Light Harmonic GEEK

[AxelCloris]

The reason they went and made so many versions of the Geek Out and Geek Pulse is because we, the backers, asked for them. If the community only wanted the 450mW Geek Out and nothing more then that's where it would have stopped. I for one am thankful that they've added all these options for us to choose. Yes, that did push back their projected ship date but that's to be expected. And from a business perspective it makes absolute sense to milk the Geek line for all it's worth while the name is fresh in everyone's mind. Do I want my Geek sooner rather than later? You bet, but I'm also happy to wait so that I'll be able to run my more hungry cans off it instead of needing to double amp. I do agree that a limited edition version could have waited until after they had finished shipping to their backers but thankfully the people behind this are the engineering team, not the factories that are currently producing our units.

 

[jaywillin]

for the folks who are getting a little "unhappy" a few thoughts come to mind
 as its been said, LH listened to what we wanted, and we voluntarily , freely gave our $$
we were basically investing in an idea, not a finished product.
it takes a lot to bring a product to market, more than we as average consumers know.
we are learning as we go, LH is learning as well.
 
patience grasshoppers !!

 

[Zoo Animal]

I think a lot of belly aching goes to "light" communication and the fact we are all still excited about the product 6-7 months after the campaign started. In a word, gimme
 
Even if everything was on-time I was hoping for more frequent touch-points between the LH labs forum, kickstarter and us backers. Certainly an interesting project and few of us are equipment manufacutres, so it would be interesting look behind the curtain and see pics of it in all the different processes and learn how something like this gets made. 
 
A few years ago this would equal a good hassle but with a phone/computer/internet access/camera inside your pocket it gets harder to imagine why an update can't come out in the time it takes to order you after-work drink on a friday and having the bartender hand it to you.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

  for the folks who are getting a little "unhappy" a few thoughts come to mind
 as its been said, LH listened to what we wanted, and we voluntarily , freely gave our $$
we were basically investing in an idea, not a finished product.
it takes a lot to bring a product to market, more than we as average consumers know.
we are learning as we go, LH is learning as well.
 
patience grasshoppers !!

 
 
WRT the different versions... Just a little devil's advocate here but just because a few people want feature/product X doesn't necessarily mean everyone wants product X...  Who are we to know whether the actual demand pushed them to include said feature or release said product versus a secret roadmap they had laid out before even the original Kickstarter campaign?  I just don't buy half of what they say anymore.  What's the saying?  Make them think it was their idea?  For all I know LH is "selling" us on products that we only think we wanted in the first place.
 
While I am not super upset over the latest update it really does rub me the wrong way.  Basically those who gave them more money end up with the fastest product versus those who backed them within hours of the campaign going up are the first in last out.  How does that inspire confidence?

 

[jaywillin]

   
 
Just a little devil's advocate here but just because a few people want feature/product X doesn't necessarily mean everyone wants product X...  Who are we to know whether the actual demand pushed them to include said feature or release said product versus a secret roadmap they had laid out before even the original Kickstarter campaign?  I just don't buy half of what they say anymore.
 
While I am not super upset over the latest update it really does rub me the wrong way.  Basically those who gave them more money end up with the fastest product versus those who backed them within hours of the campaign going up are the first in last out.  How does that inspire confidence?

i get your point, but i think with crowdfunding, expectations should be minimal , the risk is greater than buying a finished product
i wasn't meaning to criticize anyone, just pointing out that the delays, changes , etc are probably more part of "the norm" rather than "the exception"
could things have been done better ?? i'm sure that they could, do i expect it ? no
just speaking for myself here

 

[pearljam50000]

Is the Geek better than o2+odac combo and Meridian Explorer?
So hard to choose!

 

[FraGGleR]

 
i get your point, but i think with crowdfunding, expectations should be minimal , the risk is greater than buying a finished product
i wasn't meaning to criticize anyone, just pointing out that the delays, changes , etc are probably more part of "the norm" rather than "the exception"
could things have been done better ?? i'm sure that they could, do i expect it ? no
just speaking for myself here

I am with you here.  I have backed several Kickstarter campaigns, including the OUYA, which broke records at the time for the amount of money raised and how quickly.  The team really had their ish together and there were still delays and people were still complaining about the process, the product, the support, etc.  I also backed a campaign by a company that had several products under their belt that ended up being a complete failure and I lost the money I had "invested."  As crowdfunders, I really do think we have the responsibility to keep expectations in check since we aren't even early adopters, we are pre-adopters.  We are backing ideas that don't have a physical form yet, sometimes by a team doing this for the first time.  Are we allowed to have opinions about the product, the campaign, and the company?  Of course, but I think some of use get a little full of ourselves and our desires as an end consumer instead of backers of a company trying their best to give us exactly what we want.
 
I think LHLabs got a little ahead of themselves and listened a little bit too much to the crowd.  I would have preferred them to have a bit stronger a vision of the product they wanted to sell then maybe do some minor tweaking based on the crowd instead of what we ended up with between the two campaigns.  I don't think they had any idea that the campaigns would develop as they did and they just weren't prepared for everything.  You don't know what you don't know.  If their management team is good, they will learn from these two campaigns and fill out the rest of their GEEK line with a bit more efficiency and better handle expectations and communication.  

 

[FraGGleR]

Is the Geek better than o2+odac combo and Meridian Explorer?
So hard to choose!

It depends!

