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Geek Wave Wants to be the iPod for Audiophiles

Geek Wave Wants to be the iPod for Audiophiles

By NDTV Correspondent | Updated: 15 May 2014 13:22 IST

Every week, look at Kickstarter and other crowdfunding websites to try and find the most exciting new projects online. After all, projects like the Oculus Rift and the Pebble smartwatch prove that the most interesting and innovative products don't have to emerge from giant companies anymore, and we're watching for what comes next. Such as the Geek Wave,a portable audio player which really focuses on audio.

When the iPod first launched, it created a revolution, and turned the portable music player into a household item. But while many people are happy listening to music through iPods or smartphones, many have been demanding higher quality recordings than a simple MP3.

That's where the Geek Wave hopes to come in. The Geek Wave is an Indiegogo project by Light Harmonic, an audio equipment manufacturer which has earlier made portable digital to analog converters and headphone amplifiers. The Geek Wave bills itself as a no-compromise audio player, and to this end, it promises to handle music playback at the maximum resolution currently available. Of course, audiophile gear tends to be expensive - the base model, the Geek Wave 64 costs $299 via Indiegogo, and $399 once it is available on general sale. The top-end model, the Geek Wave XD 128 has 450mW output, 128GB of storage, digital output, and the 5000mAh battery, is $899 on Indiegogo, and will be $1,299 at retail.

The Geek Wave will support the DSD 128 format, which is the highest resolution audio format available, several steps ahead of the MP3 format. However, it supports a wide range of formats, including the good-old MP3. The idea is to have the Geek Wave work as a replacement for not just the MP3 player, but also your home music player. You can just connect the Geek Wave to your speaker system, and then control it from anywhere using your smartphone or tablet as a remote.

The system will work with simple file drag and drop so you just have to plug it into your computer via the USB port, and transfer the music to play. It also comes with a removable battery, and aside from the standard 3100mAh version, you can get a 5000mAh battery instead.

The Geek Wave looks good in the pictures, and the company's history makes it easy to believe that they have created something that sounds good too. However, that doesn't mean that this is a music player for everyone. It's unlikely that this would have mass market appeal, given the high cost of entry and the fact that most people would be satisfied with the audio quality that you can get with an iPod or a smartphone. However, for audiophiles who want the convenience of a PMP, this looks positively amazing.

You can see the full pitch video below:

For our earlier Kickstarter of the Week stories, click here.

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