@sns First, thank you for the time and effort. I think it is clear that your evaluation of the Harmony versus the 006 has had some dramatic ups and downs on the way to deciding which you find superior. Can you say a little more specifically why your final conclusion is you prefer the 006 over the Harmony when used with the Gaia. I ask because the Gaia/006 combination is slightly more expensive than the Gaia/Harmony combination. Some might wonder if the added expense of the 006/Gaia is worth it.
Also, just for the convenience of the future readers, I have cut and pasted here some of your comments on the 006 with the Gaia. If I omitted anything significant please comment. Here’s my cut and paste summary of you impressions:
For now, suffice to say what I'm hearing with Gaia/006 combo is totally freaking amazing! . . .
And then we have the rare [non-incremental] change so profound it imposes an entirely fresh perspective. Adding the Gaia [to feed I2S to the 006] has been one of these rare changes that results in new insights.
The first thing I'll mention is the sheer resolving power of what I'm hearing, a noise floor that seems to subside into infinity or the blackest of black holes. I now hear the slightest inflections of voice, the touch of strings and the movement of the bow across those strings, with woodwinds the slightest intonation of breath. The result is a newfound intimacy with performers which brings about greater emotional involvement with the music. Allied to that is a more expansive sound stage with these fully developed dimensional ethereal images. Hate to use this word, but organic is what comes to mind. The illusion of live performers in my room comes so easily, no need for trickery of the mind to get here.
[N]ow we have 006/Gaia combo beats out the Laiv/Gaia. The most noticeable thing here is newfound sense of ease and refinement, music seems to just flow. I'm now into full analog mode with this, I could fool myself into believing I was listening to vinyl minus the surface noise. Allied to this is more natural timbre, especially noticeable with both individual and massed violins. I've long thought digital really misses out to vinyl with violins, digital processing these into homogenized blobs, same with trumpets. Now I hear newfound texture and harmonic development that both individualizes and more naturally presents these instruments.
. . . I still have my 005 and Harmony, both will go out the door, I foresee 006/Gaia combo being my reference for the next several years. And between the Harmony and 005, I'd pick the Harmony with quality I2S interface all day over 005 via usb. 005/Gaia is not something I've tried and not really interested in trying since its leaving me, could be quite nice, however. I can only say really love the Harmony/Gaia solution, I could live with that a good long time