Geek Pulse: Geek desktop DAC/AMP by Light Harmonics

[greenkiwi]

No if only we could get some info on the headphone amp

 

[Zenifyx]

   
I had not been given any purview to post as a LH employee, so I did not disclose it. The opinions are my own, as a LH backer, and should be viewed as such.
 
Until last night I had done a good job of not commenting on “hot button” topics, however that one elicited the response it did.
 
I no longer own his case, so I do not know where it stands. However, he should have emailed into the case asking for an update if he had concerns, and waited for a new replacement unit before posting a “first impressions” video.
 
Tickets do not auto close. I do not know if they did before I started, but I know they do not now.
 
I was not around for the issues with the Geek Out, and his issue is not firmware related, which makes the GO reference irrelevant.

 
Your opinions are indeed your own and not indicative of LHlabs views on the matter, but why do you insist your views be viewed as that of a LH backer? (rather than that of a LH employee, which you apparently are).
Is there some apparent disadvantage for you to have your opinions to be viewed as coming from an LH employee?

 

[jexby]

To move on, I think $22 for the chip upgrade is quite a safe investment. If there's noticeably better measurables, whether or not perceivable, I think we can trust LHL to implement it perfectly. I'm no expert on technical stuff, but I've experienced the infamous Sabre glare in a couple of DACs before. The GO was the best of the lot. Treble never became harsh. I think it's safe to say Larry knows what's best for all things hardware. Most of the upgrades I'll think twice with regards to value, but $22 makes for an easy decision

 
This.
+22.

 

[bitsnbytes]

Try LHLabs' geek force forum. I recall there was a thread on it.

A FAQ is better. Combing the threads is like searching for a needle in the haystack.

 

[nudd]

Jody not to derail the thread further but my rant is as relevant as your rant.

Now to the substance of the matter. If you are going to accuse others of unfairness and possible bias I think you need yourself to disclaim from what perspective you are actually coming from. Not fully disclosing your linkage to LHL taints your posts with a strong hint of astro turfing.

You need to yourself disclose in every post that you are a LHL employee but you are posting here in your own capacity and that your views are not LHL's views. Doing otherwise raises serious questions about the integrity of your posts and LHL's involvement (eg you are posting LHL's official views, or you are trying to whitewash a known and serious issue).

I had not been given any purview to post as a LH employee, so I did not disclose it. The opinions are my own, as a LH backer, and should be viewed as such.

Until last night I had done a good job of not commenting on “hot button” topics, however that one elicited the response it did.

I no longer own his case, so I do not know where it stands. However, he should have emailed into the case asking for an update if he had concerns, and waited for a new replacement unit before posting a “first impressions” video.

Tickets do not auto close. I do not know if they did before I started, but I know they do not now.

I was not around for the issues with the Geek Out, and his issue is not firmware related, which makes the GO reference irrelevant.

 

[Levanter]

Btw Jody,
Lachlan wasn't the only one facing those problems. The popping issue has been around for some time and did blow up a backer's speakers who bought the retailers package which included around 10 Pulse.
Imagine having 10 Pulse which you can't sell to customers in fear of blowing up their gears.
And if I recall, LH side stepped that issue stating there is no defect and the popping is a discharge necessary or there will be a decrease in SQ if they added a component to fix it.

And i do see a number of people complaining in the forums and indiegogo of a defective product without getting any response from LH customer service for over a week. I think Lachlans review is spot on IMO, and LH needs to improve their customer service efforts.

Glad you are now working with LH, and as a former backer I hope you have our interest as a priority as well. E.G, getting the backers to pay shipping both ways for a proper working display board is not very customer oriented since it was LH fault.

 

[greenkiwi]

I know if I had ordered a retail package, I would have been asking to have shipping delayed... Every product has issues... We programmers have to write bugs so that the QA guys can still have jobs. ok but really... But bugs are a part of software. You do lots of things to try to mitigate them, but it is nigh on impossible to write bug free code.

 

[mandrake50]

   
Your opinions are indeed your own and not indicative of LHlabs views on the matter, but why do you insist your views be viewed as that of a LH backer? (rather than that of a LH employee, which you apparently are).
Is there some apparent disadvantage for you to have your opinions to be viewed as coming from an LH employee?

Let it go...
Please!

