Darkvoice VS Little Dot MK II - Budget Tube Amps 

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

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

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.

I may need to get a Lil Dot. Great review

I was looking for a comparison like this! Thanks!

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

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.

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

I really dig the cinematography on these

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

Congrats on 50k bro

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

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

Great job! Very well done!

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

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

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

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?

Would love to know how the Schiit Vali 2+ compares

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?

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?

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.

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 RU-vidrs like Joshua Valour again, if you ever consider it.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

What are great upgrade tubes for the dark voice?

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

Good video love a good showdown

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

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

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

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

Which specific tubes did you use on Dark Voice?

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.

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?

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

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

man loving this DMX channel.. arf arf arf

Thank you, my Bro!)

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

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

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

which 1 would suit for audio techinca ath-w1000z

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

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

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

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

at last, a proper comparison

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.

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.

Hey DMS. Which tubes for the Darkvoice please?

Which tubes were rolled on the little dot?

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.

Which of these is better as a preamp?

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?

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

how do you like the DT880 600ohm on them? :o

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

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

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.

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

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

I have the darkvoice with tungsol preamp tube and it sounds amazing with my 6xx. Need to invest into a power tube but anyone recommend another good headphone for this amp? Thanks

Darkvoice and Grado 325?

Please link R2R Dac in video. Enjoyed the video.

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

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.

Wish you'd compare soekris 1321 and bifrost 2 dac

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

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.

Beyerdynamic DT1990 with the DarkVoice, how does it sound?

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.

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

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.

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

Great video! Like the shirt;) #MomApproved❤️

How does the k361 work and sound on a hybrid tube amp?

How does darkvoice pairs with atrium

Do you think they will have a good match with hd800s?

What about xduoo ta-26?

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

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

i wish DMS could try the Elemental Watson .... now that will be a n interesting one.

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

Valhalla 2 and lyr 3 please

Are they "classic" tube headphone amps or hybrid?