKONI is unfortunately very dark, not much detail in the high frequency but great bass slam, maybe too much on some music. The Nighthawks are OK with LD but somehow I like them better on my Note 8 with Audioquest Dragonfly Red. I have just bought AKG 712Pro because my OLD AKG K701 broke recently so the 712Pro is not yet broken in and I have fitted them with the DEKONI pads, I like the sound most with 712Pro because they have a much more open sound with super great high frequency response and great dynamic - it really is perfect with LD MK3 and the upgraded tubes. It is close to perfect sound for very little money (amp 3000 DKR and phones 1700 DKR + 600DKR for the pads). The amp have now been use for more than 2 week with 8 hours burn every day and it sounds great, there is no noise at all, it is totally quiet when no music is on. The only problem is that I think the gain it too high, I use a Pioneer N50A NAP. The volume is around 9 O-Clock with all phones (a little bit highere with 712Pro) but thankfully the volume pot has great L-R pairing so there are no problem there. And yes I use the lowest gain 3X. The only tube I would like to try out is C3G but it is not easy to find - I will not buy some not paired and used one. As I have written I am pleased with the LD sound (upgraded tubes), good frequency balance, good sound detail, good dynamic, great soundstage depth & L-R separation, no noise, no hum - it really sounds great :-)

(Edited)

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LinkOmega

May 12, 2018

Verified Buyer

I love this little amp. It's just so easy to use out of the box. I've played with a few different tubes with it and it's been pretty fun to play with. I actually use my DarkVoice 336SE a little more than this, but the DV336SE sounds like crap out of the box. You have to find good tubes for it. Or at least decent ones. This little thing was just plug it in and go. It does give me slightly more noise hum then the darkvoice, but really only noticeable on video games and music with quiet parts. I'm sure it could be remedied by tube upgrades. I did have one slot for a tube that I had to bend back into place. It was crooked. Works great though. Overall I love it and use it quite often.
I took one star off for 3 things. Bent tube slot, little more noise than competitor, and sound quality is a little lower than competitor.

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Mehoron

Mar 12, 2020

Verified Buyer

Good Tube Amp, Came With GE JAN tubes!

It took a while to ship given the current situations in the world, this couldn't be helped. I hope the makers out of Hong Kong are well and safe and that they didn't feel the need to take risks in getting this item to me. First off a couple notes. My MKIII amp came with GE JAN 5654W tubes already in it. Which is fantastic, people have said these are some of the best tubes for this amp. When the amp arrived the tubes were a little off kilter because they had been jostled during shipping, I made sure to re-seat each and every one before powering it on. The jumpers were also in the package so I assume none were set on the device, I haven't tuned any of that yet. I have an SMSL M8A DAC feeding this thing. I have two primary headphones I use currently. The first is HiFiMan HE-400i which is a planar magnetic set. As well as Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros. For the HE-400i, I was surprised they actually worked so well, I keep hearing horror stories about PM headphones and tubes. Out of the box I was listening at 40% volume. Overall this amp relaxed some of the highs in a really pleasant way, without making them feel stuffy. To check this I used the digital version of Bob Dylan's Girl From North County, that harmonica and his vocals really show how this amp colors the music. However, this amp also added some additional airyness to the bass on the planars, it's still punchy and responsive, it doesn't drown out other things going on at all, but it does feel slightly more relaxed than through the micca origen 2 or the SMSL SAP 12 solid states on the planars, which I like. I used various Deadmau5 albums and really hear the difference, Creep from "while(1<2)" really sounded great. I haven't had a chance to get to analytical with the DT770 pros, and I feel like there are already reviews covering various dynamic drivers with this amp, and those people know way more than I do. I really wanted to give those with Planars, at least HE-400i type drivers, a decent analysis.

Recommends this product? Yes

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Kmv1

Oct 18, 2019

Verified Buyer

Not impressed

The amp worked good at first then after six months the left channel started to have static. I used the little dot 2 with HD650, M1060, M1060c, and Foster Tr-xoo Mahogany. I also have 3 other amps that I listen to these headphones on. Harman Kardon HK3490 (Stereo Receiver), PS audio spout, and Earstudio Es100. Out of all these amps the Little dot 2 is ranked last. The Harman Kardon HK3490 is the best performer. It really brings out the true potential of the HD650. It's like lifting a blanket off the head headphone and now I can finally hear the clarity and power of the HD650.

Recommends this product? No

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Brutus64

Apr 19, 2020

Kmv1Might have to agree with you on the HK amp. I have the AVR 30,circa 95' bought it new and it's still kicking 25 years later. I use it for my 6xx,4xx,dt 770,880,990's Great sound. Pushes my Elac debut 5.2's nice also.

NoelSibs

May 2, 2018

Verified Buyer

Pretty good Amp! Pairs ok with Topping DX-7. Works better with Onkyo DPX-1. Resolution seems to be nicer. Details seem to be a bit better with that Combo. When used with The Bit Opus#1 it sounds really really good! Resolution and detail are good when paired with the Opus. Plus it is quite good in the mids and mid-high Range When paired with This DAP. Headphones it pairs well with are Audeze LCD-X, HifiMan HE400S. HD6XX sounds better through other sources. This amp makes the 6XX sound a bit Lush and rich for me.

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Zirbmonkey

Jul 25, 2018

Verified Buyer

I've had this for a few months now, and I really enjoy it. I also rolled the tubes with Novosibirsk 6H6P and Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV (found cheap on ebay). I only have 2 headphones I've paired with it, the Sen HD6XX, and the Mono M1060. In contrast to the LDMkIII, I also have a Schiit Magni 3.
All-in-all, I like listening through the Little Dot more than my Solid State Magni. Tubes soften and sooth, and there's a number of songs I've just closed my eyes to jammed to. The Magni3 gives all the details given the direct amplification, which is fun for a number of songs. But the LDMkIII is just generally more enjoyable to listen through. Money well spent IMHO, a great headphone amp.

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CokeCaneGun

Mar 31, 2019

ZirbmonkeyI have the same amp, and when I listened to the schiitt's vali in store I was dispointed when i got the magni 3 from online. Tube amps sound really nice

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pmaamp

May 5, 2018

Verified Buyer

Terrific little headphone amp and pre-amp. Solid build, stylish and sounds great. A good introduction to rolling tubes, if you haven't tried it before. Bringing together a balanced output (for headphone) and a pre-amp line out in the same model would be great, if achievable in a future model.

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LinkOmega

May 12, 2018

pmaampThru to make a balanced version. I've seen it on MD, but it was a little pricier

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Phuncure

Jun 26, 2019

Verified Buyer

I like it!!!

I really like the MKiii. the stock tubes were better than i thought, but will try tube roll. Nitpicking here, i wish the power led light is not blue but yellow or orange to make the whole package a old school experience. :)

Recommends this product? Yes

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