LH Labs Geek Out V2+

The LH Labs Geek Out V2+ is a DAC/amp without compare. And for that we can be thankful.

It will tantalize you with fantastic sound quality one minute, it will leave you in tears and your headphone drivers in shreds the next.

How great is the sound quality? The Chord Mojo is better, but only just. If you like music driven by the bass, the GOV2+ might even eke out a win over the Mojo, which is no slouch in the bass department itself.

It it worth putting up with everything else about it? That's for you to decide.

(DISCLAIMER: I wasn't around for the infamous LH Labs indiegogo debacle, I've never heard their Verb, so I have no particular bone to pick with them. This review is based on my experience with the unit being reviewed, which I paid for in full out of my own pocket)

Build and Design

The physical design isn't so unreasonable. The form factor stacks well with a smartphone or DAP, there are two micro USB ports (one for data, one for charging the battery) and two 3.5mm headphone jacks, one TRS single ended one TRRS balanced. A red rubber plug comes preinstalled in the balanced out to keep you from using the wrong one by mistake. Using a standard 2.5mm jack might have been a more elegant solution, but it's hardly worth complaining. To their credit, they use the correct TRRS format (from tip to sleeve L+, R+, L-, R-); a headphone hardwired this way needs only a simple adapter for full single ended compatability. Next to the power switch are the only two buttons, one toggling between filter modes, one toggling between low and high gain. The problems are with the implementation.

My dad once shared an anecdote with me: he was borrowing his parents' car, an American Motors Rambler, when the gas tank fell off, and dragged across the pavement, creating sparks the entire way. THE GAS TANK. SPARKING ALONG THE GROUND. Turns out it was held on with only a single steel tie, which failed.

The GOV2+ may not be quite so life threatening when it fails, but it's no less frustrating. The most positive thing I can say about the build is when something breaks it breaks slowly, working intermittently at first, which gives you plenty of time to shop for replacement parts.

My unit is enclosed in a 3D-printed case of the kind you might expect to find as a prize in a children's cereal box. It's held together by double sided tape, which thankfully comes loose via heat gun. I know because when the rickety power switch began to fail, I had to pull it apart to install a much superior replacement switch from Radio Shack, which I superglued to the outside of the case. After that, the balanced 3.5mm TRRS socket has stopped making a connection with the plug; I am still working on a fix. It apparently isn't as simple as soldering in a replacement via 4 wire leads.

(I say "my unit" because to be fair, LH Labs shipped later units with a better case that I've heard is better. They even offered a free upgrade for anyone with a printed case, but getting it requires shipping it in to them, a condition I consider unacceptable because the turnaround time is measured in years. That's assuming it's ever "turned around"; some users have reported waiting 5 or 6 months so far, without even being able to contact the company to check on their status. They may NEVER get their unit back. When I opened a ticket on the LH website (you cannot email them directly), the page promises a reply in 24 hours. After a week I opened a second ticket asking for service for the first one. Several days later, I received a form letter saying they were using the Thanksgiving weekend to catch up on their return request backlog. I received the same email two or three more times that week. It's now nearly Christmas, and I've yet to hear anything else from them. It's safe to say their customer support is nonexistent)

In the promotional documentation (more often called the owner's manual), LH makes a big deal about making a deliberate choice not to have any relays or capacitors on the output of their class A amp, for the greatest possible sound quality. However, this is an area where they really should have compromised a bit. As a result of their proud decision, there is a massive DC flux to the headphones every time it's powered off. Because it's a portable DAC with only micro USB connectivity, every time the USB cable gets jiggled an iota is effectively a "power off." So in practice, this happens unexpectedly all the time, meaning there is literally no possible way to protect your headphones from the DC spike, short of not using the unit; you will blow out full sized headphones, using earphones is flat out suicide. Even with high impedance headphones that won't necessarily be destroyed, the DC punch can still be painful to your ears. I have trouble crediting the notion that the engineers at LH couldn't design some way of protecting your headphones with only a minimal impact on sound quality, if the impact was audible to begin with. Plain and simple, this is an irresponsible design that demonstrates either laziness, carelessness, or contempt for their customers. You can decide which.

