Chances are you shelled out some dough a number of years ago for an iPod or some other MP3 player that’s now gathering dust or waiting to be sold for a fraction of its original price. Thanks to the advent of smartphones, portable music players are a thing of the past – or are they? One company thinks otherwise, and it appears that they’ve found an enthusiastic demand for their product.
The Geek Wave, to refrain from geek speak, is a compact music player that claims to deliver high-quality audio that your phone or iPod can’t hold a candle to. LH Labs, a division of Light Harmonic and the company behind the juiced-up music player, is running an Indiegogo campaign that has already blown past its goal by raising more than $454,000 thanks to more than 2,400 funders as of the writing of this article.
The “no-compromise” portable music player looks quite similar to an early version of the iPhone, though that may change if the campaign’s last stretch goal is met (more on that later). It will come in four flavors: Geek Wave 64, Geek Wave 128, Geek Wave X 128 and Geek Wave XD 128.
The main features include high-resolution audio, drag-and-drop music management, 10 processor cores, an interchangeable battery and an expandable port that can support up to an additional 2 terabytes, which is important for super-high-quality audio file types (e.g., DSD128).
The Indiegogo campaign has already passed its first two stretch goals, but its last stretch goal ($555,555) has yet to be reached. That goal would upgrade the Geek Wave’s enclosure with an aerospace-grade aluminum body, which would do wonders for its visual appeal.
The Geek Wave isn’t exactly affordable: The four models will retail at $399, $499, $699 and $1,299 respectively, though Indiegogo backers can purchase them for $299, $399, $529 and $899. The crowdfunding campaign is offering a $20 referral reward for every $250 in contributions from friends backers refer.
LH Labs says each Geek Wave model can be expected to give 10 hours of playback time. Its batteries have a two-year life expectancy.
Head to the crowdfunding campaign’s page for nitty-gritty technical information about the Geek Wave. The campaign ends on July 12.
If you’re interested in a set of slick wireless in-ear headphones to accompany your smartphone or music player, Geek Wave or not, a Kickstarter campaign might have just the thing for you.
