LAIV uDDC Arrived

I would like to know how the uDDC compares to the Denafrips Gaia12th.

What cable are you using?

@soix Im using the Wireworld Sphere 48.

@brbrock me too.

Maybe somebody here can answer this, but from what I can see the uDDC uses a Femto clock, but I would’ve expected at least a TXCO clock — am I missing something here?  I believe the T2 has an OCXO clock, so would using the uDDC with i2S mean you’re using the lesser Femto clock from the DDC?

Femto Clock is not necessarily less than an OCXO.  It all depends upon the implementation.

@jazzman7  That’s exactly what I was wondering, but if it’s a highly-evolved Femto clock I’d think they’d go into more detail on their site because it’s a critical factor.  I’ll go look at reviews to see if any more info on it, but there’s not much on their website that I could find and it’s not a small consideration. I have to say that if they don’t disclose much info on it that makes me think there’s nothing all that special about it.  We’ll see I guess. 

I don’t know a lot about clocks but me and my hifi friends hear a big sonic improvement on my system as I noted above, it’s a great sounding piece. Also has a nice lift on Coax and AES inputs. I’m actually pleasantly surprised knowing the T2 has a great clock. It’s a keeper!!!!

I should say I’m a fan of what LAiV is doing as a company and am rooting for them to succeed, and I’m asking about the clock purely out of curiosity. The fact that the OP realized significant improvements (as did I when I added an Iris to my system) indicates whatever clock they’re using in their DDC must be at least very good, but it’d still be nice to know more. I saw their DAC uses dual Crystek CCHD-957 clock chips that seem to be highly regarded so maybe that’s what they use in their DDC as well although I have zero idea how it compares to the excellent OCXO in the T2 — that’d be interesting to know. In any event I’m really glad you’re getting significant improvements with it because that’s all that matters. I too was surprised at the level of improvement from a DDC — very cost-effective upgrade, and in my case it was like making a significant DAC upgrade on the relative cheap. Anyway…

Noting further sonic improvements on days 2 and 3. Something interesting, My Bluesound Node 2i is receiving more benefit from the DDC than my Innuos Zen MK 3. May be tied to the Node is running off Coax and the Innuos is USB. Not sure if that matters but it’s consistently happening. I’ve noticed in the past the  2 units always provided a different presentation (soundstage width, layering and depth) but it’s really noticeable with the LAIV UDDC in line. The Node is much more 3D sounding. Cool stuff!!!!! 

With USB, which is asynchronous, the clock in the DAC is the controlling clock.

With Coax, generally, the connection is synchronous, and the upstream clock is the boss clock.

Whether asynchronous or synchronous, both the clock in the DAC and any upstream clocks are all in play. It's a handshake affair. It's all a matter of which clock dictates the tempo to the other(s).

Two things I don't get. One, not using I2S, so many reviews stating I2S superior to other inputs with the Terminator. Two, not using with Denafrips DDC, specifically Hermes or Gaia, again many reviews stating great synergy with these. With I2S you can run either dac internal clock (async) or DDC clock (sync), both Hermes and Gaia have superior OXCO clocks and power supplies for these clocks.

I would love to see a shootout between the Laiv and one or more of the Denafrips DDC models. Bonus points for adding the Musician Audio Phoenix and Leo which seem all but identical to the Denafrips counterparts.

Another finding, the DDC really benefits the presentation of the soundstage and inner micro details at a low volume. Really enjoying this relatively modest priced unit. Everything sounds better through it including my CD player. Hope to see some more reviews on this and see if my findings are consistent with others. I know this is all system dependent, my system is Sim Audio Moon 700i Integrated, Focal Sopra 2 speakers, Innuos Zen MK 3, Denafrips T2, Electrocompaniet CD 1 Up, Bluesound Node 2i.