Valve - Headphone Amps from China

I tried a "Dark Voice" amp - really well built - wiring reminded me of looking inside my quad 33 (!), looked good too. The sound was good but I have returned to my Headbox SE. Which is - looks aside - just as good. I tried to convince myself but...............

I've heard good things about the Little Dot amps but have never listened to one.
 
I have a little dot 2++ for occasional use (bedroom)

and a fairly modified (caps, signal cable, Hexfreds for diodes) G&W TW J1
http://www.china-highend-hifi.com/prod01123412233.htm

The J1 cost £55 and was brought back by a pal who works in China on and off.

The Little Dot I bought from the manufacturer via Ebay - arrived well packed and quickly.

Both work well and sound good in their different ways.

The J1 is very clean and crisp the Little dot warmer. Both have bags of power and will drive any type of phones. I've used Grado SR-125's, Sennheiser HD-650's and my portable Audio Technical ATH ANC7 (noise cancellers) with both.

Both also work as pre-amps, the J1 is actually pretty good but not as good as the Promethius TVC.

I have had a Project Headbox. Both of the above beat it for sound and auditioned a Creek OBH-21 SE - good but I like my J1.

This one looks interesting http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6p13p-6N8P-St...tcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

But I don't know it from Adam - there's so much about Little Dot's sellers / reputation and aftersales to draw on - you know it will be ok...
 
Thankyou Steve. ANyway I've gone ahead and ordered a Little dot. It should be fun to try it out and compare with my existing headphone amp _ REGA EAR
 
I'd be interested in what you think of the Little Dot - I had a rega ear before the Headbox SE so would be interested in the comparison.
 
NVA's headphone amp has a full 14-day money-back trial thing - and it will better the other suggestions so far by quite some margin.
 
the Cayin HA-1A SET partnered with AKG701 and rolled tubes is pretty sweet. build quality is exceptional. the Little Dot has received a lot of positive press on the hi-fi fora.

PACE
 
I now have the Little Dot 2 and am absolutely delighted with it. The only problem being the excessive heat that it generates which neccessitates a cool down period after about 2 hours use. I have used the amp for about 14 hours now and have noticed a considerable improvement in the instument separation and smoothness. The first impressions were of how absolutely silent this amp is and how enjoyable the music becomes when listening. It is not as detailed as some but that is a help in enjoying the whole music rather being distracted by a particular phrase or instrument. Setting up and using with my AKG 701 headphones and signal from the promitheous pre was a breeze and it sound good straight away, only requiring a few minutes of warm up. It would be unkind to compare this amp against my Rega Ear as they are quite different concepts and each has its own virtues. The Rega EAr is better suited to the bass characteristics of the AKG headphones and I suspect that the Little Dot would be a better match for the HD650
I have some plans afoot to try and deal with the thermal problem. I am thinking of fixing a copper sheet to the base to radiate some heat away.

The value for money factor is excellent and I would recommend anyone to try out this little amp, especially if you are Valve (Tube) Curious!!
 

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