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

Just got GO1000 and it must be defect unit. MBA>GO1000>ER4S. Compared output with GO1000 and without and output improve about 10% only using GO1000. And inserting into 47 ohm sounds quieter than inserting into 0.47 ohm output. The heat is not too bad though. It gets warm but not as hot as I was initially concerned with.

 

According to Head-Fi, the .47 will sound louder due to lower resistance. Something something math.

 

I'm not even sure they have anyone answering emails anymore. A friend of mine was promised a refund by LH Labs and never got it. He ended up having to dispute the charge with them.

 

Sorry if this comes down hard, but your post is hard to respond to on its face, for the following reasons:

1) your use of a percentage to quantify "output improvement" is not helpful. How is it better? how is it the same? how is it worse?
2) the "quieter" issue relative to output impedence is substantially more complicated than moar volume vs less volume. I don't know if you thought that moar ohms = moar volume, but that definitely isn't the case. Output impedence matters when it comes to what you are driving; few headphones really benefit from increased output impedence. Efficient headphones, which the ER4S are even with that giant resistor in the cable, will sound quieter out of a high output impedence source because less power is reaching the driver. The ER4S may not sound totally fucked tonally since it at least has more impedence than the 47 ohm out, but the .47 will still sound better with the ER4S anyway. Low output impedence is best for all but the highest impedence headphones, and even then high output impedence isn't necessarily "better" (this can be debated in its own right, but I won't go down that rabbit hole at this point).
3) this isn't really the place to discuss the merits of the go1000. I know you have been asking about the v2a, and have mentioned the go1000 previously, but the v1 and v2 geek outs are separate beasts.

 

Their customer support lag is still horrible. Perhaps it is due to overwhelming workloads due to bad manufacturing or constant updates, but they lag weeks (sometimes months) beyond one what would expect from a well run company. I ordered the upgrade before selling off my GOV2 Infinity to an unknown buyer (wink), and it took over 6 weeks with a lot of radio silence to get the refund processed. I love their design capabilities, and everyone I have interacted with has been good people, but they still need a lot of help support-wise.

 

Thank both of you for feedback. I just plug everything (full sized and iem) into 0.47ohm and will use 47ohm one for line out only.

 

@jexby do you feel the blacker background and step back in staging are worth the upgrade price? LH Labs is asking $110 for the upgrade (I guess since I'm late to the party).

I am mainly interested in the change in staging/presentation.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Yeah the pictures @jexby posted look beautiful, I am not a fan of the GOV2 enclosure but the sonics via the balanced out are badass. The presentation of the GOV2 is a little in-your-face and any real improvement in that aspect would be welcome.

 

Supposedly mine is shipping out from LH Labs tomorrow or Wednesday. I'd love to compare it agains the Momby with the Jotunheim, but I'd need a 3.5mm TRRS to XLR cable to use it balanced, so I'll just have to compare SE to SE.

 

GO2A fellas... Sorry if this was posted, or implied in the upgrade impressions- just wondering of the improvements that the 2A upgrade has on the balanced output.

I'm assuming that the darker/more defined background is the most apparent difference? This also seems to lead to a more involved sound stage?

Sorry if this was answered; it seems the SE upgrades are great, just wondering about the balanced output.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I delved more deeply into the thread and I decided to get the GO2A upgrade based upon all the posts.
I am also writing to share the very positive customer service experience I received from Manny, Gina and Larry. I hope the fast replies to my emails and high level of customer service I received are the new norm for LH Labs!

 

Haha. Don't count on it.

 

My GO2a is in the house! It looks and feels WAY more solid than the old version. No listening yet, but I will plug it in balanced to the Jotunheim this afternoon and compare it to the Momby.

 

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!! Sorry.

I just received a GO2A in the mail today. Pretty exciting, except...it wasn't mine. It was sent to me under an order number that was cancelled and refunded (which took a month longer than their 5-7 business day promise). This was supposed to be shipped to Australia under a different order. They got confused since I sent in the GOV2, despite the correct order number being written on the outside of the box and on a piece of paper inside of it (per their instructions). I even verified it with them when they notified me that they received the GOV2!

This actually makes it 5 out of 5 products that have had some sort of support issue now. (Double shipped GOV1, broken ground plane Pulse Xfi, noise on the USB for the LPS, peeling plates GOV2+, and now this (though the GOV2 Infinity had zero issues before this). I do believe Manny, Gina, and the rest of the staff try their best and I don't harbor any direct ill-will, but their support is still unbelievably, laughably bad. Bad/unlucky QC is one thing (though my luck? seriously?), but my frustration has been compounded multiple time over by the slow response time. And I was a pretty ardent defender of them during the first few campaigns. I really feel like I out to get a free GO2A just for my troubles. 5 out of 5!

 

A

 

To Manny, Larry et al....

Could you guys please replies to queries on shipping dates for the GO2A? LH received it on July 12.