The Little Dot Micro+ thread!

[afbug 0]

Little Dot Micro+ (小不点) impressions

 

This is my final impressions

 

I've been eyeing this amp since last year. At that time, it was the LDM but I did not get them because I was quite apprehensive about China made amps and their business model. It also don't help that my chinese isn't all too great and there're not many reviews and owners at Head-Fi. So I put off the purchase and got a PA2v2 instead. All the while, I thought it cost US$70-$100 for it! So when I saw haxyer's MO for the LD2+, I jumped and asked for the LDM+ price. So the rest is history after I saw the price. I'd buy the LDM too if its avaliable!

 

LDM+ tested on UM1/2, ER4P, HD595, HD414, MS1, Sporta Pro and KSC75 using a Sony PCDP line out and various CDs.

• Sound:

  After about 150 hours of burn in, I believe the LDM+'s sound has already settled. Generally, I find this amp to be a little lean on bass. Not much but just a little too lean. They will tighten up a lot of headphone's bass. It can be a good thing, or it can be bad. Compared to the amps I've owned, (GoVibe and PA2v2) this is the coldest sounding amp. So I think carefull matching of cans is important. On the whole, I find the LDM+ to be quite well balanced. Its treble isn't as harsh or loud as I've read or been told.

   

  Koss 60 ohm: Sounds excellent on Koss KSC75 and Sporta Pro. This amp is like a bass screwdriver, tightens up bass! No hiss. Excellent pairing IMO, makes my Koss sound like $100 cans. Brings out more details. After buring in for a day, things start to balance out a bit. Bass have a little more presence. On the Sporta Pro, its treble is not as recess as before. LDM+ owners should try this combination.

   

  UM1: On the UM1, it doesn't seem to make a difference at first. Its bass is already tight, and amped with the LDM+, it tighens up its bass only by a slight margin. But it is a good thing I felt as any less bass or tighter, it will not be a UM1. The LDM+ it brings out UM1's treble and details a little more though, especially in the midrange, sound ever so slightly more forward. Separation improves too and this is the only earphone that I felt that the LDM+ improves on the soundstage. Feels and sounds a little more spaceous.

   

  UM2: Read rkivie's post. I too lazy to add or type more!

   

  ER4P: Don't sound as good as a PA2v2 on a ER4P. Lacks the bass slam. Simply don't sound good. Makes ER4P's bass too tight and sound like 'shallow thud'. Surprisingly, I don't find its treble harsh or bright. Details! Wow! Did not expect a cheap amp to have such details. It is as good as a PA2v2 or maybe slightly better. But I don't like this combo at all. Totally cannot take it and I deem this combo unlistenable! They certainly matches better with my Koss cans.

   

  MS1: I'm not quite used to the sound from my MS1 when amped with the LDM+. Its bass quantity is reduced and tighen up by quite an amount. I still prefer the PA2v2 + MS1 combo. People find the MS1 bassy but I still prefer the added bass slam that the PA2v2 provides. But it can be good news to others who find the MS1 bassy. It makes no difference to MS1's soundstage though.

   

  HD595: This combo actually sounds good! Quite surprised because the HD595 is already lean on bass and with the LDM+, I expect this combo to sound like crap but its quite good actually. It does nothing much to the 595 bass, only adding some extension. It brings out the 595's details better than unamped. The only thing I dislike is that it can make the 595's treble abit too loud.

   

• Built Quality:

  Its casing is built like a tank but its jacks let it down i felt. Feels little flimsy and rough to insert, not as sturdy or smooth as PA2v2's jacks. The casing is strong and rugged enough to scratch other stuff. Don't try to open them. I had a hard time screwing them back after openning them.

   

• Design:

  I also don't like its volume/off switch in one design. I prefer a seperate switch for the on/off of the amp. I find that the line-in jack is a little too close to the volume knob. Maybe shift both jacks closer to the left and place the LED next to the Volume knob will be better. The supplied charger/adaptor's flat pin is a pain to use and its orientation is towards sideways. Funny little charger!

   

• Gain/volume:

  My set is a regular gain verison. Using my Sony PCDP line out, its 9-10 O'clock on the LDM+ driving a UM2, 11 O'clock for a UM1, 12 noon on a ER4P and 2 O'clock driving a KSC75 and MS1. 2-3 O'clock on a HD595 and lastly, 4 O'clock on HD414!

   

• Hiss:

  On my unit, there is no hiss at all when it is switched off on a UM2. There is hissing after I switch it on. But the amount of hiss is no more than my Shuffle or discman. Found that LDM+ produce more hiss than govibe with OPA2107 and PA2v2. There is hiss on all my IEMs; UM1/2 and ER4. Seems like hissing is only present in my IEMs. All my cans are not that sensitive. Hiss is loudest with the UM2. On the UM1 and ER4P, it isn't that bad at all. Once the music starts, I did not hear or notice on all my IEMs.

   

• Accessories:

  Package includes a compact and lightweight charger/adaptor (100-240V), 3 extra screws and a pair of gold plated interconnects --->

  » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
  Please change them! Using stock IC is like using stock earphones like iBuds! You might as well don't use an amp and listen to a pair of iBuds! lol, I like this spoiler thing!
  Battery is installed in the amp.

