Darkvoice VS Little Dot MK II - Budget Tube Amps

[@Burix1337]

Great to see you're stepping up your editing game. Love your Content, wish you all the best.

[@KUDJU]

We want more headphones comparisons with the DarkVoice and tube recommendation for rolling please :>

[@the_wau_]

please

[@Assimilator702]

I own almost every tube for the Darkvoice if you need tube recommendations.

[@the_wau_]

@@Assimilator702 please! :D currently i am most interested in the Tung Sol 6SN7 & RCA 6AS7G (black plate) per DMS' recommendation

[@Assimilator702]

@@the_wau_ Well I can say that out of every tube I tried out there were no tubes that "sounded" bad. There were only a set of 2 Raytheon VT-231 tubes that were very noisy. 1 tube the noise level reduced significantly to an acceptable level after several days of burn in to alow enough level to use with quiet music with the 2nd tube I wouldn't use at all with anything except for very loud music.

[@g.s.3074]

Great review as always and very insightful. My personal tube rolling for the Darkvoice 336se came to an end when this combination was discovered. There was zero burn-in needed. Pitch black background from the start. Tubes: Winged “C” NOS SED 6AS7 power tube. Shuguang Natural Sound CV181-T preamp tube. It’s a notch above the Treasure version. This combination is so sonorous, and makes my HD600’s as well as the Sundara’s sound amazing.

[@cheapaudioman]

I may need to get a Lil Dot. Great review

[@erezaviv]

I just bought the Little Dot MKII + CV4010 tubes and the HD58X jubilee. can't wait to try them out!

[@nikks1371]

After a couple of months, how is the setup?

[@erezaviv]

@@nikks1371 Well, Its been great. this amp fits the HD58X very nicely as expected. Its very warm and rich sounding without losing much of the high notes. I also use my 600Ohm DT990 with this Amp and so far i'm really impressed with it.

[@lczp]

@@erezaviv Do you notice much improvement on the 58xs compared to the 600s? I have the jubilees on the MK3 and they seem stubborn to tubes, but I remember getting shocked with my old 600 transformation

[@erezaviv]

@@lczp I don't have the HD600 at hand to compare, but wIth the HD58X the difference between a solid state and a tube amp is mild but definitely noticeable. It gives them even more warmth and a little boost to the low end, while taming the highs just a little bit. That said, i've swapped the driver tubes with a pair of CV4010's and i have no idea how it sound with the stock tubes. I guess with the HD600 giving their 300Ohm impedance and their low end roll off, it will be a more noticeable difference going from solid state to a full tube amp.

[@shehab1993]

I got the hd6xx with the darkvoice as my first audiophile setup , 2 setups later , it's still my favorite setup.

[@bmdoughe]

Did you roll the tubes?

[@shehab1993]

@@bmdoughe yes I bought a few and found the best for me to be RCA power tube and electro hamonix pre amp tube

[@Assimilator702]

@@shehab1993 Dod you try any of the metal base 6080 tubes? Those are great and I,like them better than the large glass RCA 6AS7.

[@jmcc2736]

Would love to know how the Schiit Vali 2+ compares

[@yourstruly1665]

I use the Tung Sol on the preamp and the RCA 6AS7G for my power tube on the Dark Voice 336 and it sounds lush, liquid and wonderful with my higher impedance headphones. It is honest tube sound and not some minor tweak you get with some of the hybrid headphone amps. Yeah, the Dark Voice may cost more but it is worth every penny.

[@PurpleStormProductions]

I’ve been hoping for this exact video! Thank you dawg

[@jonharvey6295]

I really dig the cinematography on these

[@EverythingisFire]

Now what about the MK III vs Dark Voice? :)

[@jasonclary5072]

Nice review, listening to it through a 3rd party DAC into Tube rolled Little Dot II into AMG K702 cans.

