Geek Pulse: Geek desktop DAC/AMP by Light Harmonics

[atsq17]

Agisthos posted about the lineouts being inferior(surprise to me) along with soundstage issues. Knowing that the xfi can't even compare to the x5 (absolutely no offense to the x5) is a joke since they claim every unit supposedly goes through a full battery of tests before shipping. i only have myself to blame for trusting them because they came up with the davinci. I'll be posting everything for sale once they actually ship me the rest of the stuff since I want to wash my hands (someone on canuckaudiomart made the same comments and did the same thing) of this now after seeing these real world comments.

 
How much will you be selling your Infinity unit for? 
 
BTW, I have an XFi and I had an X5. I didn't connect them together but I can tell you that the XFi is awesome and I sold my X5 because I found it downright mediocre even when I had low expectations.
 
With regards to the reported bad sounding XFi units, it could have been a faulty unit or the way it was connected. I cannot explain that away. I do know someone else who claimed his unit sounded absolutely rubbish and sent it back. I haven't experienced it personally and even my skeptic audiophile friends who thought I was ripped off by this crowd funding business said it was the best DAC they've ever heard. 
 
EDIT: I was initially using USB via the Lightspeed 2G but now using SPDIF via Lightspeed 2G (power from LPS) through an Audiophilleo 1. It sounds even better than USB. 

 

[kenman345]

  I'll be selling it for what I paid for it.  When I actually get it that is.  This has been a lesson well learned since my time/$ would have been better spent on a Vega or something.  The more I think about this the more pissed I feel.

I wish you luck with whatever gear you get. I felt it was time to chime in on this unfolding situation. I am sorry that you are not satisfied, as I am sure plenty of folks share your pain, but try contacting LH Labs about this and see what they can do about maybe trading in your credit for something they have in stock now that you can instantly get a return on your investment from. I have found LH Labs to be quite open to suggestions and maybe thats part of the reason they got you in a bad mood but it seems you are ready to cut your losses in $ and in your time, so I hope my suggestion helps you reach that goal sooner. I for one am quite happy with my gear and have practiced extreme caution with LH Labs and other crowd funding audio campaigns after the Pulse took a long time to deliver. I've had my gripes with them but overall I am a happy customer and with most things here, its hard to say if something is worth it to anyone but myself unless you were to hear it yourself. 

 

[adrian0115]

  I wish you luck with whatever gear you get. I felt it was time to chime in on this unfolding situation. I am sorry that you are not satisfied, as I am sure plenty of folks share your pain, but try contacting LH Labs about this and see what they can do about maybe trading in your credit for something they have in stock now that you can instantly get a return on your investment from. I have found LH Labs to be quite open to suggestions and maybe thats part of the reason they got you in a bad mood but it seems you are ready to cut your losses in $ and in your time, so I hope my suggestion helps you reach that goal sooner. I for one am quite happy with my gear and have practiced extreme caution with LH Labs and other crowd funding audio campaigns after the Pulse took a long time to deliver. I've had my gripes with them but overall I am a happy customer and with most things here, its hard to say if something is worth it to anyone but myself unless you were to hear it yourself. 

Thanks Kenman,
 
I travel around internationally and I simply don't want to take the risk of dealing with returns due to buggy/faulty stuff.  There is nothing I want from them at this point of time other than to ship me the rest of the kit.  Bloody hell I've been limping along with just a Dragonfly for bloody almost 2yrs waiting for this bloody thing.  I'm no longer willing to gamble on potentially faulty kit so I'm not going to bother trying it before I sell.   

 

[DSlayerZX]

Adrain, while the crowd funding approach to this product can be extremely frustrating and confusing
 
(hell, looking at their newest update chart... I can't even tell when is my 2013 infinity in 2.0 chassie is suppose to be shipped, what the hell LHlab)
 
I felt that you have jumped the gun on the review for a bit. 
 
In one hand, some of those units. (especially the early ones) does have problems, which is really inexcusable when you hear about how much they emphasizing on testing the unit before shipping. How ever,  I found the way you approach negative reviews on the unit to be a bit biased.
 
