LH Labs Geek Out GO2A, V2, V2+, Infinity and SE Impressions and Reviews

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by jexby, Sep 29, 2015.

  1. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    So lately it seems we've been progressing this thread around the failures of the LH Labs support team, as a community though we've seen some success in helping on another. Like the firmware post. I learned from my experience with iBasso and their PB2, that not all good things continue forever... even if the company that made them is/has. Assuming the worse situation, what can we do to at the very least try to support this product among ourselves our selvs. For better or worse, I didn't actually purchase my unit. Rather I traded for it. Gave up an TH X00 in exchange for a GO V2+ and balanced adapter [largely because you guys were so gung-ho about it] still I've enjoyed my unit without any issues and would like to continue to do with... with or without LH Labs input or help

    That said has any one had any success in repairing a fault for this product? If not what might we need to start learning how to possibly repair and maintain these units physically as time moves on. Does any one have enough information about the device to possibly even start trying to understand how to fix or repair one? While I'd like for LH Labs to support and offer repair's for this unit them selvs... I'd rather be prepared for the worst case scenario.
     
  2. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

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    At this point it would be good to at least host a set of downloads for LH Labs firmware images. IMO their policies around keeping certain firmware private is trumped by their inability to provide adequate support for their products.
     
  3. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    It appears that LHLabs has the expertise to fix/make their products. Actually doing so is where things break down. Perhaps if we could come up with a fee*, agreeable to by LHLabs and their customers (payable when something is actually done and received by the customer) that part running a company would seem real to them. :confused:

    * (The fee could be looked upon as part of the price of buying/owning LHLabs products as opposed to owning a "brick"/nothing/etc.)
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2017
  4. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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    I could give you a bunch of excuses you don't want to hear, but the gist of the issue is staffing levels. We have unresolved tickets going back 4 months, so expecting a response to a ticket within a week is not a realistic expectation or option at this point.

    As far as influence, etc. ---- I just started a month ago. Expecting immediate changes on a mass, noticeable level is not a realistic goal either. I can tell you we've had some minor (big for this company) changes so far that are very good starting points that hopefully grow and expand. But we're talking about a company that has (obviously) been in neglect for years, and repairing that will be a long process.
     
  5. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    It has been a long long time since I have used my GO2A on its own, so I thought I would revisit it this morning. Some thoughts are below :)


    [​IMG]


    Lets start this with a personal opinion of LH Labs. They are a joke, but they are a joke that makes awesome sounding gear. If you buy new from them, don’t expect good support. If you are thinking of donating to a campaign on indiegogo, don’t…..run far away as fast as you can. There are people who have put in thousands (seriously) of dollars and still haven’t seen any return on their investment. Thankfully I bought my Geek Out from a local retailer, and didn’t have to wait years for it. Below is the biggest issue with LH Labs.

    They make great, great sounding gear. Its just a shame it doesn’t work all that often, and if it does go wrong, you are pretty much hooped.

    My Geek Out V2 fell apart physically. LH Labs replaced it (after a good while of waiting.) The replacement developed all sorts of problems so I sent it back to be fixed. 9 months later I still hadn’t received it back, so I sent them a very strongly worded email. They decided to send me a Geek Out 2A as a replacement. It arrived 2 odd months later. Almost a year of waiting.

    If you need a USB dongle and can find a used GO2A (don’t buy the V2, it will fall apart) for a good price, go for it. You won’t have warranty anyhow, and the sound is worth it. If you do decide to buy one new from LH Labs directly, again, don’t expect support. If it breaks, you are fucked.

    Thankfully my GO2A has been working all right and hasn’t had any problems yet (touch wood.)

    If you do decide to purchase a Geek Out, and any of your headphones have balanced cables, get an adapter made to use the balanced output. It is worth it. The SE output doesn’t suck, but the Geek Out was optimised to be used balanced as far as I know, so do use it if you can.

    The GO2A can be used as a very competent DAC in conjunction with a big amp in a desktop set up, but it is at its best as a portable DAC/Amp plugged into a computer etc…For this comparison/mini review I’ve been going back and forth with my MacBook Pro’s built in headphone output. As a computer output is what most people will be going from if upgrading to a USB DAC/AMP dongle thingy, I figured this was a good place to start.

    Now, the MacBook Pro’s built in output is ok. I don’t have any hiss or anything going on, but compared to the GO2A, it is just a bit limp sounding. Everything improves when moving to the GO2A. Clarity and detail especially, but dynamics, impact, and timbre all improve. It is dead silent, no hiss, and no USB nasties.

    Soundstage improves a bit over the MBP’s built in output.

    Clarity. There is just more “Airyness” to the sound, more space around the instruments. The MBP’s built in output just sounds squished together in comparison. The detail it drags out of the recording is pretty impressive. You lose tiny details going back to the MBP. Everything is just crisper and sharper with the GO2A. Dynamics are great for such an affordable device, good attack.

    In comparison to some of the other DAC/Amp combos I have owned or used, The GO2A holds its own very well. It handily beats the Dragonfly series, and hangs out just fine when in company with the Chord Mojo, and iFi iDSD BL. Is it as feature rich? No of course not, but at the prices you can find the GO2A at, sound wise, it is a tough competitor in my opinion.