Sound Quality

We head-fi audiophiles will go through a lot to chase that ideal sound, but what could possibly be worth putting up with the issues discussed above?

When it's working, the sound is sublime. Punchy and powerful, detailed yet musical, just the right amount of warmth over a black hole background, the sound gets an A grade. And that's just the single ended output. The output impedance is a fraction of an ohm, which makes it such a shame it's so dangerous to use sensitive IEMs. The balanced out takes everything to the next higher level, and provides enough power to drive almost any pair of cans out there. I retermimated my only HD800 cable to be compatible with the balanced jack, and I've never heard them sound better. The highs are never sibilant, the lows are an encounter with a freight train during an earthquake, yet remain balanced, never seeming overemphasized compared to the rest of the spectrum. And the texture...I'm sure the mids and highs are great too in this regard, I'll focus on them to confirm sometime, I promise, just as soon as I'm finished focusing on the bass. Tomorrow, maybe.

The GOV2+ has a special synergy with certain headphones. The aforementioned Sennheiser HD800 is musically transcendant on the balanced plug, as is the suddenly wonderous Audio Technica M50, which became utterly transparent, surpassing even my favorite closed can, the PSB M4U 1. It's cosmically unfair that the M4U 1s aren't easily compatable with a balanced system without serious modification that would compromise their usefulness for regular operation. The same goes for the Klipsch Status, another personal favorite that I imagine could be ascended to legendary heights, if only I could balance them.

Conclusion

Yes, the Chord Mojo is undeniably superior to the GOV2+ in sound quality and technical ability, which becomes apparent with a direct AB comparison. It's timing is simply unmatched by anything I've heard, and probably by anything at all. But it doesn't inspire the same emotions that the GO does. The Mojo often leaves me wishing for more bass impact, for example. Though it is technically superior, when you're listening to the GOV2+ it's close enough not to matter. The Geek Out has that quality of musicality that's almost ineffable; it's something you viscerally miss when you don't have it, in a way that the Mojo doesn't match. To my ears and brain, at least. Personified the Mojo is a college educated, witty, and beautiful blonde olympic athlete that we should all look to marry. The Geek Out V2+, on the other hand, is the wild miniskirt wearing girl you met at the club; you might spend a fortune buying her drinks before she talks you into getting a baggie of coke, and if you've any cash left in your wallet she's likely to steal that too, but she'll also give you the wildest night of your life. I love the mojo, but I still fantasize about the Geek Out V2+

The LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity was sent to me for free by LH Labs for the purpose of me writing an unbiased review of it as well as include it in my $250+ DAC/amp comparison thread.  I’d like to send a big THANK YOU to Larry and Diana for letting me check it out.
 

As you can tell the design on the chassis for the V2+ changed somewhere in the process

 
As far as I understand the MSRP price for the LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity is $699 while the pre-sale price on Indiegogo was $459.  Further it’s my understanding that the product soon will be available for regular sale on the LH Labs website:
 
https://support.lhlabs.com/support/home
 
For more information about the LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity (and it siblings) you can also visit the page about it on Indiegogo:
 
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/geek-out-2-the-world-s-most-powerful-compact-amp-music-headphones#/
 
I’m not in any way affiliated with LH Labs.
 
Short introduction to LH Labs.:
LH Labs is a California based company founded by Larry Ho a couple of years ago.
 
This is what they say about themselves on their website:
“We love great sound and we love to find new ways of making music sound even better. That means we’re a lot like you.
High-end, high-performance audio gear is what we love. We were the first to show the world that if you want digital audio to sound like analog you have to start at 32 bits and 384 kHz. We were the first to offer 10GB bandwidth USB cables and the first to create digital modes for different uses on all our DACs.
We’ll never stop pushing the boundaries of sound, so if you love audio and want to be the first to experience the next generation of pure sound, come along with us – it’s going to be an amazing ride.”
As an owner of their original Geek Out 720 I was thrilled to get the opportunity to check out the Geek Out V2+ Infinity as well.
 
