Geek Pulse: Geek desktop DAC/AMP by Light Harmonics

[Jupiterknight]

  Ah, I was not sure this quote might offend some owners. My apologies! What offends me is that, a Geek came out faulty out of the box, as per my understanding of the post.
 
I am looking for a DAC that is best value, you missed my earlier posts I guess. If HD600 can come up to the Sennheiser Orpheus level in best value, why can't we have a DAC that can compare to the top shelf DACs?

 
You probably didn't offend many Geek product owners, but more likely a fairly large population!.  
 
Anyhow, yes, more than than one Geek product have been faulty, particular in the early stages of their crowd sourcing shipments.  It is a risk to purchase this way and it has basically created  a lot of heated discussion about their products etc.  If you take your time and read "backwards" in this thread you may learn. 
 
I have a pair of  HD600 that I really like, but I have absolutely no idea how close it scales to an Orpheus, unless I heard it myself! 
 
I don't believe that anyone can truly tell you what DAC will compare to top shelf DAC's. You can get multiple of recommendations and then do the hard work, which involves a bit of research reading various reviews and opinions and see if you can make any sense of it! I think that is what most of us do and we are still confused!  
 
In the end, try out a couple of DAC's and see what suits your preferences.. Yes, it means that you may have to open your wallet more than you like, but that's why you're here...right?

 

[germay0653]

  Thanks Germay, you should see my profile, I have the basic knowledge. I will still read about the recently discovered, Wolfson and Sabre DAC chips, I have just listened to the Bur Brown all my life.
 
I'll wait for Kenman to respond, it's bed time here. Goodnight!

No worries and remember, no one knows it all and there's still a lot to learn.  We're all here to help!  One more word of advice, listen and decide what sounds best to you as that's what really matters.  Listen to advice from others and use it to narrow your choices.

 

[gyx11]

Whilst I fully respect the unspoken privacy that exists in customer-customer service correspondence, let me just share an excerpt of an exchange that has left me completely clueless as to what is going on:
 
I received this email from Gina stating: '...We have been in talks with various production houses, and to make a long story short, we simply won’t be able to build your Geek Source Lite.  This is due to a combination of an inability to acquire the right parts, and our production house unwilling to re-tool for such a small quantity to be run for our backers...'
 
Following which I decided to ask for a complete refund, stating: '...As such, I would like to request and insist for a full refund of my pledge for the Source Lite and upgrades (in my case, only the Femto Clock upgrade). I believe my request to be valid because the product which I pledged for is markedly different from the one which is now being offered to me, regardless of cost difference or technical specifications...'
 
To which, the CS team replied pretty quickly, but not what I was expecting: 'The email was to solely inform you of the upgrade, and that it is switching you to the Ultra High 64 Module due to the inability to acquire the slower 8Gb Modules. The email did not offer a solid state drive for free. It was to inform backers who originally wanted this upgrade that we have made it available again, being that this upgrade could not be purchased for the Source Lite.'
(I did not know what to make of this because the email I received from Gina was very clearly about the failure to manufacture a Geek Source Lite, and nothing about 64GB or 8GB modules. I don't follow the Geek updates because to be honest it's a little too much verbatim going on and I simply cannot afford the time with my work and studies to stay abreast of the whole complexities of the Geek campaigns. Also, I did not request for any free solid state drive or anything of that sort. Perhaps that got lost in translation.)
 
I then replied: 'I do not need or want any model of the Geek Source that will now be produced. In other words, please do refund me for the Lite + Femto unless you are able to build it to spec according to the campaign promoted model.'
 
And the last reply, to which I have totally no clue what to make of it because it directly contradicts the original email that Gina sent was 'There are no specs that will not be fulfilled. I am unable to offer you a refund on crowd-designed projects. Everything that was in the campaign, that was promised is still being delivered. If you have a specific concern about a spec that is in question from the campaign please add this to the ticket.'
 
Can someone please shed some light on this and/or please advice on how I should proceed if I am insistent on refunding the Source Lite? Thank you!

 

[SilverTrumpet999]

Not enough information. I suggest you fully and completely read the original email(s), because my understanding was that they were consolidating SKUs for the Source campaign, settling on ~4 configurations total. So, while out of context the snippet you posted sounds like "we can't build your stuff, sorry," further down that message should be something like "we're upgrading you to this model instead, and if you'd like to upgrade further within the SKUs we're going to build, here's how."
 
Also, this thread is about the Geek Pulse. I'd really like to see it stay on topic. Recommend you start or hop over to another thread specific to the Source.

 

[miceblue]

Apart from my initial faulty Pulse X Infinity unit, I haven't had any issues with the replacement unit whatsoever. I never really had any issues with the Geek Out either since I would almost exclusively use the Audio MIDI app (OS X) or LH Control Panel (Windows) for volume management.

I'll be getting a digital coaxial cable soon so I can try that method of input (so far I've only used USB-in since I don't have any, nor do I need an optical input).

