RECOGNITION
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Harmony DAC 2
Hard to find. Hard to replace. Now harder to beat.
The Harmony DAC put LAiV on the map: a fully balanced, discrete R2R ladder DAC that brought organic, natural sound to listeners who refuse to compromise. The Harmony DAC 2 is the premium R2R DAC built on that same discrete R2R foundation, keeping that heart while rebuilding everything around it. This is not a new direction. It is the same direction, taken further.
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Discover the highlights.
Both outputs, all the time
A discrete Class A buffer drives XLR and RCA concurrently, at low output impedance.
Isolated in, isolated out
Full galvanic isolation between input and output. What crosses is the signal.
Your conversion, your choice
NOS, in-house OS, or hardware SRC for PCM. DSD is converted to multi-bit for the R2R ladder.
A new face
960 x 400 color display with refreshed graphics, readable from across the room.
Direct 10MHz clock input
Connect a master clock straight in. No DDC, no I2S detour.
Lives in your rack
12V trigger, in and out, wakes it with your system. Firmware updates over USB-C.
Confirmed
7
upgrades over the original Harmony DAC
PCM, your way
3 modes
NOS, in-house OS or hardware SRC
Direct
10 MHz
master clock input, no DDC needed
Now
2 at once
analog outputs, XLR and RCA driven together
A LEGACY, REFINED
Same heart.
Everything else, new.
The Harmony DAC 2 keeps the fully balanced, discrete R2R ladder that made the Harmony DAC, and rebuilds everything around it: a discrete Class A output buffer that drives XLR and RCA at once, three ways to convert PCM, a direct 10MHz clock input, full galvanic isolation and a new color face. All in the unibody aluminum chassis of the original.
Take a closer look.
0.05%
tolerance, every resistor individually selected
At the center of the Harmony DAC 2 sits the fully balanced, discrete R2R ladder that made the Harmony DAC our reference. Every resistor is individually selected to a 0.05% tolerance, so each digital value becomes an analog voltage with the accuracy music needs.
The ladder lives on its own shielded module: the modular thinking of the original, carried forward. Built to be serviced, refined and upgraded, never thrown away.
The same heart, unchanged
A discrete R2R ladder, as it always was.
XLR + RCA
driven concurrently, low output impedance
The original asked you to choose between XLR and RCA. A newly developed discrete Class A output buffer drives both analog outputs concurrently at low output impedance, delivering a balanced output R2R DAC signal that holds its composure into any integrated amplifier or preamplifier.
Feed multiple downstream devices at once: your integrated amplifier on XLR, a preamplifier or a second system on RCA. The buffer isolates the discrete ladder DAC audio from the load, so what you hear is the ladder, not the cable behind it.
Discrete Class A output buffer
Both outputs. All the time.
Your conversion, your choice
Your recordings. Your call.
NOS · OS · SRC
three ways to convert PCM
Pure NOS for the most direct path, LAiV’s in-house OS mode, or a dedicated hardware sample rate conversion stage that is new to the DAC 2.
These modes apply to PCM. An R2R resistor ladder DAC cannot process a 1-bit stream directly, so DSD is converted to multi-bit before the ladder renders it to analog.
Which is right depends on your recordings and your system, not on a hierarchy we impose. One DAC, three ways to meet your library.
Direct 10MHz master clock input
One reference. No detour.
10 MHz
BNC, 50 ohm, no DDC required
The Harmony DAC 2 accepts a 10MHz external master clock directly through a 50 ohm BNC input, with no DDC and no I2S detour required. Precision timing is the quiet foundation of natural sound.
If you run a master clock, connect it and the entire conversion process disciplines itself to your reference. If you do not, the DAC 2’s internal clocking carries on the Harmony tradition of getting timing right on its own.
Isolated in, isolated out
What crosses is the signal.
In | Out
full galvanic isolation
The Harmony DAC 2 places full galvanic isolation between its inputs and outputs, breaking the electrical path that noise would otherwise ride from your source into the conversion and output stages. Ground loops, USB bus noise, and upstream interference stop at the barrier.
What does not cross is everything else: a lower noise floor, a blacker background, and more of the low-level detail that makes music feel alive.
A new face, and every detail behind it
Readable from across the room.
960 × 400
color LCD, refreshed graphics
The 16-level grayscale OLED gives way to a 960 x 400 color display with refreshed graphics: input, mode, and sample rate read clearly from across the room, in a design language that matches what is happening inside the chassis.
12V trigger, in and out
Press once. The whole rack wakes.
12V
trigger in and trigger out
A 12V trigger, in and out, lets the Harmony DAC 2 wake and sleep with the rest of your system. Press one button and the whole rack comes on together; switch off, and everything follows.
Firmware updates over USB-C
Download. Connect. Update.
USB-C
dedicated firmware port, rear panel
Firmware now updates over a dedicated USB-C port on the rear panel. Download the file, connect, update, with no ceremony.
Inside the Harmony DAC 2
Built like the original.