About me:
 
Built, accessories and functionality:
The LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity is a class A amplifier and DAC combo.  
 
The V2+ is available in two versions: the “regular” V2+ and the V2+ Infinity. The differences being that while the V2+ has two gain and digital filter options the Infinity version offers three settings for them each  (more about this later). I’ve got the Infinity version.
 
With the gain setting at maximum output power is rated to 125mW@ 32Ohm single ended and 500mW when using the balanced connection. Output impedance is rated at a very low 0.47Ohm in single ended mode and 0.95Ohm in balanced mode.
 
The V2+ Infinity has a sturdy metal housing that feels durable. The physical controls available on it do also feel reliable. The physical controls sums up to a gain switch, a button to switch between the different digital filters and an on/off switch. The different gain setting are actually different power output and you get to choose between 100mW, 450mW or 1,000mW to be able to give the best performance depending of the power needed for you IEM’s, earphones or headphones. This is very neat in my opinion since the lower the output power you choose the lesser amount of hiss you’ll get. As for the digital filters the difference is quite subtle, this is also my experience with pretty much every other device offering this, but still nice for the final fine tune to suit your preference best.  The overall build feels very solid but as usual only long term usage will really show how good it is.
 
The V2+ Infinity offers one USB micro digital audio input and a separate USB micro charging port. This means that the device will not draw power from your source when you’re using it but it also mean that it will not charge while in use. This is very good if you use it with a portable device like a phone or a tablet but may not be perfect if you main use is with a computer or laptop since you’ll have to charge it through the charging port every once in a while in this case.  There’s also one 3.5mm single ended headphones output and the big added value of a 3.5mm balanced headphones output as well.  In total I find the number of connections to be ok on a unit of this size but I can’t help missing a combined coaxial/optical input which would’ve made the V2+ Infinity even more versatile.
 
The V2+ Infinity works extremely well with Android devices when connected with an OTG cable and using USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) as music player. A nice feature is that it disconnect automatically from the Android device when the power is turned off. This means that you won’t have to disconnect it from the source every time you stop listening to save power. Speaking of power, the internal battery on the V2+ Infinity does also make the battery drain on the hosting device very low. Although Android and sound does not have a great reputation the V2+ Infinity have worked with every Android device I’ve tried it with not only with the help of UAPP but it also actually work great with streaming services like Spotify which is certainly not always the case with these kind of devices.
 
The V2+ Infinity uses an Xmos USB receiver that is supposed to work with Apple devices using the Camera Connection Kit (CCK) but I haven’t been able to test this myself.
 
The battery life is fairly good and is said to be 10 hours, without having brought out my stop clock I’d say that these numbers are fairly accurate from my experience. The power required by the headphones or IEM’s your using will of course also affect the battery life. Charging time is about 5 hours and although it’s quite long it have not really bothered me since I typically charge it when I sleep.
 
The V2+ Infinity support all popular file formats for audio up to DSD256 and 32bit/384kHz files.
 

 

 

 
The accessories included are:
1 USB cable
 

Pretty spare with accessories
 
The specs:

 
I’ve used the V2+ Infinity a lot for the last couple of weeks and my unit has played for well over 100 hours.
 
Demo list:
 
Sound impression:
The first thing that I noticed when I started to listen to the V2+ Infinity was that reminded me quite a bit of the sound form the Resonessence Labs Herus+ which I recently reviewed with a similar analogue sounding presentation but the with V2+ the sound is even more refined.
 
Bass extension and quality is really good with no noticeable roll off in the lowest frequencies and a very good quality of the whole bass spectrum. Mid- and upper-bass is equally great and doesn’t add anything that shouldn’t be there. The bass in total has a great balance between quantity and quality making for a great dynamic presentation without ever going over to the boomy side. As a matter of fact I’d go as far as saying the V2+ Infinity has the best controlled bass I’ve heard from any source that I’ve tried. Since I don’t have them all around to check this is from memory but it’s the way I feel about the bass presentation on the V2+ Infinity.
 
