Geek Pulse: Geek desktop DAC/AMP by Light Harmonics

[jexby]

   
Having said that it is a SABRE so it will be on the lean and bright side and if badly implemented will have fatiguing glare. If you want something with more warmth then maybe a non sabre DAC would have been a better bet?
 

 
to my ears and rigs- the GeekOut has none of the Sabre problems you mention, and has a good full sound- especially with the new filters in firmware v1.5.
no way the Pulse Xfi will be lean or bright either with fatiguing glare.
 
I heard the Xfi for about 10-12minutes at RMAF, detected no lean/bright there either.
yet I still think the Lyr 2 hybrid tube amp is a better pairing for my HE-560, hence why the stellar DAC in Xfi feeding Lyr 2 is likely my end game.
 
will know more in the coming weeks....

 

[jexby]

And yes, I think the Pulse is using the same filters as the Geek Out.

 
Believe you are correct miceblue!
 
I was also told the upcoming Geek Stream will have the same filters as Geek Out too.

 

[doctorjazz]

It seems they came up with a successful formula for Geek Out and they're sticking to it. I like the sound of the Geek Out 1K with new upgraded software, or at least I did, until I got the Geek Out Special Edition, haven't listened to the 1K much. I promised someone to compare them, hopefully I can get some time to do that on the weekend.

 

[zerodeefex]

To me, the best filter would be the one that sounds most neutral and true to the original recording. Something I'll probably never get to compare.

You're coming at this all wrong. What is your neutral reference? I'm doing my testing on recordings like SFS Mahler's first where I was present for the performance(s) as well as tracks others have helped me find over the years.

I think you might be mistaking the harsh, empty sound of something like the Mytek for neutral. That thing sounds like a piece of garbage.

The new firmware brings a ton of improvements, it was definitely not a step back in resolution or clarity.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to trust my ears along with folks like CEE TEE and Anaxilius over you and your friend.

 

[coletrain104]

What's all this about filters? Like a mode to shift the pulse to that sounds different than another? I gather that it's some sort of software change or something of the like, but how is it changed? Just curious

 

[miceblue]

What's all this about filters? Like a mode to shift the pulse to that sounds different than another? I gather that it's some sort of software change or something of the like, but how is it changed? Just curious

With a firmware update, you have the ability to change digital things within the DAC. In the case of the Geek Out, and Pulse for that matter, the digital filters are one thing that can be changed.

In digital signal processing, the digital filter affects what frequency signals are rejected from an audio signal.
Here's a nice and simple article about the TCM filter (minimum phase) and FRM filter (slow roll-off)
https://www.ayre.com/pdf/Ayre_MP_White_Paper.pdf

 

[Larry Ho]

Hi there,
 
When you got your Geek Pulse, welcome to play around the two enhanced filter mode there: FRM and TCM.
 
And when time is ready, we will have SSM for Stream music....
 
Cheers,

 

[doctorjazz]

Most of the time, on the GO1K, I preferred the TCM, which seems more open sharp detailed. Sometimes the FRM, which tends to smooth things out, would be good to take the edge off an edgy recording. With the GO Special Edition (probably the GO analog of the Pulse Xfi), my preferences weren 't quite so clear, some music/headphones did better with the TCM, others with the FRM, the negatives are less negative and I'd often just try one, then the other.

 

[greenkiwi]

  +1. Exactly my thought. Add the GTB if you want inject some extra warmth. 

I'm skipping the GTB and hoping to wait for a geek tube headphone amp.  I do hope that they release it via some not MSRP vector, otherwise, I'll be out... or I'll be getting a Liquid Glass.

 

[walfredo]

  To me, the best filter would be the one that sounds most neutral and true to the original recording. Something I'll probably never get to compare.

Define "true to the original recording"!  
 
It sounds like "the photo that captures reality, without changes or processing"....  It just does not exist!!!  The very act of recording reality deviates from the reality.  We are all left with flavors of interpreting it.

 

[doctorjazz]

That's the way I understand it as well...there has to be a filter, and it always affects the sound in some way.different people will prefer one change over another.

 

[nudd]

I didn't say the GeekOut had problems, but the GO is definitely NOT a warm sounding DAC. That's all I am saying.  My own personal experience with them is that they are a well implemented version of a Sabre DAC, and I like them except for the uncomfortably high noise floor with sensitive IEMs. I especially preferred the TCM filter (especially with electronic music and the first time I installed the new firmware and switch to TCM I literally couldn't stop listening to the thing for like 3 hours straight). But that still doesn't mean it is in any way a warm or relaxed DAC. .
 
The jury is still out on the Pulse because nobody has heard it and reported on it under good listening conditions except for 1 review and 1 brief report on a recently shipped unit.
 
By all accounts it will be slightly warmer than the GeekOuts because Larry has said they tweaked the analog stage to add a bit more warmth after RMAF.
 
 
 
Quote:

   
to my ears and rigs- the GeekOut has none of the Sabre problems you mention, and has a good full sound- especially with the new filters in firmware v1.5.
no way the Pulse Xfi will be lean or bright either with fatiguing glare.
 
I heard the Xfi for about 10-12minutes at RMAF, detected no lean/bright there either.
yet I still think the Lyr 2 hybrid tube amp is a better pairing for my HE-560, hence why the stellar DAC in Xfi feeding Lyr 2 is likely my end game.
 
will know more in the coming weeks....

 

[longbowbbs]

   I like them except for the uncomfortably high noise floor with sensitive IEMs. 
 

Remember that they have the GO100IEM version. It has a much lower noise floor and is positioned as an IEM specific version. Very quiet with IEM's
 

 

Red is GO 1000, Black is GO100IEM.

 

[digitalzed]

  Hi there,
 
When you got your Geek Pulse, welcome to play around the two enhanced filter mode there: FRM and TCM.
 
And when time is ready, we will have SSM for Stream music....
 
Cheers,

Larry, how do you change filters in the Pulse?

 

[longbowbbs]

 

  Hi there,
 
When you got your Geek Pulse, welcome to play around the two enhanced filter mode there: FRM and TCM.
 
And when time is ready, we will have SSM for Stream music....
 
Cheers,

Larry, how do you change filters in the Pulse?

The volume knob is also a menu selector knob. You press it to get to the menu area. From there you can select filters and what type.