[doctorjazz]

In eleven days time on the 29th October it will be TWO years since I first contributed to my Pulse Infinity. Despite the fact that I delayed shipment by opting for the revised chassis, I am mightily perturbed that LH Labs have effectively sidelined my 'order' to persue an incessant policy of new product crowd funding and perk upgrade mania. Any upstanding company would fulfill and satisy outstanding customer orders first, and then contemplate raising revenue via crowdfunding for new products.


But LH Labs have trounced the crowdfunding model and consider it acceptable to let early backers yearn for their perks, whilst simultaneously milking cash from gullible newcomers enticed by the promise of a high fidelity product at a low price.


LH Labs you stink of uncaring business practices and have demonstrated a flagrant disregard for fulfilling backers perks in a timely manner. Shame on you for putting profit ahead of customer satisfaction and product fulfilment.

They went for the fast-growth business model, but pissing off your customer base in the process is exactly how to not do this effectively. Mark my words - karma is going to bite them in the tookus.

...Could you please give us a bit more detail on this "tookus"

 

[longbowbbs]

 

 

In eleven days time on the 29th October it will be TWO years since I first contributed to my Pulse Infinity. Despite the fact that I delayed shipment by opting for the revised chassis, I am mightily perturbed that LH Labs have effectively sidelined my 'order' to persue an incessant policy of new product crowd funding and perk upgrade mania. Any upstanding company would fulfill and satisy outstanding customer orders first, and then contemplate raising revenue via crowdfunding for new products.


But LH Labs have trounced the crowdfunding model and consider it acceptable to let early backers yearn for their perks, whilst simultaneously milking cash from gullible newcomers enticed by the promise of a high fidelity product at a low price.


LH Labs you stink of uncaring business practices and have demonstrated a flagrant disregard for fulfilling backers perks in a timely manner. Shame on you for putting profit ahead of customer satisfaction and product fulfilment.

They went for the fast-growth business model, but pissing off your customer base in the process is exactly how to not do this effectively. Mark my words - karma is going to bite them in the tookus.

...Could you please give us a bit more detail on this "tookus"

That is a technical term....

 

[doctorjazz]

Ahhhh...I had more comments, but I'll sit on it for now

 

[miceblue]

Can anyone estimate how many hours of break-in it takes for a vanilla Pulse to 'settle'? The question is of course directed to those of you who "believe" in break-in. If you do not, please spare me

With about 30 hours of break in, comparing the Pulse to my previous DAC, a Schiit Modi, the Pulse is more dynamic, has better soundstage and is more detailed. However, I'm not crazy about the tonality. I'm missing a little bit of "sparkle" to the sound. It's a little soft in the high end and not very extended to my ears. I use the TCM filter, for now each time I tried switching to FRM it made me wanna go back to TCM right away.
So I'm hoping break-in might change this, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
Has anyone had a similar experience?

I dunno about break-in since I didn't really hear much of a difference myself. For burn-in, I think 1-2 hours should suffice for getting a stable system.

The Schiit products tend to have some "bite" up on top, which I don't like too much. The Yggdrasil (and probably Gungnir Multi-Bit) is the only one I didn't get that feeling. For me, TCM mode sounds too bright compared to FRM mode.

 

[Chikolad]

I dunno about break-in since I didn't really hear much of a difference myself. For burn-in, I think 1-2 hours should suffice for getting a stable system.

The Schiit products tend to have some "bite" up on top, which I don't like too much. The Yggdrasil (and probably Gungnir Multi-Bit) is the only one I didn't get that feeling. For me, TCM mode sounds too bright compared to FRM mode.

 
I guess it depends on your other gear as well. I'm using an LCD-3F with a Burson Soloist so my system is already quite relaxed up top. I prefer TCM because of its improved soundstage and imaging.
I must say I haven't noticed a break in with the Pulse yet either. But that's a first for me. I usually do hear differences in the first few dozen hours, in DACs as well as headphones.

