[thirdman]

  FYI, Larry Ho(owner and Lead Engineer)  just asked on the comments page if Funders would like WiFi and Airplay. Go to the comments tab here
 
For those not aware he Designed and sells this, the Light Harmonic Da Vinci Dual DAC, price is $30k and recieves high praise.

Well they have added WiFi option now and this thing has taken off, the campaign busted through $500k in a flash, now they have a teaser called the geek source on the site.  The geek Wave is going to be an awesome device if they execute it well.  Larry Ho is talking about gesture control....so we will see.

 

[Levanter]

Well they have added WiFi option now and this thing has taken off, the campaign busted through $500k in a flash, now they have a teaser called the geek source on the site.  The geek Wave is going to be an awesome device if they execute it well.  Larry Ho is talking about gesture control....so we will see.

Gesture control? Say what?
Too many unnecessary useless features are being added in... I'd be wary of the way they are going about with this project..

 

[jdog]

I agree with Levanter.  Geek Labs, just give us a high quality portable music player with a user friendly UI...  Please keep the technological focus on sound quality, please....

 

[georgelai57]

LH labs are allowing backers to buy a basic player and variations on a theme all the way to a state of the art player. I don't know why people are unhappy about this. Would they prefer something most can't afford (eg AK) or something basic and limited (no names provided)?

Backers should understand what is crowd sourcing before comparing to products launched by manufacturers after at most a focus group session(s) or none at all.

 

[Levanter]

LH labs are allowing backers to buy a basic player and variations on a theme all the way to a state of the art player. I don't know why people are unhappy about this. Would they prefer something most can't afford (eg AK) or something basic and limited (no names provided)?

Backers should understand what is crowd sourcing before comparing to products launched by manufacturers after at most a focus group session(s) or none at all.

 
LOL i've been backing crowdfunding for years... but there is a difference between backing a product which has the potential to take off and backing a product which is trying to run before they can walk.
Gesture controls are what smartphones have been venturing into recently, and they haven't even perfected that feature yet. So i guess LH Labs which has virtually no experience in the smartphone industry, let alone creating their first DAP is trying to leap before they learning how to walk.
 
Venturing into gesture control (for goodness knows what reason that'll be useful in a DAP, heck most people don't even use it on their smartphones) is just a waste of time and resources when they should be focusing more on perfecting the sound.

 

[Kojaku]

I really don't believe Larry is foolish enough to try and push gesture control at this point. In any case, I'm pretty much satisfied with the campaign. LHLabs has been really accommodating, considering how demanding the community is. I mean, we have entire wings of the community asking for a huge variety of features, while we have a whole separate wing that is asking for NO MORE CHANGES/ADDITIONS. I think the fact that LHLabs has been so willing to deal with the anger and infighting is remarkable.
 
In any case, my main qualms have been addressed, basically. I'm still unsure what's going to happen with the UI, but honestly, I've used some of the worst UIs around in earlier hifi players, so as long as it's at least DX90 level, UI-wise, then I can't complain. 
 
At this point, there is no way that the stretch goal won't be reached in time (which was my main remaining qualm about the player), so I think I can safely back out and watch this run its course. 
 
I have an AK240 killer, sound-wise, for a ridiculously good price, which will finally look the part. That's really all I wanted for the campaign anyway (and maybe to introduce more people to portable hi-fi, which this seems to have done, at least a bit).
 
Good luck with all the features that you all still want! I'll probably stop pushing the indiegogo thread and answering questions. See you in 16 days, lol!
 
Kojaku

 

[miceblue]

What DSD container do y'all recommend for the Geek Wave, DSF or DFF, and why would you recommend one over the other?

 

[miceblue]

Latest campaign update:

Larry, Casey and I were chatting today and thought it might be nice if we laid out what we think are the best Geek Wave upgrade combinations at different price points. We looked at the contributions so far, and these are the most popular “packages.” Man, they look savory, don’t they?

If you’ve already contributed toward a Geek Wave, and are having a hard time figuring out which upgrades to choose, here’s what we recommend:

Ultimate Package – Geek Wave DX 128 + “DAD” + IEM + THD + WiFi = $1,518
This one’s for the die-hards. You know who you are. In fact, there are 30 of you who’ve chosen this exact combination. With this ultimate package, you’ll really have the best portable music player in the world— at any price.

