The Singapore-based company behind the well-received Harmony DAC has unveiled a new product line. The Crescendo series sits below the flagship Harmony range, and the Verse is first out of the gate: a three-in-one combining R2R DAC, active pre-amplifier and discrete Class A headphone amplifier.

LAiV says the Verse shares the same “design DNA” as the Harmony series but in a more compact form. The 3mm-thick aluminium chassis tips the scales at 0.9kg and measures 175 x 40 x 135mm. CNC-milled branding on the top and sides mirrors the Harmony range’s aesthetic.

Digital

Under the hood sits an Intel Altera Cyclone FPGA running LAiV’s proprietary digital signal processing. The company has implemented a true balanced R2R ladder network using precision-matched 0.05% tolerance resistors arranged in a mirror-image configuration on both sides of the PCB. Digital inputs include USB, coaxial, TOSLINK and I2S, all feeding through FIFO buffering and reclocking via onboard crystal oscillators.

One notable feature is the Verse’s native DSD decoding. Rather than converting DSD to PCM, the Verse processes DSD signals directly through a dedicated signal path. A word of caution here from the manufacturer, though: switching between PCM and DSD tracks in a mixed playlist may produce audible clicks or pops in native mode. For those running mixed-format libraries, a multi-bit DSD mode converts everything to PCM for seamless playback.

Beyond that, the onboard sampling rate converter offers PCM resampling up to 768kHz and DSD conversion up to DSD512. NOS purists can bypass it entirely.

Analogue

Analogue duties fall to a discrete output buffer (making this an active pre-amplifier) with – according to LAiV – a low output impedance. Volume control is executed in the analogue domain and the XLR and RCA outputs can be run simultaneously. That’s useful, but note the absence of analogue inputs; the Verse only feeds on digital signals. The discrete Class A headphone section lives under a gold heatsink and offers three gain stages via balanced 4.4mm (1100mW) and single-ended 6.35mm (290mW) outputs.

A micro SD card slot on the underside handles firmware updates.

Price and availability

The Crescendo Verse is available now in black or silver, both with gold accents. It’s Made in China and ships with a remote control and an external 15V/2A power supply. LAiV is asking US$849 direct from its website with free worldwide shipping and a 30-day return policy.

Further information: LAiV