[nudd]

Even if it sounds good their perceived reliability issues and lack of transferable warranty is enough put audiophiles off the Pulse.

 

[leomitch]

Sorry to hear you all having second thoughts about the Infinity. I love it and in concert with my new AudioQuest Nighthawks with a balanced 4 pin cable, they make remarkably wonderful music. But you are correct from a business point of view LHL is cutting themselves right out of the market. Too bad really. They need to sit down with a sharp pencil and rethink prices.
Having said all that, I am glad I have my Infinity.
 
 
Leo

 

[johangrb]

@ Grizzlybeast: I do run a LPS with my Pulse. An Uptone Regen also helps
 
I'll see what the Infinity's drop to in 2016 (also Fleabay auctions seem to have had some good deals on Geeks in the past).

 

[FayeForever]

The thing about the Pulse is the execution. The bug in the original Pulse was pretty bad and I am not entirely happy about the chassis build quality of the Infinity. People will have a feeling they have what they paid for during the campaign, but not at MSRP.

 

[grizzlybeast]

  The thing about the Pulse is the execution. The bug in the original Pulse was pretty bad and I am not entirely happy about the chassis build quality of the Infinity. People will have a feeling they have what they paid for during the campaign, but not at MSRP.

Dude they could have made a wooden box. This thing looks down right cheap and the knob is rickity with its stupid ticks. 

 

[FayeForever]

  Dude they could have made a wooden box. This thing looks down right cheap and the knob is rickity with its stupid ticks. 

Yeah for the Infinity I would say the 1.0 chassis is too simple and the knob is pretty cheap. That's why I opt for 2.0.
But for my 2.0 chassis the side screws are loose and when I tighten them up the top acrylic won't come off because it is too tight. That was a What moment for me.

 

[grizzlybeast]

OUCH

 

[audiolab1]

 
Yeah for the Infinity I would say the 1.0 chassis is too simple and the knob is pretty cheap. That's why I opt for 2.0.
But for my 2.0 chassis the side screws are loose and when I tighten them up the top acrylic won't come off because it is too tight. That was a What moment for me.

 
Not just for the Infinity, IMHO, the fit, finish, and overall quality and ergonomics are poor for the regular Pulse too. Just check out what iFi, Schiit, and others are doing for sub-$500. The whole attitude from lhlabs during the development phase was "this is what we can do, so this is what it will be", then the products were horribly late, and now they are "fixing" the bad design with a new chassis and saying we can upgrade for more $$$. The new design is what we should have had from the get-go...arrggg...don't get me started!

 

[FayeForever]

LOL

 

[carz]

In light of the concerns out there on the build reliability and competitor's warranty policies , one confidence builder is for LH to upgrade their warranty for all Indiegogo backers to at least 3 years. And for those earlier backers that already have 2 years to 3+1 years. And to remove the non transferrability.

That's the very least LH can do to for backers who have pledged their money. They shouldn't be made to bear the risk of early reliability issues. For electronics boards, if it holds up well for first 2 years, statistically it'll be good from there on.

And they shouldn't be punished with poor resale value due to this and the non transferrability of the warranty.

They need to start thinking of ways of rebuilding customers confidence and goodwill, and to arrest the slide.

The longer this goes on without any action on their part, the worse the word-of-mouth news will spread.

This will not only affect the Geek sales, but that of their premium products as well. The brand name image is all important.

 

[Audio Addict]

In light of the concerns out there on the build reliability and competitor's warranty policies , one confidence builder is for LH to upgrade their warranty for all Indiegogo backers to at least 3 years. And for those earlier backers that already have 2 years to 3+1 years. And to remove the non transferrability.

That's the very least LH can do to for backers who have pledged their money. They shouldn't be made to bear the risk of early reliability issues. For electronics boards, if it holds up well for first 2 years, statistically it'll be good from there on.

And they shouldn't be punished with poor resale value due to this and the non transferrability of the warranty.

They need to start thinking of ways of rebuilding customers confidence and goodwill, and to arrest the slide.

The longer this goes on without any action on their part, the worse the word-of-mouth news will spread.

This will not only affect the Geek sales, but that of their premium products as well. The brand name image is all important.

 
Not to defend LH Labs as they have a lot of my money but I just received another manufacturers higher volume lower cost unit and their warranty is also not transferable and limited to 1 year with no shipping costs covered.  Also if you changed your mind, you can return it but are hit with a 30% restocking fee.  
 
The point being at the cost structure of the Indiegogo campaign, I suspect there really isn't that much profit in this direct to consumer product model.  I look at what I have in my Infinity which included the shipping as well as a 1G and 2G USB cables and I can't see how they made any money from me or for that matter did not lose money.

 

[grizzlybeast]

   
Not to defend LH Labs as they have a lot of my money but I just received another manufacturers higher volume lower cost unit and their warranty is also not transferable and limited to 1 year with no shipping costs covered.  Also if you changed your mind, you can return it but are hit with a 30% restocking fee.  
 
The point being at the cost structure of the Indiegogo campaign, I suspect there really isn't that much profit in this direct to consumer product model.  I look at what I have in my Infinity which included the shipping as well as a 1G and 2G USB cables and I can't see how they made any money from me or for that matter did not lose money.

how much did you pay?
I did get a free infinity upgrade but at 1400 out of pocket I am pretty sure they made their money back from me and others that paid what I did. We can't be naiive and think any company would sell something to someone they do not know for more than the cost of parts and marketing fees etc to atleast break even. 
 
30% restocking fee?

 

[carz]

It is not so much about cost, but about smart marketing and damage control now.

Perception is everything and a smart manufacturer will respond to perceived reliability issue with a warranty upgrade response to allay fears, whether real or perceived. What's a better way to restore confidence and potential loss in sales. In an Internet world, this is all so important.

The question, what is the cost of not doing anything ? Besides, what will it cost them? Very little versus the loss in market confidence, goodwill and future sales.

And revoking the non-transferable warranty will help with the poor resale value, which again is a major grouse. A goodwill gesture like this which costs next to nothing, will go a long way to rebuild trust and confidence. Which is so difficult to gain back once lost.

The reality is Schiit Yggdrasil has a 5 year warranty

 

[carz]

If you look at the retail price of the Pulse infinity @ $2500, you will get an idea of the manufacturing cost.

 

[upsguys88]

It is not so much about cost, but about smart marketing and damage control now.

Perception is everything and a smart manufacturer will respond to perceived reliability issue with a warranty upgrade response to allay fears, whether real or perceived. What's a better way to restore confidence and potential loss in sales. In an Internet world, this is all so important.

The question, what is the cost of not doing anything ? Besides, what will it cost them? Very little versus the loss in market confidence, goodwill and future sales.

And revoking the non-transferable warranty will help with the poor resale value, which again is a major grouse. A goodwill gesture like this which costs next to nothing, will go a long way to rebuild trust and confidence. Which is so difficult to gain back once lost.

The reality is Schiit Yggdrasil has a 5 year warranty

I had this issue with me pulse LPS and after a few emails they agreed to fix my LPS which I had bought from one of the early backers and gave me an extended 1 year warranty.