2024's Darling. LAiV Harmony R2R DAC Review!

[@sean_heisler]

Nice review as always, Nemo! Another review that quite frankly tells me that I need to keep on loving my Pontus II.

[@NemoPropaganda]

Pontus2 is a great DAC!! In the DAC game there is always a newer & better DAC within 1-2 years so we all have to at some point say "enough! I will keep this one". I think if you upgrade every 5 years or so it's okay but I see some guys upgrading and changing every 6 months to 1 year.

[@sean_heisler]

@@NemoPropaganda could not agree more and great advice. I’m two years in with my Pontus and still absolutely love it.

[@joaquinbarreto9398]

I love how Nemo shouts out to others that are in the same business. He also takes the time to comment on their channels. Super cool guy who truly loves the passion of HiFi.

[@roberts3889]

I compared the LAiV to the Hugo TT2/M Scaler combination in my own system, level matched, etc. The Chord stack is not better than the Harmony...

[@OldGuyHifi]

I just finished my review. I will hold off on releasing it for a bit. Nice review. Thanks.

[@NemoPropaganda]

I see you use headphones also, I'm sure your take will also be helpful to many as I don't use headphones at all.

[@OldGuyHifi]

@@NemoPropaganda I did not use headphones for my review as I don't have any price appropriate cans to use. It was reviewed on my main system which included, a Hegel H590, a Cambridge Edge A and a Galion TS120SE w/upgraded PSVANE tubes. Speakers were Triangle Magellan Duetto 40th stand mount units. I will hold off for a week or two just so we don't collide. Thank you sir.

[@Jeep_on_audio]

Spot on. Good review. I went from Ares II to Harmony when it came out. I immediately had that 'wow'. Even if just watching KZbin videos the voices are so tangible. After a while you get used to it. Then if you go back to listen to what you had before you realise just how good it is. Coax is fine for the Harmony. I invested in a (cheap but good clocks) DDC and it doesn't make all that much difference. It's just because my rose RS250 doesnt have i2s either that I wanted that.

[@NemoPropaganda]

awesome, I'm happy you had the same experience I did :)

[@kempfand]

I just discovered your channel, and I like this 1st review a watched here. I am keen to discover more.

[@NemoPropaganda]

welcome!

[@IrenESorius]

Cheers and have an excellent weekend Nemo,, 🍻🥰🤘‍‍

[@NemoPropaganda]

Hi Irene, always love to see you comment!! Have a nice day!!

[@zubidoc]

Looking forward to this one... There are radically different opinions among reviewers. Some say it is a "giant killer" and punches up to 6K mark. And some say it is very good at its price, but not better and not worse compared to its similarly priced rivals. So I am waiting for your comparisons :)

[@Artemis_Prix]

Nemo, wow, you knocked my upgrade list off its rocker! My end game DAC was the Venus II. Hmm. Well, guess I'll wait a little longer until Laiv comes out with a next gen version, albeit one that's more stealthy in its color scheme...can't handle the gold bling. Great review 👏

[@NemoPropaganda]

I feel like that will happen for sure, no idea if it will be a new model or just a stealth all black version but I feel like it would be a seriously missed opportunity if they didn't do that at some point.

[@sknurhossain1245]

ভ্লয্বাইচচচ

[@Artemis_Prix]

@NemoPropaganda Hi Nemo, I decided to contact Laiv directly about their gaudy gold accents and had asked if they consider offering customers the option of customizing the knows and standoffs to be rendered in a darker hue (charcoal gray or Matte black). They unfortunately said not at this time. But, at least I had put them on notice that their color scheme is limiting potential sales. Hopefully, they'll come around eventually because anodizing is fairly routine nowadays.

[@jacobpaternostro9109]

Great review. I’d be very interested in your take on the LTA Aero DAC

[@NemoPropaganda]

woo that thing is a little too big for my taste!

[@liamporter1137]

Small size is important for me too. This is one of the reasons I didn't buy Denafrips but bought the Musician R2R DAC instead. Remote for DAC is good as well. Wish Musician had one.

[@NemoPropaganda]

Muscian is made by denafrips :) you basically got a hopped up Ares, that's not a bad thing.

[@Jeep_on_audio]

What he said... Musician is a Denafrips with more attention to looks than parts quality. And the service is non-existent afaik.

[@DeMorcan]

After getting a Gustard R26 I will live with it for awhile. I do use it with I2S as that is what the NEO Streama has (although the ifi iSDS DAC does not have I2S and I need a DDC to convert to USB for the IDSD DAC or usew the Lumin 1 streamer). Kinda wish I had waited. But then there will be a new and better DAC next year and I am enjoying what I have.