[@thatchinaboi1]

I absolutely love the Little Dot Mk2 with upgraded Voskhod Driver Tubes and Russian Power Tubes for my Sennheiser HD300 Pros. However, I do not like them as a preamp for my studio monitors, as it doesn't have the fast transient response I get with my hybrid tube preamp which also uses Voskhod tubes. The slight compression of a full tube preamp works well with the Sennheiser HD300 Pros because the bass is rather dry and anemic (although they are quite accurate) and the LD Mk2 helps give the bass more weight and body with the slightly longer sustain. The highs are less harsh on my HD300 Pros with the Little Dot Mk2 than the solid state headphone amp of my Quantum 2626.

[@VoicelessAuthority]

I was looking for a comparison like this! Thanks!

[@armchairracer007]

DT990 600ohm into Little Dot Mk2 with upgraded tubes is endgame stuff. Would like to try those headphones on a darkvoice tho

[@iknowyounot88]

I own both myself, After tube rolling once with amazing sound (CV131) on the LDMK2 I bought the DV and I agree on the ability and capabilities on the DV are greater with a noticeable depth and that's just with stock. Id love to see your take on tube rolling both.

[@fortheprofit2186]

The cv4015 are even better

[@woodstock480]

I think the Darkvoice is generally $200 when available through Drop, which greatly reduces the price difference between the two.

[@annelouisemendoza394]

Correct! You can buy it at Apos and price match with the lowest price in the internet and get a 2 year warranty. Way better

[@MikeDawson1]

@@annelouisemendoza394 trying a price match for this at Apos now

[@MikeDawson1]

@@annelouisemendoza394 Apos denied the price match.

[@dark-california]

@@MikeDawson1 Really ... 🤔

[@MikeDawson1]

@@dark-california because it's not currently an active sale

[@DamienQuill]

Thanks for this, looking forward to more tube-crafting.

[@napalmhardcore]

I have the Little Dot MK 3. I found that switching gain settings altered the sound (this applied to both the headphone and preamp output). It seemed to become thicker and slightly more bassy on high gain compared to the lower gain setting. I'll admit that this has kind of put me off using it because I was never sure whether to have the volume control higher on low gain or lower the volume on high gain. I really need to compare each setting against a neutral amp for reference to see which is closer.

[@soulfulfool]

I use it on mid gain, that way it can drive 32-300 Ohm, dont have 600 ohm headphones to use high gain

[@jonathanr2830]

Great job! Very well done!

[@hernanaqp25]

THX!!? I'm waiting for long time this review

[@mastroitek]

I just got an xDuoo TA-20, I'm using rca in and single headed out for my 660s but i have to rise the volume to 65-75 in order to get to a loud listening volume. This is a bit strange since (for my understanding) the amp should have 2W out in 32ohm for both single and balanced output. Someone has any clue of what is going on?

[@MC-rb5tf]

I don't think there is anything wrong with your amp. I use the same amp as my daily driver. Currently i'm using balanced in for my DAC and quarter inch out for my DT 1990. I usually listen between 60 and 65. When I use full balanced with my Sundaras, the volume averages around 60 for reference.

[@mastroitek]

@@MC-rb5tf Hey thx, I was a bit worried that maybe I got a faulty unit.

[@BunnyslippersEUC]

I use the Ifi IEmatch to lower the signal for efficient headphones or IEM.

[@jamesj5469]

I've never notices the dark voice being really loud. I want to change more of my tubes

[@emilnagy3549]

With the right tubes the DV will make anything sound gooey and warm. HD600 & DT880 600 Ohm play very well. Plenty of power even for the Beyers with a 5998 power tube or a 6080. And as far as HD660s go, people keep talking about the HD560s being excellent on tubes but they only 120 ohms while the above mentioned are 150. You CAN run them on tube with excellent results but again, you have to find YOUR preferred sound tubes. The DV pairs great with a Zen DAC btw. That Truebass button works magic on the Senns 600.

