I ordered mine about three weeks ago and see that it will be delivered to me today. It will compared to my Aqua La Voce S3. I am excited to get a shiny new toy.
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After a bunch of system troubleshooting and tweaks (unrelated to the Laiv Harmony itself), I feel the Harmony sounds absolutely fantastic and is an excellent value at its price. In case anyone is curious, I'm running DH Labs' Revelations (XLR) with Analysis Plus' Pure Silver USB cable direct to PC with fantastic results. I did test DSD512 in JRiver, but preferred the sound of PCM from Amazon Music (with Windows sound settings maxed and OS enabled). I also noticed a pretty big difference with the Harmony connected to my Furman's balanced outlets rather than not. In regards to OS/NOS, the only difference to me was a very small difference in OS giving a tiny bit more extension to highs. After about 50 hours in, my take is that aside from being very balanced, it's transparent and able to present layers and dimensional space very well. I'm noticing some subtle details that weren't apparent with delta sigma DACs (or perhaps hidden behind a bright edge). I still stand behind what I mentioned earlier that I don't think it'll necessarily transform someone's system into something it's not, but it will allow it to shine if everything is sorted. It took me about a week to really dial in everything, but was worth it. Favorite current demo tracks:
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The Harmony DAC came in finally. My old DAC was Holo May KTE. 25 hours in and I prefer it over the Holo May KTE by a tad bit. Interesting to see if Harmony beats the Holo May by a significant margin. Qoboz>Innous Pulse>Harmony DAC>preamp>amp>speakers So far prefer the NOS but not a huge difference between OS and NOS mode. Packaging and remote is the best I’ve seen in an audio component so far...high end brands giving a dollar store type plastic remotes should be ashamed! LOL |
Mine has a little over 100 hours. For the past couple of weeks prior to receiving the Laiv, I was going direct from my streamer to the DAC on my McIntosh 8950 integrated amp. It sounded pretty darn good. Changing to the Laiv, it sounded kind of cold/clinical out of the box, soundstage height was low. I was not all that impressed. I let it play for a couple of days. The cold/clinical sound was gone but something sounded off still. I noticed that instruments you could normally hear really well in a recording, the ones more forward or dominate in the mix, I couldn’t hear them as well but stuff that would normally be buried in the mix was more prominent. In a way I liked it, but also it kind of bothered me at the same time. I thought maybe the weak link was the ICs, but I only had one set on hand (Delund) and I couldn’t swap anything. But I did have a different USB. I pulled the Teknorov (I think that is what it was called) and swamped in a Kimber USB. Much better. I still get the benefit of hearing the background stuff in the recordings the Laiv lets me hear, but also the primary instruments have their prominence and power back. Listening to the Replacements Tim album as I type this. Not a great recording, but very enjoyable nonetheless. |
I’ve been listening to the Harmony for several days now, and between burn-in and playback sessions, I probably have well over 100 hours on the DAC. I like it very much and have little to add to the positive accounts in this thread about the sonics, other than to add that it puts out the best digital sound that I have ever heard in my setup.
But, I have experienced an issue with the “Track Info” display when playing CDs. While playing some discs, the track information will blink continuously. On a few other discs, this problem is intermittent. This does not seem to be a source issue, as it occurs with both my TEAC transport and an old Yamaha CD player that I am using to burn in the DAC. The great majority of CDs that I have played so far do not produce the problem.
I wrote to Weng Fai Hoh about this, and he replied that Laiv is working on a solution, that the problem seems to be confined to coax input, and that the blinking display can occasionally be resolved by changing to another track.
The blinking display is not a deal killer for me, the sound is far too enjoyable, and I simply turn off the display with the remote when it occurs. I tried the track change hack, and it does work sometimes. I do have to say that it is mildly annoying, and I hope a firmware upgrade will resolve it. |
Yes, the blinking occurs with both spinners. I have not noticed any differences in the problem between the two. The display will sometimes normalize if the track is changed with a command from the remote, and sometimes it doesn't. It can occur midway through the tracks on a CD, and from the first track on a couple of others. On CDs that produce blinking from the get go, the problem never responds to a track change or spontaneously resolves. I have not noticed any predictable location points for intermittent blinking. I need to emphasize that the problem does not occur with the great majority of CDs that I have played. |
@smweber2 Are these HDCDs by chance? Just thinking out loud. Thanks for sharing this issue. Let us know if/when Weng replies with solution. I realize that you and I are probably the last two people listening to CDs on earth, but this issue matters. I will probably give in and subscribe to Qobuz later this year, knowing that when I do so, my CD tower will become a monument. Oh well. |
@audiostick No, the blinking CDs are all standard redbook. I have yet to identify a pattern in the incidence of the problem that might shed some light on its origin. But, I'm not grinding my teeth over it. As you point out, there are only a few of us who still spin CDs, which likely accounts for the absence of comments in numerous audio forums about the blinking display. I have a streaming set up (Bluesound Node 2i, Tidal subscription) which sounds really good through the Harmony. I use streaming to find music that I like well enough to buy as CD or LP. I suppose I am just stubbornly addicted to physical media. |
I’m at about 220 hours. I love this DAC! The Klipsch Cornwall IVs that I am currently using expose everything bad upstream, so far it ’s all good coming out of the speakers. The Laiv is a SMOOTH operator. Very balanced, extended, detailed, and yet smooth. I do not experience any listening fatigue and I would definitely call it a tinnitus friendly component. I find I am able to turn it up a little and it doesn’t light up my tinnitus. I know many feel the speaker is the most important part of the system, and I’m not going to argue that. But man, do not underestimate how much the source can impact the enjoyment of the system. |
I received my LAiV Harmony DAC a few day ago. At the present time I'm only using it along with my Pro-Ject Audio Systems CD Box RS2T (transport). In comparison the other DAC's I still currently use and have are the Yamamoto DA converter YDA-01 and the Harmonix Reimyo DAP-777 20bitK2 DAC. Directly out of the box the LAiV Harmony DAC sounds wonderful. I'm already hearing more micro details, better instrument separation, and more body and soul within the vocals. |
Awesome, @lak! I shared the feedback on the Audiogon forum with my team, and they are delighted. This is exactly what keeps us moving forward.