 

[kostaszag]

In eleven days time on the 29th October it will be TWO years since I first contributed to my Pulse Infinity. Despite the fact that I delayed shipment by opting for the revised chassis, I am mightily perturbed that LH Labs have effectively sidelined my 'order' to persue an incessant policy of new product crowd funding and perk upgrade mania. Any upstanding company would fulfill and satisy outstanding customer orders first, and then contemplate raising revenue via crowdfunding for new products.

But LH Labs have trounced the crowdfunding model and consider it acceptable to let early backers yearn for their perks, whilst simultaneously milking cash from gullible newcomers enticed by the promise of a high fidelity product at a low price.

LH Labs you stink of uncaring business practices and have demonstrated a flagrant disregard for fulfilling backers perks in a timely manner. Shame on you for putting profit ahead of customer satisfaction and product fulfilment.

There is only one way to deal with this situation, get off the upgrade train, stop paying for new perks, tell yourself "this is enough, my prospective purchase is as good as I want it to be, now I will sit back and wait for the mailman". That's what I did, and now I am perfectly happy with my Sfi for the past six months. Yes, I know, the Infinity is probably better, there is a better chassis available, and so on and so forth. You need to draw the line somewhere. 

 

[vnmslsrbms]

I'd argue that most backers have now gone this route.  The forums are dead.  People are tired of getting sucked into endless perks, and there is enough negative sentiment out in the non LHL forums that people can easily find problems with their customer experience and marketing.  

 

[Ranza]

Well, the only back up for Geek Pulse now is only " it's a great product and worth the wait " but mind you guys, with 2 years and the amount I contributed to get a Geek Pulse Infinity 2.0, even if I just deposist and let it sit still in my bank account, now I can get myself a Gungnir Multi-bit, a smaller form of Yggdradil and Yggdrasil is one of ( if not ) the best DAC in the market, sure Geek Pulse Infinity maaaaaybe a great DAC too but there is too little review for it except some short review that heavily personal experience scattered around forum thread (Hah!! And the great LH Labs USB cable....so how much an USB cable will affect the sound quality now ? If you can hear it sounds magical in your ears, then go search help from an Otologist asap because you need serious treatment. No offense but in the end, it's a ******* 2.0 USB cable, the last thing we want to upgrade. ) while Yggdrasil had caused madness from every audiophile website I visited, and a lot of positive review from all around the world too.
Oh and did I mention Gungnir has 5 years warranty and no firmware BS ? Try to search in the Schiit Gungnir DAC thread and see how much post they mention firmware horror story.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[alucart1985]

Hi everyone,
 
atsq sold me one of his Geek Pulse XFi DAC/Amps (he apparently bought three from the original campaign), and asked me what I thought - I've had it now for three weeks and wanted to add my thoughts, such as they are, because I noticed the relative lack of reviews compared to other DACs.
 
My experience with DACs are as follows: Creative ZxR -> Schiit Modi -> Burson Conductor SL (PCM1793) -> Geek Pulse XFi -> Geek Pulse XFi with Jays Audio LPS
 
My desire to upgrade my DAC was to chase the seemingly neverending goal of the perfect sound, which for me involved extended highs without harshness, clear full mids and good bass and sub-bass impact and texture, all coupled with a wide and layered soundstage. I chose the HD800 as my end-game headphone due to its reputation as the king of soundstage, knowing full well that it would need a picky DAC/Amp. The closest to meeting my goal was the Burson Conductor, but despite this, the highs were too harsh and bright for me with the HD800.
 
So, onto my mini-review:
 
The Geek Pulse XFi wasn't much to look at in my hands, but it was securely packaged by LH Labs. Wasting no time, I plugged in the Wall-Wart (stock power supply), my HD800s using the stock single ended cable and a Chord Silverplus USB cable, hoping to blown away by the sound...
 
