Light Harmonic Geek Out EM/1000 Impressions Thread
May 26, 2014 at 5:12 PM Post #662 of 2,322
   
What cable are you using? 


At home, I'm using the Light Harmonic Split 1.6M which is EXTREMELY expensive.  At work I'm using a cable that came with the TeraDak and a JPlay JCAT 1M.  The cable that cam with the TeraDak is used for the power leg and has a female type B, that accepts any USB cable of your choice and then that teminates into a male type B.  I also use a female type B to female type A that the GO plugs into.
 
|---------------------TeraDakCable---------------------------------------------------|           |----------Adapter---------------|
TeraDak cable hardwired to ------------------>Type B female -----> Type B male -----> Type B female -> Type A female -> GO
                                                                     ^
                                                                     |
USB of your choice -------------------------------|
 
Pic of cable supplied with TeraDak (you only need to use the cable with the yellow heatshrink)
 

 

 
May 26, 2014 at 5:44 PM Post #663 of 2,322
 
At home, I'm using the Light Harmonic Split 1.6M which is EXTREMELY expensive.  At work I'm using a cable that came with the TeraDak and a JPlay JCAT 1M.  The cable that cam with the TeraDak is used for the power leg and has a female type B, that accepts any USB cable of your choice and then that teminates into a male type B.  I also use a female type B to female type A that the GO plugs into.
 
|---------------------TeraDakCable---------------------------------------------------|           |----------Adapter---------------|
TeraDak cable hardwired to ------------------>Type B female -----> Type B male -----> Type B female -> Type A female -> GO
                                                                     ^
                                                                     |
USB of your choice -------------------------------|
 
Pic of cable supplied with TeraDak (you only need to use the cable with the yellow heatshrink)
 

 

Interesting - this is the same concept as Aqvox power supply, with a USB type B adapter getting the power from the linear power supply.
 

http://www.aqvox.de/usb-power_en.html
 
 
So the A&B Systems power supply for the TeraDak already includes the same type of USB adapter, but costs $44?
I just bought the Aqvox for 100 euro a few weeks ago....
 
May 26, 2014 at 9:11 PM Post #664 of 2,322
Yes, $44 USD plus your choice of shipping (EMS = $28, Registered Mail = $15) and it includes the cables.
 
May 26, 2014 at 10:45 PM Post #666 of 2,322
Is that for just the cable, or the cable and ps?


Cables and PS!
L3000.gif

 
May 28, 2014 at 9:05 AM Post #667 of 2,322
to mikemercer, and others,  apology in advance for slightly off topic question about using laptop as a source:
 
I won't know my real budget till July.  With some luck it will allow me to afford top quality gear - probably starting with a headphone system , since I don't have a dedicated room, but must the home office which I share with my wife.     I have heard Audeze and like the LCD-x's a lot. I'm reading, and seeing great pairings of DAC/amps from head-fi'rs  like you and Leesure, and Jude.
 
My office computer is a 2013 iMac.  many feel that you shouldn't use your office computer as a source, but should come up with a dedicated computer or renderer.  But for now, that's all I have.  I was intrigued by your reviews - using your laptop or even ipad as sources - apparently with immensely satisfying results - very encouraging !    
 
1)  do you mostly rip CDs (using XLD) to your laptop  or download HDtracks , and just keep all your audio files on your laptop?    do you use external drives?     is it easy to move files over to your ipad ? 
 
2) until I know if I will be able to spend some serious money, I may start with Mad Dogs or Alphas headphones  for a system in the <$1000 range,  would you recommend  the GeekOut ,  or something more well known, such as the  Schiit Loki/Vali ?   also  not sure how long it would take me to get a GeekOut if I 'pre order' now.  
 
May 28, 2014 at 4:46 PM Post #668 of 2,322
to mikemercer, and others,  apology in advance for slightly off topic question about using laptop as a source:

I won't know my real budget till July.  With some luck it will allow me to afford top quality gear - probably starting with a headphone system , since I don't have a dedicated room, but must the home office which I share with my wife.     I have heard Audeze and like the LCD-x's a lot. I'm reading, and seeing great pairings of DAC/amps from head-fi'rs  like you and Leesure, and Jude.