[@maybepatrick369]

Congrats on 50k bro

[@ChristopherAshworthpage]

I agonized over this exact decision for a month. I chose the DarkVoice for another reason the Little Dot mk2 weights in at 5.5 pounds the DarkVoice at 12 pounds for that reason I believe the power handling of the DV is more of a beast. I am glad to finally hear someone actually say that the DV has more separation. DMS thank you for your research, you are a scholar and a gentleman. Please give us an mid level tube swap and more importantly God mode Tube swap. Surely Sir with all the Tubes that get deposited in your mail you might find something singularly special. Cheers.

[@ChristopherAshworthpage]

I also heard that the Little Dot MkII can have a slightly uneven sound level from side to side. This due to its parallel design.

[@elliotparnell7805]

I have HD660s and I know they're a lower impedance so I was wondering if tubes will do much for their sound or is it not worth it

[@elliotparnell7805]

@@CJNooberson gotcha i was mainly wondering if it would have a positive impact on the sound

[@Nick_4i]

@@CJNooberson the little dot mk2 is an OTL. The smaller mk1 is a hybrid, which is probably what you're thinking of.

[@hernanaqp25]

im going for the little dot mk2 and i will buy Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV for rolling, because i read in head-fi that they highly recommend it to start.

[@Assimilator702]

Don’t do it. I bought a Little Dot Mk II first and I didn’t like the Russian Voskhod preamp tubes. The GE tubes and Amperex tubes are MUCH better. At the end of the day just get the Darkvoice. I have almost 60 tubes for my Littledot and I’m selling it all off. The tubes used for the Littledot are not used to their full potential and are not ideal for audio purposes. The Darkvoice tubes are much better tubes. I would have saved a lot of $$$ if I just went with the Darkvoice and 20 tubes in the first place.

[@hernanaqp25]

@@Assimilator702 auch 20 tubes..., I already bought the little dot with the Russian tube, so I'm going to wait to hear them if I don't like them, I'll go for a solid amp the darkvoice I can't afford it since with the customs price the equipment that is at $ 300 happens to be for $ 430 with shipping costs added, so if I don't like the little dot m2 I'll go for the L30 topping and bye, I don't need more. Thanks for your answer

[@patrickboisson3022]

Would love to know where you picked up the wall art/sound proofing used. Also the background music is awesome 🔥😌

[@Shozimus]

I so wish that somebody did a comparison between DarkVoice, LIttle Dot MkII and Feliks Audio Echo, a little bit more expensive as a new amp. But theres quite a bit of them in Poland on the used market, and the price point is very symilar.

[@whotheone55]

I am using the mk 2 with a HD6XX but I cannot achieve a lot of volume even after adjusting the gain to fit 300 ohm Headphones. While my fiio BTR5 has no issues providing enough juice. Am missing something new to all things sound and it's gadgets. The output source is a planar P1 if that is of importance

[@Ventace1022]

Out of curiosity, do you perhaps have a list of recommended tubes for the Little Dot MK II? I feel that many people would want to upgrade their tubes, knowing that a tube upgrade would be a noticeable improvement over the stock tubes, but tube rolling adds up in cost and could sometimes end up costing more than the amp itself. Just an idea, but perhaps you can do a tube tier list for a future video. Of course, as tubes cannot really be measured objectively, it might be a good idea to collaborate with some other KZbinrs like Joshua Valour again, if you ever consider it.

[@kevinbirge2130]

Darkvoice and Grado 325?

[@urbenkam]

How does darkvoice pairs with atrium

[@prabinpaudel5572]

Why don't you ever talk about Beyer 880 600ohm with tubes?

[@DMS3TV]

It’s great. My pair just got damaged though so it wasn’t in the video.

[@prabinpaudel5572]

@@DMS3TV oh ok. Sometimes I feel like going the tube route completely. 6xx, 880 and a tube amp

[@NautiOG]

Please link R2R Dac in video. Enjoyed the video.

[@sonorangaming449]

what are your thoughts on the Darkvoice vs xDuoo TA-26? Josh is the only one that have seen do a side by side comparison of them. I was going to get the DV but ended up getting the TA-26 on a black friday sale.