Unibody
CNC-machined from a solid block of aluminum
The chassis is machined from a solid block of aluminum, exactly as on the Harmony DAC. A unibody shell is more than a finish: it resists vibration and stray electromagnetic fields at the chassis level, giving the ladder a quiet, stable platform to work on.
Inside, an ultra low noise toroidal transformer feeds a layout that keeps the power, digital and analog stages apart. Timing comes from a Crystek CCHD-957 femto clock, and Audio Note Kaisei and Rubycon ZLH capacitors sit at the critical points of the signal path.
And it is still modular. Input, output, power and display are separate modules, which is exactly why an existing Harmony DAC can be brought up to DAC 2 specification.
CD track info
Over SPDIF
Track ID and play time from compatible CD transports
I2S clock
Your choice of source
Lock to the incoming I2S clock or the DAC’s own
Remote
Harmony RCX, included
Custom keys; one switch runs two LAiV products
I2S modes
Selectable pinouts
Match the I2S pinout of your source, set from the remote
Carried over from the Harmony DAC.
A note on availability
FIRST RUN · VERY LIMITED
The first batch of the Harmony DAC 2 is built and ready to ship. For our US customers: our USA stock has arrived at our fulfillment center in California, and US orders now ship locally from there, leaving within 2 to 3 business days. Outside the USA, order now and your unit leaves us within 3 to 5 business days. A high-end R2R ladder DAC like the Harmony DAC 2 is never built at scale, and the components behind this one make that especially true. The first run remains very limited. If the DAC 2 is the heart your system has been waiting for, we recommend not waiting.
Harmony DAC vs Harmony DAC 2
HARMONY DAC
HARMONY DAC 2
Conversion architecture
Fully balanced discrete R2R ladder
Unchanged
Ladder resistors
0.05% tolerance, individually selected
Unchanged
Chassis
Unibody, CNC-machined aluminum
Unchanged
Modular design
Input, output, power and display modules
Unchanged
CD track info over SPDIF
Yes
Unchanged
PCM modes
NOS / in-house OS
● NOS / in-house OS / hardware SRC
DSD
Converted to multi-bit for the R2R ladder
Unchanged
XLR and RCA together
Not recommended
● Yes, driven concurrently
Output stage
Standard output stage
● Discrete Class A buffer, low impedance
External 10MHz clock
Via a DDC over I2S
● Direct 10MHz master clock input
Input–output isolation
Not fitted
● Full galvanic isolation
12V trigger
Not fitted
● Yes, in and out, wakes with your system
Display
16-level grayscale OLED
● Color LCD, new graphics
Firmware updates
USB-B
● USB-C
Every gold-dot line is a confirmed change, not a marketing reframing. The discrete R2R ladder network DAC architecture, the balanced topology, and the LAiV house sound carry over unchanged.
Palette options for the Harmony DAC 2.
Black
Display
960 × 400 TFT color LCD
Remote
Harmony RCX, included
Firmware updates
USB-C, rear panel
Power
100–127 VAC / 220–240 VAC, 50/60Hz · 14.7W operating · 2.5W standby⁴
Finish
Black or Silver¹
Dimensions / weight
255 × 250 × 50mm (75 with spikes) · 4.3kg²
Warranty
24 months⁵
Price
US$3,994
In the box
Welcome card with Certificate of Authenticity
Harmony DAC 2
Three spike shoes with alignment card
Remote control (CR2032 battery not included)
Power cord
Cleaning cloth
Output buffer
Discrete Class A, low output impedance
Output voltage / impedance
XLR 4.15Vrms <50Ω · RCA 2.08Vrms <25Ω
THD+N / SNR
0.0035% · >125dB
Dynamic range / crosstalk
>110dB · <−120dB
Frequency response
20Hz–20kHz ±0.25dB
Isolation
Full galvanic isolation between input and output stages
Digital inputs
USB, Optical, Coaxial, I2S, 10MHz master clock input
USB / I2S max rates
PCM 768kHz · DSD256
Optical / Coaxial max rates
PCM 192kHz · DSD64 (DoP)
10MHz clock input
BNC, 50 Ω, 0.5–3.3V
Analog outputs
XLR and RCA, concurrent use supported
Trigger
12V trigger, in and out, power on/off
Architecture
LAiV fully balanced discrete precision-matched R2R ladder architecture
Digital engine / clock
Intel Cyclone FPGA · CCHD-957 femto clock
PCM modes
NOS / in-house OS / hardware SRC (converts PCM up to 705.6/768kHz)
DSD
Converted to multi-bit for the R2R ladder
Specifications
1. Colors vary by configuration and manufacturing process.
2. Size and weight vary by configuration and manufacturing process.
3. The specification was evaluated using an Audio Precision APx Analyzer under PCM192kHz, SPDIF input, and balanced XLR output conditions.
4. We will try our best to provide the power cord with the plug that is suitable for you.
5. Check out our warranty policy for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions About R2R Ladder DACs
US$3,994
First run very limited · ready to ship in 3 to 5 business days
Reviewers
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Harmony DAC 2