Hans’ review sounds more like the truth than the hype. He’s not shy about pointing out the DAC’s faults.
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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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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. |
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. |
@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. |
@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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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 |
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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@kclone Dig your best disk spinner out of the basement and enjoy! |
@solarjam You will be impressed by the packaging, both outer and inner. Mine arrived in the usual brown corrugated cardboard shipping box, but the box was completely sealed with a tough plastic coating. Never seen that before. You could have tossed the box in the Mississippi river at StLouis, floated it down to New Orleans, and still enjoy excellent sound from the contents.
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smweber2 Glad to here you have received your Harmony . Mine was shipped a couple of days ago but because of the weekend i won't get it till Monday .I will be posting info as I go along with my listening sessions also . Congratulations ! |
I received mine yesterday and have been breaking it in with SPDIF output from an old Yamaha CD player set on continuous repeat play. Listening to it tonight connected to my TEAC 701T transport after about 30 hours of burn in, it sounds very "natural" and "present". In my totally untreated listening room with lots of egregious audiophile violations, the soundstage appears a little more forward, and a bit deeper and wider than what I am used to. Localization seems better, too. And the Harmony finds lots of detail in the stuff I have listened to so far. Recordings of acoustic instruments sound particularly good, and overall the Harmony performs much better than either my RME DAC or my trusty old Ayre CX7eMP. This thing makes me smile, and I am glad that I bought it. More later after 100 hours. |
Will do audiostick . It did have well over 100 hours on it . I have been emailing Weng on and off for the past couple of weeks disguising the Dac , its sound , and my time spent with it. Here and at my friends house . Got an email from him this morning saying that mine will probably go out in the next day or two . He would send me tracking when it does. I placed my order around the first week or so of June . The reviews on it are quite amazing . I am sure you have checked it out . Overall--- I was quite impressed with it . There is supposed to be a break in time . So I will have to deal with that . But I will post my impressions as I go along . Take care |
@solarjam Great feedback, thanks. I assume your friend's unit has over 100 hours on it by now? I'm at the point where I don't know what I want. Row 5 or row 30? More attack or less? Wider or narrower soundstage? Ugh. I guess I will know what I like when I hear it. Let us know if yours sounds any different from your friends when it arrives, and what the current lead time is. Thanks. |
Hi Guys , Just got through listening to the Harmony Dac here at my house yesterday for about 2 and 1/2 hours . My friend brought it over so I could here it before mine came in about 2 weeks or so (I hope). My gear - Pass Labs XA-25 amp , Pass labs XP-22 pre amp , Aurender N100 server , Reference 3-A Taksim speakers and I use a PS Audio Directstream Jr Dac. I am not an official reviewer . So I'll do my best . The harmony Dac is a very smooth and even keeled type of Dac . Nothing really jumped out at me at first. That is a good thing . Its soundstage is not as forward or up front as much as the PS Audio. It has a nice laid back type of sound . Not all may like that , but I do . Very good resolution . So is the PA Audio . Some have said they heard things with the Harmony Dac that they had never heard on there own Dac . But I did not experience that . Resolution was top notch on both Dacs . The PS Audio was a little bolder and somewhat forward with its soundstage and resolution . But there was a smoothness , relaxing type of sound that really struck me with the Harmony Dac. I will be listening more when mine comes . But for now I am leaning toward the Harmony Dac . There's just something about its nature that I like . Questions?? |
@donavabdear - That's a great point! It's something I wanted to hold off saying until I had more time with the Harmony, but the initial reviewers made it sound like it's a life-changing experience, which it is not. I think the words 'inoffensive' and 'enjoyable' come to mind. Sadly, my preamp only has 1 pair of balanced inputs, but doing an imperfect comparison led me to the same conclusion, which is that it's very, very, slightly different and does its job very well. This also makes me wonder if spending any more on a DAC wouldn't better spent elsewhere. |
I thought exactly the same thing having a little DAC around is a great utility I think I’ll eventually put it into my video editing system until I find my tube DAC. I connected the Harmony DAC to ch 1 (I2S ) and my PSA MK 2 (AES) to to ch 2 on my Boulder preamp so I could go back and fourth instantly, there was less difference than I thought when evaluating the Harmony this way. I did like the slightly more analytical presentation of the Harmony better. |
My update ~2 days in... Had to make some adjustments, but it's sounding really good. Easily the best value DAC for the money.
Here's a pic of the Harmony in its new home, but please excuse the cable mess:
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One size does not fit all. My favorite component is my line stage. I greatly prefer a hot-rodded DAC that possibly sounds slightly superior along with not paying a premium for features I will not be utilizing. I very well could be in the minority with this perspective I realize. I will be upgrading my DAC in the very near future and have narrowed it down to the Harmony and the T&A Dac 200. I wish T&A would offer a stripped-down version, and for the reasons listed I probably will purchase the Harmony. Best for all LP |
@tweak1
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My now 4+ yo Audio Alchemy DDP-1 (DAC/Pre) + AA PS 5 optional outboard power supply upgrade still serves me well, allowing me to easily discern changes to my set up, as it has over the last few days after adding VeraFi Black Hole isolation devices. IMHO, I think they would get a lot more buyers if they incorporated a highly pe-amp in it |
Thanks for the kind words. I. moved out my PS Audio direct stream DAC MK 2 and for that matter I moved out all my BHK PS Audio equipment. I really just didn’t like the noise, the PS A BHK equipment sounded wonderful and extra tube like and buttery but it’s just noisy. The Harmony DAC is very quiet for me it’s a breath of fresh air even though the music is a bit more edgy, perhaps in a few days it will smooth out just a bit. Amazing how a 3k DAC can even compete with another DAC 3 times the price. |
I moved out my PS Audio direct stream DAC MK 2 and for that matter I moved out all my BHK PS Audo equipment. I really just didn’t like the noise, the PS A BHK equipment sounded wonderful and extra tube like and buttery but it’s just noisy. The Harmony DAC is very quiet for me it’s a breath of fresh air even though the music is a bit more edgy, perhaps in a few days it will smooth out just a bit. Amazing how a 3k DAC can even compete with another DAC 3 times the price. |
@donavabdear If anyone’s audio setup can demonstrate the good and the bad of the Laiv Harmony, your’s certainly will. What $9K DAC in your listening room is moving to the garage? |
https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2700495
@danager
I beg to differ. I run the benchmark LA4 preamp with the $1500 orchard audio starkrimsom monoblocks and love the combo. It drives my B&W 805 D3 speakers. The benchmark is a kickass preamp and won't hesitate putting it in the system to run this DAC. BTW I have an order placed for the Harmony and waiting for it to ship. |