My office computer is a 2013 iMac.  many feel that you shouldn't use your office computer as a source, but should come up with a dedicated computer or renderer.  But for now, that's all I have.  I was intrigued by your reviews - using your laptop or even ipad as sources - apparently with immensely satisfying results - very encouraging !    

1)  do you mostly rip CDs (using XLD) to your laptop  or download HDtracks , and just keep all your audio files on your laptop?    do you use external drives?     is it easy to move files over to your ipad ? 

2) until I know if I will be able to spend some serious money, I may start with Mad Dogs or Alphas headphones  for a system in the <$1000 range,  would you recommend  the GeekOut ,  or something more well known, such as the  Schiit Loki/Vali ?   also  not sure how long it would take me to get a GeekOut if I 'pre order' now.  


Hello!

I can tell you that I do everything on my laptop. Everyday I'm listening to music using JRiver to my GO450 while doing my office work. Never had a problem playing any files from CD rips in FLAC to DSD. I play the files from an external hard drive plugged through USB.
 
May 28, 2014 at 7:46 PM Post #669 of 2,322
I posted this on LHLabs forums on behalf of a friend's unit which was lent to me brand new:

Hi everyone. some of what I'm writing here, many of you have experienced the same as me. some of my problems however, I believe to be unique so far.

1) I believe there's something wrong with the power output of my GO450. My Q701 plugged into the 0.47 ohms can only go up to volume 20 on my asus laptop before things get too loud. My hardest to drive IEM can only handle a volume of 4 before it starts blasting my ears

2) this doesn't actually happen immediately. when I plug in GO450 immediately, say with my Q701, I can actually reach the volume 40-50 level on my laptop. after 1-2 mins of playing however, the volume instantaneously goes many notches higher and annihilated my ears. it has happened every single time I've tried

3) problem with the volume buttons. same as many here. the convex volume up button and concave volume down buttons feel uneven and loose. pressing EITHER resets the volume to a certain level where it destroys my ears. even when my computer volume is set to a dead 0, the same issue occurs.

4) there are times where upon plugging it, the following unnatural characteristics are observed: pressing the volume down button has no effect at all. pressing the volume up button 3-4 times engages/disengages they awesomifier, the volume when first plugged it is alright, but then starts to automatically gradually get softer till it's 0. attempting to turn up my computer volume up does not change anything

5) without touching any of the buttons, increasing the computer volume from 0 upwards seems okay initially. when it reaches close to maximum however, the volume starts to decrease rather than increase.

I am really disappointed with this issues and hope my unit is not defective. it'll be costly to RMA since I stay in Asia. can anyone advise? and has anyone encountered the same set of problems as I?
 
May 28, 2014 at 11:48 PM Post #671 of 2,322
my main concern is actually point 4.

to my knowledge, I know of people who have experienced 1, 2, 3 and 5 before, none so far with 4.

can any technical gurus please lend your expertise to diagnose the fault?
 
May 29, 2014 at 12:28 AM Post #672 of 2,322
my main concern is actually point 4.

to my knowledge, I know of people who have experienced 1, 2, 3 and 5 before, none so far with 4.

can any technical gurus please lend your expertise to diagnose the fault?S


Someone correct if I am wrong here..this is an issue with Windows and volume control settings
If you have OS/Software volume control enabled AND use the buttons on the GO this seems to be where the problems are.
If you would like to use the GO volume buttons, disable software/OS volume control.
If you would like to use software/OS volume control...don't use the GO volume buttons. 
 
Extra witchy with an ASUS as you'll have to set both the RealTek audio control panel and Windows audio/volume control.

Isn't this all dacs with digital volume control vs. analog? Or, Sabre dacs using Windows?


 
 
May 29, 2014 at 7:48 AM Post #673 of 2,322
my main concern is actually point 4.
 

 
If the GO hardware is OK, and since the Mac install is painless, I assume the laptop has some version of Windows. The simplest way I know to TEST a Windows/GO combination is to 1) Leave the physical buttons on the GO alone; and 2) download and install the KORG Audiogate 2.3 DSD player. 
 
http://www.korguser.net/audiogate/en/download.html
 
This version of Audiogate is free, you only need to have a Twitter account to register it. You also need to install the Light Harmonic ASIO Driver and Control Panel. Then: 1) Plug in the GO, 2) Start the LH Control Panel, 3) Start Audiogate, 4) In Audiogate, goto Edit/Preferences and choose: a) ASIO for Driver Type and "Light Harmonic ASIO Driver,"  b) Leave "Sample Rate" to Auto and "Buffer Size" at the default (you can change this later, if needed), c) Press OK. 
 
