[AxelCloris]

Quote: Gavin

 I got this from Juha, our mechanical engineer, today. He took the front plate design that was voted on by you and implemented it in our CAD program, making very minor changes in order to accommodate the circuit board layout. Take a look-see!

 
Front view.

Rear view.

View through the Pulse from the rear, without the backplate.

I'm interested in finding out exactly what kind of display method is being used here. Maybe these could be small seven-segment indicators.

 

[miceblue]

Honestly, I don't like the chassis too much. It looks a lot like a standard D.I.Y. amp kind of design.
http://cdn.head-fi.org/e/e2/900x900px-LL-e20224cc_O2.jpeg

 

[kugino]

it does kind of look like a standard hammond case, doesn't it? i have faith that the actual hardware will be a bit more "professional" looking.

 

[sorue]

That's exactly what i thought - hammond case. All the voting trouble for a hammond case, man.

 

[stainless824]

EWWWWW
 
They managed to fund CNC machining for their geek outs. I don't get why they can't do the same with the same equipment for the pulses. I would happily pay the price difference.

 

[goldendarko]

I feel like they are playing it safe. The mock designs were pretty exciting but this looks boring to me if it is indeed the box they end up using.

 

[walfredo]

Well... that was the vote, right?
 
FWIW, the mock looks better than the CAD design, but I take they are just the rendering of the same thing with different purposes.

 

[FraGGleR]

It will be a CNC machined front and back plate with a fairly standard chassis.  To get a completely custom chassis, the price could easily be a couple hundred more.  While I understand many people would be happy to pay that for a nicer chassis, don't forget this started life as a $250 product.  They have listened and given us a lot of upgrades that should raise the performance to a much higher level, but keep in mind their target audience and price point before complaining too much.  A lot of people here and on the LHLabs forum have off-base expectations of what a company can make at a certain price point.  For me, I would love a fancy milled chassis like the Matrix X-Sabre or Resonessence Conceros, but as long as the front looks nice and it sounds good with all the upgrades, I am ok with a plain box since this will be on a rack or shelf where it will be hard to notice anything but the front.  

 

[zenpunk]

It also now appears the case is more wide than deep unlike the mock-up they have shown initially. I would have preferred a narrow and deeper unit to fit with my existing gear.
I still hope the final product will look nothing like the CAD because it looks dreadful.  I wish I didn't see it to be frank..

They could have at least coloured it in. 

 

[tigon_ridge]

People don't realize how expensive a sophisticated looking chassis can cost. A good chunk of the production cost of a piece of gear is often due to the fancy looking chassis/interface alone. If you want a sweet looking DAC/amp of this size, be prepared to put down at least an extra $70. I personally don't buy gear that just looks nice - I buy gear that sounds nice that isn't outrageously expensive. I'd rather save that $70. Btw, it doesn't look that bad at all. Just plain jane and unassuming... but I like plain and unassuming!

 

[Anaximandros]

  While I understand many people would be happy to pay that for a nicer chassis, don't forget this started life as a $250 product.  

I am just quoting this. Yes it started with a 250$ product, even less (200$) for people who backed the Geek Out at kickstarter. But the MSRP was set at 499$, don't forget this. The low price on indiegogo is like a pre-order price for a fictional product to raise money. They provided many updates and I bought all of them, because still at >800$ the price was still better than products with nearly the same internals from competitors
 
But even cheaper DAC's look good or have good housings. Keep the MSRP in mind, the Pulse X is listed at 699$ and the Pulse S is at 599$ if I remember correctly. If a consumer buys the DAC for 699$ he can surely expect a nice housing and not something resembling a <200$ DIY Kit.

 

[zenpunk]

Agree. How much a fully upgraded Pulse S would retail for? 800-1000$ ? I haven't seen many units in that price range that look that bad ...well the original Metrum Octave come to mind.
Anyway, I am pretty convinced it is very early stage in the drawing and that the final unit will look a lot better. I hope so anyway.

 

[FraGGleR]

I hear you guys, I do.  I love strong aesthetics, especially for pride of ownership and agree that this shouldn't look like I built it.  But I still think you miss the point that this was supposed to be a larger version of the GEEK out that had a bit more power and ins and outs to accommodate desktop use.  It was going to be relatively cheap and simple (you have seen the original design idea right?) and be perfect for entry level folks.  That they gave us internal improvements to take it away from that original vision and have it compete with higher end gear is awesome, but I believe they are trying to keep it as simple to manufacture as possible to keep costs down (and I think they are right to do that).  To buy something with as many features as the upgraded versions have AND to have a custom case, I think you are looking at $1500-2000 devices, and now you are in an entirely different market than original.  Yes, for $700-1000 you want something that looks nice, but there are very few products on the market for that price that have the feature set and quality of components that the Pulse has.  I would love to see some examples (really, I am in the market for a high performance combo under $1000 that won't take up my entire desk).  I know some people have $2000 to spend on a DAC and want what they want, but they aren't even close to the market that this product was intended for.  Having run my own small company and done product development before, I am fascinated by their decisions and really look forward to how they decide to market this as they leave the crowd-funding level and go retail.  I think they will move a lot more of the budget versions than the high end ones.  I know what I want as a consumer, but I try to balance that with what I know as a businessman so that I can have accurate expectations.  I know I am in the minority, but that is where I am coming from.
 
Also, just to stick up for the DIY crowd, even basic CNC machining for a DIY amp is expensive as hell.  Trying to get a B22 to not look like a DIY effort would cost several hundred dollars at a minimum.  Volume obviously will impact pricing, but good looking, custom anything is too expensive to produce for a tiny company with small margins.
 
I am also hopeful, like zenpunk and others, that the CAD drawing doesn't accurately depict what the final product will look like.  Seeing a rendering of the brushed aluminum and beveling and how it integrates with the chassis will help alot.  Personally, I'd love the faceplate to be flush with the chassis for a more integrated look, but I know how much people like big, thick sheets of aluminum.

 

[FraGGleR]

   
Front view.
 
Rear view.
 
View through the Pulse from the rear, without the backplate.
 
I'm interested in finding out exactly what kind of display method is being used here. Maybe these could be small seven-segment indicators.

Thanks, by the way, for keeping this thread updated with LHlabs.com info.  I check both forums, but am here more often.
 
And I also heard holograms like from Star Wars was being considered for the indicators

 

[AxelCloris]

No problem, I know many people only check one or the other so I'm just trying to keep information available between them both.