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Light Harmonic Geek DAC


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I think they are trying to appeal to the broader market with some iffy statements. This probably also explains the abundance of beats in their videos and pictures. Anyway Gavin has been answering questions furiously so I will collate some of the information available right now-

-dimensions- 34mm by 65mm.

- TI PCM1795 DAC IC

-USB asynchronous chip: SMSC USB3343

-native USB 2.0 support will work without loading drivers. For Windows, driver provided.

-No over/up-sampling in this DAC

- Filtration: Yes, there is a patent-pending 3 layer buffer for noise filtration.

- two buttons on the side of the device that control volume up/down, mute, and 3D on/off.

P.S- before someone asks I have no affiliation to the company. I have just backed the kickstarter project

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If nothing else, some of the smarter marketing I have seen in HiFi. Some appeal to a younger generation & entering a market where Audioquest & Meridian have a good foothold.

Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not." — Nelson Pass

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If there's truly no upsampling, I'd like to know how they avoid aliasing and harmonic distortion with Redbook files. Agree with Bill, fast and loose.

 

A pity, since I've heard the Da Vinci sounding great at an audio show.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not." — Nelson Pass

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Wait and listen! ;)

 

They already proved that they know how to make DACs.

 

I doubt that Light Harmonic will not deliver an amazing product for this price... Even better with this initial price!

 

I am certainly willing to suppose that the product will be a good one. But my guess is that in fact they are not building a DAC that has unavoidable distortion with Redbook input, which is what happens if there is no upsampling at all. What I am guessing is that they are not using ASRC (asynchronous sample rate conversion), a jitter-minimizing technique. Some manufacturers' marketing departments call this "no upsampling," which I dislike because it is not technically correct. That's why I agreed with Bill about the "fast and loose" thing, i.e., marketing-speak. But best to wait and see rather than conjecturing, I suppose.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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This has been a fun project to follow. It's on fire - GEEK: A New USB Awesomifier for Headphones by Gavin Fish :: Kicktraq

 

 

For the $139.00 my curiosity won out. Unlike Jud, I was finding the NOS to be a feature rather than a drawback but it will be some months before anyone knows.

Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not." — Nelson Pass

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For the $139.00 my curiosity won out. Unlike Jud, I was finding the NOS to be a feature rather than a drawback but it will be some months before anyone knows.

 

I backed it too (at $99!), but it is absolutely NOT an NOS DAC. The PCM1795 is a sigma-delta DAC chip just like the vast majority of current converters. So while the GEEK may not immediately perform sample rate conversion upon receiving the signal, by the time it leaves the DAC chip you are listening to and interpolated (up/over-sampled) stream and whatever digital filters are offered within the 1795. See here, page 8: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/pcm1795.pdf

 

Also, Gavin is misquoting what USB processor is being used. He states "USB asynchronous chip: SMSC USB3343," but that is just the USB PHY (physical interface chip), and not the controller. Based on the photos I have seen (none in high res, but I can tell by package size), I suspect they are using one of the popular XMOS controllers.

 

Pretty cool that they hit over $100K in just 3-4 days!

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Superdad,

 

Are you sure that PCM1795 must select the sigma-delta, or is optional?

PCM1795 has Advanced Segment architecture, not Sigma-Delta...

 

About USB chip, I will ask Gavin...

 

Advanced Segment Architecture includes delta-sigma modulator.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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This has been a fun project to follow. It's on fire - GEEK: A New USB Awesomifier for Headphones by Gavin Fish :: Kicktraq

 

 

For the $139.00 my curiosity won out. Unlike Jud, I was finding the NOS to be a feature rather than a drawback but it will be some months before anyone knows.

 

Hey, I backed it too - nothing wrong with a portable DAC that accepts 8x input rates.

 

I'm never fond of marketing-speak (one reason I like the irreverence of the Schiit folks), so yeah, I wasn't necessarily thrilled to see this referred to as an NOS DAC when it likely isn't. But if it is marketing-speak, LH will be neither the first nor last to do it, and anyway, the important thing is how it sounds.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Archimago did a very fine review of the Teac 501 Dac witch is based on TI PCM1795.

He tested a NOS available filterless mode.

archimago.blogspot.com/2013/05/measurements-teac-ud-501-pcm-performance.html?m=0

 

Interesting, so that mode is available from the chip. At least in the TEAC, the result was high frequency roll off starting at 5-6kHz.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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I waste 139.00 on silly stuff. Looking to trying a production model. If it is not so good, someone at my house can plug it into a laptop and play their Beats, Sol Repulics, or Ludicris 'phones into it.

 

George

 

2012 Mac Mini, i5 - 2.5 GHz, 16 GB RAM. SSD,  PM/PV software, Focusrite Clarett 4Pre 4 channel interface. Daysequerra M4.0X Broadcast monitor., My_Ref Evolution rev a , Klipsch La Scala II, Blue Sky Sub 12

Clarett used as ADC for vinyl rips.

Corning Optical Thunderbolt cable used to connect computer to 4Pre. Dac fed by iFi iPower and Noise Trapper isolation transformer. 

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