What's unique about the brand
What reviewers are saying
We read all the reviews. Here's what reviewers feel most strongly about:
- They prioritize delivering high-end sound and aesthetics at a relatively accessible price point, challenging the notion that exceptional audio performance requires exorbitant spending.
- Their modular design allows for easy repairs and potential future upgrades, moving away from the traditional complexity of hifi audio components.
- The Harmony DAC is designed to integrate seamlessly within a complete ecosystem, with plans for complementary products like a preamplifier, monoblock amplifiers, and a network streamer, all sharing a similar design language.
Our favorite reviewer quotes:
- "The Harmony digs deep for details yet does so with a heft to the sound, a textured sort of thing where small hidden details emerge, things that may have been missed with other DACs. The sound is rich, meaty, detailed, liquid and just flows with a deep black inky background." (http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2024/05/06/the-laiv-harmony-dac-review-my-new-reference)
- "Let me paint a picture: if your standard chip-based DAC has a soundstage the size of a tennis ball, a decent hifi option may expand that to a volleyball. A well-regarded DAC from Topping or Gustard? Let's call it basketball-sized." (https://soundnews.net/reviews/sources/dacs/laiv-harmony-dac-review-could-this-be-the-new-benchmark-under-5k)
- "Initially, I didn't understand where that warmth and milk-with-honey presentation was coming from until I opened the case and saw the EXICON lateral MOSFETs. I felt a sense of relief! The Harmony HP2A indeed sounds very similar to the AMP-23R, but with a catch: it now has 8 MOSFETs instead of 4 on the AMP-23R, it's a fully balanced design input to output and it tripled the power output as well." (https://soundnews.net/reviews/amplifiers/laiv-harmony-hp2a-review-the-one-that-challenged-the-many)
- "The warm, thick sound of vinyl, the intimate energy of a live performance – the Harmony DAC doesn't chase trends, it gets as close as possible to the source. It's a bold, uncompromising choice that will undoubtedly polarize listeners." (https://soundnews.net/reviews/sources/dacs/laiv-harmony-dac-review-could-this-be-the-new-benchmark-under-5k)
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Products
Lineup comparison
We think it's helpful to understand how their products compare. To learn more about each, scroll to the section above to click through to individual product pages.
Harmony µDDC
- Positioning: A compact digital-to-digital converter for precise audio signal management.
- Description: Excels with its ultra-low phase noise femto clock, ensuring exceptional timing accuracy and audio clarity, making it perfect for desktop setups where space is limited. Unlike the Harmony DAC, which converts digital signals to analog, the µDDC focuses on refining digital signals, offering features like FIFO buffering and galvanically isolated I²S outputs for users who prioritize pristine digital audio signal integrity.
Harmony DAC
- Positioning: A high-end digital-to-analog converter for audiophiles.
- Description: Features balanced discrete R-2R architecture, delivering rich and natural sound reproduction, ideal for users seeking high-fidelity audio in larger setups. Compared to the Harmony µDDC, which is more compact and digital-focused, the DAC offers a modular design for future upgrades.
Harmony LEXT
- Positioning: An expansion module designed for enhancing connectivity.
- Description: Allows users to expand their audio setup with additional inputs, such as phono or balanced XLR, making it ideal for those who want to integrate more sources into their system. Unlike the Harmony DAC, which focuses on digital-to-analog conversion, the LEXT provides flexibility in connectivity, catering to users who need to connect various audio devices without compromising sound quality.
Harmony HP2A
- Positioning: A premium headphone amplifier and preamplifier.
- Description: Features a true balanced Class A preamplifier and high-power headphone amplifier, providing excellent signal integrity and audio clarity, perfect for audiophiles with high-impedance headphones.
Used
Laiv
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Featured products
About the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Featured products
About the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
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Featured products
About the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Featured products
About the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
Most probably the unorthodox approach to design, even when using off-the-shelf components: we love to think out of the box and give a personal view of the used components in order to reach the best sound quality for the budget. This takes us to the second appeal point for our products, which are always regarded as "sounding better than competitors' products costing more than twice as much."
What's your approach to customer support?
For warranty claims, usually, customers are required to contact the dealer who sold them the product: he's in charge for handling the claim. Whenever the warranty has expired, then the customer may either contact the dealer or directly M2Tech/Manunta. This usually happens with second-hand products. We ask customer to ship the product to Italy, we inspect it and propose a budget for repair/replacement.
Quite often, we also propose the customer to trade the old product for a newer one, usually with some addition by the customer. This is very useful with older products which are no longer reliably supported by Windows and no longer supported by MacOS. The customer is invited to take back a more recent product.
We are quite proud to state that we always service an old product, back to the ones released in 2009, to the extent this is possible, with regards to spare parts availability.
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
Well, that's hard to tell, as we have a listening panel made up of people with different tastes and experience. Personally, I often use a track by Tiger Okoshi from his XRCD Two Sides To Every Story, track No. 5: “Yuki No Furu Machi O.”
Another track I like for its openness in the middle-high range and the nice soundstage is “There'll Be Some Changes Made” from Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins’ Neck And Neck. But pay attention: I use the old Columbia CD, as all remasters I found on Qobuz and Tidal are dark and dull in comparison.
Finally, I'd mention another jazz track from a Red Records CD: The Next Step (Mantilla / Watson / Walrath / Mathews / Lundy / Lewis). It’s the first one on the CD: “Mantilla's Jam.” The entire CD is highly enjoyable, though. Then there are many more tracks, from CDs, LPs, and streaming.
What other products pair best with yours?
Featured products
About the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Featured products
About the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
