LAiV Harmony R2R DAC Impression and Reviews

[]eep]

I sold my May KTE due to lack of space in my new listening area, am using my Hugo 2 but missing that special sauce that the May gave me. Was advised to look into this product. Is it a realistic step up from the Hugo 2 would you say?

I can't tell as I've never heard the Hugo. There should be some reviewer that compared them. I do know that the Harmony sounds like an R2R, without the tizz on top but still detailed.

Trying one out of course is the best way to hear. You do need to give it a good amount of burn in time to get a fair comparison.

Taking one for the team as it were.

As info about the GanM is coming out, for those who find the price prohibitive, I've now seen an announcement for the test of the SMSL VMV A1 pro GaNFET mono's. It's in German however. But I'll keep you posted.

 

[ch1525i]

I should know tomorrow as I have one arriving from Elise Audio

I, for one, am interested in your findings/impressions as I am considering both the Hugo 2 and uDAC now.

 

[rafabro]

I should know tomorrow as I have one arriving from Elise Audio

If you previously like May you wont be disappointed.

 

[mb2112]

I can't tell as I've never heard the Hugo. There should be some reviewer that compared them. I do know that the Harmony sounds like an R2R, without the tizz on top but still detailed.

Trying one out of course is the best way to hear. You do need to give it a good amount of burn in time to get a fair comparison.

Taking one for the team as it were.

As info about the GanM is coming out, for those who find the price prohibitive, I've now seen an announcement for the test of the SMSL VMV A1 pro GaNFET mono's. It's in German however. But I'll keep you posted.

I think I'm going to miss the Rose 180.....I ended up selling because I didn't need the volume control, EQ and phono functions. Oh, the Laiv version...

 

[]eep]

And the 6moons review of the GanM continues for an extra 2 pages... citing a warmer tuning.
https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/laiv-ganm/4/

[OT: wow, that is one beautiful cat!]

Steve Huff report coming too. First impression: "These sound quite different from the other GaN amps I've heard". He has also Orchard Audio mono's and had AGD earlier.

Those combined makes me think it's tuned to sound much more like a tube amp than other class-D amplifiers. Only with a much tighter bass.

Edit: the 6-moons review is now complete. If you can break the language barrier, yes it's more poetry than prose. But so is music. You have to chew on it, let it digest. But then you get the feeling it wants to convey.

 

[mb2112]

Does anyone else have the same angst reading through Srajan's reviews. This is regarding the GaN monos. What a fatiguing read....

For me, my reference was the Rose 180. Loved it, but didn't use any of their integrated functions (phono, eq, volume).

My Class D Mini GaN5 is currently doing very well.....

 

[bblindstrom]

Does anyone else have the same angst reading through Srajan's reviews. This is regarding the GaN monos. What a fatiguing read....

I suspect he believes it's literary style, but it's just obtuse verbosity.

 

[Jake2]

Does anyone else have the same angst reading through Srajan's reviews. This is regarding the GaN monos. What a fatiguing read....

There’s the odd pearl in there but he makes you work for em, in my case in the wee hours squinting at the non-resizable tiny font on my iPad (he has a text copying resistant format). Should have saved it till after my morning espresso. Or three. The pearl for me was a comparison to Pass Class A which I have, and like, in my system, though even that was a little ambiguous as the different Pass models he’s reviewed are themselves spread along something of a continuum of more resolving/controlled/dynamic to warm/forgiving, with lushness/body a third axis, or point on the prism if you like. I have the XA25 which he previously likened to a more muscular Enleum 23R. Was he referring this, his old XA30.8 and/or the First Watts he keeps around when putting the GaNM on a spectrum between em and his Kinkis. The latter two Pass I’d wager. So where does that leave my XA25? Perhaps a candidate for a question to his ‘letters’ section, where to give credit where it’s due, Srajan seems very good at responding. All this focusing on pure sonics needless to say, the GaNMs winning vs Class A on efficiency, compactness, weight, cool runnings.

 

[]eep]

I suspect he believes it's literary style, but it's just obtuse verbosity.

I suspect you think British English is the same as American English? It is not.

I've read English magazines for years and even when I already had interest in English from a young age as my niece and nephew came back from Australia, and I lived abroad for a year, English only, I really had to focus reading those glossies. Sentences tend to be much longer with much more adjectives. There is much more heritage in there. I find Srajans prose quite discriptive. Even if it costs me more effort than say listening to, for instance, Trump who speaks like he is negotiating with non-native English speakers using simple words and often repeating to make sure his point comes across. That's fatiguing in its own way.
Did you see the Guy Richie movie Sn4tch? Brilliant movie with Jason Statham and Brad Pitt and Vinnie Jones. Cousin Avi comes to visit London from NY to set things straight.
Quote:
Bullet Tooth Tony: A bookie's got blagged last night.
Avi: Blagged? Speak English to me, Tony. I thought this country spawned the ****ing language, and so far nobody seems to speak it.
And on returning to America:
Customs official: Anything to declare?
Avi: Yeah. Don't go to England!

So, with all that language in a written review, that gives me more of a feel for a product than a quick video.

To add to the comparison: if the Laiv GanM is too expensive for you, the SMSL GaNFET amps that come in 3 flavours, or more correct: styles, are more towards the fast and controlled side of things. Spacious and clean but not particularly lush. Yet GaNFET is not sterile like many class-D amps! But the prices are a lot lower. And they can be used in stereo with volume control from RCA or in pure poweramp mode from 1 XLR with 4x the power.
PA200 $420 for 1 in silver, half width 220mm 250W mono
VMV A1 pro $495 for 1 in black with gold accents, half width 210mm 250W mono
PA-X in silver $699 for 1 in silver, 250mm (10") ~same as Laiv 500W mono
The PA-X has 2 XLR inputs and double the power circuits.

 

[mb2112]

@jeep Thanks for these SMSL details. I'm wondering how they would stack up to the Mini GaN5. I'm interested in the Laiv's, not a pricing issue.

I also have a Peachtree GaN1. This is the "DAC less" version and wouldn't utilize the Harmony. May try to hook this back up.
https://www.peachtreeaudio.com/collections/preamps-and-power-amps/products/gan1