To my horror, the sound was in a word, brittle - the harsh in the highs that I heard on the Burson remained, though in smaller volume. The soundstage was wider and slightly more layered but less cohesive than the Burson, though how much that was from the Burson amp or PCM1793 DAC, I don't know. The mids were forward, and because I listen to alot of vocals, it does seem, as been described before, like the volume was on too loud (-30.5 dB on the Geek Pulse screen). The bass was present with good texture and not muddy at all, but somewhat lacking in impact.
 
I did a little research, and people were recommending using the Linear Power Supply - because I had not been a member of the original campaign, I thought paying 600 USD for the LPS to be a bit much, especially since I bought the Pulse for a little more than that. Alvin1188 here was selling a Jay Audio LPS for about half the price, so I bought one, and after 10 days of waiting around and being distracted at work, I plugged in the LPS and gave it another go...
 
The difference in sound, to my amateur ears, was not subtle - dynamics improved dramatically, where everything sounded loud before, I could more easily discern softer passages of music. The bass improved mildly in impact, but still didn't have enough oomph. Soundstage width and depth was mildly better, and I could catch a glimpse of why the HD800s are so highly regarded - only a glimpse, mind you! The highs seemed less harsh, but with the harshness lessening, I noticed a lack of energy. The cymbals now had better decay and texture, but lacked a bit of energy. The vocals were much improved, with more detail present.
 
Given I paid 200 USD for the LPS, I could have easily stopped here with a reasonable setup for the HD800s - but by now I had been bitten by the upgraditis bug - because the HD800s still cost me more the DAC/Amp and LPS, I sorely wanted to give them a good chance of shining. So tried my existing standalone amplifiers:
 
The Violectric V200 amplifer (using balanced interconnects) certainly provided the bass impact and improved the dynamicism, but felt the dynamics were a little jarring, as if the transition between soft and loud passages were over exaggered, without a smooth transition. Detail was certainly lost compared to the built-in amp of the Geek Pulse. The biggest turn-off, and the reason why I have put up my V200 for sale, is that the soundstage was much more narrowed on the V200, almost to the same width as my Hifiman HE-500s, which are not renowned for their soundstage width and depth!
 
The big surprise, however, was how well my Schiit Valhalla mk1 OTL amplifier performed - the highs were smoother but had a little sparkle in them that excited me! The mids were richer with a little loss of detail. The soundstage was much wider than the V200, and indeed more cohesive than the Geek Pulse's amp, but in the enveloping sound (akin to the Burson Conductor), I lost some of the instrument separation and localisation, noticeable with the orchestral pieces. Still, this was the first amp where I could lose my eyes and be lost in the music.
 
The Valhalla showed me that the Geek Pulse's DAC was certainly up to the task, much more than the PCM1793, of providing me with the detail I wanted, but alas, the on-board amplifer was not a good match for the HD800s. I then decided to research Head-Fi, Computer Audiophile and other forums for "the best amp for the HD800", and while that is a discussion that is still ongoing in these forums, my budget and store availability led me to buy the HDVA600 and CH800S.
 
Now with my wallet truly crying for mercy >_<, I plugged in my completely balanced system and had a listen:
 
One word: perfection! Smooth extended highs with just enough energy to send shivers down my spine, full rich mids with detail, textured bass with impact (though not as much as the V200 admittedly), but my goodness, the soundstage! The best of the lot, and finally I could see what everyone was on about with the HD800s - I could picture myself in the auditorium, and hear where the instruments were, not only to my left or right, higher or lower than me but also how FAR they were! I read about people going on about soundstage depth, but never understood it until now. 
 
Just out of curiosity, I plugged my balanced cable (CH800S) into the 4 pin XLR slot of my Geek Pulse, and to my surprise and chargin, the HD800s performed almost as well as the HDVA600!! Roughly speaking, probably about 80% of the performance, for the cost of a balanced cable.
 