[@SirMountainpass]

Right, could have gone for the brilliant X30 instead 😊

[@aceofspades6667]

Sandu is the man love his written reviews… he goes hard. Appreciate your take on this product

[@jonathanmoore8886]

I saw an ad on KZbin for liav audio and in ad they showed what looked like a streamer, pre-amp and some monoblocks. Maybe we'll hear about those soon

[@NemoPropaganda]

Yes sir! I saw that on their website, the mono blocks look nice and compact. A full LAiV stack would be sexy!!

[@zubidoc]

Thanks Nemo, great review as usual. If you are using only one input on your dac, and if you prefer a smaller form factor and if you like r2r dacs in general, you should check out the Holo Audio Cyan 2 dac before you buy the Laiv Harmony 😉. And of course share your thoughts. Cheers

[@Jeep_on_audio]

Not the same. If they say the Harmony is overhyped, talk about the Cyan! The Laiv has been compared favorably compared to the Holo May. So then the Cyan would beat the May? Bad sales strategy 😋

[@JPWinters]

Hey buddy, glad you finally found a worthy upgrade to your Ares II. I moved from a Musician Pegasus II to a Schiit Bifrost 2/64 & am happier for the music I listen to. The less expensive DAC has better synergy with Rythmik subwoofers, pushing them harder with more consistency.

[@NemoPropaganda]

Nice, I could see that, it's weird how those changes affect subs. When I had the prima luna in for review I felt it drove the REL T9X super hard, I suppose as always everything matters! Hope all is well!!

[@robk5745]

I’m working on getting the kinki amp first but a nice r2r dac would be nice after that, that Holo Cyan 2 seems like a heavy hitter for the price also. I had the gustard r26 before and I agree I also felt the ares 2 was congested and veiled and slow in comparison

[@NemoPropaganda]

Kinki + R2R dac is my preferred combo!

[@robk5745]

@@NemoPropaganda what dreams are made of buddy 👌

[@vicentvanmole]

own one , after all the hype, I found the NOS narrow & constricted the sound , lost of 3d , fortunately, is OS does3d better , however compared to my 10 years old tube dac which project more height depth & open but not as precise as Live , which has better controlled of the "s"sound . So now I got option to choose for different (less perfect)records.

[@ulrichgorlich6292]

yes, much better than the build in of the buchard i150,

[@NemoPropaganda]

Of course, no surprise there, the i150 is great but this DAC cost more than the whole amp :)

[@stevemd8947]

Delta/Sigma pushes the soundstage unnaturally forward - Especially the treble.

[@Maver1ck911]

Need an X30 comparison 🥹

[@DistinctiveMusic]

Or R30 down the road…..

[@new.Key.1941]

I would be really curious how this would pair with the Fritz Carbon VIIs, if there’s any sense that would be too much of a good thing re midrange performance and holographics…

[@NemoPropaganda]

I think it would pair great, personally I've never run into a situation of too much holographics.

[@lextr3110]

please compare with holo audio cyan 2 dac on SQ. Kinda afraid they release a v2 version of the laiv in like 5month..

[@Jeep_on_audio]

There will NOT be a rapid upgrade to the Harmony. I'm certain about that. They have to much planned for the next year on a pre/HP amp, extension box, power amps ànd a streamer. Very ambitious given the quality level. Cyan 2 is totally different, a scaled down version. Watch iiwi review of the Cyan, compared to Harmony. Everybody is hoping for a low budget 'giant killer' that will beat a mid budget 'giant killer'. And then hoping there will be an even cheaper 'giant killer' to beat them all.

[@NemoPropaganda]

I don't think you have to worry about that, one of the reasons Vinshine is with LAiV now and no longer Denafrips is because Vinshine Audio did not agree with so many rapid model changes over a short period of time. Harmony is also modular so if there is a revision I think previous customers will be able to upgrade much like the case with the new CHoco, it had a revision and existing customers can upgrade because its a modular design.

[@marklloyd4153]

Nemo . You need a bigger room ! 😂🎉❤

[@fashyontime]

Love your reviews. You said you love warm speakers. Please review the kerr k300 mk3 speakers it's way better than the buchardt audio mkii. You might end up making it your reference speakers

[@NemoPropaganda]

I don't think those are sold in USA but the price is pretty high!!

[@dragonstone6594]

Can you also review the Topping D90 III Discrete with the Topping B200 Monoblock's and compare to LAiV Harmony?

[@NemoPropaganda]

81% of my viewers said they don't want to see me review products like smsl/douk/aiyma/topping/fosi, etc...

[@dragonstone6594]

@@NemoPropaganda That's ridiculous lol. So no Chi-Fi product reviews. Ironic considering the LAiV is also made in China.