As for sound, I think the X Infinity is one of the best DACs I've heard with a Sabre chip in it. I can't really say how it performs against other expensive DACs to say if it's worth the estimated MSRP or not though. I can't really compare it to other high-quality non-Sabre DACs since Sabre DACs are quite popular in the area. I wish I could compare it to the dual-Wolfson audio-gd DAC a friend had, but that got sold.

What I can say is that I'm happy with the X Infinity's sound, and especially with the FTM digital filter.



Now I just need to figure out how to hot transport it, or the LPS4, so that I can bring it already burned-in to local meets and things of the sort. XD

 

[AxelCloris]

Now I just need to figure out how to hot transport it, or the LPS4, so that I can bring it already burned-in to local meets and things of the sort. XD

 
Simple, use a fully charged UPS.

 

[kenman345]

  Thanks Germay, you should see my profile, I have the basic knowledge. I will still read about the recently discovered, Wolfson and Sabre DAC chips, I have just listened to the Bur Brown all my life.
 
I'll wait for Kenman to respond, it's bed time here. Goodnight!

Not sure what you want me to say but thanks for the credibility. I have seen a thread discussing multiple DAC units, you can try and find it. I would say the main thing is to find what you are willing to spend and look at everything at and below that amount. Also research what is slightly above that budget. Sometimes its better to save a little longer to get the functionality and features you do not wanna sacrifice than be left with a unit you are not truly satisfied with and need to start saving from scratch or waste money selling it  aftermarket.

 

[miceblue]

Simple, use a fully charged UPS.

Ooooooh an uninterruptible power supply! This whole time I thought people were referring to United Parcel Service.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Or use a battery pack 

 
My transportable setup....
 

 

[krikor]

  Or use a battery pack 

 
My transportable setup....
 

@m-i-c-k-e-y  Have you checked the 12v output of that Anker with a voltmeter? Just curious if it is a regulated 12v or does it bounce up to over 13v when fully charged? That's one concern I have with using a battery supply which Larry has indicated could be a long-term reliability/durability issue when used with the Geek Pulse. Thanks.

 

[krikor]

 
HRT
(Another Chinese stuff)

 
 
FYI - If it makes a difference: "

All of our products are designed and manufactured in Southern California." Per ​

http://www.hirestech.com/

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

  @m-i-c-k-e-y  Have you checked the 12v output of that Anker with a voltmeter? Just curious if it is a regulated 12v or does it bounce up to over 13v when fully charged? That's one concern I have with using a battery supply which Larry has indicated could be a long-term reliability/durability issue when used with the Geek Pulse. Thanks.

 
I have to get back on you on this. Could not find the multimeter. 

 

 

[Greg121986]

  Greg, did you face any issue with Geek so far?

Both my single ended Geek Pulse and Geek Pulse X have had substantial issues. The Geek Pulse went back to LH Labs twice. Both issues were firmware related. First they replaced the entire DAC board because the firmware wiped itself. As soon as I got it back from that repair I had to send it back because of an issue with the front panel firmware which required LH Labs to do the update. This single-ended Pulse has worked great since then. 
 
The Pulse X has issues with various sample rates. When I first got it the right channel would not lock on any sample rate that wasn't a multiple of 48. They sent a new firmware that helped this issue, but it did not fix it. Now the right channel will go completely out 99% of the time. I need to turn the volume control up a few notches and then the right channel will lock on the signal. If this doesn't work I have to change the input to something else then change it back to the input I was originally using. Sometimes when the right channel is dropped it will make a constant crackling sound instead of being silent. This is usually on 24/44.1 after coming from a sample rate that is a multiple of 48. I live with this every day. 
 
I don't anticipate LH Labs will fix this issue. I'm probably going to live with it until I can buy an MSB Analog DAC.

 

[Maelob]

If they don't fix it you should request a new one.  That's the purpose of the warranty.  The product should be fixed or replaced.  Specially after such a long wait and issues we all had to deal with.  Hold them accountable for providing a quality product.

 

[frankrondaniel]

  Both my single ended Geek Pulse and Geek Pulse X have had substantial issues. The Geek Pulse went back to LH Labs twice. Both issues were firmware related. First they replaced the entire DAC board because the firmware wiped itself. As soon as I got it back from that repair I had to send it back because of an issue with the front panel firmware which required LH Labs to do the update. This single-ended Pulse has worked great since then. 
 
The Pulse X has issues with various sample rates. When I first got it the right channel would not lock on any sample rate that wasn't a multiple of 48. They sent a new firmware that helped this issue, but it did not fix it. Now the right channel will go completely out 99% of the time. I need to turn the volume control up a few notches and then the right channel will lock on the signal. If this doesn't work I have to change the input to something else then change it back to the input I was originally using. Sometimes when the right channel is dropped it will make a constant crackling sound instead of being silent. This is usually on 24/44.1 after coming from a sample rate that is a multiple of 48. I live with this every day. 
 
I don't anticipate LH Labs will fix this issue. I'm probably going to live with it until I can buy an MSB Analog DAC.

 
Definitely send it back in.  I had s similar experience with both my Pulse and Pulse XFI.  I had to RMA each several times but they ultimately got them right.  To their credit, LH was very responsive and had a quick turn-around.