LAIV Harmony

@danager  Understand that no volume control is a no-go for your current set-up, but for those of us with more "traditional" audio systems, adding volume control to a DAC adds cost and another potential failure point in the unit.

Check out the Schiit SAGA+ remote preamp for only $399 new. It's way better than its price may suggest.

@solarjam  @koestner

Thanks.... but ah a $3000 dollar preamp to control the volume of a $2700 DAC seems like a misappropriation of resources to me.  I too am running my PSAudio Directstream directly into m y amp.  I've tried a SS preamp to increase the gain which made it louder but it pushed everything forward. My preamp does have  a passive mode but not a remote which makes it a no go for me.

It looks like quality passive preamps can be had new for as little as $850 to $1200 which means the Harmony is really a $3500 to $3900 DAC.  Still less than the a Sonnet Pasithea (and a whole lot easier to remember the name  Harmony) but now there are more power cords and interconnects to deal with.

I'm sorry I took this post off the track of comparing how it compared with other DACs but while the Harmony looks fantastic and has great reviews for me at least it has drawbacks.

Guys, this is an excellent DAC, i have had many before and this dac but this is by far the best balanced for my system.  Great depth and soundstage, very holographic.  Everything is natural, and sounds real….hard to explain other than nothing is exaggerated. Voices have a great clarity and smooth naturalness. For me…. Its my end game dac

@soix - ...definitely not for me and I don’t have any issues with sound quality. For reference, the Laiv is running into my MBL 6010D.

I’m running my system as a high-end desktop workstation and have a beQuiet Dark Power Pro 13 PSU in my system (certified 80 PLUS Titanium efficiency) and would be extremely skeptical of any sound improvement claims a streamer would make. I also prefer running software direct from my PC.

The only thing I’ve considered is HQPlayer for its upsampling ability, but would have went the Holo May route if I had. I also considered the MSB line for their USB converter running into fiber, but also skeptical I’d notice a significant improvement.

@pynkfloydd Have you considered adding a dedicated streamer?  Running USB direct from a PC may be significantly limiting your streaming sound quality.  Just a thought FWIW.

I received my Laiv Harmony!

Very, very initial first impressions out of the box:

• Very rich, full, detailed and natural sound signature.  Compared to ESS DACs I've tried, the Laiv doesn't have any harshness on the high end (without dulling anything).
• USB connection from a PC registers in sound options at 32bit/384kHz on an AMD-based PC.  (Bit depth isn't documented anywhere.)  I believe this is the max possible on AMD's chipset.
• Vocals are more forward than other sources I've used.  My listening position is very close to my speakers and will take a bit of getting used to.
• I noticed a few audio dropouts with OS up to 768kHz after initial hookup.  Will keep an eye on it, but could be I need to clean out my old drivers or something to solve with a future firmware/driver update.  Played with some settings and haven't noticed it during the past few songs I played.

I don't have a ton of DAC experience, so please don't take my words as gospel, but I have nothing bad to say about the Harmony during first impressions.  My unboxing experience was excellent.  Everything was plug and play, but I had to install the drivers before Windows 11 recognized it.

@audiostick regarding fatigue, I never thought of it much but I would get tired of listening to music with my newer dac.  Don't know if its a known issue but with the LAiV I dont get fatigued; just run out of free hours to enjoy music.

Give it a shot, it is a very nice unit.  Even the packaging and presentation is superb.

hello @wengfai I really like my Harmony dac!

Waiting for news on your upcoming streamer.

Although I have tried my Directstream Dac directly to my amp (variable volume control ) . I must agree with Koestner . A great preamp is worth its weight in gold !!

Just my 2 cents worth .

My biggest concern is the lack of a volume control.  What is the recommended way to remotely adjust the volume without altering the sound signature of the DAC?

@danager This passive pre was designed with you in mind…

http://www.placetteaudio.com/remote_control.htm

Here’s one used…

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650056716-placette-audio-rvc/

@wengfai Thank you for introducing yourself.  Congratulations on the start-up of your new company and the success of the Harmony.  We appreciate the status update.  I see you have other products in development.  I'm looking forward to the introduction of your Streamer next year as well.

