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

Other manufacturer's (not only LH Labs) have marketed their various ways on confronting jitter to their products.
 
It is only recently newer more different and effective ways came in...
 
Like say the coming of finger math. 

 

[TopQuark]

Just dropping by after not posting in a while.  I am one of those pissed by LH Labs because of continuous perks and delay of Pulse X-Infinity V2.  I got my unit back in December.
 
The Pulse X-Infinity is a great sounding device. I am referring to the DAC output.  Great job by Larry.  I continue to listen to mine for the last couple of months.  I'll stop further investments from here.  I'm surprised some are not happy with their unit. I would say it is either defective or wrong combination of components. 
 
My set-up looks like this:  PC (signal only) ► SotM PCIE (fed with external LPS power) ► LH Labs split cable for signal ► LH Labs Pulse LPS4 ► Intona (signal from SOtM) ► Pulse X-Infinity (fed by LH Labs LPS4)
 
My end game set-up will likely look like this now that Cantata MPD v2.0 is out: Jay's Audio LPS ► CuBox I4-Pro ► LH Labs split cable for signal ► LH Labs Pulse LPS4 ► Intona ► Pulse X-Infinity (fed by LH Labs LPS4)

 

[Benny-x]

  Just dropping by after not posting in a while.  I am one of those pissed by LH Labs because of continuous perks and delay of Pulse X-Infinity V2.  I got my unit back in December.
 
The Pulse X-Infinity is a great sounding device. I am referring to the DAC output.  Great job by Larry.  I continue to listen to mine for the last couple of months.  I'll stop further investments from here.  I'm surprised some are not happy with their unit. I would say it is either defective or wrong combination of components. 
 
My set-up looks like this:  PC (signal only) ► SotM PCIE (fed with external LPS power) ► LH Labs split cable for signal ► LH Labs Pulse LPS4 ► Intona (signal from SOtM) ► Pulse X-Infinity (fed by LH Labs LPS4)
 
My end game set-up will likely look like this now that Cantata MPD v2.0 is out: Jay's Audio LPS ► CuBox I4-Pro ► LH Labs split cable for signal ► LH Labs Pulse LPS4 ► Intona ► Pulse X-Infinity (fed by LH Labs LPS4)

A fellow ribbon fan. Don't they make vocals sound nice? I got in some time a few nights ago on my EmotivaPro Stealth 8s and damn did they ever sound nice. 
 
Anyway, as far as your combo goes and saying the DAC section is stellar, have you tried an external/dedicated amp yet? If not, track one down, feed it balanced, and have a listen. I didn't for a long time, but finally did a couple weeks ago and it's unquestionably better. It has much better control on the music and really got me into it. I did it at a mini meet where we compared several components and everyone said the external amp with the LH DAC was nice sounding and better than Pulse X Infinity V2 only. 

 

[TopQuark]

  A fellow ribbon fan. Don't they make vocals sound nice? I got in some time a few nights ago on my EmotivaPro Stealth 8s and damn did they ever sound nice. 
 
Anyway, as far as your combo goes and saying the DAC section is stellar, have you tried an external/dedicated amp yet? If not, track one down, feed it balanced, and have a listen. I didn't for a long time, but finally did a couple weeks ago and it's unquestionably better. It has much better control on the music and really got me into it. I did it at a mini meet where we compared several components and everyone said the external amp with the LH DAC was nice sounding and better than Pulse X Infinity V2 only. 

 
I have the relative of the Emotivas. I got the Adam A5X way before the Emotiva's showed up. Yes, these heil ribbons are very nice with the Pulse X Infinity. So transparent. Feels like 3D music right in front of you. Their imaging is just superb. I have not tried an external amp.  Did you use passive speakers then or bypass the internal amp of the Emotiva's?
 
I didn't see an Intona in your chain. I think you will like it with your active speakers.

 

[wingsounds13]

For those questioning the need for or effects of USB signal processing devices such as the Regen, and the efficacy or lack thereof of the Triple Buffer: It is not all about USB signal jitter, although that is part of the equation. A significant part of the effect of these devices seems to come from removing noise (a separate issue from jitter) from the USB signal lines and the power and ground lines. Removing this noise BEFORE it gets inside the DAC chassis and into the single board that contains all of the digital and analog audio circuitry seems to be of great significance. Removing these artifacts after they enter the chassis would seem to require a separate and isolated (possibly including a separate power supply) board for the USB input. Not that it cannot be done, but so far no DAC manufacturer has seen sufficient value added for all potential customers in doing so. We are early in the game in this type of USB input management, so some makers may yet integrate such input management into (some of) their DAC products.

