Lavry DA11 Review

Perhaps the time is right to get ourselves to the meat of this review that is how the Lavry sounds. I have spent some time listening to the DA11 exclusively to familiarize myself with its sound signature and I can say for sure that this is one hell of a transparent and neutral-sounding gear. The DA11 is truly an “Engineer” in the form of a DAC; it produces a pristine-clear sound that is free from any colorations and sonic defects. Some enthusiasts will associate this level of neutrality to brightness and a “digital” sound but I cannot hear any of these with the Lavry. The DA11 is an honest DAC as it reproduces your recordings with an unnerving accuracy: if they have faults, the Lavry will not be shy to expose those artifacts. It does not gloss over faults and neither in imparting its own coloration. As far as tonality goes, the Lavry DA11 is as neutral and transparent as a clear window which allows us to see the recording as it is.

The Lavry DA11’s main forte lies in its imaging and resolution. I find the unit to be well-balanced in this area as it presents a believable soundscape that is neither too big nor small. The positioning of the instruments is well-differentiated and I can easily pin-point their individual locations with a good accuracy. In this respect, I find that we as the listeners are sitting in the middle row as far as forwardness goes with respect to the DA11 which is probably the most balanced position as it allows us to hear the bigger picture of the sound. In terms of the ability to resolve details, the Lavry DA11 has this in spades. It is able to extract the tinniest amount of details from the music and present them in a way that is neither forced or fatiguing.

The DA11 also has excellent pace and rhythm reproduction with a right amount of snap. Transition of individual notes is seamless from one note to another. However, I feel that the decay can be a little too short on certain occasions, which is more apparent on long notes such as in bass and air instruments.

Now let us examine the Lavry DA11’s sonic presentation further from the bottom to the top. I would start with the midrange since this is an important criterion for me as a substantial portion of my recordings contains some incarnation of vocals. Certainly the DA11 does not disappoint in this respect, the midrange is nicely textured if not slightly lacking in emotion and body. I am however more impressed with the extension of this unit with the bass extending very low and treble as high as it could. The low-end response is extended without losing its definition at the lowest extremes, with a perfect amount of impact and depth. My bass-oriented R&B pieces sounded pretty marvelous with the DA11 as the bass is impactful and nicely detailed. The treble is quite a wonder in itself as it reaches high without crossing over to the screechy or bright regions. In short, the high is effortless and sounds neutral despite its extension. I found female vocals to extend high without the presence of grains in the top-end. This is truly a hallmark of top-tier converters.

Perhaps a very interesting feature that I have yet to cover is the Playback Image Control or PIC in short. It is in essence an implementation of Digital Signal Processing to adjust the width of stereo image positions. In his white paper, Mr. Dan Lavry has illustrated that this feature can be used to “compensate” sound fields which can arise due to the nature of headphones we use or speakers’ positioning. PIC itself comes in 6 different settings which are:

+2 for widest

+1 for wide

0 for normal

-1 for narrow

-2 for narrower

-3 for narrowest

Furthermore, you can adjust individual left and right images separately which I’d imagine will come useful in asymmetrical speaker positions. As far as headphone’s usage go, it is a mixed bag. PIC seems to work pretty well with my Grado HF2, a headphone which has a classic Grado’s soundstage which can be rather 2D and constricted, as using it at +1 setting in conjunction with my orchestral pieces produces a wider and more balanced sound. However, this widening effect produces a slight hole in the middle of the sound which can sound a bit un-natural which gets even more pronounced if you change the setting to +2. I honestly do not mind this “hole” as the benefits at +1 setting seem to overcome the detriments. PIC however is pretty much recording-specific as it does not work well with my more contemporary music. In rock pieces especially, the widening seems to make the soundstage sounds strange with instrument positioning a bit off.

Another point that I would like to make is how well the various input options are implemented as I could barely tell any difference between USB, coaxial and S/PDIF. Common audio doctrine tends to place USB or S/PDIF tos-link as the inferior choices but the Lavry DA11 has successfully dispelled such mis-conception. This is certainly another point in my book as you do not have to worry about which input options because be rest assured that they all sound equally good.

Additionally, PIC does not seem to benefit headphones which already have a decent soundstage of its own for example, the Sennheiser HD650. This headphone has a laid-back sound in which, the +1 or +2 settings produce an overly diffused sound no matter what kind of music you throw at it. However, using -1 with more intimate and vocal-centric pieces seems to work well with the HD650 as I seem to get a more focused sound.  With music that contains a lot of instruments, using PIC at -1 seems to compress their positions in a single field so I do not see how this is going to work well with such pieces. In conclusion, PIC is an interesting feature that perhaps you could find useful provided that you experiment with it. It is certainly not plug-and-play, even sounding detrimental if you do not use it properly.

The Lavry DA11 comes equipped with a headphone amplification section that sounds pretty darned good on its own. Sonics-wise, it is a “wire-with-gain” and thus, it functions like the extension of the DAC itself. It seems to work wonders with my low-impedance Grado HF2 as the neutrality and transparency of the DA11 synergize well with the HF2’s very flavorful sound. In terms of power, there is more than enough juice to drive the HF2 to ear-splitting levels. With the HD650 headphone, the Lavry DA11’s built in amplfier was able to drive it with plenty of authority, and put a very good soundstage image on the HD650 as well. However, the HD650 can sound a bit dry with the Lavry DA11 in this respect.

As good as the Lavry DA11 is, dare I to say that… it sounds a little boring? True, the DA11 is capable of producing a sound that is as clear as the sky in a cloudless day with an unparalleled degree of details and precision but I often get the impression that the Lavry just stops short at that. Like Engineers in real life, the Lavry can sound slightly detached and emotionless with its presentation. However, I have to admit that this part can be attributed to my personal taste and as such, the way the DA11 produces music could turn out to be a positive trait for you. Flat for me could mean neutral for you so please consider this segment as this jaded reviewer trying to nit-pick as much as possible. After all, a DAC should sound as neutral as possible so perhaps this flatness could prove advantageous in system matching.

The previous paragraph brings me to another point. I have an opportunity to compare the Lavry DA11 with my own AMB Gamma2. To put it simply, the Gamma2 is a DIY DAC solution designed by Ti Kan of AMB in which the designer himself claims that it can rival DACs in the $1k+ range. As we know, DIY solutions can often prove to be quite high up there in terms of price per performance so I cannot help but to feel very curious to see how the Gamma2 stacks up against the Lavry DA11. Well, let us just say that the Gamma2 can stand on its own proudly in the face of the Goliath. As far as resolution and transparency goes, the DA11 still edges the Gamma2 slightly however the latter has such a focused and mesmerizing voice while maintaining its neutrality that I cannot help but to fall in love with it. As far as presentation goes, it is clear that the Gamma2 is more forward-sounding than the DA11 which could produce a more intimate soundscape at the cost of a reduced spatial imaging. Still, if I have to pick a winner then the Lavry DA11 is clearly the one ahead with its unrivaled transparency. The Gamma2 however does not disappoint  and I can imagine anyone to be happy with either solutions. Besides, as an owner myself I have to warn you dear readers that personal bias can take precedence here.

Well, in the end what do we have here? The Lavry DA11 is truly the “Engineer” in and out. Engineers as I have explained can appear to be plain and unassuming but they are always reliable and herald precision and efficiency as their core beliefs. The Lavry is just like that. Beneath its plain black exterior lies a deceptively powerful force, in the form of sound that is as neutral, as clear and as detailed as one can expect. Honesty seems to be the core ethos of Dan Lavry’s sound principle and I have to say that it works exceedingly well in the case of DA11. Overall, the Lavry DA11 is a highly enjoyable unit that does not fail to impress me with its honesty every time I listen to it. If you value transparency and neutrality above all then the DA11 is set to impress you as it did to me.

System for auditioning:

Headphones: Grado HF2, Sennheiser HD650

Amplifier: DIY SOUL MiniMAX with Sigma11 PS

Source: AMB Gamma2 with Sigma25 PS