 
Looking at the japanese blog though, in his review, it looks like he prefer the sound of the 1242AQ (a diy dac from what I can from the research), while stating both dac has a different signature, while the Geek Pulse is on the thin side.  , but at the same time, he did not express much negativity toward the Geek Pulse.
Though the problem he reported with the LPS having hiccup and flicking, dimming problem, is a bit worrisome.
 
As for the Chinese form, the reviewer initially stated that at the Backer Price, it's definitely a great buy, but not at the MSRP price, at MSRP its' just soso and does not have the potential to compete with other units above its price point. But do note though, his main reason of that initial expression was due to the dac sounded wobby on the low frequency spectrum,.
In which he later corrected as the the lower frequency response improved after 2 weeks of burn in. Though, he did not provide another comaprison with that post.

 

[adrian0115]

  Adrain, while the crowd funding approach to this product can be extremely frustrating and confusing
 
(hell, looking at their newest update chart... I can't even tell when is my 2013 infinity in 2.0 chassie is suppose to be shipped, what the hell LHlab)
 
I felt that you have jumped the gun on the review for a bit. 
 
In one hand, some of those units. (especially the early ones) does have problems, which is really inexcusable when you hear about how much they emphasizing on testing the unit before shipping. How ever,  I found the way you approach negative reviews on the unit to be a bit biased.
 
 
Looking at the japanese blog though, in his review, it looks like he prefer the sound of the 1242AQ (a diy dac from what I can from the research), while stating both dac has a different signature, while the Geek Pulse is on the thin side.  , but at the same time, he did not express much negativity toward the Geek Pulse.
Though the problem he reported with the LPS having hiccup and flicking, dimming problem, is a bit worrisome.
 
As for the Chinese form, the reviewer initially stated that at the Backer Price, it's definitely a great buy, but not at the MSRP price, at MSRP its' just soso and does not have the potential to compete with other units above its price point. But do note though, his main reason of that initial expression was due to the dac sounded wobby on the low frequency spectrum,.
In which he later corrected as the the lower frequency response improved after 2 weeks of burn in. Though, he did not provide another comaprison with that post.

DSlayerZX,
 
I'm right with you on everything you said but I was never confused since I was banking on Larry's engineering capabilities.  My point being both my friends and I have had real world experience with these things and the historical track record isn't something that gives us much faith.  Seeing a few positive reviews vs. what other people are writing about in terms of performance/problems makes things a bit worrisome.
 
Now for something that's supposedly going for $2-3K, I wish them good luck.  I was part of the original backers and 1500er group and pledged my support with my wallet.  Fool me once, shame on me...  
 
Everything is 20/20 on hindsight and if I had to do it again, I'd go with a proven vendor (Benchmark/Auralic etcetc) rather than gambling on great specs/marketing.  
 
Personally, I simply don't have time to gamble and deal with sending things back and forth on an international basis.  I no longer want to pay to be a beta test and expect to pay for something that works and performs out of the box.  If it doesn't, then it gets dealt with on the spot.  
 
Even my lowly Dragonfly has never given me a hiccup and I can simply hit play on my phone when I walk in the door.
 
I just recently demo'd Devialets gear (Expert/Phantom) from an invitation and at least I can say what I heard impressed me.  We live and learn.   

 

[DSlayerZX]

Yeah, I get what you are coming from, some times dealing with possibility fault product really just isn't worth the time and effort for an individual.
 
I was really into crowd funding few years go, but in recent times I really only go for things that are nice to have, but wouldn't really matter if  I don't have it, or just wait for the finish prodcut to time and read the review on them, it's much easier this way.
 
But well, anticipating, doubt, and risk are all part of the crowd funding experience, we will all live and lean how to deal with this new transaction model.
 
Now, time to put this thing in the back of my head and try to worry about when i actually receive it.

 

[adrian0115]

  Yeah, I get what you are coming from, some times dealing with possibility fault product really just isn't worth the time and effort for an individual.
 
I was really into crowd funding few years go, but in recent times I really only go for things that are nice to have, but wouldn't really matter if  I don't have it, or just wait for the finish prodcut to time and read the review on them, it's much easier this way.
 
