Light Harmonic, disappointing millionaires.

[Leonardo Piras]

Ok, so Light Harmonic made millions in crowdfunding a new breed of DACs and hi fi products.

Too bad they're unbelievably unable to keep up with their promise and their customer support is abismal.

 

I pre ordered a red Geek Out 450mw almost a year ago now.

That's fine, I knew I had to wait.

Then, the first batches started to roll out and being shipped, so I waited for my turn... which still has to come.

 

Meanwhile, I read of more and more pissed off people on their own forum. Defective products, defective firmware, defective drivers.

Youth problems, I answered myself, keeping faith in the company.

 

Too bad that when I started asking where my product was, their customer support started promising something they couldn't deliver.

 

First, they proposed to send a silver unit right away.

I accepted, but nothing happened.

I wrote again, they told me I had to wait and my unit was to be "at my home" within the second week of Juiy. I should have received a tracking number any minute.

 

No tracking number has hit my box ever since, so I kept writing.

They simply stopped answering.

 

I asked for a full refund. I'm still waiting for their answer.

 

I think this is VERY disappointing behaviour from a company that made millions on consumers trust.

 

Have any of you had any similar experience with LH?

 

Thanks.

[jhwalker]

Ok, so Light Harmonic made millions in crowdfunding a new breed of DACs and hi fi products.

Too bad they're unbelievably unable to keep up with their promise and their customer support is abismal.

 

I pre ordered a red Geek Out 450mw almost a year ago now.

That's fine, I knew I had to wait.

Then, the first batches started to roll out and being shipped, so I waited for my turn... which still has to come.

 

Meanwhile, I read of more and more pissed off people on their own forum. Defective products, defective firmware, defective drivers.

Youth problems, I answered myself, keeping faith in the company.

 

Too bad that when I started asking where my product was, their customer support started promising something they couldn't deliver.

 

First, they proposed to send a silver unit right away.

I accepted, but nothing happened.

I wrote again, they told me I had to wait and my unit was to be "at my home" within the second week of Juiy. I should have received a tracking number any minute.

 

No tracking number has hit my box ever since, so I kept writing.

They simply stopped answering.

 

I asked for a full refund. I'm still waiting for their answer.

 

I think this is VERY disappointing behaviour from a company that made millions on consumers trust.

 

Have any of you had any similar experience with LH?

 

Thanks.

 

I received my Geek Out 720 as promised, after contacting customer service to confirm my address (my mailing address changed since my original "order"). Sounds great.

 

I'm a bit concerned about the Pulse delivery schedule (which I also supported) - we'd originally expected those in April, but they are still in the prototyping stage here in July, so . . .

 

I went ahead and ordered an iFi Micro iDSD, which should be available in a week or so - I suspect it will be my main DAC for a while yet

 

I'm sure the Pulse will be great *when we get it* - but I agree they have not yet gotten themselves very well sorted.

[jazzflav]

Hello Leonardo,

 

My name is Carlos and I work for Light Harmonic Customer Service. Your ticket #367 is currently being with fulfillment being shipped at an expedited rate. We apologize for the inconvenience Leonardo but we are doing our best working around the clock fulfilling orders to be shipped in a reasonable amount of time. I've been in your shoes before Leonardo when something doesn't go the way you expect it to go. Just letting you know that I can relate to the feeling you feel at this time, but I want you to know that sometimes things happen for a reason, whether it's wrong Shipping Address, Payment Not Fulfilled, Name Doesn't match CC information.... etc so many different reason's that can hold up and item from being delivered. Please know that your order is being delivered based off the time you placed it. Remember we have thousands of Kickstarter orders that we finished up just 2 months ago. Leonardo we value you as a Valued Customer and we truly thank you for your continued support. If you have any further issues regarding any product from Light Harmonic, you can contact me personally and I will make sure to do the best job I can to fulfill your request. My word is bond "I will always tell you the truth of what's going-no sugar-coating it. You have my word.