 

[miceblue]

I've been experimenting with the Pulse, changing tracks (from DSD to WAV to DSD again), no issue at all. One thing though, LHL should beef up their FAQ section with help on how to get Foobar (or any other player) configured to play DSD tracks and such. To draw from an experience I'd had with iFi, I have the Micro iDSD, I couldn't get Foobar to play nice with the Micro iDSD, I'd posted my frustrations with setting it up, their local rep answered within a day with a step-by-step guide to configuring Foobar......now, that's excellent service. Yes, I do understand that LHL doesn't have local reps in the various countries, so having a clear guide to using the Pulse in the FAQ/Guide section would help. I'd gotten Foobar to play nice with the Pulse after some anxious minutes configuring Foobar while, at the back of my mind, wondering if the unit was defective. A good online guide would definitely alleviate some of the initial anxiety with any new product, especially one that has been plagued with such bad press.

Yeah actually that would be nice. It took me quite some time to figure out how to set up DSD properly on Foobar for the Geek Out.

Basically:

1. Install the LH Windows drivers (http://lhlabs.com/downloads/LightHarmonic_DriverSetup_v2.23.zip)
2. Install Foobar2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/download)
3. Install the ASIO add-on for Foobar (http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_asio just double-click on the .component file and it'll open in Foobar)
4. Install the SACD Decoder add-on for Foobar (http://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/files/foo_input_sacd/ just unzip the folder, double-click on the .component file, and it'll open in Foobar)
5. Open Foobar
6. Go to Foobar preferences (Ctrl + P)
7. Click on the Output listing after expanding the Playback settings on the left
8. Select ASIO: foo_dsd_asio in the Device list
9. Adjust the Buffer length slider to your liking (I don't know if these settings do anything so I just set it to 50 ms)
10. Click on the ASIO listing after expanding the Output settings on the left
11. Check the Use 64-bit ASIO drivers option
12. Check the Run with high process priority option
13. Double-click on foo_dsd_asio under the ASIO Drivers list
14. Select Light Harmonic ASIO under the ASIO Driver dropdown list
15. Select DoP Marker 0x05/0xFA under the DSD Playback Method dropdown list
16. Select None under the DSD to DSD Method dropdown list
17. Select None under the PCM to DSD Method dropdown list
18. Select 0 ms under the DSD/PCM Transition dropdown list
19. Close that window
20. Click on the SACD listing after expanding the Tools settings on the left
21. Select DSD under the ASIO Driver Mode dropdown list
22. Click on Apply and OK
23. Open the Light Harmonic Control Panel
24. Go to the Buffer Settings tab
25. Adjust the USB Streaming Mode and Asio Buffer Size options to your liking (I still don't understand what these options do, but I have Minimum Latency and 128 samples respectively)
26. Go to the Volume tab
27. Click on Output ...
28. Adjust the volume to your liking (I would recommend setting the master volume to -70 dB just to be safe)
29. Open a DSD file in Foobar and play it

Hopefully this will help someone else. It only took me a long time to figure it all out.... -_-

 

[doctorjazz]

You skipped the part about getting an unmaimed goat, slaughtering it and sacrificing it to the gods of audio...

 

[mikey1964]

Yeah actually that would be nice. It took me quite some time to figure out how to set up DSD properly on Foobar for the Geek Out.

Basically:

• Install the LH Windows drivers (http://lhlabs.com/downloads/LightHarmonic_DriverSetup_v2.23.zip)
• Install Foobar2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/download)
• Install the ASIO add-on for Foobar (http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_asio just double-click on the .component file and it'll open in Foobar)
• Install the SACD Decoder add-on for Foobar (http://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/files/foo_input_sacd/ just unzip the folder, double-click on the .component file, and it'll open in Foobar)
• Open Foobar
• Go to Foobar preferences (Ctrl + P)
• Click on the Output listing after expanding the Playback settings on the left
• Select ASIO: foo_dsd_asio in the Device list
• Adjust the Buffer length slider to your liking (I don't know if these settings do anything so I just set it to 50 ms)
• Click on the ASIO listing after expanding the Output settings on the left
• Check the Use 64-bit ASIO drivers option
• Check the Run with high process priority option
• Double-click on foo_dsd_asio under the ASIO Drivers list
• Select Light Harmonic ASIO under the ASIO Driver dropdown list
• Select DoP Marker 0x05/0xFA under the DSD Playback Method dropdown list
• Select None under the DSD to DSD Method dropdown list
• Select None under the PCM to DSD Method dropdown list
• Select 0 ms under the DSD/PCM Transition dropdown list
• Close that window
• Click on the SACD listing after expanding the Tools settings on the left
• Select DSD under the ASIO Driver Mode dropdown list
• Click on Apply and OK
• Open the Light Harmonic Control Panel
• Go to the Buffer Settings tab
• Adjust the USB Streaming Mode and Asio Buffer Size options to your liking (I still don't understand what these options do, but I have Minimum Latency and 128 samples respectively)
• Go to the Volume tab
• Click on Output ...
• Adjust the volume to your liking (I would recommend setting the master volume to -70 dB just to be safe)
• Open a DSD file in Foobar and play it