[@NemoPropaganda]

​@@dragonstone6594 Being made in China or being a Chinese brand is not the concern, friendly reminder I love Kinki Studio and own their mono block. It's the category of inexpensive desktop style components that I do not wish to review and the audience agrees, it doesn't matter the country it's made it, it's the style of product. I'm not sure why this bothers you.

[@dragonstone6594]

@@NemoPropaganda It doesn't bother me. It just doesn't make sense. I agree the very cheap stuff is garbage, but Topping gear around the 500$ to 1000$ mark objectively is top tier, as has been measured by ASR. So its reasonable to want to see a comparison with other more expensive gear.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@dragonstone6594 yeah but everyone knows I don't care about measurements stuff and I don't review power amps. I might review a power amp one day if I'm personally really interested in it but for the most part I'm not interested in reviewing power amps. Besides my own mono block amps I've never talked about power amps on this channel. My main focus is speakers or subwoofers, everything else is only if I really care about it or somehow was really curious.

[@middleearthltd]

I thought this was an excellent review and agree with others who suggest reviewing the Cyan 2 No features on the Cyan 2 and too big for your rack…NOS only…all about the sound I thought both Han’s and iWii did excellent reviews on this one and would recommend those in addition to this review if you are considering the LiAV

[@troy5220]

How do you compare the LAiV Harmony to the Schiit Yggdrasil More is Better?

[@NemoPropaganda]

I have not heard that one.

[@kevinstarski1598]

The australian reviewers compared them

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@kevinstarski1598 give the man a link lol

[@seanb3303]

What chord dac did you try? I really like the Mojo 2

[@NemoPropaganda]

none in my own system yet but I've heard a few over the years. My system is already very technical & analytical so I don't want to add too much more.

[@seanb3303]

@@NemoPropaganda the chord Dave has a reputation for being analytical but I would be surprised if someone felt the mojo 2 was analytical.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@seanb3303 my understanding is all Chord DAC are on the analytical side in various degrees but I have not heard them in my system so I'm not 100% sure. But it is also the feedback most owners have reported to me over the years.

[@amb3cog]

I didn’t realize they were guys that like small racks. 😁

[@NemoPropaganda]

oh yes sir, shape over size all day long my man!!!

[@amb3cog]

@@NemoPropaganda All jokes aside, I feel the same way. 😉✌️

[@fletchermunson6225]

Good review. Not fond of the gold bling. Looks a bit pimped up.

[@NemoPropaganda]

I'm middle eastern so I love it lol, I guess some stereotypes are true lol

[@fletchermunson6225]

@@NemoPropaganda Probably half of Glendale are Armenians. We know how to do blog.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@fletchermunson6225 half? man I thought it was 75% :)

[@fletchermunson6225]

@@NemoPropaganda I think you may be right Good place for middle eastern food.

[@erics.4113]

​@@fletchermunson6225my Armenian relatives said they are moving to Armenia when they retire. They mean Glendale, CA.

[@alstonmaccow9386]

I still thing this only loved by reviewers. It was only a minute the Holo audio dac was the darling. People on here should buy what they can afford.

[@NemoPropaganda]

I've literally never reviewed a Holo DAC so I'm not sure why I'm on the receiving end of your criticism. And yeah, people buy what they can afford, that's kind of how things work for all of us.

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

Nice rack talk. Consider the Holo Audio Cyan 2 if you want just a DAC and nothing but a DAC for under $1500 US. Rock on!

[@NemoPropaganda]

I've got the Harmony for now so no need :) the Cyan is a great size though!!

[@EricRhodeslives]

How are you gonna review stuff if you can't put its best foot forward? The i2S is so much better on this unit than spidf.

[@NemoPropaganda]

you can't really be that tone deaf, I literally made fun of people like you in the video.

[@EricRhodeslives]

@@NemoPropaganda the Delta between the i2S and the spdf on the Harmony is much bigger than the one on the Ares 2. Seems to me that if you can't hear that, you're the one with the hearing problem. Too much bass is ruined your ears.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@EricRhodeslives ya know, changing & fabricating the narritive of the argument to suite your needs is not only manipulative but also a typical low intelligence maneuver. Do you feel such lack of purpose in life that this behavior is where you thrive? Come on man, be better.

[@EricRhodeslives]

@@NemoPropaganda So! you better say what you think the argument is first. Because, as I reread my comment, the more I see your foot being further inserted in your mouth.

[@EricRhodeslives]

@@NemoPropaganda Fuck are you talking about?

[@Pete.across.the.street]

He's got a nice rack 😂

[@NemoPropaganda]

I'm so happy I'm not the only one that saw a joke in there lol

[@CarlVanDoren61]

Prefer long, narrow DAC's They fit better in the rack