[tomscy2000]

  I wonder how the stock Wave's form factor and UI are going to be. Cowon is cranking it out there with their build quality and it's got a nice-looking UI. The Plenue 1 also has a rated SNR of 120 dB, which is 4 dB more than the Geek Out, a THD+N of 0.0006%, which is 0.0019% less than the Geek Out, and a crosstalk of -134 dB which is a whopping ~40 dB less than the Geek Out.

 
You can't take measurements at face value when you know their conditions. As I understand, the 0.003% THD rating was a baseline test from the first prototype of the Wave, which was basically a Geek Out with a battery. Larry also does measurements of THD with a 32 or 16 ohm "real-world" load, I believe, which will make things look "bad".
 
I'll bet that the P1 here was taken with no load, as the THD is just 0.0002% more than than reference specs. My bet is that with a 16 or 32 ohm load, those numbers will go up --- still very good, but not ridiculous. Initial test results of the Calyx M, which also uses a single ES9018-2M as well, touted 0.0008% THD with no load, but that number went up to >0.003% with a 16 ohm load.
 
The Wave's 116 dB SNR is also a direct transplant from the Geek Out, IIRC. A dual DAC or dual mono XD will get a 3 dB boost in SNR; also, most people prefer to do the -60 dBFS dynamic range test, so that soft muting doesn't artificially boost numbers, so we don't know how the two compare directly.
 
Let's say today that you got the dual DAC and THD package for the Wave; that means that even with the conservative 0.003% measurement, you'll be getting 0.0015% THD with a challenging low-impedance load, and >119 dB SNR. Seems like it'll start to look a bit more comparable in terms of performance.
 
I'm not trying to diminish the P1 --- it looks like a really great DAP, and it looks like a better value than the AK120 II and AK240, IMHO, and I actually think that the PCM1792A and the ES9018S (not talking about the 2M) are on pretty equal terms with regard to performance. It's just too early to tell for the Wave, while the P1 seems slated to come out within the next couple of months, so these numbers are pretty final.

 

[tomscy2000]

At the same time, if LH Labs wants to continue their mantra of "get the best specifications and measured performance in each respective product segment", the Wave will have to beat the Cowon's measured performance, which is on par with the AK240's. That should give Larry some motivation.
 
The other thing is, how will the digital transport side of things measure? Larry's bread and butter is digital signal transport, and that's the reason why even the Geek Out doesn't use PLLs for transport lock and elects to use the triple clock method to do things (not actually unique to Light Harmonic; all of the high end manufacturers do things this way in one form or another, LH Labs merely has a unique buffering scheme, though other companies I'm sure have their own buffering schema).

 

[SilverEars]

Those measurements do not tell how they will sound.  This is hiliarious.  All modern devices measure well.  Just look at the specs on modern smartphones, and if you think the measured values equal superior sound, take your pick.  Also, more useful measured values are with real headphone load, I don't get what the resistor loads are telling us about headphone loads.

 

[thirdman]

 
I think we may see a re-design of some sort this evening fingers crossed I hope they knock it out of the park.  
 
Quote:

   
All very real concerns, I am hopeful.  We shall see.

 
 

Yep I've already been in the Geek force quite some time ago.
Though the mockups doesn't really tell much, and since the XD version has double all the components AND a user changeable battery plus all the new perks they keep adding in, I'm expecting it to be bigger than HM901 size.. Which is quite a brick for a portable..

 
 

 
Not sure yet but you can check out the initial mock up.
 
Also if you join the geek force some members have done some nice rendering.
 
Still up in the air though...

 

[thirdman]

MiceBlue that Plenue does look nice IMO.

 

[Kojaku]

New stretch goal. The one I've been waiting for. A nicer, more sleek, sturdier enclosure. Too bad it's all the way at 555,555 and we don't have any new perks to drive up the campaign pledges...
 
Kojaku

 

[Levanter]

Btw how does their monthly installment plan work?

 

[thirdman]

Btw how does their monthly installment plan work?