 

Best Regards,

Carlos Jones

Light Harmonic

[Skeptic]

Kickstarter projects rarely ever go smoothly.

 

People have the expectation that they are buying a product, or a stake in a company (look at the reaction to Oculus being bought by Facebook) rather than funding a project and getting something in return if things all work out.

 

Projects are very frequently delayed, and if they are running a Kickstarter it often means that they were unsuccessful in getting funding from elsewhere - which does not bode well for the product itself.

 

Some projects are successful, and deliver on time, but people should be more aware that backing something is a risk.

 

 

If it's actually going to be a good product, wait until the Kickstarter finishes, they sort out the supply, and then buy it when it's an actual product that has been reviewed.

[MikeJazz]

I have had my geek out 450, arrived not long after our survey. Longest time was due to poor service at customs...

 

In the meantime, LH was responsive when I logged a ticket concerning some noise issues. A corrected LH out is on its' way.

 

I can understand some frustration but also see that LH must by having quite a challenge being a small company...Hope all is sorted out in the end.

 

Also hope Pulse is kept on track...

[Leonardo Piras]

I have a startup company myself, and while I know that early stage business rarely goes smoothly, this does not justify lies and terrible lag in response and lies told to a paying customer.

 

I didn't back the product on Kickstarter, i pre-ordered it when it was a finished "proof of concept".

So I am a customer.

 

I am terribly disappointed by having been told lies ("we'll send a silver one today", which has not happened), so I just don't want to be a LH customer anymore and I want full refund.

 

Am I asking too much? I don't think so.

 

I apologise with the site owner and everyone in here, I don't want to use this forum for my own purposes.

I was just looking to know if there was people in my same situation.

[bmoura]

There was a long wait for the Geek Out 1000 here. Since it arrived I've been very happy with it. Brings high res audio playback and more volume to my laptop. The outside of the GO gets hot when operating but if that doesn't bother you, it's a winner.

[Leonardo Piras]

There was a long wait for the Geek Out 1000 here. Since it arrived I've been very happy with it. Brings high res audio playback and more volume to my laptop. The outside of the GO gets hot when operating but if that doesn't bother you, it's a winner.

 

My complaining isn't about the product. It's about disappointing company behaviour.

[PorkChop]

LH shouldn't start any new crowd funding campaigns until they fill all past promises. Their fundraising-to-delivery ratio is almost Ponzi-esque at this point.

[Audio_ELF]

LH shouldn't start any new crowd funding campaigns until they fill all past promises. Their fundraising-to-delivery ratio is almost Ponzi-esque at this point.

+1

 

What is it four FIVE crowd-funding campaigns and they have not completed fulfilment of the first?

 

Geek: $303,061

Geek Pulse: $1,174,075 (plus $103,527 on a followup campaign)

Geek Wave : $1,323,073 (plus $190,006 on the first campaign for this)

And now somewhere along the way is the Geek Source (was this part of the Geek Wave design?) and now the Geek Stream

 

So somewhere LH Labs have around $2 million in the bank - $2,790,681 raised from the Geek Pulse and Geek Wave projects (which have not yet shipped at all afaik) minus fees.

 

Eloise

[Superdad]

Below is a copy/paste of the reply I just received from LH in response to my inquiries about when my basic GeeK Pulse (paid for October 29, 2013) would ship. I just looked at the original acknowledgment I got from Indiegogo and estimated delivery date was April 30th.

 

Geek Wave/Source/Stream? 2016 is starting to sound right for those more complex products…

 

 

 

"Hello Alex,

 

Thank you for your time, As of right now the Pulse is scheduled to begin delivery at the end of August barring any setbacks we might encounter. If you do have any questions please feel free to open a ticket on our support page at lhlabs.com. Again i thank you for your time and support.

 

 

Best regards Manny, "

[rdsu]

Thanks Alex!

