[Maelob]

Considering to combo it with my geek infinity also. How doesn't LC differs from geek xfi amp portion ? Does it add some warmth and also enhances the bass slam ?

yes and yes - with some refinement and quieter background- for sure it is an upgrade

 

[greenkiwi]

@Maelob I'm also curious about the LC (and through it, the LCX)... is it an improvement over the HPA in the XFi?

If so, I'd be very tempted to get it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts/experiences either way.

 

[foreverzer0]

I eventually used a Matrix HPA-3B full balanced amp with the X Infinity and it worked better than the internal amp. More analog (laid back, warmth) and more bass slam/authority. I'm contemplating selling the amp since I've switched to another system that has a decent enough amp.

 

[Maelob]

@Maelob I'm also curious about the LC (and through it, the LCX)... is it an improvement over the HPA in the XFi?

If so, I'd be very tempted to get it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts/experiences either way.

I just recently got the amp - so far running single ended until I get some xlr cable for my HIFIMAN Edition X. They don't really need a lot of power but I heard the balanced connection is better. But even single ended sound better than the Geek xfi. Once i get everything connected I will report back in a few weeks.

 

[mandrake50]

The LC is one of the amps where the balanced output is actually superior to the SE. Looking at the specs, it puts out at MAX, 4 times as much power balanced versus SE.
It is obvious to me that it was designed to be used balanced. I can't say that the sound is hugely different between the two outputs, but the amount of power available certainly is.
Of course, for most headphones the 700 mw available SE should be more than enough.

 

[purk]

Case in point.... the update that just dropped including gems such as...
"We are not moving fast for the past few months, honestly".
No mention of what's actually happening - no mention of when items are likely to ship

Power doesn't equal to quality though. Amplifier with better parts and power supply will sound more open and resolving than the LC. The old 2006 Headamp GS-1 is a great choice if you run into one.

 

[Ebonyzer]

Power doesn't equal to quality though. Amplifier with better parts and power supply will sound more open and resolving than the LC. The old 2006 Headamp GS-1 is a great choice if you run into one.

What about the Little Dot IV SE? I have one of those but haven't yet run the xfi's DAC to it yet. I was considering the MassDrop Liquid Carbon because of it's balanced section.

 

[purk]

What about the Little Dot IV SE? I have one of those but haven't yet run the xfi's DAC to it yet. I was considering the MassDrop Liquid Carbon because of it's balanced section.

The LCX from MD is a great choice if you think of it. Assuming the same internal parts, but possibly a better outboard PSU in the future. Still to be able to offer at that price, they have to skip on part costs. Lower grade parts usually will yield slightly harsh sound for solid state amplifiers. I have not auditioned the LD so I can't comment on those but they have been around for awhile so they have to be good to be in the business this long. Also don't count out older amplifiers. You can easily buy used solid state Headroom amps with better parts for around $300 to $500 and those amps used to retail for $1500.

 

[Ebonyzer]

Yeah I was wondering about the cost reduction. I thought maybe some savings on account of a bigger order and using some borrowed parts (case), and is being manufactured in China rather than here could save a bit. Assuming the QA/QC is decent, hopefully they'd be putting together a similar unit with some decent cost savings?

 

[greenkiwi]

The LC is one of the amps where the balanced output is actually superior to the SE. Looking at the specs, it puts out at MAX, 4 times as much power balanced versus SE.
It is obvious to me that it was designed to be used balanced. I can't say that the sound is hugely different between the two outputs, but the amount of power available certainly is.
Of course, for most headphones the 700 mw available SE should be more than enough.

It could also be that they designed the outputs with different purposes in mind. When using the balanced, you are more likely to have headphones that need more power. On the other hand, if they have that much gain on the SE output, it might be noisier for IEMs.

 

[mandrake50]

I suppose it could be lots of things, but that was never mentioned by Alex during the design and development stages of the project for the LC. Over 6 months or so that the early adopters were waiting for the V1, we had plenty of time to discuss such things with Alex. I don't recall your hypothesis coming up in the conversation. I am sure it would have been were it fact.

The reason of the power discrepancy is that only half of the amp is used in SE. It also turned out that some people experienced higher noise levels on the SE output, but it is not due to gain levels, but rather power supply issues.

 

[AxelCloris]

If you want to reach LH Labs, we suggest you contact them directly at the following email address: lhcommsquad@gmail.com

 

[greenkiwi]

I get the half amp for SE, except that when you look at the listed specs:
> Balanced 2.8W RMS into 50 ohms, single-ended 0.7W RMS into 50 ohms

It's 1/4. Or is my voltage to RMS power not right, and when you half the voltage, you quarter the power output?

 

[miceblue]

I just switched to a Windows PC coming from a MacBook (after many years I decided to build my own [AMD Ryzen/Vega]). Oddly enough, the Pulse X Infinity seems to be behaving more stably than in OS X; as in, it doesn't cut out audio randomly and I need to restart the device.

I'll be attending CanJam at RMAF this year and I hope to visit the folks at Audio Precision again. Hopefully I can get the Pulse X Infinity measured.

 

[Audio Addict]

If you want to reach LH Labs, we suggest you contact them directly at the following email address: lhcommsquad@gmail.com

They do not respond to that either.