The GO does not need to be declared the Windows default audio device to work. Since the Audiogate player does not have a software volume control, you need to open the Light Harmonic Control Panel and use its volume control(s): Choose the Control Panel Volume Tab and pick Output, slide the Master Volume all the way to the bottom (-127) and the Analog 1 and 2 to 0 db (max), and try playing an audio file with Audiogate (E.g., File/Open Folder/ pick directory/.mp3, .flac, .wav, .DSD, etc file(s)). Slide the Master Volume up  ....
 
If the LH driver did not, for some reason, automatically configure itself, 
1) goto the Windows "Control Panel/Hardware and Sound/Sound" in the Playback tab there should be an entry that says: Speakers "3 -LH Labs Geek Out Ready" or something similar (if it doesn't, the LH driver is not recognized by Windows and must be re-installed), 2) double click on this entry and a panel that says "Speakers Properties" comes up. At the bottom, the Device Usage pulldown should say "Use this device (enable)." 3) If it says "don't use this device (disable), press the pull down and pick Use this device. 4) Also press the "Controller Information" Properties button; the Device Status window should say "This device is working properly." If it doesn't, you will need to uninstall the Light Harmonic driver and control panel app, restart your system, and re-install the LH driver and control panel app.
 
Good luck.
 
May 29, 2014 at 2:20 PM Post #674 of 2,322
I posted this on LHLabs forums on behalf of a friend's unit which was lent to me brand new:

Hi everyone. some of what I'm writing here, many of you have experienced the same as me. some of my problems however, I believe to be unique so far.

1) I believe there's something wrong with the power output of my GO450. My Q701 plugged into the 0.47 ohms can only go up to volume 20 on my asus laptop before things get too loud. My hardest to drive IEM can only handle a volume of 4 before it starts blasting my ears

2) this doesn't actually happen immediately. when I plug in GO450 immediately, say with my Q701, I can actually reach the volume 40-50 level on my laptop. after 1-2 mins of playing however, the volume instantaneously goes many notches higher and annihilated my ears. it has happened every single time I've tried

3) problem with the volume buttons. same as many here. the convex volume up button and concave volume down buttons feel uneven and loose. pressing EITHER resets the volume to a certain level where it destroys my ears. even when my computer volume is set to a dead 0, the same issue occurs.

4) there are times where upon plugging it, the following unnatural characteristics are observed: pressing the volume down button has no effect at all. pressing the volume up button 3-4 times engages/disengages they awesomifier, the volume when first plugged it is alright, but then starts to automatically gradually get softer till it's 0. attempting to turn up my computer volume up does not change anything

5) without touching any of the buttons, increasing the computer volume from 0 upwards seems okay initially. when it reaches close to maximum however, the volume starts to decrease rather than increase.

I am really disappointed with this issues and hope my unit is not defective. it'll be costly to RMA since I stay in Asia. can anyone advise? and has anyone encountered the same set of problems as I?

It sounds like you have a defective one.  I had the same issue where I would get a random jump to max volume and some of your other symptoms.  RMA was pretty easy.  Just email the customer service email address and they will take care of you (your friend).
 
Jun 1, 2014 at 5:26 AM Post #675 of 2,322
Sounds like another case of the Geek Out blowing Out people's eardrums. You would think they would have addressed this issue by now...or we can let people go deaf. :x

THIS WAS BAD DESIGN
Period
 
and I shouldv'e stressed that more!
 
at T.H.E Show w/ a friend and we had to be careful w/ her EVERYTIME!
 
DaVinci DAC parts or NOT
 
BAD design element
 
sonically
GOOD, and GREAT w/ the right cans

but - HOW MANY PEEPS STILL HAVEN'T GOT THEIRS???
I'm currently invegtigating - as there MAY be too many IndieGogo campaigns
BEFORE getting Everybody their products!!
 

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