[@Belemrys]

Thinking about getting one of these for a Classics 99 Noire but not sure which...

[@ajjohnston78]

Got a dark voice from DROP and had to return it. The Buzz never went away.

[@dannybos7024]

Drop sucks in general.

[@christianfinazzi8226]

Dt 880 600 ohm + darkvoice or little dot pleeeeaase I have them but I am still not sure about how to power them

[@MyChannel-vm6dw]

Which specific tubes did you use on Dark Voice?

[@ninjaguy03]

DMS, how would you compare these guys to a Valhalla II?

[@eDrumsInANutshell]

Hi, I have the chance to get the little Dot 1+ with some tubes. But ... I could also afford the Little Dot Mark II. What do you guys think - full tube or hybrid headphone amp?

[@pfredrikolsson]

"DAC with volume control"? Can't you just turn down the volume on your PC (if that is what you use as a source)?

[@zenboy2000]

Great review dude. How about a vs of balanced tube hybrids, like the XDUOO TA-20 vs Little Dot MK III SE both of which should play nice with planars?

[@alleycatjack4562]

Do you think the DarkVoice has enough power to drive the k240 sextetts? They are hard to drive. When I look up the spects, it says the DarkVoice is capable of 1 Watt of power, but it doesn't mention at what impedance that is at.

[@DMS3TV]

I would be shocked if it didn't have the juice.

[@GabiCRX1989]

Great video! You should try La Figaro 339 and do review on Sennheiser HD600 moded by Customcans.

[@ChristopherAshworthpage]

La Figaro 399 is a twice the beast of a DarkVoice

[@truepaulesko]

Great review! I´m very intrigued about that soekris dac. I am probably going to buy a soekris kit for a DIY project, and it would be awesome to have your take on these r2r dacs. I know not all soekris dacs sound the same, but anyway... there is very little info around and I guess it´s a very good product.

[@garygriffiths7353]

What are great upgrade tubes for the dark voice?

[@donvittoriosierra]

Which tubes were rolled on the little dot?

[@maze400]

What are your thoughts on the Little Dot III? Paired with the HD650 and the Grado SR125? The Grado sound a little to bright while the HD650 sounds like there is a silent blackness in-between instruments. There is an airiness of white noise with the Grado's and I am wondering if there is something wrong with them?

[@rainingman338]

What do you thing of cheap tube pre amps? I feel like thats a good option if you want a lot of power but still the tube sound.

[@dannybos7024]

They're decent in combination with a proper amp and DAC.

[@a.l-x1612]

Little Dot with K361? What do you guys think? Does it make sense?

[@zeeshanrahman5452]

I heard little dot mk2 with voskhod 6j1 driver tube is a beast

[@Conno422]

You didn't put in a link for the DAC you said you were using.

[@martinfox2244]

How many different tube sets were tested in each? What were the differences?

[@woodkraft7575]

Thanks for your good video and I fount an adapter (SAT UB-1) that can connect headphones by connecting to the amplifier speaker terminal on etsy.

[@darthlopez]

Can anyone please recommend? Can I use the dark voice with my beyer dt 1990 pro ? Thanks

[@geoffreydebrito2653]

What do you know, I own the Little dot Mk lll tube headphone amp and the Drop HD6XX. Nice combo for classical, jazz and well recorded vocals. The Little dot fed by my LG ThinQ G7 Cell phone's outstanding DAC takes it to a higher level.

[@matthewhilty4209]

Have you tried the schiit vali ? If so what did you think ?

[@aceofspades6667]

man loving this DMX channel.. arf arf arf

[@rene837]

Hey DMS, the HD600 is still missing in your headphone list. Will you add it in the future?

[@EliteLurker760]

if I were to pair up a Darkvoice with Sennheiser HD 6XXs would I need a DAC as well? Would my existing Fulla 2 be okay for this purpose? I've read the tubes really change the sound and want to try it out without dropping an absolute boatload. Thanks in advance and great video!

