Cayin RU6 USB DAC Headphone Amplifier

Product Information

It is Cayin's first ever DAC/Amp in Dongle form factor and most importantly, it is the very first non Delta Sigma Dongle ever. Without hesitation is one of the best sounding and most powerful USB DAC dongles available right now. That means a total of 96 pieces of precisely matched resistors are used to facilitate the actual conversion for the 24BIT stereo design.

Treble is done perfectly well for me, no roll-off, good resolution and airiness, details are not attacking your years but are well articulated.Interestingly, while the RU6 has lower max mW power output than the W2, it seemed more powerful to me in most cases due to it's implementation. The Cayin comes standard with a USB-C to USB-C cable, along with a USB-A adapter, but for iPhone users, a lightning cable can be purchased separately. With Delta Sigma audio processors, what I am hearing today is sound presentation that is very clean, detailed, resolving and analytical - and I can understand that many love it that way. Cayin recommends using bit-perfect USB output, as well as fixing the digital output volume over USB to the maximum for the best performance. On the sides, there are 3 buttons for mode change and volume, and on top of the device, you will find 4.

Despite receiving the dongle free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation. U18t does present you with a more forward and more revealing tonality, but in pair up with RU6 it sounds less harsh and a lot less fatigue in comparison to some other sources. High Precision Resistor Array Volume Control is implemented and I can attest this being one of the most refined volume steps adjustment that I have ever tested so far with Dongles.There are 0-99 steps though 9 sections of resistors and switching relays in the RU6, meeting all the requirements and transparency to maintain the natural soung signature of the R-2R DAC. This can happen between tracks if the bitrate changes, or switching volume quickly, or at every 10th volume step (i.

Safeguard signal integrity makes sure the noise from the reference clock and DSP will not bleed intro amplification circuit. The signal path is single ended as the audio signal goes through R-2R DAC, Low Pass filter, Resistor Array volume control, Line Driver, and Phone Amplifier with gain control. The Oversampling DA mode – again according to Cayin – will offer noticeable improvement on details and frequency extension. While they are recommended as being best for EDM, Pop and the like I also find them to shine very well with Classic Rock and Contemporary!

It is able to produce an good creamy smooth and textured midrange that is soothing to the ears while having enough details in it. This enables the RU6 to deliver additional power and current, however, channel separation doesn’t match a fully balanced design.

The DAC itself is power efficient so you don't have to worry about draining the host device battery. I use it exclusively with conventional home stereo systems - feeding the signal into a preamp - with a Jitterbug between the PC source and the DAC. Cayin tested numerous off-the-shelf volume options but unfortunately, they could not meet the high precision, low noise, and low power consumption requirements in their dongle DAC application. Lately Cayin has strongly been focusing on the portable market as well with successful units such as t he N5ii, the N3, the N6II, the C9 and the reference N8.The elaborated decay sounds punchy with piano and drums, breathing in more air and bounciness while not coloring the output boomy.