Best Package Under $1000 – Geek Wave X 128 + Femto Clock + THD + WiFi = $914
You’re still pretty freaking committed, man. Pretty committed, indeed. We’re still convinced there isn’t another player on the market that will sound and perform as good as this package. Well done, sir (or madam)!

Best Package Under $500 – Geek Wave 64 + Dual ESS + Standalone DAC + WiFi = $472
I can’t believe you can get all these features at this price. What were we thinking? It costs more to have Elvis preside over your nuptials in Vegas! We really need to re-think our pricing strategy. Manny’s getting a pay cut.

Best Budget Package – Geek Wave 32 + Dual ESS + Standalone DAC = $273
Okay, now this is getting ridiculous. Ridiculously rad! I bought an old iPod classic off of Craigslist for more than this. Manny’s definitely getting a pay cut.

[rule]And now, on to other snazzy stuff.

[rule]Geek Wave 32 – Now upgradable all the way to XD 128!

During our little conversation earlier today, we realized that we’re each worthy recipients of the Knob Award for Crowdfunding Injustice. We never provided you a way to upgrade Geek Wave 32 beyond Geek Wave 64!

Fear not, my friends. Help is here. We’ve just added some upgrade perks that allow you to upgrade to your little heart’s content. Fly, my pretties. Fly!

Upgrade Geek Wave 32 to 128 = $232
Upgrade Geek Wave 32 to X 128 = $362
Upgrade Geek Wave 32 to XD 128 = $732

[rule]Next item on our agenda: Achieve world peace.

Interesting that they only recommend the IEM package for the most expensive combination. So much for that.

 

[jdog]

Looks like to me that they are equating most popular combination at a price point with the "best" combination at a price point.  I learned in Logics 101 that these two classifications are not necessarily the same... and besides, what does best mean:  best in overall value?, best in variety of options?, best in sound quality?  I'm just hoping that the option I chose ranks as the "best option" for <$600. (X-128 with dual dacs)!

 

[shotgunshane]

I'm thinking the iem package won't be necessary on the 32 and 64 b/c they are only 160mW. The X and XD are more than double the power.

 

[germay0653]

I'm thinking the iem package won't be necessary on the 32 and 64 b/c they are only 160mW. The X and XD are more than double the power.

Just a word of note, they created a version of the Geek Out with only 100mW specifically for those IEMs with low impedance, < 32 ohms, and with high sensitivity, > 105 db/1mW, so 160 mW may overdrive those types of IEMs.  It's a trade off to some degree because with the 160 mW model you would have to keep the volume much lower.  With the digital volume control the lower the volume the more errors are introduced that could affect sound quality.  How much it will affect it I can't say but the possibility is there, hence the IEM package which has a switch to lower the power so you don't have to lower the volume control as much.  Make sense?

 

[shotgunshane]

The switch is only on the X and XD from my understanding.

 

[Insidious Meme]

The switch is only on the X and XD from my understanding.

Agreed. I find it disappointing that even the ibasso DX50 @ $239 has a gain switch. Oh well, I got the best budget version of the wave and not moving for anymore stuff. I agree with many folk on how this venture has been confusing to most at best.

 

[shotgunshane]

Also I should note the dacs used in the wave have 32 bit digital volume control. With 160 mW you should not lose much in the way of dynamics and resolution at low volumes. This is the advantage of ESS chips. Really I think the iem package is overkill on the 32 and 64 but a must buy for the 128, X and XD models.

 

[germay0653]

Also I should note the dacs used in the wave have 32 bit digital volume control. With 160 mW you should not lose much in the way of dynamics and resolution at low volumes. This is the advantage of ESS chips. Really I think the iem package is overkill on the 32 and 64 but a must buy for the 128, X and XD models.

Actually, the gain switch is only for the XD128 but the IEM package is for all models and specifically designed for low impedance, high sensitivity IEM.  Somewhere on the form they had a list of example IEMs.
 
Free Upgrades for Geek Wave XD 128
For those of you that have purchased the Geek Wave XD128 and have chosen to add the IEM package, we've decided to add a Gain Switch at no extra charge. Switching between pristine IEM output or powerful big-can output allows you to pair your Geek Wave with every set of headphones in your collection.