[Muniek66]

No, it's not. The only external amp/dac I've tried so far that can do this is the B&O Hifi Plus module that's originally made for the LG G5 (but works with other Android phones with OTG support as well).

 
Many thanks for your response! Can you compare sound quality B&O Hifi Plus and Geek Out v2+?

 

[peter123]

Many thanks for your response! Can you compare sound quality B&O Hifi Plus and Geek Out v2+?

I've not sat down with them both to directly compare them but I've used them both a lot and there's no doubt in my mind that the V2+ is the superior performer. The V2+ is a very good offering in my opinion. The B&O is a solid performer at $100.

 

[taetertot]

Thinking of getting a GOV2 and I need some advice.
 
This would not be for portable use; I want it to pair with a laptop that's used strictly at home, but moves from room to room.
 
So I want something I can just keep plugged in and power with a wall wart, vs charging the battery all the time. USB powered, like a Fiio E10K, would be even better. My main cans are Alpha Primes so I need a decent amount of power. I'll be using the balanced out, as I have a Hifiman DAP and cables with 3.5mm trrs.
 
Which model is best for me? Is there one that I can hook up to a laptop with 2 USB cables, one for data and one for power?

 

[bflat]

  Thinking of getting a GOV2 and I need some advice.
 
This would not be for portable use; I want it to pair with a laptop that's used strictly at home, but moves from room to room.
 
So I want something I can just keep plugged in and power with a wall wart, vs charging the battery all the time. USB powered, like a Fiio E10K, would be even better. My main cans are Alpha Primes so I need a decent amount of power. I'll be using the balanced out, as I have a Hifiman DAP and cables with 3.5mm trrs.
 
Which model is best for me? Is there one that I can hook up to a laptop with 2 USB cables, one for data and one for power?

GOV2A or GOV2A Infinity (depending on your budget) is what you want  and they are still on promotional pricing direct from LH Labs. Of course you risk when you will actually receive the product. Both of these are USB bus powered so you only need one USB cable and can be left on 24x7 with no battery draining since it doesn't have one.

 

[Raketen]

Thinking of getting a GOV2 and I need some advice.

This would not be for portable use; I want it to pair with a laptop that's used strictly at home, but moves from room to room.

So I want something I can just keep plugged in and power with a wall wart, vs charging the battery all the time. USB powered, like a Fiio E10K, would be even better. My main cans are Alpha Primes so I need a decent amount of power. I'll be using the balanced out, as I have a Hifiman DAP and cables with 3.5mm trrs.

Which model is best for me? Is there one that I can hook up to a laptop with 2 USB cables, one for data and one for power?

GOV2 will run on usb buss power alone. GOV2+ has its own battery that charges via a seperate charging-only usb port but I think a few people have commented that it does not charge fast enough to keep up with use so it will run out of juice?

For your situation it seems like GOV2 or GOV2A would be the better choice, and save some money too.

 

[fullranger]

GOV2 is a fine unit. I have it plugged into my iMac USB and it drives really well and sounds awesome. I have Sony Z7 cans and they need need a lot of power. Easily done with this little guy. Has balanced out, so you should be good to go.
I think the V2 may do it for you. The newer guys have another filter or something, but the price increase may not be worth it for you.
My two cents...

 

[doggiemom]

 
.....Of course you risk when you will actually receive the product.....

Snicker, snicker...... so true......

 

[taetertot]

Thanks guys. So GOV2 and *not* GOV2+. This will do then I assume?
 
https://www.amazon.com/LH-Labs-GeekOut-V2-Headphone/dp/B013KX2R9A
 
So that's $299.
 
For Around $50 more I can pick up a GOV2+ Infinity off the forum here, what am I giving up by going with V2 rather than V2+? Iirc there was a chart somewhere that showed the GOV2 and GOV2+ use the same DAC chip. But there was something about the GOV2+ Infinity having some additional power feature. Something about +450mv.
 
