Reddit mentions of Little Dot MK III Headphone Tube Amplifier

Phono preamp upgrade:

Schiit Mani $129 or a Hagerman Bugle3 $189 (both have adjustable gain settings) besides many other options. If you DIY, Muffsy DIY Phono Kits or Bugle2 PCB-Kit.

Internal preamp bypass upgrade:

Open up the case of the LP120 to manually bypass the switch that does not completely turn off the internal phono preamp to use a better external phono preamp.

Stylus upgrade:

• Minor upgrade: AT95E Upgrade stylus for AT-LP120 $49.
  
• Better upgrade: ATN95E Type Hyper Elliptical Upgrade Stylus for AT95E 710-DHE $120.
  
  Cartridge upgrade:
  
  The popular cartridge upgrade from the AT95 for the LP120 is the Nagaoka MP-110 $129.
  
  Or if going with AT, VM520EB $119, or VM530EN $179.
  
  VM540ML at $250 may be overkill for the LP120.
  
  Headphones: r/HeadphoneAdvice.
  
  Headphone amp:
  
  Musical Fidelity LX2 $199.
  
  Hybrid tube: Schiit Vali $149.
  
  Tube:
  
  
• Schiit Valhalla $350.
  
• Little Dot Mk3 $288. Better than the MK2 but can still benefit from better tubes.
  
• Little Dot Mk2 $145. A real tube amp, however they are cheap tubes so upgrade sooner than later.
  
  Speakers?

Turntable:
A lot of people have differnet preferences between belt vs. direct drive vs. idler wheel (Yes, this is a thing). I personally used both belt and direct drive, and found that I enjoyed the direct drive TT a lot more for stability.

If I were you, you can find a good used Technics SL-1200 MK2 for around $300-$400 on Craigslist/Pawn Shops. This is the turntable the AT-120 is based off of, and is the best bang for your buck entry wise. It's direct driven, has both a counter-weight and anti-skate, and has the lowest wow and flutter compared to some of the other entry level turntables like Pro-Ject or Rega.

Pre-Amp:
If you really want to go with a tube amp, I recently bought the [YAQIN MS23B](http://www.amazon.com/YAQIN-upgraded-version-12AX7B-Stereo/dp/B00HQW4NYO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1396718684&sr=1-1&keywords=yaqin+phono+amp
), and I've found it to be a fantastic tube amp, probably the best bang for your buck in terms of a tube amp.

Headphone Amp:
The MP-301 looks like a pretty good Headphone amp, but I would also consider the Little Dot MK III. It has a bit better frequency range, and is even a bit cheaper.

In regards to Tubes vs. Solid State, some people think the Tubes provide a, "Wamer" sound due to the tubes. The only major work on tubes you would have to do if you bought new, were to replace the tubes about every year or so worst case scenario. And yes, you can combine tube and solid state amps. My friend runs a solid state phono, and uses a tube headphone amp.

Hopefully that answered your questions!

Ok I think I'll hold off on the Bottlehead then. (My concern was that nothing else in the price range could compare, but if it's that close I definitely want to explore other non-DIY options.)

• Modi vs ODAC: I don't think I'll need to use optical (setup will just be for desktop music listening). With that in mind, what makes ODAC better than Modi?
  
  
• Can you elaborate a bit on the LDMk3 vs the Valhalla 2? I'm not sure if I like the idea of a totally neutral sound (which is why I'm going for the 650 over the 600 in the first place)
  
  Ultimately though I'm hoping that this new setup will be an improvement over my unamped M50s haha
  
  Edit (one more question!): What is the best way to order from Little Dot? Their forum shows a price of $189 + $45 shipping for the Mk3
  
  (http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=815&sid=cd329dcc74ac9c971f25ef4d1b2f1fba)
  
  while Amazon shows $289 + free shipping
  
  (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHIKIDM/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=046WYFJT8RKP10BSQ0WV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846).
  
  Which one of these is more legit?

I appreciate the In depth review I'm glad you're enjoying them! I've heard these are the Planar equivalent to 600s and I absolutely love my 600s.

Totally just a suggestion but I've got a little dot mk3 running my 600s and I find it to be just great. Stock tubes re good but not great but for 20 bucks you can get some great tubes off ebay. It's fun to hear the sound change from tube to tube. It's much cheaper than the lyr but I have no opinion on the lyr because I haven't heard it.

Check this out: Little Dot MK III Headphone Tube Amplifier LittleDot https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CHIKIDM/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_7vaxybVB4QD9T

I love my Schiit 2 Uber stack currently

I'd recommend probably Schiit Modi 2 > Valhalla 2/Little Dot MK3

Does this one on Amazon ship from America or does it still ship from China?

Another thing to consider: The Xonar Essence ST comes with a DAC, so when i have a little more cash I could connect it to something like the Little Dot MK3