Light Harmonic (LH Labs). Scam? USD$6 million not delivered since 2014

[Angular Mo]

I feel fortunate to be an early backer and received my Geek Pulse (Sfi, singles-ended with femtonclock), Geek Blue, and the Lightspeed Revive which I use between my iPhone and DAC.

 

 

[Angular Mo]

Having funded dozens of gadgets, I have concluded the following;

 

1. never spend more than you can afford to lose.

2. if a company offers "too many" versions of a product, they will fail and not deliver.

3. don't believe any statement about what the final retail price will be.

4. do not complain anywhere on the Internet; you will be found and sent to the back of the line.

 

 

 

[Angular Mo]

LH Labs may one day become a Business School Case Study on the hazards of when Crowd Funding veers toward Crowd Design.

 

The Pulse DAC/AMP was my first, and most expensive backing in the early days of crowd funding. I funded the base pulse, with only the Femto clock upgrade; Pulse Sfi.

When LH Labs proliferated into so many different variations, I became concerned about both the operating risk of their ability to keep track of the variations, and their ability to achieve the operating scale necessary to deliver, compensate employees, and invest in the requisite support structure.

 

So, I funded the base Pulse DAC/AMP, and later the Blue, and even later the Lightspeed Revive.  When they announced products before delivering on earlier ones, it became clear to me what was going on. The trigger-point for me, was their annoucement of the Wave.

 

I feel fortunate to have received delivery on all three products. The Pulse Sfi is OK, the Blue is likely better than I can appreciate, and the Revive is ahead of its time; USB-C and clean battery-power when so many, including Chord Mojo are still micro-USB.

 

I would hope that everyone who has lost money in this venture can move forward emotionally, accept that they won't get a product and realize these lessons;

 

1. mitigate the risk by limiting how much you are willing to lose.

2. Don't crowd-fund a product when similar ones already exist in the market.

3. Beware of the mass-customization and crowd-designs you seek; you may never get the product because the manufacturer may not have the capability to deiver, regradless of their good-faith intent.

 

I learned a lot from this venture, and have adjusted my crowd-funding spending accordingly.