[CFGamescape]

You mean you would like a comparison? Between a ES9038pro chip based dac and a discrete R2R? DYOR
https://soundnews.net/reviews/sources/dacs/ferrum-audio-wandla-dac-review-thinking-outside-the-box/
Vs
https://soundnews.net/reviews/sourc...iew-could-this-be-the-new-benchmark-under-5k/
You could ask him yourself. But it depends more on your preferences than just the numbers on the bottom line. The naturalness of an R2R will always beat any sigma delta chipbased dac. That has to do with phase and timing accuracy.

Thanks. I understand it may be a pointless comparision. I just want to read what others think in terms of this price category. Perhaps it just boils down to if someone prefers R2R or Sigma Delta, but I want to read it from those who have heard both of these DACs. It's not the first time comparisons are done based on price category.

 

[GoldenSound]

Comparison to Wandla needed.

My general thoughts:

- Laiv is overall slightly warmer
- Laiv has slightly more prominent midrange texture
- Detail is better on wandla
- Size of stage is roughly equal between the two
- Laiv slightly softer in presentation, but only a little, it's not to the same degree as an Ares 2 for instance and is nice for many acoustic genres
- Wandla has slightly better instrument separation

 

[CFGamescape]

My general thoughts:

- Laiv is overall slightly warmer
- Laiv has slightly more prominent midrange texture
- Detail is better on wandla
- Size of stage is roughly equal between the two
- Laiv slightly softer in presentation, but only a little, it's not to the same degree as an Ares 2 for instance and is nice for many acoustic genres
- Wandla has slightly better instrument separation

Thanks! I do have a question specifically about the Wandla GSE but I don’t want to put you in an awkward position so I will PM you.

 

[]eep]

And another one. This time from my favorite: Srboljub's 'is it worth it' iwii reviews



Edit: @GoldenSound
It's not a competition. He just has the best nose for Hifi gear.
I take it you have a review sample as well. Looking forward to your in depth review.

 

[naynay]

Some say it can compete with the May KTE???

 

[AntonNZ]

It will be interesting to have a comparison with Schiit Yggdrasil LIM and MIB and with Denfrips Pontus II 12-1

 

[PopZeus]

This just shot up the list in terms of endgame DAC options. Very curious to see what others have to say…

 

[Jake2]

Some say it can compete with the May KTE??

You can hear the overall tonality and presentation differences easily enough for yourself (even over YT) here... though to be fair VirtualHifi's comparison vids are up there with Alpha Audio as some of the best mic'd and recorded on YT.

Just published; you can hear for yourself if your setup is discerning enough. He compares it to the Holo May. A short review plus soundsamples.


He has the best live recordings on YouTube with his Schoeps mics 1m in front of his speakers. So you are actually listening to the system you see without to much reverb and room acoustics. I bought a pair of Fosi ZA3 on listening to his comparisons and he wasn't wrong. And my ears neither.

However, I just changed my speakers to Magnepan 0.7 to test the Fosi with them and they are not as resolving (by far) as my speakers (Ti bipole fullrange plus AMT). So I couldn't hear any difference.

 

[GoldenSound]

And another one. This time from my favorite: Srboljub's 'is it worth it' iwii reviews



Edit: @GoldenSound
It's not a competition. He just has the best nose for Hifi gear.
I take it you have a review sample as well. Looking forward to your in depth review.

Im liking it quite a lot. I think there are definitely people hyping it up a bit too much, it's not a giant killer, but it is a very good option for the money.

 

[XERO1]

I think LAiV have hit a sweet spot with the Harmony. It's a well-built discrete, R2R DAC with excellent SQ. It's compact and also has a built-in power supply (I'm looking at you, Wandla), and it has a large easy-to-read display with lots of useful info. Yes, it's relatively expensive, but I can't think of another DAC that offers all of the Harmony's features that costs less.
Bravo, LAiV!!

 

[jamezdk]

Enjoying my Weiss 204 with LPS too much to switch it up just yet...
This does sound incredibly smooth though and it is seriously itching my new gear bug.
However at this rate you can end buying a new best end game giant killer DAC every year

 

[L2470]

I wonder how it compares to the Taurus?

 

[Dan31620]

Here in France you have to add 540$ for Duties/Tax...
The final price is 3240$

 

[jamezdk]

Here I Denmark it's +$670 so there is that too...

 

[Jake2]

Here in France you have to add 540$ for Duties/Tax...
The final price is 3240$

But that’s just your standard 20% VAT right - realistically LAiV were never going to take a 20% (or more, or less.. 15% GST here) hit on a globally fixed USD2,700 sales price vs other jurisdictions that have no sales tax/import duties. Free lunches, death and taxes etc. The free shipping though, that’s a nice touch.

Sandu got the taxes/duties bit quite wrong so hopefully corrects his written review otherwise this thread is going to see a constant stream of folk whose expectations were raised then reality checked.. (@tassardar thanks for creating this thread — maybe worth adding a clarification in a sticky update to your first post)

Sounds like a really well conceived and implemented DAC, looking forward to more owner reviews to supplement the initial flurry of pro reviews.