[@sghound]

at last, a proper comparison

[@pinoyxbox]

Valhalla 2 and lyr 3 please

[@dark-california]

Love my Rhino Darkvoice Changed stock tubes to Sylvania & RCA tubes and ... 👌

[@Assimilator702]

Look into all the metal base 6080 tubes. They’re all worth owning. The Tung Sol is great.

[@rapmeister5242]

What tube amp do you recommend for HD560 to give it some bass and give it life in general?

[@genhydro]

Thanks for vid - exactly what I needed. What are your thoughts on the Little Dot MKIII (3)? Cheers!!

[@stuka78]

besides HD6xx... which other headphone does pair well with tubes? what about grado hemp? koss kph30i?

[@dannybos7024]

DT880, 5XX, HD700

[@land_walker]

So if you ever see The Darkvoice on Drop, Apos audio will match it, so you can get it for $200.00 pretty easily. Also, a great and super cheap tube for the DV is a NOS Russian Foton for about $3 on ebay. The Foton will be like $9 with shipping. Maybe try out the Schiit Valhalla 2 sometime, as it is a great OTL tube amp at $350.

[@st0neageman]

Has anyone done the fitz mod? I will be getting the DV soon and I’m wondering if I should do the lod

[@quoostonator]

That buzz is killer on the Darkvoice. I’m just not able to shake it. Only the stock tubes don’t buzz and I’ve tried 5 others with burn in. Is it fair to say that if you buy the 250V version and run it in a country that matches it, that the buzz will not be present?

[@DMS3TV]

I had to let any swapped pre tube burn for 3-4 days without the power tube inserted before it went away.

[@zblus]

Why does the dark voice have to have a tube roll?

[@reshadegaming6285]

Which of these is better as a preamp?

[@shaned7793]

Is there much to gain by getting a nicer LITTLE Dot?

[@reckulurn3038]

Would the IFI Zen Dac V2 be a good dac to pair with the Darkvoice? If not what would you recommend? Thanks in advance for any info.

[@athpm]

Try out the Element Watson, from the few things I’ve seen about it online it seems pretty well received

[@johnhallkenney]

Hey DMS. Which tubes for the Darkvoice please?

[@mamuraoss5910]

Thank you, my Bro!)

[@ChiLL_iLL]

Using your tips and I have a D90, but I just turned it kept it off of pure DAC mode so I could turn it down

[@ChiLL_iLL]

Also very interesting: I bought the DV new and with the stock pre-tube there is no hum, but once you swap for the Tung-Sol it takes 3 days to get rid of hum

[@BlackRiver1981]

Beyerdynamic DT1990 with the DarkVoice, how does it sound?

[@mimmo2977]

fantastic... I use both DT1770 and DT1990 with the DV336SE and I am very, very happy

[@threeleggedspartan9329]

@@mimmo2977 what tubes do you use I just bought that exact same setup but dunno anything about tubes.

[@prabinpaudel5572]

Wish you'd compare soekris 1321 and bifrost 2 dac

[@crunchied8]

which 1 would suit for audio techinca ath-w1000z

[@ahkking]

Late to this show.... But can i asked are the tubes recommended in the video for both darkvoice and LD MKii? Can help with choosing the tubes for LD MKii? Really appreciate your help

[@f7p1764]

Darkvoice specs shows that Distortion:

[@DMS3TV]

Every tube amp will measure differently. Some have way higher THD than that. All things considered no one can really hear THD until it gets REALLY high.

[@BradfordRMcKnight]

It would have been nice if you showed the actual products.

[@masterxyr]

Great video D! Really answered some questions I had. Have you tried the 880s 600ohm with it? no need to reduce signal into the amp with those cans I would guess?

[@theodorezurla496]

Good video love a good showdown

[@rct999]

Can these tube amps also work with a dac/amp dongle? Or do they require a dedicated dac?

