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I am glad you compared these two dac's to each other. I was wanting the T+A yet now am far mor inclined to get the LAiV since I have two nice preamplifiers already.
Another great comparison thanks. The LAiV certainly punches well above its weight doesn’t it. I noted the differences you described but also a bit more grip and resolution of the DAC200 in the lower bass.
For anyone lucky enough to experience ultra high end gear at their local store demo room you will recognise what high end equipments bring to the table. Clear front to back instrument separation and ultra high clarity. Pitch black background to reveal those tiny tiny detail like a faint instrument playing at the bottom left corner of the room. Vocals seem to come out of thin air with 3D presence. The T+A delivers in this regard and to me it is truly next level. Paired with Focal Sopra 2, Parasound A21+ and matching REL subwoofer for anyone interested.
i kept hoping while listening to Tracks that B was LAiV . indeed it turned out to be.. it's good for my ears and pocket. so there it is my choice. GREAT Demo. thank you so much for your work, efforts , and help..
Qualio speaker look like crap . You have eyes make an effort ok ? If you don’t care looks why you comb your hair ? Why you decorate your room and recording area ? Don’t lie everyone with eyes cares to a degree, you might care less, but you’re still lazy
I guessed which was which, I spoke to myself that if I were forced to pick then is would be Dac B and that meant it went to te Laiv by a whisker but what a performance for the price difference!
Interesting. B is the more organic ands musical experience. A is very good too, but has that typical cleanness that sometimes goes on my nerves in long listening sessions. B to my ears is more beautiful in mid and low end and high frequencies sound a tad more natural. A was very good with Jazz, suddenly sounding better than before. But the rock guitar had more bite with B. Thanks for this excellent sound comparison.
The mid-range frequencies come out a little better wider and clearer using the B-dac. The A-Dac is generally similar in tone, in my opinion, but does not separate the tones from the midrange so excitingly. Both dacs are of course excellent and the speakers sound really nice. The system in my own living room is win10/pc/genelec 1237a aes/ebu digital as an output for my speakers' elements directly and super clearly.
I prefered DAC B which is great as it costs half the price as the T+A. I'll take the rich natural sound over the airy holographic and slightly more present upper treble. Thumbs up for another fantastic useful video.😁
Thank you for the video. These are 2 DACs I am looking at at the moment. Thinking of selling my Gustard R26 to upgrade. 2 units of T+A DAC 200 just popped up in the used market and the Laiv Harmony is cheaper and sold by local company.
Another excellent review! To my ears, LAiV has better bass texture and vocal texture, less sibilant top end, but less distinct transient attack and a more closed in soundstage,
I kinda disagree. For me transient attack sustain release decay and air are what is most important as this is what we hear and distuinguish naturally in real life. T+A gets closer to natural than Laiv. The `sibilance` some of us may be slightly hearing is not inherently in this DAC. Usually it mostly depends on recording and the rest of the system and other variables. Whilst of course in this case due to the more natural transient response of T+A some apparant sibilance might slightly come out more but so does the rest of the beauty following which is most important. All is recording and system dependant.
DAC A was better up top, B (the Laiv) was better in the midrange. For most tracks I prefered the LAIV. You just can't have it all. Trade in some air and stage for organic sound an save a lot of money. With careful pairing you can improve the soundstage width and airyness up top a bit.
nice review, the Laiv is not anymore that cheap after a few good reviews and following good sales. I think a T+A on the used market is the better choice now.
Thank you for your sharing your findings and comparing all of the dacs you are trying out. It really is helpful to folks considering which dac to purchase. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind answering. First, you liked the LAiV dac ($2700) better than the Holo May KTE (now $5600 in U.S., so roughly double the LAiV). Could you compare the soundstage width and depth of those two dacs? Secondly, you have said that you are employing upsampling through Audirvana having found that to be preferable. My question is: do you need an especially fast CPU and lots of RAM to accomplish that upsampling? What kind of Intel chip, size of SSD etc. are you using to accomplish that? I think many of us are intrigued by using upsampling through Audirvana, but we lack information on the hardware required. Thanks if you can get to this.
Didn't realize how good that T+A DAC is. I'm surprised you haven't reviewed the Ferrum Wandla yet considering they're a fellow Polish manufacturer. That would be a good comparison.
Biggest difference for me was in the bass. DAC A displayed more grip, dug deeper and had more resolution and detail in the bass, especially the lower bass tones, overall had a more convincing bass performance. I do have a very good DAC myself and very good headphones that dig deep, so perhaps its easier to miss this on other set ups. Did anyone else notice this?
I thought B, was more holographic than A, so we disagree on that. I thought A, was more clear in the vocals, but was lacking in bass. EXCELLENT REVIEW! Thank you for sharing
Any chance you could test Aqua La Scala Optologic MK II dac? Very curious how it compares against the likes of T+A 200, Holo Audio May or even Laiv Harmony.
Initially A sounded thinner in the mids but cleaner up top and more dynamic and tight down low. Listening again, A sounds more natural, B sounded a tad too thick. Bear in mind I’m using an $8k tube pre into $10k parallel 300B monos.
Maybe you are not able anymore but I would love you to revisit the Kinki Studio EXM1 with op amps swapping. I have one unit and find that 2 Burson classic singles make a nice difference. The cold nature of the Kinki went away. Would you love to hear some amp variations on your speakers with the Kinki. Anyway thanks for your videos !
sound identical to me and my gear is pretty good for playback .. no wrong or bad answer here, both performed very well imo .. very slight, edge to B on sax
I preferred A, the T+A. Seemed richer and more involving to me on my headphones, but might have been different if I had been in the room with them. Certainly, at twice the price -- if it is better -- it ought to be! Still, personally, I find the price differential hard to justify. Thing is, whilst I very much enjoy your videos, things at these levels of price are more than I am prepared to pay and so the comparison is somewhat academic. Whilst you've delved into (very) economical power amps, I don't remember you comparing a few DACs in lower price ranges with those in higher ones. Ranges might be a good example from €1000 or less, €2000 or less, €3000 or less and so on (including VAT). I must declare an interest here, because I have the Gustard R26 R2R DAC in the second price range and would love to hear it compared to the LAiV in the third range in one of your incomparable sound demos. Certainly, Tarun from the British Audiophile channel (who isn't given to exaggeration) rates the R26 as possibly above the Holo Spring 3 -- but he doesn't do sound demos unfortunately. 🙂
Good review and listen. However, the T+A DAC sounds much better with DSD than with PCM since it has two DACs inside. If you have mostly PCM I would go for the LAiV.
Hi, Nice vid ! My current config is: - Holo Audio Serene - Keces S300 - Eversolo A8 And I own a Holo Audio Cyan 2 and a Merason Frerot. I pre-ordered a Laiv Harmony on Audiophonics here in France to remplace them. I also can buy a T+A Dac 200 on the second hand market at 3100€... So I'm hesitating a lot 😄
How do these dacs compare to weismann dac204? A sounds more live and detaild in seperation. Stereo image is telling a better story imho. I think people will prefer B for more (distorted?) bass.
I think you might be mistaken on LAiv including all taxes, shipping and vat in there £2700 price. When I did a pre order on there website over £500 was added to the £2700 as tax. They do handle customs clearance, shipping vat etc, but as I understand it, you do have to pay all duties,. Please correct me if im wrong on this as I cancelled the order because of it.
It would be great to hear demos of different qualio speakers side by side. :) Do you know if there is a store where i can demo them in Gdańsk, Sopot or Gdynia?
Diving into your videos with my thinking hat on. Could you line up a comparison between a KT88 pushpull and a 300B Single ended? From a logistical standpoint by the time the 300B has been rolled to perfection is it close to the output of a pushpull? Major money difference between the two but where does the sound sit?
Last month I heard the Qualio speaker at the High End Munich show and I didn‘t like the midrange. It seemed to me a little bit forward in the midrange and not cohesive sounding speakers. I would love to hear a DAC comparison with different speakers.
Laiv does prety well against the much more expensive T+A but i definitely heard T+A being a bit better across the board. Especially upper mids and highs. Apparently Laiv sounds best quite a bit better using it`s i2s input.Do you find this to be true?
Both sound very good and different, and it is very easy to tell when it is one or the other. It is a matter of the rest of the team, the music you listen to and personal taste. And money. Whoever does not appreciate the differences has a problem with their audio system
I thought DAC A had better low bass and DAC B had better Mid's. On Vocals I liked DAC B better. On the instrumental segments it was harder to tell which one I liked better they each had things I liked but I am sticking with B! B is my final answer especialy on vocals! Both sound great though! I would not feel short changed with either.
@@VirtualHiFi The most interesting comparison would be DAC 200 + HQPlayer DSD512 vs Laiv + HQPlayer PCM705.6 (since Laiv converts input DSD into PCM internally)
In my system, DAC A had a little more forward vocals, clearer separation and edges and soundstage width a little more narrow - seems the opposite of your impression. With DAC B, I find it a little more neutral and natural sounding - sound stage width was not so contained as with DAC A, its seemed to be more enveloping and expansive, yet more subtle. less stuff popped out. Kinda hard to distinguish between the two blind I think. We had visual cues when A and B switched in the video, not sure I would notice so much if I didn't have those. I suppose for the price, the harmony is a great value considering the sound quality is so close.
Listened to this a few times now and I think I get it now...Initially the clarity, edge and separation of A commanded my attention more, but it's a little artificial. Kind of like on cameras with lenses that are ultra sharp digital in nature. Initial wow factor but hyper-realistic. This is why people like vintage lenses, or put a black mist filter to take off the digital edge. I can see how for longer listening sessions the naturalness and analog nature of B is really appealing.
They are pretty close, but T+A D200 was better to me. As you said, it's more natural, open and transparent. That Laiv sounded a tiny bit squash to me and definitely not as transparent, but for what it costs, it would be hard to complain about it.
Dac A is a bit harsh but somehow more direct and a bit closed in. Dac B is not harsh at all and is more open and, the soundstage is larger. I have also heard a small distortion on the left channel with DAC B, on low frequencies. Oh my god, on the 3rd song, I could not stand the harshness of medium frequencies with DAC A. With DACA the low frequencies are more controlled and again I have herd in the left channel some distortions on low frequencies (bass-drums) on DACB.
Not true about VAT - it’s not included in Europe. Real price in Europe is 2999 EUR from Audiophonics, 150 EUR more expensive if you buy direct from Asia.
No sure why people say Laiv is that good I personal test with holo spring kte my Sennheiser hd800 headphones.+ Amp . Spring KTE is fuller , warmer , detail that I like
OK - I am going to open a "can of worms" so to speak. The T+A is delta/sigma. My experience with DS is that the treble is pushed forward/airy but the soundstage is not as dense or filled in. Whereas, the R2R soundstage is natural and filled in. R2R the treble is more natural. I own the Adcom GDA 600 DAC which is R2R and 30 years old. 99% of my listening is to classical piano music. The Adcom R2R provides a rock solid piano image which DS does not provide. I am not saying one is better than the other but my preference is R2R. The DS open airy pushed forward sound ruins the treble response of a piano CD recording. So, I am going to buy the Holo Cyan2 and Laiv Dac and do some extensive listening. I might also buy the Holo May.
T+A is delta-sigma (8x BB1795) only for PCM-signal. In this case it was fed with DSD512, which T+A handles through a dedicated design. You could say there's two completely different DACs inside DAC200. I own DAC200 nowadays and upgraded to it from Holo Spring 3 lvl 2, which DAC200 outperformed. Clearly better dynamics and bass punch, more airy and 3D soundstage. Holo sounded thicker and denser, but smaller and flatter also. I also use HQPlayer to upsample everything I play to DSD256.
Listening with Senheiser HD600, I am happy to report that I hear basically no relevant difference. I guess I am too old for this. Good luck to all the audiophiles out there.
DAC A superior. Tonally, both similar. Where DAC A (T&A) really outshone the Harmony was in the way it organized the musical presentation. DAC A was more organized with yhe center image surrounded by space/ air. The Harmony presented what I perceived to be more of homogenized 'wall of sound' , with the left right sides of soundstage bleeding into the center. Yes, DAC B, the Harmony, sounded tonally similar but in my opinion the T&A was significantly superior. The presentation sounded more believable to me.
The TA 200 is a bit more clean and real and a nice dac with volume adjustment. But the price is way off. It is too expensive. Better look at the AAdac with volume or Amber dac 🤔 The X30 seems to be best dac at the moment at the price range of the NewOntech or Sugden Dac 4 but I prefer real and involving above resolution, tight and artificial dacs🤔
I see again, I even was saying that even before I listened this second comparison, A is less artificial and more real even with artificial music instruments and now listening via my floorstanders but yet, even though all those hassle with dacs, it is not even vinyl or even mastertape analog quality. You can buy a nice MM or MC element for less than 1000 🤔
hi, I just checked and you are right. I did misunderstood since only in the last step in the basket it added a 600$ tak to the order. so yes you are right thank you
The FX Glass dac or Cyan 2 is even cheaper and better. Even better the Arcam A5 or higher up has a dac and comes as well with amp function and multiple inputs 🤔
@@kineahora8736 But in the the video you mention specifically that there is no vat or anything even for Europe, you just pay 2700. Which is not true for Europe!!!
@@C0wb0yh3nk I didn’t mention anything in the video-I am not in the video🤣 Europeans pay a VAT. I just bought something at Audiophonics and the listed price included a VAT, until i entered my shipping address in the US, and then the VAT was removed from my price…
Every dac is going to have a different sound signature hooked up to different current and electronics room treatments with or without to compare dacs with one system is uneducated and childish
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I am glad you compared these two dac's to each other. I was wanting the T+A yet now am far mor inclined to get the LAiV since I have two nice preamplifiers already.
Another great comparison thanks. The LAiV certainly punches well above its weight doesn’t it. I noted the differences you described but also a bit more grip and resolution of the DAC200 in the lower bass.
For anyone lucky enough to experience ultra high end gear at their local store demo room you will recognise what high end equipments bring to the table. Clear front to back instrument separation and ultra high clarity. Pitch black background to reveal those tiny tiny detail like a faint instrument playing at the bottom left corner of the room. Vocals seem to come out of thin air with 3D presence. The T+A delivers in this regard and to me it is truly next level. Paired with Focal Sopra 2, Parasound A21+ and matching REL subwoofer for anyone interested.
Yes i can already hear here T+A is the superior DAC. Although sems Laiv is really great bang for buck.
I bet T+A soudns very nice with the Focal!
i kept hoping while listening to Tracks that B was LAiV . indeed it turned out to be.. it's good for my ears and pocket. so there it is my choice.
GREAT Demo. thank you so much for your work, efforts , and help..
thank you for your comment. it means a lot and gives me more power to keep forward ;)
Qualio speaker look like crap . You have eyes make an effort ok ? If you don’t care looks why you comb your hair ? Why you decorate your room and recording area ? Don’t lie everyone with eyes cares to a degree, you might care less, but you’re still lazy
I guessed which was which, I spoke to myself that if I were forced to pick then is would be Dac B and that meant it went to te Laiv by a whisker but what a performance for the price difference!
Interesting. B is the more organic ands musical experience. A is very good too, but has that typical cleanness that sometimes goes on my nerves in long listening sessions. B to my ears is more beautiful in mid and low end and high frequencies sound a tad more natural. A was very good with Jazz, suddenly sounding better than before. But the rock guitar had more bite with B. Thanks for this excellent sound comparison.
The mid-range frequencies come out a little better wider and clearer using the B-dac. The A-Dac is generally similar in tone, in my opinion, but does not separate the tones from the midrange so excitingly.
Both dacs are of course excellent and the speakers sound really nice.
The system in my own living room is win10/pc/genelec 1237a aes/ebu digital as an output for my speakers' elements directly and super clearly.
Both DAC's are great, but it's the speakers that are amazing me!!!
I prefered DAC B which is great as it costs half the price as the T+A. I'll take the rich natural sound over the airy holographic and slightly more present upper treble. Thumbs up for another fantastic useful video.😁
Thanks so much for your great reviews and honest opinion. Much needed indeed!!!
Thank you for the video. These are 2 DACs I am looking at at the moment. Thinking of selling my Gustard R26 to upgrade. 2 units of T+A DAC 200 just popped up in the used market and the Laiv Harmony is cheaper and sold by local company.
Thank you for the honest and sincere review. Keep them coming.
Another excellent review! To my ears, LAiV has better bass texture and vocal texture, less sibilant top end, but less distinct transient attack and a more closed in soundstage,
You nailed it. Very well done.
I kinda disagree. For me transient attack sustain release decay and air are what is most important as this is what we hear and distuinguish naturally in real life. T+A gets closer to natural than Laiv. The `sibilance` some of us may be slightly hearing is not inherently in this DAC. Usually it mostly depends on recording and the rest of the system and other variables. Whilst of course in this case due to the more natural transient response of T+A some apparant sibilance might slightly come out more but so does the rest of the beauty following which is most important. All is recording and system dependant.
Yes heard the difference. My harmony has been on order and shipping this week, The rich full sound of the harmony is what I am looking for!!
Wonderful! I'm sure you will enjoy it very much 😉
DAC A was better up top, B (the Laiv) was better in the midrange. For most tracks I prefered the LAIV. You just can't have it all. Trade in some air and stage for organic sound an save a lot of money. With careful pairing you can improve the soundstage width and airyness up top a bit.
You can have it all. It just costs.
I completely agree!
nice review, the Laiv is not anymore that cheap after a few good reviews and following good sales.
I think a T+A on the used market is the better choice now.
Thank you for your sharing your findings and comparing all of the dacs you are trying out. It really is helpful to folks considering which dac to purchase. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind answering. First, you liked the LAiV dac ($2700) better than the Holo May KTE (now $5600 in U.S., so roughly double the LAiV). Could you compare the soundstage width and depth of those two dacs? Secondly, you have said that you are employing upsampling through Audirvana having found that to be preferable. My question is: do you need an especially fast CPU and lots of RAM to accomplish that upsampling? What kind of Intel chip, size of SSD etc. are you using to accomplish that? I think many of us are intrigued by using upsampling through Audirvana, but we lack information on the hardware required. Thanks if you can get to this.
Didn't realize how good that T+A DAC is. I'm surprised you haven't reviewed the Ferrum Wandla yet considering they're a fellow Polish manufacturer. That would be a good comparison.
Great comparison as always, thank you. I own a Weiss 204 and would be happy to hear your take between Laiv Harmony and Weiss 204.
Excellent test. I went back and forth depending on the track.
Did you tried Holo Audio Cyan 2? How it compares to these?
Hey, I came across these speakers in Munich, they sounded great with the Tektron amplifiers 🎶🎷🎹🎻
Biggest difference for me was in the bass.
DAC A displayed more grip, dug deeper and had more resolution and detail in the bass, especially the lower bass tones, overall had a more convincing bass performance.
I do have a very good DAC myself and very good headphones that dig deep, so perhaps its easier to miss this on other set ups.
Did anyone else notice this?
DAC B, I would put everything for a good vocal range :) I am already ordered one, wait time is long.
Hello, between these two dacs which one would you choose for the Cube Audio Nanuphar V2?
I thought B, was more holographic than A, so we disagree on that. I thought A, was more clear in the vocals, but was lacking in bass. EXCELLENT REVIEW!
Thank you for sharing
I was hoping to see the Weiss 204 in some comparison
Or the 502 mk2 for that matter 😊
Any chance you could test Aqua La Scala Optologic MK II dac? Very curious how it compares against the likes of T+A 200, Holo Audio May or even Laiv Harmony.
Initially A sounded thinner in the mids but cleaner up top and more dynamic and tight down low. Listening again, A sounds more natural, B sounded a tad too thick. Bear in mind I’m using an $8k tube pre into $10k parallel 300B monos.
Yes no doubt T+A is the more accurate DAC especially in it`s transient attack sustain release decay air which is what we hear in real life.
Maybe you are not able anymore but I would love you to revisit the Kinki Studio EXM1 with op amps swapping. I have one unit and find that 2 Burson classic singles make a nice difference. The cold nature of the Kinki went away. Would you love to hear some amp variations on your speakers with the Kinki.
Anyway thanks for your videos !
sound identical to me and my gear is pretty good for playback .. no wrong or bad answer here, both performed very well imo .. very slight, edge to B on sax
Identical? not what i heard at all....
@VirtualHiFi What is the LAiV HARMONY settings for this video? Is it OS or NOS? What digital input used?
I preferred A, the T+A. Seemed richer and more involving to me on my headphones, but might have been different if I had been in the room with them. Certainly, at twice the price -- if it is better -- it ought to be! Still, personally, I find the price differential hard to justify.
Thing is, whilst I very much enjoy your videos, things at these levels of price are more than I am prepared to pay and so the comparison is somewhat academic. Whilst you've delved into (very) economical power amps, I don't remember you comparing a few DACs in lower price ranges with those in higher ones. Ranges might be a good example from €1000 or less, €2000 or less, €3000 or less and so on (including VAT). I must declare an interest here, because I have the Gustard R26 R2R DAC in the second price range and would love to hear it compared to the LAiV in the third range in one of your incomparable sound demos. Certainly, Tarun from the British Audiophile channel (who isn't given to exaggeration) rates the R26 as possibly above the Holo Spring 3 -- but he doesn't do sound demos unfortunately. 🙂
Good review and listen. However, the T+A DAC sounds much better with DSD than with PCM since it has two DACs inside. If you have mostly PCM I would go for the LAiV.
thanks for your comparison
Hi,
Nice vid !
My current config is:
- Holo Audio Serene
- Keces S300
- Eversolo A8
And I own a Holo Audio Cyan 2 and a Merason Frerot.
I pre-ordered a Laiv Harmony on Audiophonics here in France to remplace them.
I also can buy a T+A Dac 200 on the second hand market at 3100€...
So I'm hesitating a lot 😄
In that system, Serene already provides the clarity so I would match it with the better bass and mid texture of LAiV.
Could you review laiv harmony and gustard x30 similar priced
How do these dacs compare to weismann dac204?
A sounds more live and detaild in seperation. Stereo image is telling a better story imho. I think people will prefer B for more (distorted?) bass.
To me, dac A reaches for the sweetness, while B seems to clip off before getting there and has a darker feel.
I think you might be mistaken on LAiv including all taxes, shipping and vat in there £2700 price. When I did a pre order on there website over £500 was added to the £2700 as tax. They do handle customs clearance, shipping vat etc, but as I understand it, you do have to pay all duties,. Please correct me if im wrong on this as I cancelled the order because of it.
Hi,
that is my mistake I checked yesterday and need to correct it asap
@@VirtualHiFi Ive just checked in my country (uk) and Harmony DAC is now available as a pre order at £2,599 all inc, excellent !!!
Wood & Skin .. the drum kick better with DAC B, deeper and darker but clean with DAC A. Up to your reference & taste mates
It would be curious to hear the difference between these 2 when fed with PCM instead of DSD.
Those are some great speakers!
It would be great to hear demos of different qualio speakers side by side. :) Do you know if there is a store where i can demo them in Gdańsk, Sopot or Gdynia?
Would also love to get your opinion on the PS audio Directstream Dac Mk2
Diving into your videos with my thinking hat on. Could you line up a comparison between a KT88 pushpull and a 300B Single ended? From a logistical standpoint by the time the 300B has been rolled to perfection is it close to the output of a pushpull? Major money difference between the two but where does the sound sit?
Last month I heard the Qualio speaker at the High End Munich show and I didn‘t like the midrange. It seemed to me a little bit forward in the midrange and not cohesive sounding speakers. I would love to hear a DAC comparison with different speakers.
Laiv does prety well against the much more expensive T+A but i definitely heard T+A being a bit better across the board.
Especially upper mids and highs.
Apparently Laiv sounds best quite a bit better using it`s i2s input.Do you find this to be true?
The LAIV is simply the far better DAC for the money, no question about that!
Hallo From Greece , Very Nice Video, I Have Full Active Speaker (Adam Tensor Beta) Which of the two products would you recommend? thanks
This is the first time I can't hear any difference. So the individual price/feature/looks preferences have to decide.
Any chance you can review Fezz Equinox? 😊
What HQplayer settings (modulator and filter) did you use to upsample to DSD512?
I preferred DAC A, it's mids were not as fatiguing as DAC B's. DAC B caused me to wince on certain songs.
Please make the comparation of the Wiim Pro Vs Wiim Pro Plus
DAC A is more transparent and more true to source. DAC B is more controlled and can make any transport sounding okay.
Both sound very good and different, and it is very easy to tell when it is one or the other. It is a matter of the rest of the team, the music you listen to and personal taste. And money.
Whoever does not appreciate the differences has a problem with their audio system
I thought DAC A had better low bass and DAC B had better Mid's. On Vocals I liked DAC B better. On the instrumental segments it was harder to tell which one I liked better they each had things I liked but I am sticking with B! B is my final answer especialy on vocals! Both sound great though! I would not feel short changed with either.
Thanks for the review and sound demo. I wish you have tried LAIV Harmony in NOS mode pcm and Hqplayer at 760k.
I will do a Laiv no upsampling vs pcm 705.6 vs DSD 512 comparison. Thanks for the idea ;)
@@VirtualHiFi The most interesting comparison would be DAC 200 + HQPlayer DSD512 vs Laiv + HQPlayer PCM705.6 (since Laiv converts input DSD into PCM internally)
@@VirtualHiFi as @critic86 mentioned, Harmony does not support native DSD. So please compare it with dsd512 on t+a using pcm 768 on Harmony
Try to compare the Dac's but can only enjoy the sound of this amazing speakers😂 love them totally if i save the money i try to test them in GER or PL.
What digital streamer are you using?
Dac A lets you hear deeper into the recording/space.
In my system, DAC A had a little more forward vocals, clearer separation and edges and soundstage width a little more narrow - seems the opposite of your impression. With DAC B, I find it a little more neutral and natural sounding - sound stage width was not so contained as with DAC A, its seemed to be more enveloping and expansive, yet more subtle. less stuff popped out. Kinda hard to distinguish between the two blind I think. We had visual cues when A and B switched in the video, not sure I would notice so much if I didn't have those. I suppose for the price, the harmony is a great value considering the sound quality is so close.
Listened to this a few times now and I think I get it now...Initially the clarity, edge and separation of A commanded my attention more, but it's a little artificial. Kind of like on cameras with lenses that are ultra sharp digital in nature. Initial wow factor but hyper-realistic. This is why people like vintage lenses, or put a black mist filter to take off the digital edge. I can see how for longer listening sessions the naturalness and analog nature of B is really appealing.
Through my headphones, DAC B has that same sound I hear when an amplifier is really good at controlling bass, but I am not in the room.
Harganya berapa tuch?
DAC A is the one for me. Better all around, but B sounded real good.
thanks for sharing ;)
They are pretty close, but T+A D200 was better to me. As you said, it's more natural, open and transparent. That Laiv sounded a tiny bit squash to me and definitely not as transparent, but for what it costs, it would be hard to complain about it.
Thank you for sharing your opinion 😊
Dac A is a bit harsh but somehow more direct and a bit closed in. Dac B is not harsh at all and is more open and, the soundstage is larger. I have also heard a small distortion on the left channel with DAC B, on low frequencies. Oh my god, on the 3rd song, I could not stand the harshness of medium frequencies with DAC A. With DACA the low frequencies are more controlled and again I have herd in the left channel some distortions on low frequencies (bass-drums) on DACB.
No question for me, it was B (Laiv). I would find DAC A too fatiguing after a short time, even though it checks a lot of boxes.
A for vocals and symbols, B for everything else
Thanks for your vote 😀
Not true about VAT - it’s not included in Europe. Real price in Europe is 2999 EUR from Audiophonics, 150 EUR more expensive if you buy direct from Asia.
I preferred the slightly more open T+A, but not at the price, not even remotely. The LAiV is superb for the money.
T+A is the next level up, but is worth twice the price? If you can afford it!
No sure why people say Laiv is that good I personal test with holo spring kte my Sennheiser hd800 headphones.+ Amp . Spring KTE is fuller , warmer , detail that I like
OK - I am going to open a "can of worms" so to speak. The T+A is delta/sigma. My experience with DS is that the treble is pushed forward/airy but the soundstage is not as dense or filled in. Whereas, the R2R soundstage is natural and filled in. R2R the treble is more natural. I own the Adcom GDA 600 DAC which is R2R and 30 years old. 99% of my listening is to classical piano music. The Adcom R2R provides a rock solid piano image which DS does not provide. I am not saying one is better than the other but my preference is R2R. The DS open airy pushed forward sound ruins the treble response of a piano CD recording. So, I am going to buy the Holo Cyan2 and Laiv Dac and do some extensive listening. I might also buy the Holo May.