But well, anticipating, doubt, and risk are all part of the crowd funding experience, we will all live and lean how to deal with this new transaction model.
 
Now, time to put this thing in the back of my head and try to worry about when i actually receive it.

 
Amen to that.  We're in the same boat here.
 
Cheers!

 

[greenkiwi]

It has been an interesting journey.  In the end, I think that I got caught up in deals etc.  If I were doing it over again, I'd get a Yggy instead of two Infinities.  That being said, for what I'll be paying for the infinities, I can't complain too much.  The first black friday pricing was so good, it was just hard to pass up.  And I'm glad I've stayed for chassis 2.0.
 
I am learning though, that I should just stretch and go for the amp/dac that is at the top of my budget and be done.
 
As an aside, is anyone else finding their new site/forum frustrating?  I find that I don't use it nearly as much as I used to with their old forums.  Just less usable and I don't find I get there as often.

 

[adrian0115]

  It has been an interesting journey.  In the end, I think that I got caught up in deals etc.  If I were doing it over again, I'd get a Yggy instead of two Infinities.  That being said, for what I'll be paying for the infinities, I can't complain too much.  The first black friday pricing was so good, it was just hard to pass up.  And I'm glad I've stayed for chassis 2.0.
 
I am learning though, that I should just stretch and go for the amp/dac that is at the top of my budget and be done.
 
As an aside, is anyone else finding their new site/forum frustrating?  I find that I don't use it nearly as much as I used to with their old forums.  Just less usable and I don't find I get there as often.

+1
 
Greenkiwi, I can't agree with you more on all the points you stated.

 

[Shawnb]

For everyone who's sold off their Pulse and LPS's how much did you sell them for?

 

[uncola]

 Yeah the new forum is horrible.  It's so narrow.. it reminds me more like a comment system than a forum

 

[kenman345]

For everyone who's sold off their Pulse and LPS's how much did you sell them for?

For the most part, it appears people are getting the amount they paid for them, or within 10% plus or minus that cost.

 

[NinjaHamster]

Yep. Their new "forum" is a massive downgrade from the old one ... And the old one wasn't anything special to begin with.

 

[Lord Raven]

Hi Guys,
 
I am new to this gear, Geek Pulse, looks like a long thread with a lot of reviews. I need help selecting a DAC, I am comparing Oppo 105/105D as a stand alone DAC vs Geek Pulse. What are the pros and cons. Please help!
 
Thanks!
LR

 

[kenman345]

  Hi Guys,
 
I am new to this gear, Geek Pulse, looks like a long thread with a lot of reviews. I need help selecting a DAC, I am comparing Oppo 105/105D as a stand alone DAC vs Geek Pulse. What are the pros and cons. Please help!
 
Thanks!
LR

All depends on which Pulse unit I guess. I am not sure about the Oppo DAC, but really, a lot of differences between the different models.
 
From experience, If you can get a Standard Geek Pulse at the original IGG campaign price, that would be a nice bargain. (I believe it was $299-399 or something). If you have to pay full MSRP, then you may be disappointed with what you get. If you want Balanced output, then the cheaper you can get the higher end models, the more happy you will end up. I have had the X, X Fi, and recently had my X Fi changed out for an Infinity. I would say between the X and X Fi, you might not notice a difference at first, but the more you burn them in, then more difference you may find. Overall, I wasnt satisfied with the X Fi, so I got the Infinity. I use the X at work, and for the price I got it, it's perfectly fine. The X Infinity has been great straight out the box, but I have not yet put more than 10 hours on it, so I cannot say how it burns in yet but I have heard from others it gets much better. 

In all, I think the MSRP's of these units is generous. If they lowered each price down about 10-15%, it would be much closer to the right bang/buck ratio to justify the MSRP. Otherwise, it's just a label meant to make backers feel better about the price they spent. I get they calculate the MSRP on lots of variables but I think the Bang for your buck for the campaigns (at least the early ones) make it hard to see such a huge jump nowadays.
 
EDIT: BTW, I forgot to mention the LPS. That thing can upgrade the Pulse a bit. If you get the Standard, I wouldn't suggest getting it as it doesnt make sense, but the X Fi and X Infinity definitely belong with an LPS.