Gutted. Below we appreciate how Verse's compactitude relies on chucking an internal power supply of any persuasion. There just isn't room. It's why my LHY LPS-80 linear power supply sanctified as a member of the wider Vinshine Audio brand alliance is fitted with dual 15V DC ports. Those replace the onboard switching power of my Audalytic twins DR70/HP70. With the LHY I could roll power from Laiv's external 15V switcher to €390 linear. Synchronicity.
For headphones happy on reasonable not goosed signal voltage, my office focuses on FiiO's €749 FT7 planar and aune's €639 SR7000 sealed dynamic. Even on price position they'd match Laiv's own. For speaker inspections, Verse's XLR outputs would drive €599/ea. class A/B discrete Topping B200 monos into Virtual Hifi Viper monitors.
Another office worker is LHY's €499 UIP, a USB in/out isolator cum reclocker. It acts as noise moat between my Win 11/64 workstation's USB tree loaded down with many computer auxiliaries; and any DAC's audio-only USB input. Audirvana Studio handles signal routing to bypass Windows for bit-perfect sound. Its embedded r8brain and SoX upsampler engines can output not just 705.6/768kHz PCM. They can 'remaster' an entire PCM library to hi-rate DSD on the fly whilst using crunchier algorithms than a DAC's own SCR can handle.
Premium music-player software like Audirvana, HQPlayer, JPlay, Lumin or Roon isn't just smart GUI. Many such programs embed sound-optimizing features including multi-band EQ. Those tap a proper PC's far greater processing powers over what nearly all hifi components can pack. Et voilà, more modestly priced electronics can increase in stature when fronted by high-powered math. For Gustard's DR70 under the Audalytic name, 11.2MHz via USB is in fact my preferred playback mode. Would that rhyme with Verse? In case it wasn't obvious, my office as theatre of operation for today's gig was predicated upon Verse's 3-in-oneness and small size. Those multi-tasking compact aspects make it an ideal end stop on any desktop into good sound hence leery of bit losses from generic digital volume.
The underside of this motherboard sports a mirror-imaged R2R ladder network for true balanced operation.
Reviewers like John Darko and Michael Lavorgna are on record for nearly always preferring an active preamp over any DAC⇒amp direct connection. They and like-minded users will need to add Laiv's $2'894 HP²A. In my case, systems always curate for a direct connection. Hence I really appreciate Verse's ability to duplicate it. Running its volume control in fixed bypass to instead add a preamp is child's play. That tracks two opposing preferences in one $849 box. "Our discrete pre-out buffer provides superior impedance matching for optimal signal transfer between DAC and connected amplifier. By maintaining low output impedance, it minimizes signal degradation and allows for longer cable runs without loss of fidelity." Unlike Denafrips, these RCA and XLR outputs can be used simultaneously.
The copper-anodized heatsink covers these eight micro transistors massaging the balanced signal for the two headphone ports. The micro SD card slot on the belly is for future firmware updates. The aluminium chassis is 3mm thick, the display behind tempered glass.
Once my review sample hit our local DHL depot at Shannon airport, customs challenged Weng's commercial invoice for a Crescendo Verse identified by serial #. Laiv's online store didn't yet list Verse so the inspector called the contents a $2'894 Harmony DAC to demand 23% VAT off that. Weng protested the arbitrary value inflation. Shipment on hold. Clearance event. Shipment on hold. Clearance event. For nine days those two states kept toggling. John Darko had three consecutive FiiO shipments which Berlin customs never cleared or delivered. Had international trade relations gone frosty during the winter of 2025/26? It certainly was chilly outside. Yet a week prior a €10K heavy big valve amp from Woo Audio had cleared just fine; inbound from the US whose global popularity was deep in the red just then. Truly, Europe's VAT vixens are vexatious vultures. You never know what will set them off. But finally I was presented a VAT payment demand based on Weng' original invoice contingent on the product leaving Ireland within 90 days or less. The outside temps were ~7°C. The detente had thawed. Happy days.
By then Laiv's product page had added a Crescendo tab which already teased a Chorus and Beat model as TBA to preview an at least 3-deep range. Again, I'm voting for a stereo amp and multi-port linear power supply for it and Verse.
