LAIV Harmony

I just purchased Harmony, based on reviews, usb implementation in this dac and R2R dacs in general, I2S input is necessary for best performance. To this end I'll implement either Musician Phoenix or Denafrips Gaia DDC with high quality HDMI cable in order to maximize performance.

I'll be comparing to my Musetec 005, new Musetec 006 coming in same time as Harmony. I'm interested in how these Sabre chip dacs compare to R2R. Some claim Sabre chip dacs not 'natural' sound, I've had many Sabre chip dacs, lack of  natural timbre, tonality is not a universal trait of these dacs in my experience.

With the DDC I'll also have chance to compare I2S vs. USB inputs on the Musetec dacs, Sabre dacs reportedly not as sensitive to clocking as R2R.

My long held assumption is R2R dacs in general not as resolving, transparent as Sabre chip.

@tkrtrb125 What data are you using to back this claim?  So far, I've only seen 2 failures out of an estimated few hundred owners (including myself) reporting overwhelmingly positive experiences across various forums.  I've owned the Harmony since launch and hadn't had a single hiccup, despite using it almost daily.

That's an extremely low failure rate.  Check out a new product launch from a major company like Samsung or even Nvidia to compare.  I actually went through 3 returns on a Samsung TV a few years ago that had the same defects before giving up.  Nvidia literally had meltdowns and fires due to their connector design.  I've since bought another Samsung and they no longer have the issue, but the point is that failures (especially with electronics) are common and expected regardless of the manufacturer or product, which is why warranties exist.

Laiv gives a 3 year warranty and is very responsive.  My credit card doubles that and the DAC itself sounds wonderful.

Your argument is that a ~1% failure rate makes it a bad product that should be avoided?  That's insane.

@pynkfloydd  knock on wood. Stand by what I said, hope you are right and I am wrong. Not sure where you are getting your data on ownership and failures. Couple of forums is not a valid comparison. Enjoy your DAC and keep a fire extinguisher close by.

Does anyone know if any of the I2S configurations are compatible with the Project RS2T transport?

My favorite dac Best Buy under$12k is still the T+A 200 dac,preamp, which I Donot own . I have decades in audio and mod loudspeakers ,and have had many things upgraded,  parts quality I know well, just  look  compare Apples  to Apples in other brands and build quality,many people forget this very important aspect. the harmony dac should have used separate transformers and power supplies,  that is for example for the Digital to Analog conversion ,then to try to squeeze transformer taps all in one like a integrated amp.vs separates ,this is why monoblocks  have  much better isolation and Sonic purity and ,better bass punch for 1 example.