The Best Dongle DACs - iFi Gold Bar, iFi Go Bar, Cayin RU6, Shandling UA5
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Review of the USB audio DAC-amp dongles: iFi Gold Bar, iFi Go Bar, Cayin RU6, Shandling UA5
iFi Go and Gold Bar - ifi-audio.com/...
Cayin RU6 - en.cayin.cn/fe...
Shandling UA5 - www.linsoul.co...
The sound quality of Cayin RU6 is sublime !!!!!!!!!!!
I would place it in the first place, above the ifi gold bar !!
I offer IFI gold bar for $400, it's like new! I bought it a month ago! Just tested it ! .
The RU6 just retired my desktop USB DAC.
I’ve had the Audioquest black, red & Cobalt which was the best however recently bought the IFI GO BAR, it’s in a completely different league , clarity, detail, bass etc it’s light years ahead especially using Qobuz. I even bought the Astell & Kern SR25 & virtually no difference which was very surprising considering the cost . Also the A&K screen & IOS is a complete joke , surprised they are so popular with such a clunky screen interface
Go Bar is a complete joke with iOS too.
@@suntanglory none of that interferes with any music. It weight is everything and not sound quality you can buy a bunch of Chi-fi.
I have not tried the ifi but don’t believe the UA5 is just a loud amplifier. It’s very nice with my Moondrop.
After reviewing a few R2R, I decided to buy the Hiby FC6. I am waiting for the delivery
Very enjoyable and informative review, thanks for sharing.
Ru6 adapter is specially intended for the ruc6, it’s not a normal one. Also the ruc6 draws quite a bit of power from the phone and iPhones and some android phones will say “nope too much drain” and stop sending (quite sensible).
Things like the the iFi hip dacs are bigger but have a battery.
Thanks for the video. Your chanel is still small, but it will grow someday. Keep it up man
How about today?
Thanks for the review. Picked up a Go Bar.. almost went for the gold version but couldn’t find it at a reasonable cost
limited runs usually up the cost on the used market.
I can only comment on the Cayin RU6, and I do not own any headphones... I hooked the Cayin up to my two channel stereo system using the Cayin 4.4 adapter and a 4.4 XLR cable I picked up on Amazon. I have played around with it a bit, it sounds best using a 6th gen iPad mini as a source, it blew away my Ares II on that iPad mini. My settings, volume 100, NOS on, High gain. The OS sounds a bit veiled, even muddy, not my cup of tea,
And then I hooked it up to my 2012 Node, it sounded fantastic on Hi Res, would not play the CD tracks, nothing buy static. So, I hooked it up to a 2018 Mac mini and then A/B tested with the Node and Ares II. I could not hear a difference at all, they sounded identical, same volume, clarity, bass, etc., I could not hear any difference
The iPad mini on the other hand, was larger sounding, everything simply sounded better. I was using iTunes and Amazon Music. I think what is happening is the boost of the RU6, that little bit of gain is kicking things over the edge, as the Cayin is hooked directly to the preamp. Problem is, I have to get up, walk across the room and then make my picks. Where with the Node and Mac mini, I can sit at the table and take care of business. I am still debating on what to do here. That direct connection was the bomb, totally destroyed the Ares II. My amps are zero gain, there is no gain boost internally or externally, class A/B, just natural unadulterated sound.
Here is the system, Denafrips Ares II, Iris DDC, Schiit Lokius, Hades preamp, Thallo amp, 2021 Node, pair of SVS SB3000 subs and a pair of KLH Model 5's.
Bottom line, for $249 you can have a throw it in your pocket Ares II, or possibly, an Ares II killer... Very happy! I think the iPad mini is staying, I need the exercise.
gotta ad the Questyle m15 to the list.
Hope you can get your hands on the new Kensei GoBar version and review it. It's supposed to be another level above the regular GoBar. At $449 it ought be for the money.
I prefer cayin RU6 R2R...it give abit more power to drive bigger headphone , R2R sound more neutral sound tone down some headphone or iem abit too bright like my meze 109 pro.
Would you guys and girls recommend one of these (or another altogether) to pair with iPhone & Moondrop Aria? I'm currently just using the Apple lightning to 3.5mm dongle and while some people seem to like it, I don't feel it gives me enough volume, I need a little more. Thanks in advance. Love the content, great work, keep it up please. Subbed.
I'm using Shanling UA5. Do you it's worth to upgrade to RU6 or Go Bar? Another question, how does dongle compared to other portable Dac-Amp such as iFi gryphon, nano black label or FiiO BTR7 in USB mode?
USB mode is the same as from a mobile device. I have seen some bad testing on the RU6, so I am going to say the iFi Go Bar.
