LAiV Harmony R2R DAC Impression and Reviews
May 14, 2024 at 12:33 PM Post #168 of 1,843
No I didn't. You didn't bother to realize I was agreeing with you. I literally looked up their catalog.

That's your own fault and ego. I do calibration and uncertainty calculations for procedure revisions and standards modernization.
Ok, but I already edited my post and removed my out of place remark. My apologies.

There are so many people just shooting from the hip with one quick remark. I spend quite some time trying to explain (finding the right word in English oftentimes takes looking up) and then one person pulls the rug from under your entire explanation with one quick irrelevant reply. That's not respectful. I try to build, not undermine.
 
May 14, 2024 at 12:52 PM Post #169 of 1,843
He is not wrong imo (an oldie too). From the past, a Reviewer most are not aware - or even heard of : A Cambridge DAC Magic 100 (in his opinion), coming in at £8.5K Meridian (CDP/Dac-Pre) Ref. Sig. 808i.2 ... level – not to mention dCS. China has gained a lot of know-how in design and mnfr. over the last 15 years – thanks or perhaps, to the Big Boys sending products there for manufacture.

Technicalities aside, what appeals to me (reputedly), is ‘presentation’ more than anything else. Construction/aesthetics/design details etc. also make it attractive. Last Century it was all about more detail – easily heard, now it’s resolution. Budget Dacs can easily achieve this but ‘presentation’ is something different. It’s why some prefer NOS.

How so different ? Hopefully it’s in the name Laiv=Live ? Maybe it’s like Class A, where as far as Amplification goes, there is a more lively sound to my ears. Will have to wait and see/hear – placed an order a little while ago but won’t get one till next month. Obviously selling well, so await user opinions in the meantime.
And by presentation you mean how lifelike the musicians or venue is presented before your eyes (ears)?
That's what I currently miss from the digital part of my setup. For instance when I play 'Get lucky' by Daft Punk from lp it's like there's a living breathing Pharrell Williams in my room. With the high res flac I'm playing music. With my speakers I'm there, with the Maggies I'm playing music. With vinyl I can hear him breathing in and out. With digital part of that is just missing. I'm hoping all I need is a dac that's levels above my current Ares or Rose Audio. My older tda1543 I also noticed some information missing even though it sounds very natural.
 
May 14, 2024 at 10:38 PM Post #171 of 1,843
Do the balanced and single ended sound identical? Usually there is a discrepancy.
i tried so far it is very similar in terms of what to expect in terms of rendition vs other dacs. But is it exactly the same is hard to confirm since most amps have differences in bal and SE too.
 
May 16, 2024 at 1:00 AM Post #172 of 1,843
About Europe: I just saw it mentioned on the website of Audiophonics.fr for €3k. That is including VAT, which is a decent price.
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dac-without-volume/laiv-harmony-black-p-19276.html

It's not available yet but we knew that.

I never ordered in France from them. It's their payment plan and transport service which is not convenient for me. In France things are always different. I very much prefer to deal with Germans.
 
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May 16, 2024 at 3:04 AM Post #173 of 1,843
About Europe: I just saw it mentioned on the website of Audiophonics.fr for €3k. That is including VAT, which is a decent price.
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dac-without-volume/laiv-harmony-black-p-19276.html

It's not available yet but we knew that.

I never ordered in France from them. It's their payment plan and transport service which is not convenient for me. In France things are always different. I very much prefer to deal with Germans.

You can really order blind and without hesitation ! I have ordered dozens of gears by them, never had a problem, they ship and react quickly. Great professionnals ! The return policy works flawless
 
May 16, 2024 at 3:10 AM Post #175 of 1,843
About Europe: I just saw it mentioned on the website of Audiophonics.fr for €3k. That is including VAT, which is a decent price.
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dac-without-volume/laiv-harmony-black-p-19276.html

It's not available yet but we knew that.

I never ordered in France from them. It's their payment plan and transport service which is not convenient for me. In France things are always different. I very much prefer to deal with Germans.
It’s a good news, Audiophonics are top seller.
I bought many gears by them too.
 
May 16, 2024 at 4:27 AM Post #176 of 1,843
Excellent that it's in Europe for distribution.
 
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May 16, 2024 at 9:21 AM Post #177 of 1,843
About Europe: I just saw it mentioned on the website of Audiophonics.fr for €3k. That is including VAT, which is a decent price.
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dac-without-volume/laiv-harmony-black-p-19276.html

It's not available yet but we knew that.

I never ordered in France from them. It's their payment plan and transport service which is not convenient for me. In France things are always different. I very much prefer to deal with Germans.
I've ordered a few times and all went well, good professionals!
I had a few customer service interactions and I can tell you they were fast on replying and came with solutions.

Having said that and because of your post bringing the new news:wink:... I had a Holo Cyan 2 in backorder with them and swapped it to the Laiv Harmony :)!
 
May 16, 2024 at 1:21 PM Post #178 of 1,843
If anyone has access to both to A/B curious to read how it compares to May, stage width, depth, dynamics and slam.
 
May 16, 2024 at 5:08 PM Post #180 of 1,843
I have no doubt that this Dac is great but it is way too expensive. I prefer to put this amount of money on better speakers. They have much more impact on sound than a Dac regardless how good it is
 

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