The Bottlehead crack was just one option (and a good option), I myself use the Darkvoice 336SE OTL tube headphone amplifier for driving high Ohm headphones. And the Darkvoice comes already built. With my Superlux HD660, both amps did fine, however, being that the HD660 is a rock headphone, I give the Crack an edge here, although the Torpedo beats both of them in this case. My Beyer DT770 AE is very low impedance, and not suited for either of these amps, however, the bass is so bloated when connected to the 336c, that it is sort of fun.
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- Darkvoice 336se Tube Upgrade
- Darkvoice 336se Vs Bottlehead Crack Headphone Amp For Sale
How does the Little Dot Mk IV SE differ from the Little Dot Mk III?
Well, both are OTL (output transformer-less) tube amps, made by Little Dot in China. The Mk IV SE is supposed to be an upgraded version of the Mk III, with a premium price. So what are the differences?
[1] upgraded tubes - instead of stock GE5654s, you get a pair of Mullard M8100s, and also updated 6H30P-i power tubes. It should be noted that my LD Mk III came with stock RCA EF95 tubes (which was a pleasant surprise, because they were 70s vintage. I might have lucked out).
[2] The 1/4 plug on the SE is a Neutrik
[3] The SE has 'upgraded' RCA connectors
[4] The SE has pretty gold tube protectors
[5] The SE has a different volume knob
In theory the Mk IV SE is supposed to have a different ALPS pot than the Mk III, but every internal shot I have seen of the SE has the same pot as my Mk III.
David ZheZhe (Little Dot seller) claims the SE has 'premium circuit component upgrades in key signal path locations'. As to what these upgrades actually are (apart from the ones I noted above), your guess is as good as mine.
So are the differences worth the extra money?
As you start going up the Little Dot product ladder, you begin to slowly start losing the price-performance advantage you have with the Mk III.
You can get M8100s in abundance on ebay for $20-40 for the pair. The upgrade to the Elektro-harmonix 6H30P-i isn't really a deal unless you get a NOS Elektro-harmonix, since the new 'reissued' EH 6H30P from the Reflektor plant are, well, reissues.
If you are upgrading power tubes you might as well get a couple of Novosibirsk Gold Grid 6N6P-i from the 70s/80s (before the Wall came down!) for $10-15 for a pair (keep in mind that driver tubes typically last longer than power tubes, and the Gold Grids with the 'OTK' quality symbol were engineered to last a while).
Who should get this?
Those that want to experience OTL tube sound, and don't have the money to get a Woo Audio WA3, a Woo Audio WA2 or an Eddie Current Zana Deux.
Also those who own a Sennheiser HD600 or HD650, the pairing is excellent.
Keep in mind that the Little Dot Mk III is a better bang for your buck than the Mk IV SE. Also keep some money aside for tube rolling.
Who should not get this?
Folks getting their first amp (get a solid state amp!) or those who run orthodynamic headphones as their primary headphone (bad pairing, as are the Beyerdynamic T90 and T1).
Also folks whose budget will not extend to tube rolling.
And this certainly isn't 'endgame' material, if that is your goal.
Folks wanting the ultimate price performance ratio should probably look at the Little Dot Mk III. And those who want a transparent amp without coloration or distortion should not touch this with a 10 foot pole.
Who are the competitors?
The Bottlehead Crack, of course, although the Crack is a DIY OTL tube amp. And the Valhalla 2 is a serious competitor (gain switch, preamp out) especially if you are looking for a more transparent sound, as is the Woo Audio WA3 (although that costs about 2x the cose of the Mk IV SE).
Well, both are OTL (output transformer-less) tube amps, made by Little Dot in China. The Mk IV SE is supposed to be an upgraded version of the Mk III, with a premium price. So what are the differences?
[1] upgraded tubes - instead of stock GE5654s, you get a pair of Mullard M8100s, and also updated 6H30P-i power tubes. It should be noted that my LD Mk III came with stock RCA EF95 tubes (which was a pleasant surprise, because they were 70s vintage. I might have lucked out).
[2] The 1/4 plug on the SE is a Neutrik
[3] The SE has 'upgraded' RCA connectors
[4] The SE has pretty gold tube protectors
[5] The SE has a different volume knob
In theory the Mk IV SE is supposed to have a different ALPS pot than the Mk III, but every internal shot I have seen of the SE has the same pot as my Mk III.
David ZheZhe (Little Dot seller) claims the SE has 'premium circuit component upgrades in key signal path locations'. As to what these upgrades actually are (apart from the ones I noted above), your guess is as good as mine.
So are the differences worth the extra money?
As you start going up the Little Dot product ladder, you begin to slowly start losing the price-performance advantage you have with the Mk III.
You can get M8100s in abundance on ebay for $20-40 for the pair. The upgrade to the Elektro-harmonix 6H30P-i isn't really a deal unless you get a NOS Elektro-harmonix, since the new 'reissued' EH 6H30P from the Reflektor plant are, well, reissues.
If you are upgrading power tubes you might as well get a couple of Novosibirsk Gold Grid 6N6P-i from the 70s/80s (before the Wall came down!) for $10-15 for a pair (keep in mind that driver tubes typically last longer than power tubes, and the Gold Grids with the 'OTK' quality symbol were engineered to last a while).
Who should get this?