Enjoy the music with the LAiV Harmony DAC!
Many thanks. Weng Fai, Hoh
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Hey friends, Thanks for sharing the review on the Augiogon forum, one of our largest owners discussion groups beside Headfi / Facebook!
At LAiV, we respect opinions from all works of life, be it from the owners who enjoy the DAC immensely, or, from the customers who tried the DAC but find it doesn’t suit their taste and music genres they often listen to.
To us, it’s a good and respectable review. This reflects our beliefs and values as stated above, and also validates that LAiV solicited reviews thus far are genuine and honest.
While the review outcome of this particular one wasn’t favourably, we respect that wholeheartedly and appreciate different opinions. One man’s meat could be another man’s poison. That is what makes the music-first-audiophile hobby interesting and enjoyable at the same time.
We will reach out to Hans to learn more about it. We sincerely hope Hans welcomes our suggestions and willing to spend more time with the Harmony DAC. We certainly hope that the DAC will work in Hans’ system(s) after going through setup optimisation with the several components he has.
Until then, enjoy the music! Weng Fai, Hoh |
Hans proclaims that he does not like Spikes because they can damage your furniture. Really?, that is his Audiophile explanation as to why Spikes are bad? He makes no mention as to how may hours are on the unit he tests. It's been extensively discussed here that hours matter on this unit. The sound is on the "Bright-side"? Hmm, ok. I have read many, many reviews now both here and elsewhere, and nobody else has made that insinuation. I appreciate him discussing the build of the unit but won't be relying heavily on his audio review. Yes I know, he did get me to "Click" on it. |
This certainly sounds like an interesting DAC! Curious if anyone has compared the sound quality of spinning a cd via coax vs streaming? I was originally contemplating purchasing a very high-end SACD/CD player but am concerned about the laser cd mechanism dying and not being able to replace it. So now, I’m giving thought to buying this dac, running it off my trusty but old Rotel 955 AX multi bit cd player via coax output. This transport never skips and I’ve had it for decades. I have to assume this new dac will run circles around the Rotel, but not sure if the Rotel as a transport will do any justice for the new dac? My thought was I would run it this way while I save up for a high end streamer. Any thoughts ???? Best wishes, Don
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@wengfai : What can you tell us or ready to share about the upcoming HP2A? and the accompanying LExt, like what is it? Estimated release date(s)? or ballpark prices for the two? Curious about the trinity (DAC, HP2A, LExt) set for a home office setup. |
While I’m sure Hans heard what he heard, I am always a bit skeptical when one reviewer says something that hasn’t been mentioned by other very reputable reviewers and suspect there’s a negative system interaction of some sort at play there. But, fortunately you can easily do a trial of the Harmony DAC and I certainly wouldn’t let one iffy review deter me from doing that if I was interested. |
That's the best thing with Laiv. If one is interested, try it for a few weeks and return it if you don't like. Let's see other brands offer 30 days return policies.. I see reviews but they are not the bible. I take a leap of faith and go with my gut. I am glad I did with Harmony DAC. It's slightly better than the Holo May I had before as mentioned in this thread before. |
Hans' not-so-much-hype comments was not isolated. Passion for Sound had some reservation too, but both of them mentioned the I2S connection renders the best sound quality. I personally will appreciate honest critiques rather than hype. Remember, the latter still complemented it by saying "sound quality scales from very, very good to outstanding depending on what you're feeding it with." |
Thanks @lanx0003 |
@campo007 This review has some words comparing the Terminator to the Harmony. Cliff’s Notes version, the Sonnet Pasithea dispatched the Terminator, and the Harmony dispatched the Pasithea, but it’s a matter of taste and you can get a basic idea of the differences here… https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/laiv-audio-harmony-dac/ This is a nicely detailed review that does a good job of describing the sonic characteristics of the Harmony, and in the conclusion it has a few words about how it compares to the R26 that I thought you’d find particularly interesting… Hope this helps. |
My experience with the Harmony DAC has been quite different from that described by Hans. I have well over 100 hours of real listening sessions logged in with this device, with a TEAC 701T transport sending redbook CD data to it via coax. I do not hear enhanced sibilance, brightness, or a mediocre midrange tone. The sound that I hear is very natural, clear, and fulsome. I cannot compare it to any of the Holo products that Hans mentions, but I can say that the Harmony puts out a more enjoyable sound than any of the other digital sources that I have had in my home system, including the Ayre CX7eMP, the Marantz SA11S3, and the RME ADI2. |
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Thanks @jackd. This is exactly the review I’ve been wanting to read. |