The Gryphon is a different device as it is bigger, bulkier, but has the added capacity of the added battery, but comes at a much higher cost. From trusted people I know, it is a solid device, but iFi charges right at quality level, so no "punch above it's class", but a very solid device.
The iFi Nano Black label is yet another device and WAY far removed from the portability of the Go Bar. That is more transportable. It is fine, but it is a slightly older device and one I found more glary.
I have yet to try a BTR7, but that it yet another device with different use case since the big connectivity here is Bluetooth. Best thing is decide what you actually need and shop within those devices. Shop for the features you really need, then worry about quality.
Thank you for this very good review. I want to know which one has the biggest soundstage and the airiest presentation?
That is a good question. I would say the Gold Bar, but those are unobtanium, unless you can find one used. Second I would say either the Go Bar or the RU6. Both of them have good soundstage, the RU6 maybe a bit better, but neither one of them I would call "airy." The RU6 is certainly more neutral to the Go Bar, but still on the slightly warmer side of things.
Very helpful to me.👍🏻
Glad it helped
Next step would be a better designed usb cable (in therms of sound performance of that dongles used with PC) compare to the generic usb cable 🙂
Just when I was about to buy a Mojo 2 and call it quits.... 🤪
I had the cayin ru6 and mojo 2, and i use the ru6 way more than the mojo 2. I love how natural everything sounds, nothing is overdone, keeps everything smooth
Is there any difference between gold and metal in terms of sound, what is it expressed in?
everywhere they write that the filling is the same, I would like to hear the opinion of a person who can compare what I found is only a difference in weight
@@user-pp9vj9rb2t The insides are different. The Gold has nothing to do with the sound difference. The Gold version just has better components inside.
Hello..thanks for this review....I have cayin ru6 and sennhesier hd660s and i search dongle whith more forgiving sound more weighty rounded and less treble more dark sounding dongle..which you suggest me to try? ifi go bar or something like shanling ua3 or luxury e precision w2??? please help me
iFi Go Bar is slightly darker than the RU6 with a more pleasing sound. I am not sure on the others.
if you want someone else's opinion: go for the RU6. It's a magical sound. I've extensively heard both RU6 and W2 (original), both are very very good. W2 is cleaner, more articulate, more accurate, better bass punch. The RU6 just makes everything sounds lively and natural.
Also, RU6 is darker, rounder note, grander bass (quantity) vs. W2.
@@minhbu95 have u tried Questyle M15 & Shanling UA5?
@@minhbu95 I've been seeing a lot of people commenting the RU6 is great for just simply enjoying the music instead of dissecting it for every last detail.
can you elaborate more on the UA5 filters? Always wanted to know what is the difference?
I really don't like messing with filters much. Just put it on sharp or fast and forget it.
astells is more detailed, fiios generally has that unique 'dome' sound sig, or concert hifi, sort of
I have the go bar - and it does sound a bit smoothed compared to my tone 2 pro. Is it worth almost 200 euro in price difference to get the gold bar?
100 euro maybe.
Cayin RU6, has more detail, a cleaner sound. There is no justification for buying the IFI gold bar. I have it and I want to sell it.
Cayin RU 6 = Clear sound, and the vocal sound is alive and present.
IfI Gold Bar = Sound full of steroids.
IfI Gold Bar : It looks like that cheap amp sound that is inflated to make people think it sounds great !! , but there is actually no quality to its sound. It's just a deceptive and explosive sound.
I regret buying the IFI gold bar.
It wasn't convincing to me.
All four of them, which one you like the most?
The Gold Bar for sure. Although I wish the performance was in the Go Bar.
Where is questyle m15?
I would love to review one.
@@stereoazimuth Questyle M15 is a notch above everything in terms of detail retrieval. It just unearths microtextures like nothing else. But it's soundstage is cramped and it's got a distant analytical presentation, so it's actually very bad for IEMs & headphones for that reason.
Sounds like the Questyle house sound.
@@phetmoz I have the m15 with Meze Rai Penta and the sound glorious. Super detailed yet not harsh, very liquid. Soundstage is not very wide but quite deep. As far as "distant analytical presentation" - I'd say it's detailed and very present, definitely not distant in any way.
How does the cayin ru7 compare to this group ?
I’ve not heard that one.
I suggest ppl stay away from ifi gobar because ifi refuses to fix the problem of the volume problems when connecting the unit. Sometimes the volume is correct but mostly when connected the power is only at about 50 percent when the unit is turned up all the way. It's been out for years and for ifi not to fix this issue is ripping their customers with being the most expensive dac/dongle on the market with software problems that could be fixed. It's lazily taking ppls money and not giving a damn. We are talking about a 350$ product after taxes.