Country of Origin
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, Laiv Audio Harmony and Sonnet Pasithea; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monos on subwoofer; Headamp: Kinki Studio THR-1, Enleum AMP-23R, aune S17Pro Evo; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Kinki Studio Fire, Furutech; Power delivery: Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps, Furutech GTO 2D NCF on low-level gear; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, LessLoss Firewall for loudspeakers, Furutech NCF Signal Boosters; 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 COS Engineering D1 DAC/pre; Filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Loudspeakers: MonAcoustic SuperMon Mini + Dynaudio S18 sub, sound|kaos Vox 3awf, Albedo Aptica; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Audioquest Fog Lifters; Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win10/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC: iFi Pro iDSD Signature; Speakers: DMAX P61; Headphones: Final D-8000 & aune SR7000 Audeze LCD-XC
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3, Raal 1995 Magna, HiFiMan Susvara
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: €4'494/pr ex VAT
"The Harmony µDAC and Harmony GaNM are finally here." That was Weng Fai Hoh reporting laiv from Singapore. In the same 0.7kg 168x40x98mm WxHxD micro chassis as the µDDC, the LExt input expander or the phono stage for the HP²A headphone/preamp, the µDAC borrows the Harmony DAC's discrete balanced R2R ladder conversion concept of 0.05% accuracy. It adds galvanic isolation between digital and analog circuitry, a low-Ω discrete class A output buffer and I²S master-clock sync option via onboard Accusilicon AS318 clock. It even has its own 25×7 dimmable dot-matrix display and works with the familiar here optional full-metal remote control. Data-density support over USB and I²S is 768kHz PCM and DSD256. I²S has eight different pin configs. Bandwidth is 20-20 ±¼dB, THD+N 0.005%, crosstalk better than 120dB, dynamic range better than 110dB. The tale of what all that means to the ears is told here.
Today is about tidy 200-watt/8Ω mono amps. The obvious reason for their compactitude is class D here via GaNFets as first popularized for our HighEnd sector by AGD Productions' Alberto Guerra and Merrill Audio's Merrill Wettasinghe. Gallium-nitride parts are specifically designed for ultra-fast switching apps. They aren't silicon-based 'normal' transistors repurposed from class A, AB or G circuits. GaN parts minimize the so-called dead time as that inevitable transition period between on/off states. After all, nothing electrical can switch with zero lag no matter how minuscule. Hence less lag means higher precision. That equals less distortion just as steeper rising/falling edges with less overshoot or ringing do for superior digital square-wave transmission. Also aboard the GaNM is an ultra-low noise power supply. Having been on the formal road map for Laiv since last year's brand launch—none of us knew of the expanding µRange—I didn't need to be asked twice whether I wanted to go mano-i-mono with the Singaporean twins. Last man standing and all that.
The rear panel's channel assignation toggle lights up either the sloping 'L' or 'R' for some visual differentiation between a pair of otherwise mirror-imaged monos. Like the rest of the line, finish options are black or silver with gold accents and embedded spike receivers on top for scratch-free stacking. Worthy of mention is that whilst many Sino brands have embraced digital kit even class A or A/B amplifiers, minting a proprietary class D cell executed with GaNFets is novel and testament to Laiv's engineering talent. Neither Denafrips nor Kinki, Singxer nor Cen.Grand have gone there yet. It was one more reason why I wanted to clap ears onto these chaps.
Here we see Alvin Chee's Vinshine Audio office with a GaNM on the top left shelf plus the taller stack of Harmony DAC atop the HP²A, the smaller stack of LExt and phono stage, then the µDDC in black by Alvin's elbow and the µDAC in his hand. Though clearly deeper, the frontal profile of these amps is far more mouse than macho. And here's another brain spike. A mere year after brand launch, Laiv's catalogue in early 2025 was already seven models deep; all of the ones shown here in fact. That's a very impressive very quick rollout!
As was true for the µDAC, the GaNM skips an RCA port. Laiv's maiden product of Harmony DAC still does RCA but this portfolio now suggests a bias for professional XLR connections. The µDAC's size doesn't support a second set of analogue outputs. The engineers had to pick XLR or RCA. The monos have sufficient space for both yet RCA is MIA. The subtext seems crystal. Going Laiv is best done in 4-wheel drive when these circuits are true balanced. Why buy a Jeep to never go off-road? One doesn't buy Jeep for top Autobahn speeds but with GaN-based class D, nerds conflate extreme switching speeds with better performance. It's that sector's DSD 1'024 or PCM 1'536. In its new-fangled number's war—gallium nitride semiconductors are only about 10 years old versus the extra half century silicon-based variants have on the clock—a switching frequency of ~800kHz seems to be the current limit. Nerds will want to know where Laiv sit on that meter. Of course higher switching speeds tend to mean running hotter. Common sense suggests a sweet spot between thermal stress and on/off rush. On the same nerd index live heated arguments of switch-mode vs linear power. Most high-wattage class D runs switching power but exceptions with big classic power transformers and large filter capacitance like the AGD Solo exist. Where in that discussion are Laiv? How about low-impedance power into 4Ω and 2Ω? How about output Ω aka damping factor? How about S/NR? Modern digital has dominated the signal-to-noise discussion well past classic amplifiers but contemporary class D has begun to catch up. Some gain circuits now claim self noise at -140dB to finally put source and amp on more equal footing. Contrast that to a legacy no-feedback SET that barely makes -80dB. Meanwhile some people feel that the means which much class D applies to achieve its sterling specs like extreme negative feedback levies its own not inconsiderable tax on sound quality. When all the spec talk is done, we must listen for ourselves to learn what our own ears report. Theory doesn't always translate as expected.