 

[jaywillin]

  I am with you here.  I have backed several Kickstarter campaigns, including the OUYA, which broke records at the time for the amount of money raised and how quickly.  The team really had their ish together and there were still delays and people were still complaining about the process, the product, the support, etc.  I also backed a campaign by a company that had several products under their belt that ended up being a complete failure and I lost the money I had "invested."  As crowdfunders, I really do think we have the responsibility to keep expectations in check since we aren't even early adopters, we are pre-adopters.  We are backing ideas that don't have a physical form yet, sometimes by a team doing this for the first time.  Are we allowed to have opinions about the product, the campaign, and the company?  Of course, but I think some of use get a little full of ourselves and our desires as an end consumer instead of backers of a company trying their best to give us exactly what we want.
 
I think LHLabs got a little ahead of themselves and listened a little bit too much to the crowd.  I would have preferred them to have a bit stronger a vision of the product they wanted to sell then maybe do some minor tweaking based on the crowd instead of what we ended up with between the two campaigns.  I don't think they had any idea that the campaigns would develop as they did and they just weren't prepared for everything.  You don't know what you don't know.  If their management team is good, they will learn from these two campaigns and fill out the rest of their GEEK line with a bit more efficiency and better handle expectations and communication.  

yep, and i'm also a pulse x backer (with all the upgrades and add ons too) so far, it looks to be going a little smoother, or it just seems more organized ,
can't really put my finget on it, but it seems the LH guys are learning, and improving

 

[miceblue]

Is the Geek better than o2+odac combo and Meridian Explorer?
So hard to choose!

I have an O2 and ODAC, so I can compare the two when I get the Geek Out.

 

[pearljam50000]

Thanks.

 

[kugino]

  I am with you here.  I have backed several Kickstarter campaigns, including the OUYA, which broke records at the time for the amount of money raised and how quickly.  The team really had their ish together and there were still delays and people were still complaining about the process, the product, the support, etc.  I also backed a campaign by a company that had several products under their belt that ended up being a complete failure and I lost the money I had "invested."  As crowdfunders, I really do think we have the responsibility to keep expectations in check since we aren't even early adopters, we are pre-adopters.  We are backing ideas that don't have a physical form yet, sometimes by a team doing this for the first time.  Are we allowed to have opinions about the product, the campaign, and the company?  Of course, but I think some of use get a little full of ourselves and our desires as an end consumer instead of backers of a company trying their best to give us exactly what we want.
 
I think LHLabs got a little ahead of themselves and listened a little bit too much to the crowd.  I would have preferred them to have a bit stronger a vision of the product they wanted to sell then maybe do some minor tweaking based on the crowd instead of what we ended up with between the two campaigns.  I don't think they had any idea that the campaigns would develop as they did and they just weren't prepared for everything.  You don't know what you don't know.  If their management team is good, they will learn from these two campaigns and fill out the rest of their GEEK line with a bit more efficiency and better handle expectations and communication.  

agreed. i've backed a number of KS ventures, only one of which was a complete fail. and every one failed to deliver "on time," but i totally understand why that happens. 
 
i do feel that LHLabs listened too much...and way too soon. i would have liked to see them stick to their original vision a bit more and perhaps get some input on design, something that they don't seem to be that good at...but they know DACs like no one else here and should have stuck to their ideas for the technical aspects of the product. i have no problems with the delays, however...it's normal operating business. i just hope they can deliver a solid product.

 

[AxelCloris]

I've backed numerous products on Kickstarter and received a handful of them. Tomorrow I'll be taking delivery of my first crowd funded project to deliver on time. It's a rarity that something comes in when the creators quoted during the campaigns. I'm also one of the backers who understood what I was getting into when I backed the Geek products. I'll just be extremely happy when they arrive.

 

[hatefulsandwich]

My issue stems from the fact that they're not actually focusing on the single Geek product. They've spread themselves over so much without having even released the initial product. Of course delays can happen, and are expected, but I feel resentful because when I backed the campaign, I got the impression that the GEEK Out would be LH's focus. Then they kept on adding options and desktop options and are already working on signature lines... But they haven't delivered on their first crowd funded product yet.

I just don't like this business strategy. They keep putting out new products for more money before they have even delivered on the original concept.

Indeed, the resentment is not that they are running behind schedule, it's that they don't seem to be focused on the product that got everyone's attention and money in the first place. I would feel much less annoyed if they were just working on the Geek Out and it was running late.

 

[FraGGleR]

My issue stems from the fact that they're not actually focusing on the single Geek product. They've spread themselves over so much without having even released the initial product. Of course delays can happen, and are expected, but I feel resentful because when I backed the campaign, I got the impression that the GEEK Out would be LH's focus. Then they kept on adding options and desktop options and are already working on signature lines... But they haven't delivered on their first crowd funded product yet.

I just don't like this business strategy. They keep putting out new products for more money before they have even delivered on the original concept.

Indeed, the resentment is not that they are running behind schedule, it's that they don't seem to be focused on the product that got everyone's attention and money in the first place. I would feel much less annoyed if they were just working on the Geek Out and it was running late.

Agreed to a point that they could focus more, but what more is to be done for the GEEK Out?  They were done with the engineering months ago (basically on time) and the delays have been all manufacturing which they couldn't really control.  They seem to have it sorted and have brought on additional staff for fulfillment.  
 
It seems like they are spread too thin because they didn't do a good job with managing perceptions.  The forced transparency of a crowdfunding campaign is not something companies normally deal with.  In retrospect, they should have done a better job managing information and should have picked up support staff as soon as they cleared their goals.  I think the engineering was moving at the right pace from product to product (you have to maintain the pipeline), but the communication was scattered and poorly planned which leads us to see them as scattered and poorly planned.  They were too eager to share their ideas with us and inadvertently set unrealistic expectations.