In the audiophile game everything counts and everything is subject to tweaking to satisfy the desires of those who are truly dedicated to the ultimate result.

J.P.

 

[doctorjazz]

It's not that unusual in the high end world to have a separate power supply, but less common in the headphone world (my RSA HR-2 amp has a separate power supply). I think the extra cost and lack of portability argues against it, but more and more the high end headphone world is looking like and being priced like the rest of the audio world.
(I use a Regen with my Geek Out Special Edition, it does make a difference there).

 

[CingKrab]

Regarding shipping for international backers -- what's everyone's experience regarding DHL?  I received a shipping email on Wednesday for the Infinity, but there's been no activity on the tracking period.  I called DHL on Thursday, and it turns out that only a waybill number had been created and nothing was actually picked up.  I sent a ticket after the call, and they said it would be shipped within 48 hours of the shipping email (in case of last minute address corrections), but still nothing has been picked up.  Just wondering what other people have seen with regards to this?  Why even send out a shipping email at all in this case?

 

[Benny-x]

 
I have the relative of the Emotivas. I got the Adam A5X way before the Emotiva's showed up. Yes, these heil ribbons are very nice with the Pulse X Infinity. So transparent. Feels like 3D music right in front of you. Their imaging is just superb. I have not tried an external amp.  Did you use passive speakers then or bypass the internal amp of the Emotiva's?
 
I didn't see an Intona in your chain. I think you will like it with your active speakers.

For me it went down like this.
 
I scouted out the Adams for a LONG time. They are the real leaders in the active ribbon market, but the A7X and A8X are pretty pricey. I wanted the larger woofer as I like my bass and wouldn't be getting a sub for a while (though I plan on getting 2x SVS SB13 Ultras whenever I can figure out how to get them to China). Then it also didn't help that the Stealth 8s didn't get much review love. I was looking at paying a pretty penny for the A7X or getting the 8" Stealth 8s for less, but taking a risk on them. After a while I'd pretty much given up on the idea and started looking locally as QMS Audio (the OE for Emotiva's ribbon Airmotiv/Stealth lineup), but they turned out to be d-heads to communicate with. The plan had stalled and I was done. 
 
Then all by chance a fellow head-fi'er listed his like new Stealth 8s. Not only do these never hit the used market, he could also deal with my delayed timing, payment, and shipping demands. I couldn't refuse it, so I went for them. They are beasts of speakers, which makes me happy in its own right  Then sound wise, on first listen they showed me the best vocals I have ever heard. They're so clear, so airy, and so life like that as soon as I close my eyes I can feel the singer and band there with me. Their imaging is the real deal. They also seem to have fantastic synergy with the Pulse X Infinity V2, who'd have thought?
 
And amping, I run the Infinity balanced outs into my Audio-gd Phoenix at -10db, then set the Phoenix over to pre-amp mode, then balanced outs into the Stealth 8s. So the Phoenix is acting as the attentuator for the Stealth 8s, the internal amps on the Stealth 8s still in full swing. That's for the speaker system.
 
For using the actual amp as is, I flip the Phoenix back into headphone amp mode, connect my Pioneer SE Master1, and go from there. So the Infinity is feeding the Phoenix amp balanced at unity gain (-0.0db) and all attentuation is done with the Phoenix. This sounds quite nice. It's still just thrown together without any optimization done to gain, software sampling, or the laptop I'm running it all off of, but it ads depth and texture to the music that the standard Infinity amp can't. I look forward to fine tuning the whole system and seeing how it sounds.
 
Right now it's all at home, but in the end the Infinity is office station bound, so at some point I'll be breaking up the team. When it comes to that I'll have to see how it pairs up with my other gear and if I'll really follow through. 