Those that want to experience OTL tube sound, and don't have the money to get a Woo Audio WA3, a Woo Audio WA2 or an Eddie Current Zana Deux.
Also those who own a Sennheiser HD600 or HD650, the pairing is excellent.
Keep in mind that the Little Dot Mk III is a better bang for your buck than the Mk IV SE. Also keep some money aside for tube rolling.
Who should not get this?
Folks getting their first amp (get a solid state amp!) or those who run orthodynamic headphones as their primary headphone (bad pairing, as are the Beyerdynamic T90 and T1).
Also folks whose budget will not extend to tube rolling.
And this certainly isn't 'endgame' material, if that is your goal.
Folks wanting the ultimate price performance ratio should probably look at the Little Dot Mk III. And those who want a transparent amp without coloration or distortion should not touch this with a 10 foot pole.
Who are the competitors?
The Bottlehead Crack, of course, although the Crack is a DIY OTL tube amp. And the Valhalla 2 is a serious competitor (gain switch, preamp out) especially if you are looking for a more transparent sound, as is the Woo Audio WA3 (although that costs about 2x the cose of the Mk IV SE).
Bottlehead Crack For Sale
DarkVoice 336SE OTL Headphone Amplifier on MassDrop! Posted by 4 years ago. You can only fix it by modding it (Look up 'darkvoice 336se hum fitz mod') it can catch fire. Did I mention it can catch fire? I have absolutely no desire to build a bottlehead crack. View Entire Discussion (4 Comments) More posts from the headphones. Banish the cold and colourless transistorized amplification from your listening room and say hello to a festival of vibrant 'sonic colour' courtesy of the DarkVoice 336SE headphone amplifier. I own quite a few headphone amplifiers, both solid state and valve, and my solid state Musical Fidelity M1 PAP headphone amp is a more rhythmically.
Darkvoice 336se Tube Upgrade
Darkvoice 336se Vs Bottlehead Crack Headphone Amp For Sale
Evening,
Pondering a new (desktop) headphone setup at the minute as I sort of miss the days where I could prop my feet up on my desk, throw on the cans and just chill without the outside world invading my listening (or sleeping which was usually the case in the evening sessions!).
Current and unused setup is AKG 550mk1 paired with an Aune T1 mk2 (with upgraded tube). I haven't used this in some while because compared to my hifi setup it's just completely sh*t in all aspects. My amp, cd player and speaker have a combined value of 4k+ RRP when new, so it's understandable that the 550 (€140) and a Chinese tube amp (€120) can't compete.
I really don't like the AKG 550, so deffo not looking to replace with newer versions. As a person who wears glasses they never sealed well on my head, so the low end was really quite sub par. They're not very comfy either, so when I did use them for hours my head would hurt at the end, unless I wore them loose enough to where they would slide off.
The Aune was a good introduction to headphone amps and tune rolling, but as I've graduated into better equipment I'm looking to improve this with a better tube amp (I like tube rolling as you can change the sound for cheap).
I'm not rolling in cash at the min, so will be buying in bits with a budget around the 1k mark.
So, on the list of amps I have:
Darkvoice 336se tube amp
Bottlehead Crack
Schit stack (of some description)
Ideally I'd like an RME ADI-2, but it's costly and maybe a bit too much for primarily Spotify. Will move onto hi-res once we get fiber to the house (a year away at least). Our current ADSL connection can't handle streaming hi-res..
anything else to consider? Doesn't have to be tube based.
As for cans, all I can think of at a decent budget level is the Senn 650. Anything else to consider here? I primarily listen to jazz, female vocalists and a touch of electronic music/hip-hop.
I'm open to used as long as the availability is there.
Pondering a new (desktop) headphone setup at the minute as I sort of miss the days where I could prop my feet up on my desk, throw on the cans and just chill without the outside world invading my listening (or sleeping which was usually the case in the evening sessions!).
Current and unused setup is AKG 550mk1 paired with an Aune T1 mk2 (with upgraded tube). I haven't used this in some while because compared to my hifi setup it's just completely sh*t in all aspects. My amp, cd player and speaker have a combined value of 4k+ RRP when new, so it's understandable that the 550 (€140) and a Chinese tube amp (€120) can't compete.
I really don't like the AKG 550, so deffo not looking to replace with newer versions. As a person who wears glasses they never sealed well on my head, so the low end was really quite sub par. They're not very comfy either, so when I did use them for hours my head would hurt at the end, unless I wore them loose enough to where they would slide off.
The Aune was a good introduction to headphone amps and tune rolling, but as I've graduated into better equipment I'm looking to improve this with a better tube amp (I like tube rolling as you can change the sound for cheap).
I'm not rolling in cash at the min, so will be buying in bits with a budget around the 1k mark.
So, on the list of amps I have:
Darkvoice 336se tube amp
Bottlehead Crack
Schit stack (of some description)
Ideally I'd like an RME ADI-2, but it's costly and maybe a bit too much for primarily Spotify. Will move onto hi-res once we get fiber to the house (a year away at least). Our current ADSL connection can't handle streaming hi-res..
anything else to consider? Doesn't have to be tube based.
As for cans, all I can think of at a decent budget level is the Senn 650. Anything else to consider here? I primarily listen to jazz, female vocalists and a touch of electronic music/hip-hop.
I'm open to used as long as the availability is there.