John
LH Labs, a subsidiary of Light Harmonic, are going for the hatrick with their crowd-funding of portable digital audio devices. First came the Geek Out. Then the Geek Pulse. Today LH Labs announce the Geek Wave – an audiophile-grade DAC / headphone amplifier add-on for your smartphone. The promotional blurb aims low with claims sound its sound will be “128x clearer and 8x louder” than your smartphone.
Whatever the marketing spin, this is good news for anyone with a Google Nexus 5 or Samsung Galaxy SIII, both of which sound markedly inferior to the not-too-bad iPhone 4/4s/5/5s.
The Geek Wave comes ashore with a three-pronged attack on sound quality, storage and battery life.
On audio performance the press release boasts: “Geek Wave is built on a high-performance digital to analog converter core that Light Harmonic has had in development since 2008 and uses “cost-no-object” audio components. Utilising Light Harmonic’s “INSTANT POWER” technology, currently used in its high-end Da Vinci DAC, Geek Wave delivers 2 times more power to headphones, allowing them to be heard to their fullest potential, even in the most crowded of places.” The Geek Wave will decode DXD (PCM up to 384kHz) and DSD.
This add-on isn’t only for improving the SQ of streaming services. Oh no. On storage the Geek Wave packs an impressive internal 256Gb to ameliorate your existing smartphone’s capacity.
On battery life: “The Geek Wave features a high capacity battery that can recharge a smartphone battery twice in half the time of other chargers available on the market. It does this by incorporating charging circuits into the tips where it connects with a smartphone, ensuring it’s receiving the most power available from a USB port.”
LH Labs’ Geek Wave will be first funded (formally) announced via an Indiegogo campaign that begins 10th April 2014.
However, don’t get that credit card out just yet. Pricing has yet to be nailed down although it’s expected to be in the region of US$399 via Indiegogo whilst the RRP down the line will tip $600.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0ldj1vd35o
And if you’re wondering why details are sketchy at this stage it’s because the product isn’t finalised…yet. LH Labs first want to hear from potential customers about what features they’d like to see included in the Geek Wave.
“Geek Wave is in the final stages of development and the company is now ready to hear from audiophiles and casual listeners what additional features they want to see in the new device.”, runs the PR.
Further information: Geek Wave on Indiegogo
UPDATE:
