Meet LAiV's New Flagship: the Harmony DAC 2

I reviewed the original Harmony DAC from Singapore’s LAiV Audio and concluded:

“The Laiv Harmony DAC offers exceptional performance and build quality and I don’t know of any real competition anywhere near its price.”

That was 2024 and LAIV have been busy since and I’ve since reviewed their Harmony µDAC and Crescendo Verse DAC and was impressed by both when it comes to price, performance, and build quality with both falling under the $1k mark. Now comes news of the company’s new flagship, the Harmony DAC 2.

I’ll let LAIV hit the high notes:

The DAC 2 keeps the fully balanced discrete R2R heart you know, and rebuilds everything around it.

Discrete Class A Output Buffer
XLR and RCA now run concurrently, with low output impedance into any load.

Your Conversion, Your Choice
Pure NOS, LAiV in-house OS, or a new dedicated hardware SRC stage. DSD stays native NOS.

Direct 10MHz Master Clock Input
Connect your reference clock directly. No DDC required.

Quieter, Smarter, Clearer
Full digital isolation keeps source noise out of the signal path, with 12V trigger integration, a new colour LCD, and USB-C firmware updates.

The Harmony 2 also sports a color 960 × 400 TFT color display.

that USB-C input is for firmware updates

As the rear view shows, the DAC 2 offers plenty of input options and packs everything inside a nicely curved and chamfered aluminum chassis that comes in white or black.

If you visit the Harmony DAC 2 page on the LAIV website you’ll find this interesting note, something I’ve not seen referenced on a hifi website:

A note on availability

FIRST RUN · VERY LIMITED

We will be direct with you, the way we always try to be. The AI boom has made PCB components genuinely hard to source. Prices have risen significantly, and even at those prices, some components simply cannot be had. We secured enough to build the first run of the Harmony DAC 2 and the upgrade boards, but both are available in very limited quantities. The first units ship in September, with deliveries continuing through October. If the DAC 2 is the heart your system has been waiting for, we recommend not waiting.

AI sure is hungry. And thirsty.