Pretty excited about this unit, my DAP is Hifiman so I have Norne cables ordered with 3.5mm TRRS, so once I get this my setup will be complete for a while.
 
How is the balanced out on these btw? How does it compare to say Centrance Hifi M8? Or a Cavalli Liquid Carbon? Both of those cost more than twice as much obviously and it's not apples and oranges, but I'm just curious.
 
 
Quote:

 
GOV2A or GOV2A Infinity (depending on your budget) is what you want  and they are still on promotional pricing direct from LH Labs. Of course you risk when you will actually receive the product. Both of these are USB bus powered so you only need one USB cable and can be left on 24x7 with no battery draining since it doesn't have one.

 
 

GOV2 will run on usb buss power alone. GOV2+ has its own battery that charges via a seperate charging-only usb port but I think a few people have commented that it does not charge fast enough to keep up with use so it will run out of juice?

For your situation it seems like GOV2 or GOV2A would be the better choice, and save some money too.

 
 

GOV2 is a fine unit. I have it plugged into my iMac USB and it drives really well and sounds awesome. I have Sony Z7 cans and they need need a lot of power. Easily done with this little guy. Has balanced out, so you should be good to go.
I think the V2 may do it for you. The newer guys have another filter or something, but the price increase may not be worth it for you.
My two cents...

 

[bflat]

   
 
 
 

 
The "+" models run on battery and cannot be charged while playing. You will get around 8-10 hours playback before batteries need to recharge. You must manually flip the switch off before the + will start charging. Other than that, they sound just like the GOV2A according to LH. The GOV2 on the other hand was the first version and inferior to GOV2A in every way.

 

[peter123]

Thinking of getting a GOV2 and I need some advice.

This would not be for portable use; I want it to pair with a laptop that's used strictly at home, but moves from room to room.

So I want something I can just keep plugged in and power with a wall wart, vs charging the battery all the time. USB powered, like a Fiio E10K, would be even better. My main cans are Alpha Primes so I need a decent amount of power. I'll be using the balanced out, as I have a Hifiman DAP and cables with 3.5mm trrs.

Which model is best for me? Is there one that I can hook up to a laptop with 2 USB cables, one for data and one for power?

This is the one you want:

http://lhlabs.com/products/geek-out-2a-dac-family/

I just got a Audioquest Jitterbug yesterday to pair with it. I'll let you know if it improves things even further when I get some time with it.

 

[taetertot]

Dam one thing I just realized is, no volume pot. That might be a deal breaker for me.

 

[mscott58]

  Dam one thing I just realized is, no volume pot. That might be a deal breaker for me.

Yep, the volume is digitally controlled on these. Cheers

 

[peter123]

Dam one thing I just realized is, no volume pot. That might be a deal breaker for me.

You can check out the Burson Conductor Air as well. It's also a really nice unit with physical volume controls and a nice but basic remote control.

 

[Raketen]

Dam one thing I just realized is, no volume pot. That might be a deal breaker for me.

yeah, for me this is the biggest downside of the device (since they have fixed the casing), it does take over windows volume control though so not a huge annoyance, though if I am not working directly at my computer sometimes I will just double-amp through my portable amp so I can reach for the volume knob instead :confused_face: still I think for the small size and fairly powerful balanced output runing on USB power there doesn't seem to be a ton of options if either of those features are of significant importance to you.

Those Conductors do look cooI haven't heard Chord Mojo but it has volume controls, and depending on where you are located it is possible to import from Amazon.co.uk for a little over 400, but I think those are both single end output (though I'm inclined to believe good SE can hold its own)... actually the only other thing I can think of with 3.5 TRRS other than hifiman and GOV2 is Sony ZX2 dap.... weirdly their PHA3 dac.amp has balanced but uses the seperate L/R TRS connector style, and now all their new devices use an even larger TRRS..

 

[fishyee]

Dam one thing I just realized is, no volume pot. That might be a deal breaker for me.

Check out the CEntrance Dacport HD. Volume pot. Sounds greats.