   

• LDM+ Vs PA2v2:

  Both amps offer similar levels of performance but there are differences and which is better could boil down to individual preferences. Sound quality wise, PA2v2 has better bass presence and slam. LDM+ in contrast will sound a bit lean, especially on earphones like ER4. PA2v2 also have a slighty lusher and warmer midrange but it loses out a bit on details against the LDM+. I do not find LDM+'s treble to be harsh at all. The LDM+ sounds a bit more balanced overall. But there is less hiss on the PA2v2, which makes it more suitable for earphones/ IEMs and because of its lusher mids, it sounds smoother. So I find that the PA2v2 is the slightly more refine amp. But at about half the price of a PA2v2, the LDM+ is a winner. Thanks to haxyer for organising the mass order.

Total burn in time = approx 150 hrs on Chinese power! Awesome battery life! Only PA2v2 is its match.

 

Edited July 26, 2006 by afbug

[aaron-xp 0]

Can't wait.

[feather 0]

But do you need an amp for the UM2?

[afbug 0]

But do you need an amp for the UM2?

 

No need! But if you amp them, they're a blinder! Also, some people want to change the sound of the UM2 by using amps. The amp and innterconnect's colourations will affect its sound.

[rkivie 0]

my opinion is most phones will benefit with a decent amp; it's just a matter of how much portability you want to trade off for the perceived sonic improvement.

 

so far my tin ears have felt the bass tightening up a little with the UM2. still waiting to see if the soundstage will open up. it has also been said that the LDM+ should bring out the treble abit more too but we shall see. i've decided to charge the batt first i'll let the unit burn in together with my line out.

 

in the meantime,

 

i'm surprised that there is a very audible hiss when i plug my UM2 into the LDM+ with no source connected. i'm curious, cos i'm already having the unit with lower gain. even stranger is that the hissing is loudest at a slight turn of the knob (from the on/off position) and then becomes softer as the knob is turned to increase volume. finally, at the maximum vol position the hiss disappears...

 

when i have a source (iPod + lineout) connected, the hissing becomes very audible with the knob at lowest and at maximum volume; hissing is faint (but audible nonetheless) at somewhere near the middle position. all observations were made with the whole set up running on battery power.

 

err can anyone explain if this is normal? paiseh, this is my first amp, you see.

 

it seems that the hissing is due to high gain. although the gain has been lowered, i guess the um2 is too sensitive and picked up the sound. is there a difference in sound when u use the um2 with amp and without amp ?

 

one reason for my astonishment at the level of hiss was that with my FL100 player alone (which was what i was listening to on my way to meeting you just now heh), the UM2 picks up very minimal hiss.

 

throw in the LDM+ and the hissssssssss comes out so much that it really bothers me. luckily i got the low gain version; cant imagine what it'll be like on the normal gain with the UM2. for now i shall go look up the head-fi LDM+ thread to see what may have been said abt this.

[viix 0]

Did you plug the wall outlet in or running only on batteries? Try it with batteries only.

[haxyer 0]

if there is hiss in your player, the amplifier will be amplifying the sound of the hissing too ? i dont know if this is the case.

[Cloud 0]

could it be the stock IC? any1 tried another IC?

[afbug 0]

rkivie, UM2 is a sensitive earphone. So I think naturally, some hiss in unavoidable. But you can try using a better IC. The supplied ones probably not so good. (I din bother to try them!) And also, I find that the jack's built quality isn't as good as a PA2v2 or govibe. It could be due to so many reasons, so you gotta do a little fault finding.

 

My advise to all is please change to a better interconnect. Using stock IC is like using stock earphones.

[dle4e_2005 0]

which IC is good????

[Psychoacoustics 0]

check this out http://www.audiolineout.com/

[rkivie 0]

hehe i'm using a lineout from audiolineout.com with my iPod...seeing how this lineout costs more than the LDM+ itself, it had better not be the problem heh.

 

i remember reading somewhere on head-fi...someone review another amp and was likewise struck by the amt of hiss. fortunately for him, this hiss went away with some burn in. i hope this is the case for me too.

[Kube 0]

Loving this amp already! The only amp I've tried so far is with the diy cmoy2 with 2227's inside, so comparison wise I don't think it's very fair, lol.

 

Firstly, using emu0404 as source and sr80's as phones. Hmm...first impressions are a nice and tight bass, and pretty detailed trebles, but I feel the highs are a bit bright ( as in fatigueing). Then again, it's just first impressions, or it could just be the grados, so I'll see how it goes.

 

A noticeable improvement in soundstage too.

[scanfiend 0]

I am currently auditioning the Xenos REP and Xenos RHP headphone amps. There is an audible hissing detectable with my UM2's on both amps. It was worse with the RHP. Fortunately, they do seem to go away after a few minutes of powering up. I read somewhere that perhaps it was the capacitors charging up? Hmmm....

 

@feather: I can definitely say the UM2 was definitely affected by the amping. The effects were subtle, but the bass was tighter & better controlled, and the mids & highs were definitely extended. A pleasureable change, but not exactly night and day, since the UM2 was already plenty efficient from my portable player.

Edited July 13, 2006 by scanfiend

[skysurf 0]

hehe i'm using a lineout from audiolineout.com with my iPod...seeing how this lineout costs more than the LDM+ itself, it had better not be the problem heh.

 

i remember reading somewhere on head-fi...someone review another amp and was likewise struck by the amt of hiss. fortunately for him, this hiss went away with some burn in. i hope this is the case for me too.

 

Hopefully with some burn-in, the hiss will be reduced.

But then again, once the music comes on, can't hear the hiss. Bear with it just for that short while.

I'm using UM1 with it. In terms of volume, when I switch the LDM+ to full volume, the sound kind of just a little louder than without using LDM+ (keeping the player volume constant). By the way, we plug the IC to the headphones socket of the player right? Mine don't seemed to work when plug into LineOut (using iAudio U3).