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Geek Pulse First Impressions

Dec 13, 2014 at 3:09 PM Post #16 of 39
Im all for resolution as well as it not sounding harsh in the highs, but I am worried it won't have punch/dynamics\weight. The little bit I can make from the impressions so far is of it not having strong bass compared to what it was next to.
I hope the xfi nails it.
I had the nfb28 and it had good resolution but lacked musicality imo. I hope the xfi or x is in a different lane.
 
Dec 13, 2014 at 8:26 PM Post #17 of 39
grizzlybeast said:
Im all for resolution as well as it not sounding harsh in the highs, but I am worried it won't have punch/dynamics\weight. The little bit I can make from the impressions so far is of it not having strong bass compared to what it was next to.
I hope the xfi nails it.
I had the nfb28 and it had good resolution but lacked musicality imo. I hope the xfi or x is in a different lane.
Click to expand...

Punch and dynamics are very, very good. I think the weight depends on your headphones or speakers to a great extent. And Pulse will deliver what's in the recording and not skew the sound but keep it pretty neutral. I'm also interested to hear what others think that are coming from other DAC/Amp combos/equipment.
 
Dec 15, 2014 at 1:08 AM Post #21 of 39
Have a Soul Tube coming, but that is likely after all the rest get shipped.
Interesting to read the comments here, was considering another Pulse (the Soul started out as the Pulse Xfi for me, but went for the upgrade) as a desktop unit. Did go for the Centrance HIfi M8 XL4 on Massdrop (nice to be able to say the name without all the silly, "the site that can't be named" stuff), don't know how this compares to the various Geek Pulse options, but think I'll get it faster (though Massdrop isn't known to be speedy with orders). But, the current Indiegogo prices, while half of what they say these products will list for, are considerably more than they were when the offer first began. The Centrance was raved about by Tyll, and is sort of portable, which is a nice plus (for me). If I keep going, though, I'll have absolutely no use for the Geek Out 1k and Special Edition, which I use extensively now. This has been a very bad holiday season for my bank account...:triportsad:
 
Dec 15, 2014 at 2:47 PM Post #22 of 39
I hear you about the bad holidays, I bought a mono amp by mistake from the campaign and they would not give me a refund so I bought another one to complete the pair as well as the stereo amp that I originally intended to buy from the campaign. LOL talking about dumb spending, definitely learned my lesson on asking first before clicking the mouse LOL I am hoping I can return the mono amps for refund or just sell them online.
I definitely got cough up in the whole Geek campaign!
 
Dec 15, 2014 at 10:59 PM Post #23 of 39
maelob said:
I hear you about the bad holidays, I bought a mono amp by mistake from the campaign and they would not give me a refund so I bought another one to complete the pair as well as the stereo amp that I originally intended to buy from the campaign. LOL talking about dumb spending, definitely learned my lesson on asking first before clicking the mouse LOL I am hoping I can return the mono amps for refund or just sell them online.
I definitely got cough up in the whole Geek campaign!
Click to expand...


It's so easy to get caught up in the Geek campaign...I never intended to buy what I wound up buying from the campaign without hearing a thing. So far, at least I do like the Geek Out stuff (have the 1K and the SE).
 
Dec 17, 2014 at 5:05 PM Post #24 of 39
Thanks for the impressions.  I, too, am waiting for an Xfi, with an LPS sitting here taunting me.  As long as these units can compete with a midrange Schiit stack, while saving me the space, it will be money well spent for me.  
 
Dec 18, 2014 at 11:47 PM Post #25 of 39
Got my Pulse today.  Unfortunately I think it has some of the same volume control issues that plagued the Geek Out.  Using JRiver 20 on a Windows 7 machine, I find that at start-up with the volume on the Pulse set to -127.5db (lowest mine goes) for safety reasons based on my Geek Out experience, playing FLAC, the volume level produced with JRiver set to around 20% is plenty loud for my normal listening levels.  However, switch to DSD (with bitstreaming), the volume shoots to max - definitely deafening levels if I had my headphones on!  However, one touch of the volume knob on the Pulse and the volume level drops significantly to the point where I have to max out the volume in JRiver and set the Pulse volume to around -40db to get a comfortable listening level.  It doesn't seem to make any difference whether Volume Setting on the Pulse is set to Knob or Usb.  Likewise it didn't seem to make a difference with the volume mode I had set in JRiver as well, though I may be recalling incorrectly there as I got tired of messing around with it.
 
I'm curious to see if anyone else has experienced similar volume control issues?  Kind of a bummer for me after the Geek Out volume headaches (or should I say ear aches?).
 
Dec 19, 2014 at 12:46 AM Post #26 of 39
frankrondaniel said:
  Got my Pulse today.  Unfortunately I think it has some of the same volume control issues that plagued the Geek Out.  Using JRiver 20 on a Windows 7 machine, I find that at start-up with the volume on the Pulse set to -127.5db (lowest mine goes) for safety reasons based on my Geek Out experience, playing FLAC, the volume level produced with JRiver set to around 20% is plenty loud for my normal listening levels.  However, switch to DSD (with bitstreaming), the volume shoots to max - definitely deafening levels if I had my headphones on!  However, one touch of the volume knob on the Pulse and the volume level drops significantly to the point where I have to max out the volume in JRiver and set the Pulse volume to around -40db to get a comfortable listening level.  It doesn't seem to make any difference whether Volume Setting on the Pulse is set to Knob or Usb.  Likewise it didn't seem to make a difference with the volume mode I had set in JRiver as well, though I may be recalling incorrectly there as I got tired of messing around with it.
 
I'm curious to see if anyone else has experienced similar volume control issues?  Kind of a bummer for me after the Geek Out volume headaches (or should I say ear aches?).
Click to expand...

I have yet to receive my Geek pulse yet, but sounds like a lot of your problem is due to the gain setting on the Geek pulse.
 
Have you tried adjusting the gain setting by pressing in the volume button?
 
Dec 19, 2014 at 5:46 PM Post #28 of 39
head-hi said:
  Can anyone recommend an inexpensive alternative LPS for the Pulse?
Click to expand...

 
I would pick the 12V 2A version.
http://www.teddypardo.com/powersupplies.html
 
Dec 20, 2014 at 11:19 AM Post #29 of 39
dslayerzx said:
  I have yet to receive my Geek pulse yet, but sounds like a lot of your problem is due to the gain setting on the Geek pulse.
 
Have you tried adjusting the gain setting by pressing in the volume button?
Click to expand...

 
Hi,
 
It doesn't seem like a gain problem to me - it happens regardless of the gain setting.  After playing with it for a while it looks like it starts up at full volume, regardless of the what the volume dial displays, and then corrects itself once I adjust the volume dial. I'm protected somewhat by a JRiver setting that will set it's volume to 20% at startup but that won't work with bit-streaming - JRiver outputs that at full volume. I simply need to remember to touch that dial first! 
 
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