 

[Narayan23]

No news yet on DSD 256/Pure DSD? This was announced a year ago:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/764639/lh-labs-announces-puredsd-mode#post_11556389

 

[Benny-x]

  Regarding shipping for international backers -- what's everyone's experience regarding DHL?  I received a shipping email on Wednesday for the Infinity, but there's been no activity on the tracking period.  I called DHL on Thursday, and it turns out that only a waybill number had been created and nothing was actually picked up.  I sent a ticket after the call, and they said it would be shipped within 48 hours of the shipping email (in case of last minute address corrections), but still nothing has been picked up.  Just wondering what other people have seen with regards to this?  Why even send out a shipping email at all in this case?

It's par for the course.
 
The email is automatic, most courier companies do it. I in fact got one from USPS 2 weeks ago when my DHC gear was "shipping". Then like 3 days later I started to see some action on the tracking updates, like the package being picked up from XYZ and bound for local sorting centre. It's annoying, but normal nowadays.
 
Now in the case of LH Labs and their shipments, unfortunately lots of people have gotten those waybill emails and then nothing ever shipped at all. And then they contacted LHL and were told "within 48 hours", and again nothing. So, that's the boat you're in. It may well be being prepared for shipping, and it may well be cycling the innards of LHL and not coming your way at any time you'd ever be able to know about.
 
For your pain and amusement:
One guy I remember got the waybill email, then did the same as you and found out what it really was and that "It'd ship within 48hrs from LHL", then nothing. Waited weeks, more tickets, nothing. Then a couple months later he found his Pulse on his doorstep. The tracking info on the box wasn't what he'd been first provided and the package had shipped only 10 days before. He was happy to have his Pulse, but left going What just happened...?

 

[Benny-x]

  No news yet on DSD 256/Pure DSD? This was announced a year ago:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/764639/lh-labs-announces-puredsd-mode#post_11556389

DSD 256 made it to the beta firmware, but there hasn't been a firmware update in a while and regular Joes don't have it. There's also no talk about new firmwares coming any time soon. 
 
Pure DSD, well my friend, many things were talked about a year ago, and many things were talked about 2 years ago. Not so many things, but many dollars later, there are many people still waiting and hoping for some things...

 

[CingKrab]

  It's par for the course.
 
The email is automatic, most courier companies do it. I in fact got one from USPS 2 weeks ago when my DHC gear was "shipping". Then like 3 days later I started to see some action on the tracking updates, like the package being picked up from XYZ and bound for local sorting centre. It's annoying, but normal nowadays.
 
Now in the case of LH Labs and their shipments, unfortunately lots of people have gotten those waybill emails and then nothing ever shipped at all. And then they contacted LHL and were told "within 48 hours", and again nothing. So, that's the boat you're in. It may well be being prepared for shipping, and it may well be cycling the innards of LHL and not coming your way at any time you'd ever be able to know about.
 
For your pain and amusement:
One guy I remember got the waybill email, then did the same as you and found out what it really was and that "It'd ship within 48hrs from LHL", then nothing. Waited weeks, more tickets, nothing. Then a couple months later he found his Pulse on his doorstep. The tracking info on the box wasn't what he'd been first provided and the package had shipped only 10 days before. He was happy to have his Pulse, but left going What just happened...?

 
Sigh... I should have known not to expect anything else from LH.  It's sad even at this stage they're resorting to chicken**** tactics like this.  I'm sure they know it's a lost cause to try and retain anyone as a customer at this point so they're just having a laugh at everyone's expense.

 

[Benny-x]

 
Sigh... I should have known not to expect anything else from LH.  It's sad even at this stage they're resorting to chicken**** tactics like this.  I'm sure they know it's a lost cause to try and retain anyone as a customer at this point so they're just having a laugh at everyone's expense.

That last part reminds me a lot of @fishyee and his "new LHL excuse" that he'd beat them to the punch on and just make up himself. But now LHL is trying to get in on it, so they're jamming people with waybill creation auto-emails, only to string them along and laugh as the new glimmer of hope in their eyes dies out. And those auto-emails probably don't cost them any money, they could do that to the same person 100 times. Hahaha.

 

[fishyee]

New one for the LHL excuse book!

Btw, a balanced DAC to active studio monitors is some of the best sound & best value that I have come across. Enjoy your toys.

 

[carz]

An independent review of the XFi by audiostream

http://www.audiostream.com/content/lh-labs-geek-pulse-xfi-linear-power-supply-4-lps4#FLRKDkooLfeHPLl5.97