@koestner Thanks for sharing your success story.  A 4 day delivery on the replacement board is indeed impressive.  I agree, I would much rather perform the repair myself than wait months for the unit to be repaired and returned.

@ervikingo Appreciate your input as you have owned quite the array of DACs in the past.  The "non-fatigue" factor is why I'm leaning R2R as well.

Keep us posted on your impressions as you put hours on your DACs.  Thanks!

Get a Benchmark preamp.

My biggest concern is the lack of a volume control.  What is the recommended way to remotely adjust the volume without altering the sound signature of the DAC?

Dear friends,

I am Weng Fai, founder of LAiV Audio based in Singapore. Thank you @audiostick  for creating this thread on one of the largest forums in the US!

We’ve got some great news about the LAiV Harmony DAC! Our team has been working hard to ensure everything is perfect, and we’re excited to share where we’re at.

Current Status:

• Production: The DAC(s) are currently in the final stages of production.
• Quality Assurance: Each unit is undergoing rigorous testing to ensure it delivers the superior sound quality and reliability you expect from LAiV.
• Estimated Shipping Date: We’re shipping out orders as we speak! Backorders are currently being fulfilled. If you’ve placed an order with us, you’ll be receiving your tracking information very soon!

We appreciate your patience and understanding. Trust us, the wait will be worth it—the LAiV Harmony DAC is going to take your audio experience to the next level.

Thanks for hanging in there with us!

Best regards,
Weng Fai
Founder, LAiV Audio

I have had mine for weeks now (edti, received and put into use on 5/14/24). On my system it competes with my older high end dacs (Theta Gen V; Lexicon, ES) and my newer ChiFi DAC (D90SE).

I really like it. Very quiet and sounds great. Have used in in NOS mode quite a bit and OS for a week or so. Whilst I seem to prefer NOS, in any setting it sounds great, noise is lower than the others and (i know subjective) it sounds more musical than the Topping.

I find myself listening to music longer without fatigue. Also at a higher SPL.

It is a good looking piece also and remote its superb.

I say, give it a try. I could have bought any and my budget for a new DAC was up to $15K. I decided to try the LAiV since I wanted to try a ladder type. No complaints from me. It has become the DAC on input #1 on my PreAmp!

@koestner Glad to hear if went smoothly and that Laiv seems to be doing a good job standing by their products.  Love to hear your thoughts once you have some hours on it. 

So, I'm the guy with the broken Harmony DAC. The input board went bad. I contacted Laiv the next day, and 4 days later a new board arrived by FedEx from China. Installation was smooth except for a tricky ribbon cable that I had not ever seen a connector like that before. I hooked it up and it's working fine. I have only been able to test the coaxial so far, but I suspect the USB will be working fine as well. I really want to commend Laiv for acting so fast. If I had to ship the unit back to China to have it repaired it would have taken a lot longer (minimum 2 weeks).

Hi  audiostick I will post that info as soon as I can get it down here to listen to .

My friend lives about an hour away and he is a busy guy .So I have not heard anything yet from him. He did tell me  , initially , that LAiV said that because of the modular boards it should not be a hard thing to do . I guess they were thinking of a quicker repair time if he does it . I agree . If it is kind of easy I would rather handle it myself . They also sent him a shipping sticker so that he can get it back  to them and  they can check it out.

All though I may be disappointed if this kind of thing happened to me . I do think it is being handled in a proper way and I will also keep you all informed of the  ongoing  situation . as best I can .

One more thing --- I should have my Dac in a few weeks . I will try and post a comparison between it and the Directstream Jr.  ( if this thread is still active at the time )

@solarjam Interesting that they are sending him a new board with instructions as opposed to having him return under warranty.  Advantage of modular design.  I guess I am ok with that, and definitely ok with their prompt response.  Please keep us posted on your impressions of it in your system compared to your Directstream Jr.

Hi, 

 I was called to an audio friends house about  two weeks ago to here this Harmony Dac . He had ordered it based on reviews he had read and had taken the time   ( about 100 hours ) to break it in before he had me over . I was interested because I had read most of the reviews also.