So my my final thoughts on the Geek Pulse XFi are:
 
- The DAC is excellent for its price, and a much better implementation of the ESS9018 chip than my Glove Audio A1 and Aurender Flow,
- The onboard amp, at least for the HD800s, needs a balanced cable or better yet, a discrete amplifier, and,
- A linear power supply is an absolute must!
 
While I never suffered the frustrations of waiting for a product from LH Labs, here is one happy user of their products!

 

[doctorjazz]

Nice impressions!
Glad you are enjoying the Pulse.
You nicely illustrate some points:
1)minus the frustrations regarding the LH way of marketing and dealing with buyers, most of the impressions of SQ on LH gear have been quite positive (Hifiman used the Vi at a show do demonstrate the HE-1000, and they have their own amp and could likely choose many dacs).
2)system matching is the key-what worked for your Senn HD800 may not be the best match for my HE-1000, which may not be the best match for the LCD-3, etc.
3)The DAC is the main attraction-the included amp is an add on, making it more convenient on a desktop, but can be bettered by many an external amp (likely including LH Labs own, though I haven't auditioned them).
My $0.02,,,late for work, gotta run.

 

[Jethrosang]

Hmmm, if the use of LPS is a must, what's the point of having "a very clean DC power circuit"... As if they are selling a car with some bad tyres, then asking you to fork out half the price of the car for a new set of tyres...
 
P/S: Got a feeling that head-fiers like to draw analogies between cars and audios... Or am I just imagining stuffs?

 

[Zenifyx]

  Hmmm, if the use of LPS is a must, what's the point of having "a very clean DC power circuit"... As if they are selling a car with some bad tyres, then asking you to fork out half the price of the car for a new set of tyres...
 
P/S: Got a feeling that head-fiers like to draw analogies between cars and audios... Or am I just imagining stuffs?

 
It's not a must, it's an optional 'upgrade' that comes in a separate box.
(I'm sorry, I don't own a car, so I can't draw an analogy... XD )
 
Related: http://lhlabs.com/force/geekpulse/394-question-about-the-standard-power-supply#2467

 

[gikigill]

It's not necessary but it helps. You can fit $2000 set on a normal car and it would work better, no doubt about it. Works perfectly well with a standard $500 set too.

Those who are in 4WDs know this very well.

 

[Lord Raven]

Honestly speaking, people are spending endless amount of money and still aren't satisfied. I drew a line on how much I would want to spend on home audio and I think I got a decent setup on my table. I did not spend on the USB cables or LPS yet, but the recent review suggests the otherwise. I might consider buying the Jay's Audio LPS, I need a link to their website? Googled it but it points in random directions into strange forums, and who is Alee Chee?
 
I might never go as higher as HD800 level and go balanced all around, cause when you upgrade something in your rig, consequently you end up upgrading everything else to that level and that costs you a lot of money I think I got a HD600 level decent setup. I am still trying to figure out though, what amplifier is better, the tube amplifier or the on board amplifier on the DAC/Amp.
 
I have a question regarding Geek Pulse DAC, how to configure it with your media player? I am using JRiver 20. What is the best media player for this application?

 

[RingingEars]

  Honestly speaking, people are spending endless amount of money and still aren't satisfied. I drew a line on how much I would want to spend on home audio and I think I got a decent setup on my table. I did not spend on the USB cables or LPS yet, but the recent review suggests the otherwise. I might consider buying the Jay's Audio LPS, I need a link to their website? Googled it but it points in random directions into strange forums, and who is Alee Chee?
 
I might never go as higher as HD800 level and go balanced all around, cause when you upgrade something in your rig, consequently you end up upgrading everything else to that level and that costs you a lot of money I think I got a HD600 level decent setup. I am still trying to figure out though, what amplifier is better, the tube amplifier or the on board amplifier on the DAC/Amp.
 
I have a question regarding Geek Pulse DAC, how to configure it with your media player? I am using JRiver 20. What is the best media player for this application?

https://support.lhlabs.com/support/solutions/articles/5000556098-using-jriver-media-center-with-geek-pulse-setup-and-user-guide