After spending a weekend with the Geek Pulse X-Fi,
I am pretty impressed. In terms of sheer value it is hard to beat.
I think most people under estimate how hard it is to build a good piece of hardware, I also think this is where LH Labs fell short, it tried to do too much. If the unit was only simpler.
Other then the bugginess of the whole unit, the DAC part of the unit is wonderful implementation of the Sabre chip, having own other Sabre chips, I know people find some parts of it harsh. but LH Labs tuned all the harshness out, but it did cost them detail in the process. There is still plenty of detail but you lose maybe like 10% compared to other Sabre chips.
The understate aspect of this unit is the amp section. The amp sounded exactly the same as my pathos aurium with telefunken 60s ULM 6922 which is like a 2 grand set up.
In the end the amp and dac pairs very well together, and it is one of the biggest deals currently in the audio world. It was a pleasure to listen to.