Chorus

Reviewer:Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Sonnet Pasithea, LAiV Audio Harmony; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Vinshine Audio x Kinki Studio Dazzle & Gold Note PA-10 Evo in mono on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Exact Express Flame, Furutech; Power delivery: 2 x Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps and source stack, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, AudioQuest FogLifters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos; Loudspeakers: Virtual Hifi Cobra [on loan]; Subwoofer: Zu Method; Cable loom: Exact Express Earth; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli Corundum & Castello Solo; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Furutech cable lifts, Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
2nd headfi system: DAC: Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, HifiMan Susvara
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win11/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC/preamp: Audalytic DR701; Headphone amp: Audalytic HP70; Speaker amps: Topping B200 monos; Loudspeakers: Virtual Hifi Viper; Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000, FiiO FT7
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2nd upstairs speaker system: Source: FiiO R7; Integrated amplifier: Simon Audio Lab i5; Loudspeakers: ModalAkustik Musikboxx with Dynaudio S18 subwoofer
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: $994

Trickle down or flash flood? LAiV Audio's Crescendo line is getting louder. Premiered at Axpona 2026, the Beat dual linear power supply for the $894 Verse DAC and the 50/120wpc 8Ω/4Ω Chorus amp have joined that product family. In identical chassis, the newcomers are loaded foursquare with P for petite, pretty, posh 'n' potent. The stereo amp sports RCA and XLR inputs with a convenient toggle to bridge to 120-watt/8Ω mono. Unmistakable silk screen shows how to wire that up. Use mouse-over loupe to close in or open the image at full size in a new window. Like the Harmony GaNM, Chorus is a gallium-nitride based high-speed switching design based on a proprietary platform not OEM module. Here is Vinshine Audio's Alvin Chee reporting from Axpona on his LAiV setup.

The screenshot shows just how visually demure the Crescendo kit is. A Verse DAC sits atop the Beat PSU, a streamer beneath it, Vinshine's TaiHang power conditioner below. That is bracketed by mono-strapped Chorus amps driving open-baffle speakers with Voxativ widebanders and big 15" woofers.

If we follow nearfield logic, small kit is key on a desktop. Whilst a Lyngdorf all-in-one occupies the least space and active speakers integrate the lot, for more classic separates the LAiV Crescendo range seems an excellent place to shop. In my office, a pair of Chorus would easily replace my present Topping B200 monos. That's in fact where my Chorus review would start regardless of whether one or two units ship. It seems germane to remember that the class D stalwarts of OEM suppliers—Hypex, Purifi, ICEpower, Pascal—continue to work in silicon. They haven't transitioned to the newer faster gallium-nitride parts our costly sector first saw with Merrill and AGD then Java, Mytek, Orchard, Peachtree, smls, Technics and others. John Darko recently coined the term darling DACs to accompany his observation that particularly YouTubers seem to crown one particular DAC the 'saviour of hifi' each year only to be off to another model and brand the next. It's the expanded annual view on flavour of the month. In class D, armchair engineers have for years already heralded GaN tech and ever higher switching speeds as the second coming. Yet actual engineers like Bruno Putzeys and Lars Risbo haven't seen the need to abandon silicon tech. So we shop with our ears and budget not belief in magic bullets. Implementation trumps parts choices. A mediocre chef isn't saved by premium ingredients. That said, LAiV Audio's take on GaN with their 200W/8Ω Harmony monos has set a lovely expectation precedent. In my review I found them to borrow signature class A traits whilst retaining the speed and resolution of fast-recovery switching power. Could Chorus repackage said recipe in a still smaller form factor whilst offering more than half the mono power for less than half the green; or ¼th the stereo power for less than ¼th? Even terminally math-challenged punters like yours truly can spot doable in those equations to have me – um, keen as a kite.