The natural balanced sound continues in the mid-range giving it a good depth in the presentation. The midrange presentation of the V2+ Infinity feels very transparent and natural to me. This combined with excellent timbre and a good soundstage width makes a great sounding signature that continues in the upper frequencies as well. The treble does feel as natural as the rest of the frequencies and I’m not able to detect any roll off. That being said the treble is not as airy and dreamy as on the Mojo but still very nice.
 
All the impressions above is in single ended mode, switching over to balanced mode there are some clear changes that takes the sound to even a higher level.
 
When running the V2+ Infinity in balanced mode it delivers more power than when using it single ended. This, however, is not the only difference. When connecting my Hifiman HE400i’s with balanced cable to the balanced output on the V2+ there’s an easily noted improvement in separation and more black background. There are other things that are more subtle like better detail retrieval and a touch better clarity but these are not as obvious to my ears as the changes separation and black background. In all I’d say that the balanced output on the V2+ Infinity is definitely a step up from the single ended one but the difference is not night and day and the characteristic of the is still the same, just more refined. The difference is big enough for me to never use my IEM’s, headphones and earphones that can be used in balance mode with the single ended output on the V2+ Infinity. Just to be perfectly clear: the Geek Out V2+ Infinity sounds great through the single ended output it’s just that the balanced one pushes the sound quality even a notch higher.
 
The overall presentation has good soundstage in all directions and layering is also good as is the amount of air between instruments. The background does feel black and calm when using the single ended output but even more so when using the balanced output. Transparency is also very good, once again especially when using the balanced output.  All together I’d describe the sound of the V2+ Infinity as very clean and realistic. This is a signature that I personally find very appealing.
 
Comparison:
Please note that the comments in the comparison section are not in absolute terms but in comparison between subject A and B. This means (as an example) that if subject A is found to be brighter than subject B it does not necessarily mean that subject A is bright sounding in absolute terms. I hope this makes sense.
 
In these comparisons I’ve been listening through my Hifiman HE400i’s and using the balanced output (since I find it to be the best performing) on the V2+ Infinity.
 
I’ve been using the USB input when doing these comparisons. Both units has been hooked up to two different laptops both running Windows 7 with the same settings and I use MediaMonkey as my player of choice.
 
Burson Audio Conductor V2+ (1,499) vs LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity:
Despite both being named V2+ these two are very different beasts in pretty much every other aspect. Bass on both are excellent with similar depth, layering and details. These two are both definitely in the absolute top tier among the stuff I’ve heard when it comes to bass reproduction with the V2+ Infinity maybe pulling even slightly head on bass tightness. The amount of air between instruments is quite similar with a very slight advantage to the V2+ Infinity while the opposite is true for soundstage width. To my ears the Infinity has a touch more natural sounding vocals while the Burson is a touch smoother. Although they both have a very dark background the Burson unit gives the impression of a slightly more relaxed overall presentation. Micro details are equally great on both as is clarity and transparency.
 
The Burson of course has a lot of other advantages such as significantly higher power output (4W @32Ohms compared to the 500mW on the V2+ Infinity at the same load when running it balanced), more inputs (both coaxial and optical as well as two analog inputs in addition the USB input) and outputs. The advantage for the V2+ Infinity is the smaller size, internal battery and especially the balanced output option.
 
Both have a little background hiss but the Burson has even more than the V2+ Infinity.
 
These two are really a great compliment to each other in my opinion. They both offer excellent sound quality and sound different enough to give some change when shifting between them. The Burson unit is the best desktop unit I’ve come across so far while the V2+ Infinity is the best portable unit I’ve had the pleasure to use. 
 
