Aug 28 2013

GEEK – High Resolution USB DAC for Headphones

If you’re into your music you might of bought yourself a pair of really nice headphones and then connected them to your desktop or laptop computer. More often than not, computers will feature some sort of integrated audio solution (such as Realtek) which will do the trick but if you’re after a fantastic audio experience you might be considering an alternative solution.

Whilst you can whack a sound card in a desktop computer you’re still up the creek when it comes to a laptop unless you use a USB solution but not all of these are created equally.

Being the Kickstarter browser that I am, I have come across the GEEK USB DAC (that a Digital to Analogue Convertor). This claims to be more than an ordinary DAC and maybe the mention of high resolution in the title might have caught your attention. Well, this DAC goes all the way up to an astonishing 384KHz which is an amazing number on paper but having not listened to audio encoded at this rate I can’t attest to exactly how good the quality is compared to 48KHz audio recordings.

There are some other benefits though.

The GEEK is also an amplifier which is a welcome addition if you’ve found that your computer audio is never loud enough.There are now three GEEK models which offer varying levels of amplifications 450 mW, 720 mW and 1W. Plus, it sports two headphone outputs so you can listen with a friend and both enjoy the audio experience or maybe just leave two pairs of headphones connected.

I’ve not backed this project myself but I am close to pulling the trigger but the fact that it is USB and can be used on most computers with a USB port. I’ll let you know if I take the plunge though 🙂

Edit: 29/08/2013 – I gave in – project backed!

Boydo

My name is Boyd and I’m a Service Management Specialist with a knack for operational data gathering, transformation, analysis and reporting.

In 2012, I obtained my Masters of Science in Information Technology through the University of New South Wales @ The Australia Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA).

I was also part of an online community known as the Panasonic Insider Crew in the capacity of “Insider Guru” for Panasonic Australia where I interacted with other tech enthusiasts and find out more about Panasonic's latest gadgets.

I love technology, gadgets, and the Internet and maintain a keen interest in these areas locally, nationally, and globally. I hope by sharing my views on these topics that people will receive an honest point of view from someone with a genuine interest in these topics.

I have also written and edited articles for Neowin - you can check out my articles over @ https://www.neowin.net/news/poster/boyd_chan

I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

2 comments

  1. Hiya, Boydo!

    I work with Light Harmonic. Thanks for the nice write-up on the Kickstarter campaign!

    Light Harmonic has been around for a few years now, and has a reputation in the high-end audio world for building some of the best-sounding digital gear made anywhere. We’re trying to take our knowledge and technology and take it to a mainstream product and a broader audience.

    I should point out that if your readers would like to compare GEEK to the “other guys”, they can look here:
    http://mustgeekout.blogspot.com/2013/08/geek-vs-others.html

    Here are some pretty impressive measurements: http://mustgeekout.blogspot.com/2013/08/measuring-geek.html

    If you’d like to scroll through the whole campaign blog, including Gavin on a local TV show this morning, a pic of Gavin’s newborn son and my “dying industry” rant, go here:
    http://mustgeekout.blogspot.com/

    Thanks again, and goodonya!

    Best, Bill

    1. Thanks for the comment, Bill!

      I am the first to admit that I am not an uber level audiophile nor have I made large investments in audio but I really enjoy great quality audio. At the moment, I use my Panasonic RP-HC700 headphones and that’d be a good line up with the GEEK with 26 Ohm impedence (without noise-cancellation). It’s certainly been interesting to read about some of the phenomenal audio gear that others have purchased including the Lightspeed USB cable for the Da Vinci DAC!

      I look forward to providing more GEEK coverage 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.