 

The last known data for the delivery was the end on July...

 

One more delay...

[Leonardo Piras]

Things are getting even more interesting.

I have been contacted here and on LH own support site right after my complaints.

O power of Computer Audiophile!

 

I have been promised a tracking number right away and a faster carrier...

But I have not received anything yet (it's been 2 days).

I asked for a full refund and asked again.

 

I tried to contact Carlos directly from here.

No answer.

 

Come on guys, I'm sure you are busy, but you can do better than this.

[wirickpiao]

I can understand some frustration but also see that LH must by having quite a challenge being a small company.

[Audio_ELF]

I can understand some frustration but also see that LH must by having quite a challenge being a small company.

With respect then... they shouldn't have started more crowd funding projects before fulfilling the first 1 or 2...

[Leonardo Piras]

I can understand some frustration but also see that LH must by having quite a challenge being a small company.

 

When you have money in the bank, you have room for growth.

[One and a half]

With respect then... they shouldn't have started more crowd funding projects before fulfilling the first 1 or 2...

 

Yes, there are those that need the money, and those that want the money.

[4est]

+1

 

I find it interesting that so many are flocking to an inexpensive product coming from a maker of a very expensive one. Do people actually think they are getting a portion of a DaVinci? It can be more difficult to engineer a cost conscious item than a flagship one. If it were me, I'd like to see what happens in the reverse.

With respect then... they shouldn't have started more crowd funding projects before fulfilling the first 1 or 2...

[mav52]

+1

 

What is it four FIVE crowd-funding campaigns and they have not completed fulfilment of the first?

 

Geek: $303,061

Geek Pulse: $1,174,075 (plus $103,527 on a followup campaign)

Geek Wave : $1,323,073 (plus $190,006 on the first campaign for this)

And now somewhere along the way is the Geek Source (was this part of the Geek Wave design?) and now the Geek Stream

 

So somewhere LH Labs have around $2 million in the bank - $2,790,681 raised from the Geek Pulse and Geek Wave projects (which have not yet shipped at all afaik) minus fees.

 

Eloise

 

 

Interesting collection of funds, it appears after their first Geek funding project LH just assumes people will continue to give up their money with limited possibilities to get it back in some reasonable time frame, so why not ask them for more and keep using those funds to develop other products. I call this great marketing...

[Leonardo Piras]

I call this great marketing...

 

Great marketing is truly great when your brand delivers the promise.

[4est]

Bose anyone?

Great marketing is truly great when your brand delivers the promise.

[Audio_ELF]

Great marketing is truly great when your brand delivers the promise.

I think the feed back from people who actually have received the products is that they are happy with them...

[MikeJazz]

I think the feed back from people who actually have received the products is that they are happy with them...

 

Yes I am...

with geek Out...

 

not so happy that Pulse is taking so much time, but time will tell if the wait is worthy.

[bmoura]

Yes I am...

with geek Out...

 

not so happy that Pulse is taking so much time, but time will tell if the wait is worthy.

 

Agreed. I travel with my Geek Out 1000 and laptop for business. An excellent combination. Adds volume, sound quality and high resolution DSD and PCM playback. Thumbs up.

 

On the Pulse, yes I'm wondering about the delivery date on that one.

[Jud]

I think the feed back from people who actually have received the products is that they are happy with them...

 

Well, versions of a single product (the Out) and associated accessories, anyway. I pledged to the Out and Wave campaigns (the latter in the early part of the initial campaign). Got the Out a couple of months late and am not displeased. Use it happily as part of my desktop system and when traveling. Doesn't compare to the DAC in my main system, but I didn't expect it to. What strikes me as a potential cause for concern are the seemingly ever-morphing, ever-expanding, ever-multiplying crowdfunding campaigns the company has embarked on since then, while not *apparently* devoting all available energies to fulfilling the promises they made to folks who sent money (in the case of the Pulse, some time ago).