The bit Opus #11 ($250) vs LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity:
The Opus #11 is the unit in this comparison that’s most similar to the V2+ when it comes to features. They’re both very slim and have an internal battery making them equally great when paired with a phone. When it comes to sound they both have a similar amount of bass presence but the V2+ bass is a bit more controlled. Overall impression is that the #11 is a bit more smooth and relaxed while the V2+ is more distinct in its presentation. Detail retrieval is equally excellent on both as is dynamics.  I’d say that the #11 is a bit  more digital sounding while the V2+ sounds more analog.
 
The #11 is even a bit smaller than the V2+ making it even better suited for portable usage, especially if paired with a phone. Apart from this the V2+ offers a separate USB charging port, three different filters and gain settings as well as a physical on/off button. It does also offer a balanced output. The #11 on the other hand turns on/off automatically when you insert or pull out the headphones. Both offer an internal battery with about similar battery life.
 
None of the runs particular hot but when being used.
 
Both have very slight amount of background hiss and it’s low enough to only be audible with my most easy to drive IEM’s.
 

Size comparison Opus #11 vs V2+ Infinity
 
Burson Audio Air ($499) vs LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity:
The Air has a similar amount of bass presence as the V2+ but the V2+ bass has slightly better control. They both have great instrument separation but when used through the balanced output the V2+ pulls slightly ahead on this account. Overall impression is that the Air is a bit more smooth and relaxed while the V2+ is more distinct in its presentation. Detail retrieval is equally excellent on both, with maybe a slight advantage to the V2+ while dynamics are very similar.
 
The V2+ is a bit thinner than the Air and makes for a slimmer pairing with a phone.
 
None of the runs particularly hot but the Air can get a bit warmer in comparison but it also has significantly more power.
 
The Air has a physical volume control as well as a remote control in addition to a display showing what volume you’re using while all volume control for the V2+ is done on the source. The V2+ offers the three different gains and filters and the balanced output while the Air has a dedicated 3.5mm pre-amp output.   
 
Both have a little background hiss, the Air actually slightly more, but it’s still low enough on both to only be audible with my most easy to drive IEM’s.
 
LH Labs Geek Out 720 ($169) vs LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity:
The Original Geek Out 720 has been in my possession for about two years now and for the first 1.5 years I used it as my main DAC hooked up with my music laptop feeding different headphone amps. My GO720 was connected to the laptop pretty much 24/7 during this period and although it does get quite hot I’ve never had a single issue with it, hopefully the V2+ Infinity will prove to be as reliable in the long run. The GO720 is of course more similar to the cheaper Geek Out V2 than the V2+ Infinity but as the original Geek Out offerings has been very popular I thought I’d include a short sound comparison here as well.
 
Compared to the V2+ Infinity the GO720 has less controlled and distinct bass and an overall smoother sound. The V2+ has more air between instruments and a blacker background. The V2+ also has better detail retrieval and better clarity. The V2+ Infinity does also have noticeable more timbre to the notes making it sound overall more natural. The GO720, despite being a very good offering, does actually sound a bit congested in direct comparison to the V2+ Infinity.  All in all I’d say that the V2+ Infinity is a significant upgrade to the original Geek Out 720.
 
Both have a little background hiss but the GO720 has more and it will definitely be audible with easy to drive IEM’s.
 
 
The GO720 does also run significantly hotter than the V2+ Infinity.
 
For even further comparisons feel free to visit this thread for breakdown between more $250+ amp/DAC units (this is a work in progress and several other units will follow in the near future).
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/816410/peter123s-250-amp-dac-combo-comparison-thread#post_12771442
 
Matching:
The output impedance of the headphone out on the Geek Out V2+ Infinity is rated to a very low 0.47Ohm trough the single ended output and slightly higher 0.95Ohm through the balanced output. Both of these are low enough that it should work well with all kind headphones and even very sensitive IEM’s. The V2+ Inifinty does also have a very low amount of background hiss that's barely ausible even with my most sensetive IEM's. 
 
In this section I’ve tested how some of my favorite headphones but also one earbud and one pair of IEM’s pairs up with the V2+ Infinity.  
 