I was quite impressed with the Dac and enjoyed it's overall tone and sound .

I decided to order one because of the close communication Laiv has been giving out to my friend and customers in general . I have a PS Audio Directstream Jr  Dac and I am very happy with it . But after listening to the LAiV Dac , I felt it was worth an honest try , with the 30 day return and all . 

But---- suddenly my friends Dac froze up on him . He contacted LAiV and the responded very quickly . Apologized and sent him a new board with instructions and a video on how to install it .

I am awaiting his response now and he is supposed to bring it down to my house so we can here it in my system.

 I ordered my around 6-7 and was told I would be notified as soon as they can ship.

Probably in July . Communication  with them as been very good and they always respond to my emails,

@audiostick  Obviously the Major US Audio Manufacturer is complacent and doesn’t really care about your business. Good riddance. Laiv is new and hungry for business so I say let them earn it, we’ll soon find out if this is a new Denafrips/Holo Audio/Eversolo type brand or just a hype train running out of control.

@kclone I wish I would have known that yesterday morning before reading the first 20 pages - aargh.

@pynkfloydd Thanks for the input.  I agree with you and am impressed by Laiv's professionalism. I wrote them on a Saturday night, and had a response the next morning. Impressive considering the experience I just had with a major U.S. audio manufacturer.  After receiving a second defective unit of the company's most expensive version of their most (famous and) expensive product, Technical Service quit communicating with me. I had to contact Sales for return authorization.  She asked me if I wanted my money back or if I wanted to try again.  I was and still am very disappointed with that whole experience.  I had planned that purchase for over a year.  That company not only lost my purchase, they lost me as a customer for life.

I ordered mine May 3rd and got a notification it shipped today and should arrive on June 20th (direct from China) via FedEx.  I've been searching for non-professional reactions and comparisons all over and it looks like the YouTube reviews coincided with a soft product launch, with only a handful receiving units prior to the wider release that began shipping ~2 weeks ago.

Lots of hype, but the sober take from GoldenSound on that HeadFi thread sounds like it's a solid DAC for the money, but not on par with a Holo May or better.  Good to mention he's running his through HQPlayer and seems to prefer native NOS, which isn't what the Laiv was designed for.

I was actually considering cancelling and going with a used Holo May or stepping up to a MSB Discrete, but Weng has been very responsive and a pleasure to deal with.  It's also hard to ignore that there isn't a single negative comment from the handful of people that have gotten a chance to listen to one and the price is fantastic.

audiostick, if you go to the last couple of pages on that thread, there is user impressions, not much before that.  

smweber2,  I ordered May 31st, confirmation said shipping at the end of June.  If they moved it to later date, I haven't been notified yet.  Anyway, description of your experience with it is very encouraging.  

@kclone Headfi eluded my Google search.  27 pages, yikes.  Lots of volume but not much content.  One interesting blurb though on comparison to Holo Spring 3.

@smweber2 Great you were able to demo a friends unit in your system.  Now you know what to expect.  Yes, appreciate your future impressions after first 100 hours.

Sounds like many are waiting on their units at this point.  I'm hoping that within the next month or so more feedback will be available.

I too have one on order.  My order confirmation on the Laiv webpage gives an expected  shipping date of late June for my order, but the current preorder page says that shipping is expected sometime in July.  We'll see - they already have my money.  A friend of mine bought one about six weeks ago and let me try it for an evening in my home system.  I was blown away; it totally trounced the RME ADI2 that I run off of a TEAC 701T CD transport. I did not try it out with my streaming setup. Not being an audio reviewer, I lack the flowery (BS) vocabulary to describe the performance of the Laiv Harmony DAC, other than to say it imparted a sense of "realism" that I never before experienced from my B&W 802 D3 speakers.  I really liked what I heard that night and went straight to the Laiv website and ordered one.  That was a month ago.   If I ever get one, I will post some further impressions.

I have one on order.  It is supposed to ship at the end of June.  Over on headfi, there is a thread with some owners, all positive impressions so far.