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Laiv Micro DAC.......

Posted by Todd Krieger (A) on April 22, 2025 at 22:43:22

After trying some of the Chinese DACs bordering a grand (SMSL SU-X, Topping D90 III Discrete, Topping Centaurus), I'm now trying this minimalist R2R offering from Laiv......

This is a very promising piece..... It has the resolution of Delta-Sigma, with the listenability of R2R. (The improvement over the Topping Centaurus was greater than I expected. The Centaurus just misses the top end "sparkle," the Laiv captures it.... The Laiv also seems to have an acoustical "presence" that a lot of comparably priced DACs miss.)

The only down side with this DAC is that it only has XLR outputs..... You would need XLR female to RCA female adapters in order to run this single ended..... It seems to work perfectly set up this way.

The remote is also an optional item with this DAC.... It's a high-quality aluminum piece, but it's expensive..... If I decide to go with this DAC long term, I will eventually purchase the remote.

The DAC runs warm..... I guess for such a small form factor, this is to be expected. (It doesn't run "hot" like the Gustard X26 Pro.)

This could be the ticket for those looking for a good relatively inexpensive streaming DAC..... (Laiv also makes a DAC at almost triple the price.) This appears to be a game changer for DACs at the one grand price point. And could end my DAC "merry go round" for the high-efficiency system.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

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