AKG Q701 ($300):
This session was made using the single ended output on the V2+ Infinity.  The Q’s pairs up really nice with the V2+. The V2+, although not cold sounding, doesn’t add any particular warmth to the presentation the way I hear it and I was afraid that it would be too clinical for the Q’s but that’s not the case, clean, clear and realistic is key words here. Although I’ve heard the Q’s better with some warmer source’s this pairing is still highly enjoyable to my ears.
 
Philips Fidelio X2 ($300):
This session was made using the single ended connection on the Infinity V2+.  The X2’s quite warm and full by itself which makes a very good combination with the clean and clear presentation from the V2+. I really feel that the V2+ bring out some of the best performance I’ve ever heard from the X2’s taking advantage of both the super tight high quality bass of the V2+ as well as the engaging sound and great soundstage of the X2’s and making it a killer combination.
 
Hifiman HE400i ($449):
This session was made using the balanced output on the V2+ Infinity. The HE400i’s is also an excellent pairing with the V2+ Infinity. Although I may prefer the HE400i’s in a tube set up for a more relaxed listening the combination of great resolution, separation and detail retrieval while yet engaging makes this combination my all-time favorite for critical listening, a pure bliss.
 
Aurisonics ASG-1PLUS ($500):
The ASG-1PLUS is an 11Ohm hybrid IEM (1 DD + 1 BA).
 
This session was made using the single ended output on the V2+ Infinity. The 1PLUS has an overall laid back and relaxed mid-centric presentation that pairs perfectly with the V2+ Infinity. The analogue characteristic from the V2+ bring enough energy to the 1PLUS for it to make a very engaging listening. The great detail retrieval and separation does also pairs perfectly with the 1PLUS and I’d even go as far as saying that this is the best performance that I’ve ever heard from the 1PLUS for my preference.
 
On low gain there’s no background whatsoever with the 1 PLUS:
 
Super Audio 6 ($250):
The Super Audio 6 (SA6) is a six BA driver Chines DIY offering. It has a warm, smooth, intimate and mid-centric overall presentation.
 
This session was made using the balanced output of the V2+. The combination of the V2+ and SA 6 is a great match and the liquid, creamy and intimate character of the SA6 does really come to live with the great separation and amount of details the V2+ bring to the table. The analogue and relatively energetic sound from the V2+ is also great with the SA6 and the only pairing I’ve heard (from memory) that can match this performance is by the Mojo.
 
There’s no hiss with the SA6’s when using the lowest gain setting.
 
To sum up the matching section the signature of the V2+ Infinity works really well with all the headphones and IEM’s I’ve tried it with. There’s also a very low background hiss even on the lowest gain setting when paired with my most sensitive IEM’s that might be worth noticing. In total I’d still consider the V2+ Infinity an excellent all-rounder when it comes to pairing.
 
Summary:
The LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity is indeed a great offering. Being an Android-Fi guy I can easily say that this is the best unit I’ve come across so far for this purpose. The combination of a slim deign, great sound and features as well as the internal battery (which makes power drain from a phone very low)  makes it pretty much perfect for this usage in my opinion and paired with my retired Sony Xperia Z3Compact (used as music source only) I get about ten hours playtime.
 
I’ve got to say that I’m having trouble finding any significant flaws with the Geek Out V2+ Infinity. Yes it would’ve been nice with a combined optical/coaxial input, an analog input and a designated pre-out but these are nice to have, not needs to have features in my opinion. The thing that might be a flaw for some, more specific those who plan to use the V2+ Infinity with a computer or laptop permanently, is the fact that it doesn’t charge through the USB audio input but for me personally the separated audio and charging is preferable.
 
For anyone looking for a unit in this price range to use with a phone or tablet the LH Labs V2+ Infinity is a very easy recommendation but I’d also suggest it, without hesitating, to people looking for an all-in-one solution to move around between devices like phones and laptops.
 
Audio Quality: 5
Design: 4,5
Quality: 5
Value: 5
Features: 4.5