[@filipiino96793]

What about xduoo ta-26?

[@marekchmiel1336]

Hey DMS, did you try the Voskhod 6j1p-ev/ 6zh1p-ev on the Little Dot? How do they compare to the GE?

[@thatchinaboi1]

Better in every way

[@gamingfreak977]

DMS what are your thoughts on hybrid tube amps? You at least can pair more easily with low impedance stuff but as far as I know you lose some of the tubiness.

[@zergadis0]

Hi, after your recommendation some time ago (comments for Topping A50s review) I was able to finally find (used, but almost new) Little Dot MK II with very nice price in my country - $130 with stock tubes already replaced into GE JAN 5654W. Really good stuff, I like it both with my HD650, Hifiman Sundara (I usually listen on low volumes, so distortion issue doesn't really bother me that much) and even with my Edifier S2000MKIII (used as preamp). It definitely makes vocals and classic instruments more realistic, gives more energy to HD650 in case of rock/metal music, the overall sound is a little brighter, but as you said - in a very smooth way. Soundstaging is imo kinda trade off - I think that stage itself is a little bit wider, but imaging is less precise. I also tried changing tubes into Mullard M8100 - in comparison to GE JAN 5654W, where overall sound from my dac (Chord Mojo) remains more or less similar, but with some improvements, here it becomes quite a lot warmer - more bass and mids, definitely less treble (although I think that it still has some energy in very high frequencies). Imo it also keeps more details. The soundstage is... strange. In some tracks it's bigger than GE JAN 5654W, in some it's even smaller than Chord Mojo itself, but i think that imaging is better maintained. My overall opinion is that Mullard is better for some soundtracks/very good recorded music, but GE JAN 5654W is more versatile (it also goes better with my speakers). It's worth noticing, that at the beginning I had some humming issue. It was quite strange, and I was even thinking about returning the amp, but in the end solution was very simple - there was one loose screw (near right preamp tube), which I had to tighten just a little bit. That's it, now everything works perfectly.

[@atompunk5575]

Okay, I'm gonna ask this and it might be stupid, but can you use any of these amps for home theaters? A small home theater

[@soulfulfool]

I order LD MK3 for my HD600, can't w8 to test it

[@manuelg.5811]

I'm gonna get the Leeaudio Darkvoice in the next 2 days. Will be very interesting, as they changed the Darkvoice just a bit.

[@fabiolopes5700]

I owned that one and was let down big time, doesn't even sound tubey, dynamic range is so bad , very unengaging lesound darkvoice is just a really bad copycat.

[@manuelg.5811]

@@fabiolopes5700 Thanks's a lot for the comment. I found it strange, that there was close to zero information about this this amp online. But the temptation with the price/size was too big. I still don't have it yet, but I won't order new tubes upfront what I was originally planning to do.

[@fabiolopes5700]

@@manuelg.5811 do yourself a huge favour and skip that one, I know the price tag is tempting but the product doesn't deliver, one of the worst hybrid tube or tube amps I've owned, and I've owned plenty. You'd be better off with something else, like little bear p 10 or Bravo audio ocean.

[@anguscassidy5632]

Hi DMS Love the content. Just wondering what a good headphone and amp for 200 dollars would be?

[@ezequielwolcan7632]

Hello, great video on tube amps! I have a question. I have recently bought a P1 tube preamp/bluetooth from Douk Audio. It's a 100 bucks equipment. I own the SHP 9500 from Philips to listen to it. I only listen classical music. I can hardly notice any difference when I use the preamp in comparison to my cell phone (Oppo A9). I can buy the HD 560S but I would like to know if it may worth it. I live in Argentina and all the prices come at least 50-100% higher than the regular prices advertised in USA. Thanks a lot. Ezequiel

[@dannybos7024]

Sell the SHP9500 and the tube amp and get the HD560S with an Atom amp.

[@qwss23]

When a review for goldplanar gl2000 is coming?

[@DMS3TV]

Not gonna rush it