T+A is delta-sigma (8x BB1795) only for PCM-signal. In this case it was fed with DSD512, which T+A handles through a dedicated design. You could say there's two completely different DACs inside DAC200. I own DAC200 nowadays and upgraded to it from Holo Spring 3 lvl 2, which DAC200 outperformed. Clearly better dynamics and bass punch, more airy and 3D soundstage. Holo sounded thicker and denser, but smaller and flatter also. I also use HQPlayer to upsample everything I play to DSD256.
Wondering if there's an update here. In your view, how did the LAIV Harmony fair against the Cyan2 and May?
Comparing a $7,600 DAC vs a $2,700 DAC?
Without waiting for the reveal, I’m picking B
Listening with Senheiser HD600, I am happy to report that I hear basically no relevant difference. I guess I am too old for this. Good luck to all the audiophiles out there.
DAC A superior. Tonally, both similar. Where DAC A (T&A) really outshone the Harmony was in the way it organized the musical presentation. DAC A was more organized with yhe center image surrounded by space/ air. The Harmony presented what I perceived to be more of homogenized 'wall of sound' , with the left right sides of soundstage bleeding into the center. Yes, DAC B, the Harmony, sounded tonally similar but in my opinion the T&A was significantly superior. The presentation sounded more believable to me.
Import taxes are added in the last ordering step of the laiv. So it comes on top
Thank you I'll try to update the video with some text correction
The TA 200 is a bit more clean and real and a nice dac with volume adjustment. But the price is way off. It is too expensive. Better look at the AAdac with volume or Amber dac 🤔 The X30 seems to be best dac at the moment at the price range of the NewOntech or Sugden Dac 4 but I prefer real and involving above resolution, tight and artificial dacs🤔
I see again, I even was saying that even before I listened this second comparison, A is less artificial and more real even with artificial music instruments and now listening via my floorstanders but yet, even though all those hassle with dacs, it is not even vinyl or even mastertape analog quality. You can buy a nice MM or MC element for less than 1000 🤔
Think I prefer the clarity and dynamics of DAC A... Before you revealed which DAC is T+A. Though... they're very close...
thank you for sharing your opinion ;)
could you please something a little more demanding, like Yuja Wang Prokofiev, this is just too easy for the the system, thanks.
Thank you for share
No no no, tax and VAT is not included for Europe. Please check your with supplier 🙏 i´m 100% sure
hi, I just checked and you are right. I did misunderstood since only in the last step in the basket it added a 600$ tak to the order. so yes you are right thank you
@@VirtualHiFi 🫡😊
@@VirtualHiFi €2999,- at Audiophonics
@@VirtualHiFi In Europe you. can buy it from Audiophonics for 2999€ with VAT included.
Here in France the Laiv is sold 2999€.
They sound the same but the Laiv
is $4000 less!
The FX Glass dac or Cyan 2 is even cheaper and better. Even better the Arcam A5 or higher up has a dac and comes as well with amp function and multiple inputs 🤔
DAC A is hollow and somewhat fatiguing.....B is a beautiful, full sounding DAC.>>> IMHO...Especially in the vocals and soundstage.
May be Ur speaker is too good. No suitable for A B test..headphone sound a & b sound very very close can tell the difference
The best Duck :)))))
I chose Chord
DAC A FOR ME THX
Well, when there’s a price difference of 3:1, the expensive equipment had better be reproduceably identifiable as way better. And it just wasn’t.
I think Venus II is better than either of them...
It"s not true about the €2700 you have to pay €500 vat in europe, so it's €3200!!!
Some of the audience here doesn’t live in Europe- for instance me
@@kineahora8736 But in the the video you mention specifically that there is no vat or anything even for Europe, you just pay 2700. Which is not true for Europe!!!
@@C0wb0yh3nk I didn’t mention anything in the video-I am not in the video🤣
Europeans pay a VAT. I just bought something at Audiophonics and the listed price included a VAT, until i entered my shipping address in the US, and then the VAT was removed from my price…
We are splitting hairs here, barely any difference.
Every dac is going to have a different sound signature hooked up to different current and electronics room treatments with or without to compare dacs with one system is uneducated and childish
this is splitting hair.... dac A better on instrumentation and dac B better on vocals
T+A is better
DAC B away better