Design & Build Quality
The design of all the Little Dot amplifiers is special, and the LD H1 is exactly that as well. Design and looks of course are something personal, but for me this amplifier doesn’t look very sexy. Sorry.
This is mainly because of the added wood section on the front – which is not needed at all – and the black spot-lacquering finish of the chassis. You like it or you don’t.
Build quality-wise however there’s nothing to complain about. The amp weighs a nice 4.5kg, feels sturdy and the build finish is what you expect of the price. All the connectors on the back and front sit sturdy in the case and the smooth volume dial is a pleasure to turn. The tube sockets are very solid, and plugging the tubes in and out takes a bit of wiggling. I can see them last very long.
There’s not really anything to complain about, except for maybe the fact that LD on the front has installed the 4-pin balanced output upside down, compared to most of the other brands on the market.
Lay-Out & Usability
The amplifier is quite compact and everything is closely together. The top section is rather self-explaining, and on the front you from left to right have the balanced 4-pin output, the volume dial in the center, and the 6.3mm dingle ended headphone output on the right.
On the back you from right to let have:
- The power button & fuse
- The power chord connector
- The 3-pin XLR output
- The 3-pin XLR input
- The RCA input
The amp is easy to use and once the cables are all connected, it won’t move around on your desk when plugging in/out your headphone.
Sound – Intro
According to Little Dot the LD H1 will perform best with lower impedance headphones, even though the amp is rated at 16-600Ohm. I have to say that the LD H1 really drives anything I hooked it up to: from an easy to drive 32Ohm DT770PRO to a notorious to drive Hifiman HE-500 and HE-6(SE) and a 300Ohm HD800 S. The LD H1 can do it all.
In this part on sound we will first look at the difference in sound between the stock tubes and the PSVANE aftermarket tubes. Then we will describe the general sound and finally we’ll describe how it sounds with a whole selection of headphones. Let’s dive in!
Sound – Tubes
The stock NOS Sylvania 6L7GT tubes are actually quite good sounding tubes, and I was positively surprised to see that Little Dot is “using” these NOS tubes instead of a new production tube. So what do we do? Right, we roll in a new production PSVANE tube. The reason for this is because these sound really good in the Euforia amplifiers, so I just had to try them in the LD H1. They actually make the LD H1 look nicer as well, but that’s not the most important.
The headphone used here is the Sennheiser HD800, as it’s great at picking up the slightest (change in) detail.
To me the PSVANE tubes are more precise and faster. They have the best note extension and decay, and the lower mids sound fuller. The 6SL7GT tubes aren’t as detailed and technically strong, but they have more smoothness, warmth, spaciousness and an overall higher level of musicality. In other words I could say the PSVANE tubes are more suited if you prefer the best technical performance, where the 6SL7GT tubes deliver the typical romantic tube sound. At the same time the 6SL7GT don’t score bad when it come to technicalities.
I’m having a very hard time deciding which tube combo sounds best, but it’s just not possible to decide. Depending on the album and headphone used this changes and that’s exactly why tube rolling is so much fun. Both tube types perform really well, it just depends what you wan to hear most in your music. Ian from Little Dot prefers the CV1988 tube in this amp, which is a variation
of the 6SN7GT.
Sound – General
For the part on sound I will use the stock 6SL7GT tubes the amp came supplied with. This because a lot of people who get this amp won’t directly be tube rolling. And the stock tubes are also more than good enough. The setup is: Laptop with ROON > Soundaware A1 ROON Endpoint > Violectric V850 / Flux Lab Atlas > (Niimbus US4+ as pre > ) LD H1 > HD 800 S.
For me the LD H1 has a nice black back ground and there is no noise audible whatsoever. No hiss, no interference, no tube noise. It’s black as night and clear as water. The LD H1 also has a very nice headroom to play with, and setting the volume right where you want it is no issue, with plenty of spare. Something really nice is how effortless the LD H1 performs. It doesn’t matter what headphone you have hooked up to it, the LD H1 has no issues driving it, and it always sounds perfectly in control
The Little DOT LD H1 has great clarity and speed from top to bottom, and the delivery is always so clean. The LD H1 sounds spacious, especially the mids and treble (in balanced), and it has realistic separation. Sound stage wise, the LD H1 goes mostly wide. The depth and layering – just like the positioning – is good and especially with the balanced output, but it can’t compete with high end amps like the Headonia. There’s no shame in that and for the price the it performs really well. Reminder I said I found the LD H1 not the cheapest? Well, if you listen to how well it performs and sounds, the price actually is fully and easily defendable.
Overall I would say the signature of the LD H1 is neutral but slightly more going to the warmer side (than to the analytical, colder side). It does depends on the tubes in use, but this hybrid amplifier will never sound very warm.
The detail retrieval is pretty good and it picks up the slightest detail. At the same time, the note decay and note extension aren’t the LD H1’s strongest point, but its performance doesn’t feel lacking in this area either. Here it’s mostly in SE mode where this is apparent.
Body-wise the LD H1 and Sylvania combo sound neutral. And with this I mean that you from lows to highs get a normal perception of the body, a very natural and uninfluenced one. The LD H1 is balanced an linear in this regard, and nothing sounds forced, enhanced or recessed.
The balanced output sounds best imo. It’s fuller, especially in the low and mid frequencies, and it extends better (sound stage and also note decay). The single ended output sound lighter overall and the vocals are more to the front. The balanced output is more spacious, natural and the vocals are softer, more realistic. The SE output, gives a more intimate presentation. Layering is best with the balanced output as well, but we’ll get back to that.
Sound – Classics
The LD H1 is always perfectly in control of the bass. Bass is tight and fast and comes delivered with a good slam. Body wise bass is neutral (though a bit bigger in balanced mode) and the LD H1 doesn’t feel like it’s enhancing the bass in any way.
Bass detail is good and bass goes low when needed (best in balanced), so it has good extension. The real sub rumble is there but you need a bass-strong headphone (and the balanced output) to get it to shine. Subbass is certainly there but it will depend on your headphone, that simple. The part that could be improved here is mostly the layering and that bit of sub rumble in SE mode, but all-in-all bass is good. Neutral, good presence, lovely impact.
The mids to me are the best part of the LD H1, and they connect perfectly to the mids. The delivery is neutral when it comes to body, but the presentation is tubishly smooth and very musical. Especially with the XLR output. The vocals (a bit more to the front in SE mode) sound excellent and they really make the LD H1 and your music feel alive. The spaciousness of the mids is great as well as well as the detail retrieval and separation of notes. Again this is better in balanced mode. What can be improved in the mids is the depth, the layering and the decay of notes. But in general a really lovely presentation and a lovely tubish timbre.
The treble section shares the same amount of body and perfectly connects to the bass and mids. The treble section is spacious, airy and lively. Treble extends quite well (best in balanced) and there never is any harshness and sibilance. I really like the LD H1’s treble presentation and it really makes the whole experience exciting.
The part on sound continues on page 3 with headphone synergy. Click HERE.
