[jonvply908]

Quick question:

Currently looking for a portable dac/amp without breaking the bank. I was wondering how good the Geek Outs are, in particular the 100 and the 450. The 450 price is better for me, but I will be buying a new dac/amp for the purpose of driving my custom IEMs (1964ears V6 Stage), and wanted to know if either of these are viable for long term use as I save up for something bigger.

 

[Poimandres]

It helps when I have the interconnect pushed all the way into the 100.  I thought I may have had issues with the 47 ohm port as I was hearing feedback in the left channel and barely any audio in the right.  I definitely need to get some sleep.  Anyway after solving that problem I have been going back and forth from the 47 ohm output feeding the Glacier to the Glacier as a dac/amp (again in self powered mode, have you used the Glacier in this manner?) and there are some songs where I feel the GO100 does better and there are others where I feel the Glacier does better.  I would be happy with either.  All listening was done with the latest foobar and wasapi.  Both set to 24 bit and on the 15th step on the glacier, no I didn't volume match and I believe the Glacier to be of slightly higher volume on the same step.

 

[Poimandres]

I had a 450 and it definitely has more hiss than the 100 for sensitive iems.

 

[zerodeefex]

Curious to see if the production GO 100 is weak in output voltage.  I would think that it should output 2v.....

GO100 = 1.1V, GO450 = 2V, GO1000 = 4V

 

[zerodeefex]

450 hiss is eliminated when used as a DAC only.

I've literally used the Glacier in every possible way. yes I used it in self powered mode.

The DAC section beat out the Leckerton but the ODAC > Leckerton was better than the ODAC > Glacier was better than Glacier alone in self powered mode was better than the Leckerton alone in self powered mode. Both Leckerton UHA 6S mkII (CEE TEE's) and UHA 760 with the ADA4627-1B. Tested headphones were:
- UERM
- JH16 FP
- HD800
- HD800 modded
- HD650
- LFF Paradox
- TH900 (briefly)

 

[miceblue]

450 hiss is eliminated when used as a DAC only.

I've literally used the Glacier in every possible way. yes I used it in self powered mode.

The DAC section beat out the Leckerton but the ODAC > Leckerton was better than the ODAC > Glacier was better than Glacier alone in self powered mode was better than the Leckerton alone in self powered mode. Both Leckerton UHA 6S mkII (CEE TEE's) and UHA 760 with the ADA4627-1B. Tested headphones were:
- UERM
- JH16 FP
- HD800
- HD800 modded
- HD650
- LFF Paradox
- TH900 (briefly)

How do you use the GO as a DAC only? Both outputs are amplified and the 47 Ω output has been reported to not have background hiss issues.

 

[zerodeefex]

The same way Anax and others use it as a DAC, pick the output you want, set to -3dB in software and go to town. Hiss is not a problem if you're outputting to an external amplifier. My hiss also went down when using UERMs straight out of the .47 ohm output with the firmware update.

Also, note that Larry explicitly offered the 450 equivalent 2V to GO SE owners with the explicit recommendation that it was the best unit for DAC use to an external amplifier.

If you genuinely think that you're degrading the signal enough by going through the already existing output stage, you should test on a more resolving amp to see if you're genuinely diminishing your experience. I ran my DAC comparison on a 2A3 MKIV which was more resolving than my balanced Dynahi which was more resolving than the GSX MK2.

I love the GEEK OUT line, but the strength is by far in the DAC section of each unit. I'll be curious to see how the headphone and speaker amps turn out.

 

[Poimandres]

So as an amp only you feel that the leckerton > Glacier?

 

[WhiskeyJacks]

The same way Anax and others use it as a DAC, pick the output you want, set to -3dB in software and go to town. Hiss is not a problem if you're outputting to an external amplifier. My hiss also went down when using UERMs straight out of the .47 ohm output with the firmware update.

Also, note that Larry explicitly offered the 450 equivalent 2V to GO SE owners with the explicit recommendation that it was the best unit for DAC use to an external amplifier.

If you genuinely think that you're degrading the signal enough by going through the already existing output stage, you should test on a more resolving amp to see if you're genuinely diminishing your experience. I ran my DAC comparison on a 2A3 MKIV which was more resolving than my balanced Dynahi which was more resolving than the GSX MK2.

I love the GEEK OUT line, but the strength is by far in the DAC section of each unit. I'll be curious to see how the headphone and speaker amps turn out.

Yes the FW update definite improve on using a dedicated amp because prior to it using the PanAm there was a bit of noise, but then the FW update the noise was completely gone not to mention the GO1000 sounded better that ever.

 

[zerodeefex]

So as an amp only you feel that the leckerton > Glacier?

Depends on your headphones. With the JH16s, the glacier was my favorite due to the slightly better controlled bass. For HD800 and UERM, the Leckerton was preferred due to resolution and superior mids and treble.

The glacier sounds better at higher volumes than lower volumes. I suspect its the digital pot. Very similar to the issue I had with the UHA 760 vs the analog pot in the 6S MKII.

 

[eliwankenobi]

GO100 = 1.1V, GO450 = 2V, GO1000 = 4V

Actually. GO450 is 2.65 volts at 0db

 

[WhiskeyJacks]

Just letting anyone know that may be interested in the GeekOut 1000 I have a lightly used one, that is only a couple months old that I am going to be putting up for sale. For around 240$ plus shipping.

 

[sling5s]

I don't know how the Geek Out 1000 sounds but the Geek Out 450 is doing a pretty good job at driving the LCD-2F.  The Fazor makes it much easier to drive. 

 

[cocolinho]

I don't know how the 450 sounds, but the 1000 drives with authority all headphones I own... very nice little product.
I'm now thinking to add Schiit Wyrd in the loop.

 

[junker]

  I don't know how the 450 sounds, but the 1000 drives with authority all headphones I own... very nice little product.
I'm now thinking to add Schiit Wyrd in the loop.

Would love to hear more about this if you do it!