NickB Wake up it is 9 am on the Easten seaboard

[Nick B]

$2000 seems a bit high for any of the G1 series but haven't looked at prices lately.  With the G2.2 Auralic implemented a entirely new twin PS system eliminating the need for the Hoer-Wege PS upgrade for that unit.  I do however have a G1 that I installed the Hoer-Wege PS in and it did make a noticeable improvement. 

As to the upcoming Laiv streamer I expect it to be more than competitive in the marketplace as well as being well thought out and well built.  As to Han's review of the Laiv it was a one of anomaly and his description didn't resemble anything I heard nor any of the other reviewers or owners I know of. As his comparison was to Holo DACs of which I own two it just didn't fit what I have heard using the two companies DACs in multiple setups.

You're right on the prices. Went to HiFi Shark and they are lower. Not sure what site I got the other information from. I had a hunch Auralic would improve their power supply so an aftermarket unit would no longer be necessary.

If/when a Laiv streamer comes out, I'll take a look. I don't think Hans B took a second look at that Laiv dac. I still enjoy his reviews and he seems quite credible in his opinions. Usually I look for multiple reviews on a product anyway.

[Jack]

Nick

My issues with the review were twofold.  First his description of the Laiv as "bright" compared to the Holo which it is not.  It is in fact side by side in the same system slightly "warmer" than the Holo's.  Secondly neither of these companies DACs are forward or bright in any way.  They all three fit in the same sound profile segment as my Aqua La Voce S3 which is what draw me to them to start with.  One thing I have found out the hard way and you and I have talked about is that as great as it may be no USB cable is the same from DAC to DAC.  In my Main system, which has both a Holo and the Laiv installed, I can switch back and forth easily enough by swapping the same USB cable from DAC to DAC but found out in this system as I already new from prior experimentation the same cable was not the best fit for both DACs.  That could have been part of Han's findings as could many other things that he didn't appear to explore.  Instead he seemed to be glad to be the outlier in that no one else has reporting hearing what he heard. Anyway as they had a 30 day no questions asked return policy with free shipping trying it was a no brainer.  In the end I'm glad I did.

[Nick B]

Nick

My issues with the review were twofold.  First his description of the Laiv as "bright" compared to the Holo which it is not.  It is in fact side by side in the same system slightly "warmer" than the Holo's.  Secondly neither of these companies DACs are forward or bright in any way.  They all three fit in the same sound profile segment as my Aqua La Voce S3 which is what draw me to them to start with.  One thing I have found out the hard way and you and I have talked about is that as great as it may be no USB cable is the same from DAC to DAC.  In my Main system, which has both a Holo and the Laiv installed, I can switch back and forth easily enough by swapping the same USB cable from DAC to DAC but found out in this system as I already new from prior experimentation the same cable was not the best fit for both DACs.  That could have been part of Han's findings as could many other things that he didn't appear to explore.  Instead he seemed to be glad to be the outlier in that no one else has reporting hearing what he heard. Anyway as they had a 30 day no questions asked return policy with free shipping trying it was a no brainer.  In the end I'm glad I did.

There are a handful of guys online whose opinions I trust for the most part and reviews I enjoy. Guys like OCD Mikey, the Serbian? iiWi, Srjajen from 6 Moons, Steve Huff even with his hyperbole and Hans B and some others. But it's more useful to get your opinion and some of the other guys here. You especially have seen my tastes morph and develop a bit over time. It's still a process for me, but the last couple of years have been fun.

I love the Cyan2 and especially for the money. But your description of the Laiv and it being on the warmer side is very appealing. I would not want anything more neutral or bright than my Cyan2. As I am learning, system synergy is very important and I am keeping most of my cables nowadays for different systems in the future.

[Jack]

And from everything I've read the Cyan II has the same basic "house sound" as the Spring 3 and the May.  Though the May with it's separate heavy power supply may give me that "last 5 to 10 percent" in detail in many ways I prefer the overall presentation of the middle child, the Spring 3 KTE.  Plus you don't to worry about having a separate place for the power supply.  As it get very warm you really don't want to set the DAC unit on top of it.  In some ways I was really hoping that Christian would take the La Voce one more step at least to the S4 but it appears that it has been dropped from the line up altogether. 

[Nick B]

And from everything I've read the Cyan II has the same basic "house sound" as the Spring 3 and the May.  Though the May with it's separate heavy power supply may give me that "last 5 to 10 percent" in detail in many ways I prefer the overall presentation of the middle child, the Spring 3 KTE.  Plus you don't to worry about having a separate place for the power supply.  As it get very warm you really don't want to set the DAC unit on top of it.  In some ways I was really hoping that Christian would take the La Voce one more step at least to the S4 but it appears that it has been dropped from the line up altogether.

The Cyan2 has been a very pleasant surprise and thanks for that recommendation. It's allowed me to get a flavor of the Holo line for a budget price. I know you've enjoyed the Aqua La Voce and I believe Charles likes it as well. I am curious if the Laiv is at least the equal or even better than the La Voce S3 in some regards. I will soon be getting HQ Player which will allow for a lot of experimentation and on a budget level for me.

[Nick B]

We've bounced around a bit on this thread including streamers, switches etc. Maybe I'll start a different thread sometime, but the iFi LAN iSilencer ($89)  and the iFi LAN iPurifier Pro ($299) are an excellent noise reduction combination. New speaker cables are also breaking in with 100+ hours so far.

Of the songs so far I've been listening to this evening, the background has been very black with excellent resolution even deep into the soundstage. The presentation has been grain free and tonally rich among other things. Great value for the money by the iFi guys.

Oh, I should mention that JPLAY is definitely better than Roon as a lot of guys have said. I was unsure before, but definitely a believer now.