RECOGNITION
PREORDERS OPEN 7 AUGUST 2026 · DELIVERY SEPT–OCT
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 keeps that heart and rebuilds everything around it. This is not a new direction. It is the same direction, taken further.
Already own a Harmony DAC? An upgrade kit is coming. Register your interest and we will keep you first in line.
Discover the highlights.
Both outputs, all the time
A discrete Class A buffer drives XLR and RCA concurrently, at low output impedance.
Direct 10MHz clock input
Connect a master clock straight in. No DDC, no I2S detour.
A new face
960 x 400 colour display with refreshed graphics, readable from across the room.
Your conversion, your choice
NOS, in-house OS, or hardware SRC for PCM. DSD stays NOS: converted directly to multi-bit for the R2R ladder, never oversampled or rate-converted.
Isolated in, isolated out
Full digital isolation between input and output. What crosses is the signal.
Lives in your rack
12V trigger, in and out, wakes it with your system. Firmware updates over USB-C.
R2R
Discrete balanced ladder
The same heart, unchanged
Class A
Output buffer
XLR + RCA concurrently
10 MHz
Master clock input
Direct, no DDC
3
PCM modes
NOS · OS · SRC — DSD stays NOS
WHAT CARRIES THE SOUND
CONFIRMED UPGRADE LIST · AUG 2026
XLR + RCA
BOTH, ALL THE TIME
Discrete Class A output buffer
The original asked you to choose between XLR and RCA. A newly developed discrete Class A output buffer drives both analogue outputs concurrently, with low output impedance that holds its composure into any preamplifier or power amplifier.
Run your power amp and your subwoofer. Run two systems. The buffer keeps the ladder isolated from the load, so what you hear is the ladder, not the cable behind it.
NOS / OS / SRC
PCM, YOUR CHOICE
Your conversion, your choice
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.
DSD is always handled NOS: no oversampling, no sample rate conversion, no reprocessing. One step remains, by physics rather than choice: an R2R ladder cannot read a 1-bit stream, so the DSD signal is converted directly to multi-bit — that single conversion and nothing else — before the ladder renders it to analogue.
Which is right depends on your recordings and your system, not on a hierarchy we impose. One DAC, three ways to meet your library.
10 MHz
NO DDC REQUIRED
Direct 10MHz master clock input
The Harmony DAC 2 accepts a 10MHz external master clock directly — BNC, 50 ohm — 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.
In | Out
FULLY ISOLATED
Isolated in, isolated out
The Harmony DAC 2 places full digital 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 crosses is the signal. What does not is everything else: a lower noise floor, a blacker background, and more of the low-level detail that makes music feel alive.
960 × 400
LCD · 12V · USB-C
A new face, and every detail behind it
The 16-level grayscale OLED gives way to a 960 x 400 colour 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.
Behind the new face, the everyday details are rethought too. A 12V trigger — in and out — lets the DAC 2 wake and sleep with the rest of your system. And firmware now updates over USB-C. No SD cards, no disassembly, no ceremony.
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.
HARMONY DAC
HARMONY DAC 2
Conversion architecture
Fully balanced discrete R2R ladder
Unchanged
PCM modes
NOS / in-house OS
● NOS / in-house OS / hardware SRC
DSD
NOS · direct multi-bit conversion for the 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 digital isolation
12V trigger
Not fitted
● Yes, in and out, wakes with your system
Display
16-level grayscale OLED
● Colour LCD, new graphics
Firmware updates
SD card
● USB-C
Harmony DAC vs Harmony DAC 2
Every gold-dot line is a confirmed change, not a marketing reframing. The R2R architecture, the balanced topology, and the LAiV house sound carry over unchanged.
Palette options for the Harmony DAC 2.
Black
Display
960 × 400 TFT colour 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 standby
Dimensions / weight
255 × 250 × 50mm (75 with spikes) · weight TBC
Warranty
24 months
Price
US$3,994
In the box
Welcome card with Certificate of Authenticity<br>Harmony DAC 2<br>Three spike shoes with alignment card<br>Remote control (CR2032 battery not included)<br>Power cord<br>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 digital 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
Analogue 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
NOS; converted directly to multi-bit for the R2R ladder (no oversampling or SRC)
Specifications
Questions
US$3,994
First run very limited · delivery Sept–Oct 2026
Reviewers
Recognition of Excellence.
Shop safe and smart with LAiV.
Harmony DAC 2