Geek Out v2

Can't find a thread on here for this specifically yet. If one exists, feel free to let me know.

I have a loaner graciously from @Griffon, who told me I had to make a TRRS mini connector for my 650's. I just grabbed a spare stock cable I had never used, and decapitated some iProduct that had a cord with a TRRS connector on it. Did some really crappy soldering, took some measurements with my Fluke, and eventually got the wires with splices around 1.5 ohms each. Anyway, so I've been listening with my DIY balanced cable, and I have to say, I really enjoy the sound from this thing.

Here are my impressions... I originally posted them on HF a couple of weeks ago, but wanted to share them here as well, as I feel I connect with a lot more of the impressions and reviews from some of the members here:

- Lots of power... this thing is powered simply through USB and has quite a bit of juice. Plenty of volume and dynamics... missing out on very deep bass though... I find this is one of the last aspects of the 650's that shows up with the very best gear. Not quite here with the GO v2. I'm listening to most of my music around maybe 15-20% volume via Foobar.

- Overall, smooth sounding... wide sounding soundstage; nice separation. Plenty of micro detail as well, without any harsh treble Sabre garbage. The treble actually seems to be rolled off in comparison to the Gungnir Multibit... the GO does a very, very good job with reverb and decay, but not as precise as Gungnir Multibit. I tend to appreciate the very distinct, natural sounding treble with Gungnir Multibit, and the GO definitely has the usual chunkiness of other DS DACs. It's not offensive though, not in a harsh way, nor in an unfocused way. It just sounds less defined, rolled off.

- It also has a tendency to give the 650's some grip. They sound far, far less laid-back than I'm used to, which may be because there are no tubes in the mix. (I don't think this is because they're balanced, but I've also read people comment that balanced does this... I don't believe this is true, personally). This less laid-back effect is evident to me as vocals sounding more forward... and everything in general sounding far less laid-back. I wouldn't describe this as a dynamic, punchy feel, but of a more aggressive overall presentation. (God, this seems hard to describe without sounding like a lunatic). I spent a month with an AK portable player and the 650's, and felt it was supremely laid-back... to the point where I was underwhelmed. This is much different. It's satisfying, but at the same time, I'm still on the fence as to whether the vocals are artificially being pushed forward.

- Not as linear/balanced sounding as Gungnir Multibit. Gungnir Multibit has the "Moffat bass", which tends to IMO work really well with the 650's. Perhaps this could be attributed to the missing quantity and quality that I described above. Mids are also far less magical/breathtaking than with a good tube amp. Notes sounds precise, although they are missing timbre and articulation present with nice tubes. (I can see the colour and density of the forest, but can't trip out as if on mushrooms, noticing how the light glints through each individual branch). Overall width is good, however, music tends to be lacking the absolute holographic presentation the 650's are capable with, when fed from the right gear. Treble is also noticeably rolled off... I would like to hear the GOv2 with another set of headphones, but I don't have an adapater for my LCD-3f's handy right now. I also can't be bothered to try the Stax through it, which would double amp and probably sound crappy.

- Overall, the best USB driven DAC/amp I've heard. I've had a chance to spend a bit of time with the Resonessence Herus, for example, and prefer the GOv2. I would say the GOv2 has a surprising ability to resolve micro detailing without coming across as shrill/harsh or analytical (eg. Modi 2 can sometimes sound this way... O2+ODAC also gave me brittle sounding treble at times as well, and less micro-detail resolution. Cheaper DACs such as the Aune T1 or X1 have never been able to resolve in this fashion, but the T1 has the ability for holographic mids).

- TLDR; I would highly recommend this if you're looking for a portable setup, such as away from home/away from your main setup or bigger amp/tubes. My main nitpicks are generally things above/beyond the price point for the GOv2. I also have never purchased anything from LH labs, and am fully aware of what I consider to be a sketchy past. I would buy this... I just might buy it. Our $cad is so low right now though... I would say this sounds better than a LOT of other cheap DACs I've heard... perhaps even the Marantz DAC1. I have only spent ~5 hours with the Marantz DAC1, and it was musical, but very laid-back sounding to my ears. I prefer the tuning of the GOv2.

I wanted to add that as I've been listening over the last couple weeks, I really appreciate the presentation from the GOv2. The midrange may not sound absolutely holographic, but it does have an overall clarity and beautiful tonality. I also feel less inclined to call the treble rolled off, however I haven't had a chance to go back to Gungnir Multibit to compare again. I really feel that the GOv2 has an ability to produce a refined, intimate sound with the 650's. Seems like a real winner to me.

I also have a couple of questions for others...

- I simply can't get native DSD to play in Foobar. Anyone get DSD files to play? I don't really care either way, but just wondering. When I hit play, the song seek bar moves, but I get absolutely no sound.

- What is the difference between the green and blue filter modes? The manual says "The green LED denotes The FRM Filter, the red LED denotes the SSM Filter" - well, I have green and blue LED's. I normally listen with the blue LED filter, so I take it that this is the SSM? "TCM (Time Coherence Mode) - Uses LH Labs minimum phase digital filter and time optimization algorithm, which removes all PRE-ring from the converted signal and realigns the impulse response. This presents the listener with a more well-defined and natural soundstage." - This seems to be the mode I prefer.

Also, one last comment... my God does this thing get hot.

 

I re-terminated my Fostex TH-x00 with a 4 pin XLR, and the GOv2 drives them balanced with authority. That's on low gain... High gain and things get savage... in a good way.

 

Agreed, really nice lil number. GOv2, for the price and size, is a no brainer to me. I've used it very happily at work, at home if I'm sitting outside away from my main setup, and when traveling. Sounds pretty damn good with my balanced hd650 or LFF, HFM, and ZMF orthos. People complain about the case, and perhaps they should, since its pretty fugly, but again, for the price and size, it's all good to me...

 

There is more discussion in the DAC subforum as well.

 

Updating this review to include the Geek Out v2a, graciously sold to me from @JK47. I picked it up at the meet last weekend, and wanted to write a few words, in case others are interested...

Build quality is great- the case is sturdy and well constructed. The buttons are solid, and USB connection is fine. I had the V2 with the resin case, which didn't give me any issues either; this case is simply more study. I should note that this case seems to retain a lot more heat than the resin case.

All impressions are from the balanced output, feeding the modded HD-650's, as I did the original V2...
Sound quality is noticeably improved. The most apparent change is in the midrange, which sounds noticeably more fleshed out. Overall tonality is improved in a way that seems to indicate less distortion. Nuanced details in the midrange are more apparent, whereas with the V2, the details seemed to be tilted towards the treble. I hear a more 'put together' presentation with the tonal improvements... overall, a clearer presentation than the V2, with a more velvet sounding midrange.

This is still my favourite DS DAC, as Larry somehow keeps the Sabre glare in check. (I really wanted to discuss this with him at the meet, however I got distracted by the speaker/beer combo, and @shaizada's magic.) Overall, I find the v2a to improve upon the v2 in ways that make the upgrade well worthwhile. I also have a very tough time recommending other sub-$400 DAC/amp combos, especially where the 650 is concerned. This thing just sounds like it is pushing the 650's in all the right directions.

 

Just got a Geek Out V2, for some reason its refusing to play nice with my computers, getting very prevalent clipping/distortion out of the USB ports from my laptop and desktop, which had no problems with the Geek Out 450 that I also have on hand, I've tried restarting the computer and reinstalling the drivers to no avail, anything else I should try?