Little dot are a lesser known manufacturer who produce low cost, high powered tube and solid state amplifiers ranging from portable to desktop units with a standard 1 year little dot warranty, let’s see how the MK II performs.
Within the simple cardboard and styrofoam packaging you’ll find the the Little dot MK II, two driver tubes (6JI), two power tubes (6N6), a type-B north American U-ground power cord and a 3.5mm to RCA OFC cable (which I thought was a lovely gesture) giving usability straight out of the box, a standard female IEC power cable for your region will work if you don’t reside in the US, do make certain to order the correct voltage unit for your country!
The little dot MK II is a very attractive amplifier with a black matte and glossy finish, as with most tube amplifiers it has a vintage look and feel particularly when turned on which is always a good thing.
Buid quality is admirable, solid and heavy as a desktop amplifier should be with cohesive stock tubes along with four large rubber feet for added grip, the power tubes can get extremely hot when in use and should be kept away from children and pets, or those who are drawn to glowing tubes.
On the top are four “holes” (for lack of a better word) for two power and two driver tubes to attach.
In the front is a dim blue LED, 6.3mm headphone jack and a volume/gain knob with visual indicators.
Around the back is two RCA inputs and two RCA outputs, standard 3-pin power and power switch, along with an abundance of warning and “test passed” stickers.
Once two front and rear philips head screws are removed the bottom comes off without hassle revealing the innards and heart of the MK II.
Here we can see the gain “dip” switches which can be altered to differ the gain via four different variations to synergize best with your specific headphones, I found the medium gain setting (explanation on how to switch gain levels in the manual) to be the best all-rounder for a variety of headphones.
Firstly used as a standalone amplifier, the MK II has a lush and seductive sound signature with the stock tubes with a tonal balance of warm (not a surprise when compared to similar tube amps) with the stock tubes offering above average soundstage. The bass/lows are a little anemic and could be punchier when compared to the Asgard/Tubemagic D1.
As a pre-amplifier to the Schiit Lyr it faired very, very well, especially after a 150 hour burn-in, it added a lushness to the mids that was not found with the Lyr alone.
The mids are not recessed nor forward, just where they should be making vocals/piano stand out fully without overpowering the highs, something I haven’t found in an amplifier of a similar price.
The stock tubes while offering well rounded imaging/soundstage can be very easily upgraded which makes the MK II a very affordable introduction to tube rolling, giving way to plentiful sound signatures to experiment, contrast and compare with different headphones and sources, the stock tubes are more than competent however and provide a neutral, even sound all around.
The MK II has a lot of power under the hood considering it’s fairly small stature, easily powering every headphone I had on hand to test it (including the K702/K601, HE-400, T50RP and HD650) with ease, however more power demanding planar magnetic headphones will require a little more juice to sound their absolute best (HE-6/LCD-3), but for the price,the MK II holds up extremely well in regards to power, especially on the highest gain setting.
All in all the the MK II is a very well built and fantastic amplifier/pre-amp for those looking for more juice while retaining an excellent warm sound signature and tonal balance.
Highly recommended for the price giving plenty of leftover cash for tube rolling!
Audible Bond 