Hopefully this will help someone else. It only took me a long time to figure it all out.... -_-

I can't recall what I'd done, only that I'd changed this or that setting when Foobar prompted an error message about 'unable to query frequency rate' or some malarkey to that effect. Furiously reset this and that and was rewarded with Foobar playing the track......but no sound! After a few more adjustment, I'd gotten it to work........WHEW!

 All that just to get the Pulse to play nice with Foobar, and all that time I was wondering if my unit was faulty since Foobar was playing the tracks, but no audio. Seriously, LHL should post a config setting for Foobar and any other major player so that we can feel at ease configuring Foobar and Pulse. I'm keeping your post in mind as I'll be getting a Nano iDSD to go with my Lyr, I'm gonna compare the Lyr + Nano iDSD stack against the Pulse Standard and the winner (in my opinion based on my somewhat shoddy hearing) would be my main audio rig with the 2nd place audio setup going to my 2nd rig. 
 

You skipped the part about getting an unmaimed goat, slaughtering it and sacrificing it to the gods of audio...

Shush, that's a dirty secret that's reserved when all else fails.....

 

 

[chartwell85]

Well this thread got a bit of traction...I'm going to be here for the next few hours and early tomorrow AM.  Whatever questions you have for me I'll gladly answer in the order they're received.  

 

[snip3r77]

I think we should give Jody a break as well. It's clear he will have a greater propensity to be aggrieved than most since it's his own blood and sweat being put into the CS front. I can empathize because he's simply taking pride in what he does, and his job isn't exactly easy. Keep in mind that he proactively seeked a solution to his woes (and for others as well), and at heart he's essentially a backer like all of us.

To move on, I think $22 for the chip upgrade is quite a safe investment. If there's noticeably better measurables, whether or not perceivable, I think we can trust LHL to implement it perfectly. I'm no expert on technical stuff, but I've experienced the infamous Sabre glare in a couple of DACs before. The GO was the best of the lot. Treble never became harsh. I think it's safe to say Larry knows what's best for all things hardware. Most of the upgrades I'll think twice with regards to value, but $22 makes for an easy decision

+22 post counts.
If I need to sell it away it would be easier also.

132/ 446 now. the 446 number I feel it's not a arbitrary figure. ( 100%?) and as long we can meet 95% then it would be a go? (My guess )

 

[miceblue]

I can't recall what I'd done, only that I'd changed this or that setting when Foobar prompted an error message about 'unable to query frequency rate' or some malarkey to that effect. Furiously reset this and that and was rewarded with Foobar playing the track......but no sound! After a few more adjustment, I'd gotten it to work........WHEW!:blink:  All that just to get the Pulse to play nice with Foobar, and all that time I was wondering if my unit was faulty since Foobar was playing the tracks, but no audio. Seriously, LHL should post a config setting for Foobar and any other major player so that we can feel at ease configuring Foobar and Pulse. I'm keeping your post in mind as I'll be getting a Nano iDSD to go with my Lyr, I'm gonna compare the Lyr + Nano iDSD stack against the Pulse Standard and the winner (in my opinion based on my somewhat shoddy hearing) would be my main audio rig with the 2nd place audio setup going to my 2nd rig. 

Ah, that's basically what happened to me when I was trying to setup the Geek Out, hahaha. Eventually after dinking around with the settings I figured out what works and what doesn't. Actually setting up the upcoming OPPO HA-2 also helped since that does native DSD streaming up to DSD256, which I thought was odd since it uses the same DAC chip as the GO and the Pulse.

Speaking of the iDSD, that has a minimum phase filter built into it. How do you like the filters available in the Pulse?

I wrote my impressions of them in the Geek Out thread (I'm not gonna paste the text directly here since it's a big block).
http://www.head-fi.org/t/677263/light-harmonic-geek/1380#post_11300670

 

[zerodeefex]

The "pulse will damage your headphones" thing is overblown. I leave my UERMs plugged in and turn it on and off all the time. Even with them in, the thump is tiny.