    All in all, would I recommend the Geek Out 2A? Yes….but also no. If you can find one used and don’t mind a bit of a risk, and it suits your headphones and needs, go for it. If you need more power and features, check out other options (I really enjoy my iDSD BL) and if you want a different presentation, check out the Chord Mojo etc…I think it is a real shame that LH Labs is such an unreliable company. They seem to be saying they are trying to rectify their problems, but they have said this before and fell flat :(

    The Geek Out 2A is a great sounding, nice looking, small and handy little component. It has better sound than some gear that costs a lot more money. If your headphones aren’t monsters to drive, and you need a portable option, you could do a lot worse, especially sound wise :)
     
  6. blackships

    blackships Friend

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    lol. I reiterate that you should run like hell. LH Labs needs much more than minor "big for this company" changes. It needs actual big changes. I can't even imagine how LH Labs rebuilds good will at this point.
     
  7. Azteca

    Azteca Friend

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    Yeah, why should he do what he can to make sure people get what they've paid for (and waited years for) when he can just be snarky on the sidelines?
    There's no downside here. I think he knows what he is getting himself into. If you're mad about not getting the firmware yet, how does NEVER getting it sound?
     
  8. JewBear

    JewBear Almost "Made"

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    I did the whole create a ticket for firmware, it's been over a month now.... What kind of mickey mouse backwards ass operation hoards it's firmware behind support tickets? Just put them online where people can download them like every other technology company. Don't you realize that whatever ip theft you're trying to contain by not releasing firmware is dwarfed by the loss of customers from your terrible customer service?

    As an aside, does anyone have the original GO2A Infinity firmware? Version 2.1 makes the device a bit too hot for my comfort zone.

    Edit: If you're not going to support your product at least have the decency to make it possible for people to support it themselves. /rant
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2017
  9. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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    From what I understand, it's not IP theft they were worried about...more like people screwing up their devices and then having to send it in to get fixes. I heard some stories about some units they had to repair because the customers were installing the wrong firmware on the wrong units. I'm not saying you're wrong, but that's the reasoning I've been given.

    I'll see if I can get a copy of the 1.5 firmware for you and I'll PM you when it's done. To my knowledge, there's no way to downgrade, but I'm sure there's probably a hack for it somewhere I missed.
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2017
  10. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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    This just goes back to not being able to make everyone happy with everything a company does. We've literally got complaints now that after months of almost zero updates, we're actually updating too much now and using the updates as a "distraction". If we didn't update, we'd have complaints. If we do updates, we get complaints. It's just part of the business, and the reputation LH made for itself over the years doesn't help any.

    Anyway, like I said in my update, I'm capped at part-time status, and so I would be doing more tickets, but right now we're focused on the BigCommerce. Plus other matters in the business, etc. I've been also interviewing and working with what seems to be at least 2 really good hires for the BigCommerce/tickets, but that requires Larry's approval which hasn't "officially" happened yet.

    So, lots of things happening behind the scenes. Larry's slammed with work too, so that makes a lot of what would be visible to the public not seen yet.
     
  11. Audioviel

    Audioviel New

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    Wrong firmware on wrong units? -> Rubbish firmware updater which is not able to identify the own hardware...
     
  12. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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    I just received word that policy of keeping firmware under lock and key is under review. They are reviewing whether to open up the firmware for everyone.
     
  13. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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    We're going to open it up. I'm just trying to get an exact date on that. That should help relieve ticket congestion and make a lot of people happy. The Geek Out firmware is still being locked, but the Pulse / Vi Dac firmware will be open (hopefully soon?).

    On a side note, we updated the Geek Wave information for everyone here with Wave board pics and information:

    https://support.lhlabs.com/solution/articles/13000039482-wave-board-update-pics-10-24-17

    On a side note, in between front line type stuff, I'm working on tickets today, so that should be fun. We have a LOT of BigCommerce type stuff (the majority of our "newer" tickets) to work through, so I'm just literally trying to sort those out from the rest of the tickets right now. So, again, sorry for any delays and I really hope the firmware opening up is happy news.

    BTW, I notice there's no Geek Wave dedicated thread on the forum. Does anyone want one or no? I could make it or someone else could. Or not. I have no preference. We could use that as a dedicated discussion area for questions and comments if there was any interest from the members.

    I'm working on this right now for you and I'll see what I can find out. :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2017
  14. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    I'd be happy to start a Geek Wave thread, but want to ensure we'll have some good stuff to talk about? If it's just going to raise expectations for people and then have the delays continue significantly then I'd say it would not be accretive to the effort and to the sanity of the supporters of LHL. Cheers
     
  15. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    Well, it seems my GO2A has an issue. It just stops putting out audio at random moments (with a sudden "bfzzt" that comes through the speakers). I end up working around it by unplugging, waiting 5 seconds and plugging it back in.

    @LHCommSquad, is there a point in opening a ticket at the moment?
     
  16. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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    I guess start one and if it dies out, then no harm no foul. Anyone interested in the Wave is already following it on IGG, so I don't see how a thread is going to hurt enthusiasm any more than the current progress has. I'm always around the forum so if anyone has a direct question or discussion, I can always take those down and get direct responses from Larry. I'm always looking for content for the updates, so if we can get another Q&A session over the Wave, that would be great and interesting.
     
  17. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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    I can take your question and try to get it directly to Larry. At this point, if you open a ticket, honestly, there's no guarantee when it will be looked at by the tech team. I'll ask Larry directly.

    @jayeshrc What is your firmware and driver version? And what version of Windows are you using? Have you tried any other USB ports?
     
  18. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    I'm using v2.1 with a Macbook pro. I've swapped it around to the other USB port, borrowed another laptop and the issue persists. Its actually been happening for a week or so.
     
  19. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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    Sounds like a hardware issue to me. I'm seeing what our options are for you. I'll let you know as soon as I get a response.

    @jayeshrc I've put this in gear for you. I'm working on someone contacting you regarding the situation.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2017
  20. LHCommSquad

    LHCommSquad MOT - LH Labs

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