You pledge $299 now then after the campaign ends they will invoice you via paypal for two additional payments of of $300 each due 30 days after the invoice.  Additionally, you may be able to do paypal's "Bill Me Later" and possibly set up an installment plan that way and stretch out the payments even more.  But i am not certain on that.  You will have to check in to it.  I have used the Bill Me Later on occasion they have had a 0% for 6 months or something promotion.
 
If you have questions about the Geek Wave payment plan, open a ticket in the Geek Force "Support" tab and Emmanuel will answer your questions.

 

[thirdman]

  New stretch goal. The one I've been waiting for. A nicer, more sleek, sturdier enclosure. Too bad it's all the way at 555,555 and we don't have any new perks to drive up the campaign pledges...
 
Kojaku

Yeah, I think the new enclosure looks SIC!  Very sleek, and Aerospace Grade Aluminum!  I'm pumped.  With the extension of the campaign and the new aluminum enclosure I think we can stretch.

 

[Ultimate Mango]

The Wave S reboot posted here earlier is pretty disappointing. I was one of apparently many who didn't get the email, so thank you whoever posted about it here. I wonder why they did IGG again instead of Kickstarter as originally intended.
Seems like they have cut features and the price, meaning my original use case of iOS charging and IEM amplification won't even be met. If anyone wants to buy a Stream 360 for $410 let me know, wait a second nobody will do THAT because they are going for $289 via the campaign...

 

[Kojaku]

Yeah, I think the new enclosure looks SIC!  Very sleek, and Aerospace Grade Aluminum!  I'm pumped.  With the extension of the campaign and the new aluminum enclosure I think we can stretch.

If I had to be completely realistic, I'd say we won't hit it unless some amazing, affordable (<$100), and universally appealing perks show up. I think us XD folks have had more than our fill of exclusives. To hit $555555, we'll need broader support.

Kojaku

 

[thirdman]

 
Yeah, I think the new enclosure looks SIC!  Very sleek, and Aerospace Grade Aluminum!  I'm pumped.  With the extension of the campaign and the new aluminum enclosure I think we can stretch.

 
 

The Wave S reboot posted here earlier is pretty disappointing. I was one of apparently many who didn't get the email, so thank you whoever posted about it here. I wonder why they did IGG again instead of Kickstarter as originally intended.
Seems like they have cut features and the price, meaning my original use case of iOS charging and IEM amplification won't even be met. If anyone wants to buy a Stream 360 for $410 let me know, wait a second nobody will do THAT because they are going for $289 via the campaign...

Have you considered using it towards a wave?

 

[thirdman]

If I had to be completely realistic, I'd say we won't hit it unless some amazing, affordable (<$100), and universally appealing perks show up. I think us XD folks have had more than our fill of exclusives. To hit $555555, we'll need broader support.

Kojaku

We are $130k away right now, the campaign is extended for another 24 days, that works out to slightly more than $5400 a day in sales.  I think we can get their.  Especially, if they introduce a few more perks, updates and accessories.  Hopefully, more peeps will take the upgrade path to at least the X.  The X and XD with IEM(gives you a gain switch) and the DAD package which doubles the memory to 256k, essentially making it a X/XD256 is one heck of a DAP. I mean it outdoes the AK240 at a fraction of the $$$.
 
But we shall see.

 

[Ultimate Mango]

Have you considered using it towards a wave?

I don't want a wave. I wanted a battery powered dac/amp for use with iems and an ios device. It seems that the stream won't really do that, and if I wasn't already out the money I would not have backed this. At least this way I can get something and sell it and maybe only lose $200 instead of $410.

 

[Dave74]

  We are $130k away right now, the campaign is extended for another 24 days, that works out to slightly more than $5400 a day in sales.  I think we can get their.  Especially, if they introduce a few more perks, updates and accessories.  Hopefully, more peeps will take the upgrade path to at least the X.  The X and XD with IEM(gives you a gain switch) and the DAD package which doubles the memory to 256k, essentially making it a X/XD256 is one heck of a DAP. I mean it outdoes the AK240 at a fraction of the $$$.
 
But we shall see.

I hope that they reach the 555,5555 goal as the new enclosure looks awesome!  Aerospace T2021 Aluminium for the X128 and XD128 if they reach the 555,5555 mark. They also reached a new agreement with BitPerfect... and will be offering a GeekPerfect package.