My problem is that my desktop setup is worth 10x that of the Geek Out so I cannot give a useful comparison. My Audiophilleo 2 alone costs over twice as much as the Geek Out. Even my USB cable costs more than the Geek Out. My Bottlehead Crack has capacitors 4 times the size of the Geek Out. Obviously my desktop setup is going to be clearly superior in almost every way (paired with my re-cabled T1).
Against stuff closer priced (but still more expensive) stuff like RSA Predator and the RSA Intruder I find that the dedicated amps have their specializations.
The Predator is very good at layering but soundstage is quite enclosed. The DAC isn't anything to shout about.
The Intruder is technically very nice, probably the most technically superior of the group. Sound is very spacious and detailed (used in balanced mode). Single-ended, its improvements over the others are a bit less pronounced. The DAC is decent but a bit too flat and depending on what headphones it's paired with, a bit boring (my opinion only of course). It does tame the hard to manage TH900 quite well though.
The Geek Out is an odd one. It doesn't seem to beat the RSAs at their specializations but it is quite resolving, detailed and reasonably spacious. It's not a world beater but it doesn't have any glaring weaknesses. One of it's biggest strengths is that regardless of which headphone I put on it, I seem to enjoy the sound signature. It's not boring sounding (don't know how to describe this in more technical terms). So while I can tell the Intruder in balanced mode is slightly more spacious and a tad more detailed, I enjoy the Geek Out at least as much (if not more sometimes). The Predator is superb at layering and may be slightly superior than the Geek Out in that sense but the Geek Out seems to have a wider sound stage and the layering isn't bad either. Both the Predator and Geek Out seem to have very enjoyable signatures that dig deep into the bass frequencies.
Both RSA devices are considerably larger and more expensive than the Geek Out and are known to be among the top of their class. The fact that the Geek Out is competing at this level says a lot.
When I let my friends try the Audioquest Dragonfly, they told me that they flat out didn't like its artificial sound and were less than impressed. When I showed them the Geek Out, they complained that it could not compete with dac/amp setups costing close to $1k. The fact that they compared it to equipment of that level speaks volumes of its abilities.
In conclusion I think that it's an excellent mid-fi piece of equipment available for entry-level prices. Anyone who is after music enjoyment and not so much analysis will not be disappointed for the price they pay in my opinion. It punches well above its weight and price point. Just don't expect it to beat $1000+ setups. How many $200-ish pieces of equipment can drive virtually any headphone and do it well?
