Geek Pulse: Geek desktop DAC/AMP by Light Harmonics

[nudd]

Hey Nicolo, perhaps you should study and understand the difference between 'driver' and 'firmware'. Using the wrong driver will not brick your Pulse or Geek Out. Updating the device with the wrong firmware will almost certainly brick it!

J.P.

 
isn't the driver a universal driver for all lhl devices? The driver version looks the same for both the GO and the Pulse anyway

 

[Ethereal Sound]

So I got my geek pulse sfi and so far, all I can say is that I am very satisfied with the unit. No popping sounds whatsoever, at least not that I can detect. Furthermore, it sounds very very nice. If I were to describe the SQ in one word, I would say that it's very smooth so far. Will post some updates later.

 

[snip3r77]

So I got my geek pulse sfi and so far, all I can say is that I am very satisfied with the unit. No popping sounds whatsoever, at least not that I can detect. Furthermore, it sounds very very nice. If I were to describe the SQ in one word, I would say that it's very smooth so far. Will post some updates later.

Pls combo it with HE500 and share with us. I have a HE500 and would like to know if there is synergy.

 

[snip3r77]

There's a HiFi in Munich and I was wondering if there's any write up of the XFI Infinity.

 

[Ethereal Sound]

Pls combo it with HE500 and share with us. I have a HE500 and would like to know if there is synergy.

 
I am using it with the HE-500 and I can definitely say that I am melting in the lush midrange of this syngergy. However, I can't help but feel like something is lacking in the amp section of the Sfi compared to the Emotiva mini x a100. It's too early to tell, however, and I've only used one of the digital filters so far. I'll give it some time and post again.

 

[nudd]

I am using it with the HE-500 and I can definitely say that I am melting in the lush midrange of this syngergy. However, I can't help but feel like something is lacking in the amp section of the Sfi compared to the Emotiva mini x a100. It's too early to tell, however, and I've only used one of the digital filters so far. I'll give it some time and post again.

So you mean you have been running the sfi as a DAC into the Emotiva and getting better results than just the sfi alone?

 

[HiFiRobot]

   
isn't the driver a universal driver for all lhl devices? The driver version looks the same for both the GO and the Pulse anyway

 
Yes they use the same driver, at least currently. v 2.23 on both support pages link to the same driver file.
 
http://lhlabs.com/support/geek-out.html
http://lhlabs.com/support/geek-pulse.html

 

[pauldgroot]

I posted this quote below in a thread on the Force forum here. I just wanted to share how I currently feel about this campaign.
 
Quote:

I also feel pretty sour about latest update. When I ordered my Pulse X in November 2014 and upgraded to Xfi in December. I asked when I could expect my Pulse Xfi and LHL said that I could expect it by the end of February or March 2015. Right now it seems like they meant to say 2016.
 
Then an update came out in March:
 

I expected this with the problems in the ports, since I ordered Nov 2014 I expected to get my Xfi at the end of June or beginning of July which was fine by me. 
 
Then another update in April.


 
Wohoo, they have managed to increase their shipping speeds and now I might get it in May!
 
Now in the latest update which is 1½ months later not only did the "Assembly/QA & Shipping" percentage went down 1%. No, also the expected completed shipping date has been pushed back to August or September for the first batch. What could possibly be the reason to delay your estimated shipping timeframe for the first batch by another 3-4 months.
 
What the hell LHL, I was hoping to get a nice upgrade over my current gear in a reasonable timeframe. I just feel like I'm getting ******* up my a** right now. (excuse my language here)
 
So can anybody please calm me down and explain to us why it has to take this long and you keep letting us down every time?

 
Am I missing something or are my feelings justified?

 

[Anaximandros]

Well, I ordered in November 2013 and I'm still waiting.
The first deadline from Feb/Mar 15 was for the initial campaign in 2013.
 
Since you ordered your Pulse in the forever funding campaign I wouldn't expect a delivery before September.
 
There were 100 Pulse Xfi units before me 4 weeks ago and I've yet to receive a shipping mail. That's <100 Pulse Xfi per month, <25 Xfi per weeek and <5 Xfi per day.

 

[pauldgroot]

Yes and apparently they got more Xfi's back in the last 45 days than they could ship out?

 

[Decoy]

The port unions has a several month "slowdown" where container ships were stuck waiting in port for weeks. This slowdown crippled businesses across the country waiting for items to be offloaded the ships. It doesn't excuse everything, but the port slowdown was responsible for at least a month, if not more, of their late delivery.

 

[germay0653]

   
isn't the driver a universal driver for all lhl devices? The driver version looks the same for both the GO and the Pulse anyway

The driver resides on and is used by the PC to communicate with the device (GO or Pulse).  The Firmware is code that is written directly to a chip on the device (GO or Pulse) and is typically not used for communication between the PC and the device but rather how certain functions, like the digital filters, on the device (GO or Pulse) work.

 

[flipper2gv]

I am using it with the HE-500 and I can definitely say that I am melting in the lush midrange of this syngergy. However, I can't help but feel like something is lacking in the amp section of the Sfi compared to the Emotiva mini x a100. It's too early to tell, however, and I've only used one of the digital filters so far. I'll give it some time and post again.

I was thinking the same at first, the mids weren't very "cohesive" enough to my taste. It's hard for me to describe but it was weird.

Then I read that you need to leave it on all the time. And after two days on, something clicked and now it's just great. Really love the pairing with the he500.

As for the guy who sad the board look unimpressive, I guess he only saw the boards for audio gd for comparison, it means nothing. Many dacs have very simple looking boards and use different tools for the same job. This combo has a TON of technology on how it handles it's data, tons of algorithms that work the same way as filter chips but since we handle bits directly it doesn't lose any data. Most Hi-fi companies are born from old school electrical engineers that don't know much about programming and instead will use chips for something g that could be done with more precision with a program.

When a Dac board looks more complex than a graphics card board, you know things could have been engineered better.

 

[mandrake50]

   
Am I missing something or are my feelings justified?

I think you are justified. I am feeling the   same. I ended up going with an Xfinity. The production schedule no longer even shows this unit with the new chassis. Larry just wrote that the SE units will all go out before the Xfinity units.
Add that to the fact that I pledged in the last campaign.. I think I may be lucky to get anything this year. I pledged for an HPA too... at this point I think I will probably get it before the Pulse. What influenced me to jump was that the campaigns were about to be over and there were lots of promised delivery dates within 6 months.
 
I know...crowd funding..  Well this has soured me on this type of  thing forever. The fact that they have had my money for this long, for Pulse, Wave, and now HPA makes the equation not work. Sure the equipment will have a reduced cost. The fact is that no one knows what these things will actually sell for at retail. Even if the fetch the amount that LHL claims is list (something I doubt based on GO pricing), I could have invested wisely with that money and come out ahead. Well, we live and learn. It won't happen again.
 
In any case, you are not alone in feeling like there is a large object being forced into an orifice in your body where it does not belong.

 

[flipper2gv]

   
Am I missing something or are my feelings justified?

 
I've been super sour for a long time. LHLabs is just downright ****ty when it comes to logistic, they just aren't able to make any kind of good predictions about their production speeds. Hopes were made and crushed, a real rollercoaster. Couple that with the early units that had a more than expected failure rate (although it seems much better now that they changed the board production company), and it's been a real hard time.
 
But, the only redeeming quality is that the product is damn good, especially at the price we paid (if you got in early). I'd be very surprised to hear a better sounding combo at the kind of price I paid for my Sfi, it's just really really good and doesn't seem to have any of the problems we associate with D-S chips (we can thank Larry on this).