Cayin Dongles!! Is the RU7 better than the RU6??
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2023
- Information on the RU7 can be found here:
en.cayin.cn/features/7/124/60...
Information on the RU6 can be found here:
en.cayin.cn/features/7/124/48...
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The RU7 strikes the perfect balance between R2R smoothness and great detail retrieval similar to traditional delta-sigma DACs. It provides a very natural and organic sound which I find can't be rivalled by anything under the 1k price bracket. This is the only portable 1-bit DAC in the world, pure 1-bit DACs start at 2.5k so the value for money with this is insanely good. While the RU6 has some short comings ie. has some treble roll-off and might come off as too veiled. The RU7 really has no downsides! It got me to get rid of my RME and get a Gustard R26, I could not be happier!
That's what it's all about!
What rme did you ditched?
@@kfir26 ADI-2 DAC FS
nice review. I received my RU7 last week and it is very good. for my R2R dongle DAC I use the Hiby FC6. It is not balanced out but it is really nice sounding. even more analog than the RU7 seems to be. thanks for the great content and videos.
Hello! What better between ru7 and fc6?
I find RU6 much nicer sounding. RU7 is a bit too detail-oriented and not as smooth & enjoyable. I also had playback issues with RU7's weird 1-bit operation. RU6 has zero issues, and just works.
What is the issue you had? I want to confirm if it's the same issue I have with my RU7
Great review! I was wondering about the differences & this help me understand better. Thanks so much!
Great review!!
Love that..haha. Why would you want both...well we'te audiophiles so that answers that question :)
I currently have the RU6 for playback in my car and it's shocking the difference between just a cheapo Amazon dongle vs that for playbook of Roon ARC. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do about home because I have an Oppo 205 with that awesome Sabte DAC..but it has some Roon limitations (no multichannel or DSD) because they've sadly certified it in a hurry before they up & skipped town...
So in other words get both, thanks for the video!
Fantastic review. I spent two weeks to demo N7 curtsey of Cayin and I liked N7 a lot. N7 is enjoyable and musical, but to me the most impressive characteristic of N7 is, for lack of better word "correctness". Even though I did not have any benchmark to evaluate my statement, I just had the feeling that what I heard from N7 was just "more correct".
I had RU6, but not RU7 yet, if RU7 can replicate what N7 does, I will definitely jump on it.
Correctness is a nice term to describe what the RU7 does as well. I know they took much of the tech behind the N7 for the RU7. I would like to listen to the N7 at some point to get an idea of how similar they are.
It 100% can replicate the N7 sound. It’s ridiculously good easily beating out most DAC/amps under 1k IMO.
I contemplated getting N7 but I already have the N8ii and even though the N7 is tailored for DSD which I mostly have, I know i would miss the tube sound. The N30 is the one to target... but it had some pretty bad teething issues at launch.
I ♥ my RU7❕🔈🔉🔊 I literally watched this YT video listening through the RU7 (line out mode on 3.5mm) hooked up to my PC via USB-C, amplified on a Denon 5.1.2 system.. why? Because I couldn't find a decent sounding DAC under $250, best 300 bucks I spent on Amazon, just got it 2 days ago. Plays all bitrates (32bits!!), sample rates (384Khz) and DSD Natively on Roon - on PC and through DoP on Mac and iOS. I needed a DAC to use for my PC and apparently got a portable one with new possibilities! I'm new to the headphone game, hooked the RU7 to my 5 year old Sony WH1000XM3 Noise Canceling headphones with a 3.5mm cable and I've never heard them play music and sound so beautiful in all these years! 😅 One nuance I noticed, if I pause playback (video/song) after some amount of time, if I resume playback, it takes a second before the audio starts coming out of my PC, but then it's quick again if the pause isn't too long. (not sure about Mac/iOS/android) Totally willing to deal with, as the RU7 sounds so lush, strong well defined base and a beautiful mid range with no over powering highs, everything is well detailed and has a good balance!
It sounds on a more analogue side to a point where feeding it through my XDuoo MT-602 tube pre-amp is no longer necessary, in fact it decolors the sound and makes it less detailed that way, have it go straight to the amp now ;) I've tried and returned a Topping e50 DAC, and Schiit Modi+ is on it's way back, Modi sounded almost identical to my Denon AVR-S760H internal DAC, but kind of gloomy - a bit recessed in the mids and highs. Denon is a bit livelier in the mids and highs, but both sounded so similar. Don't get me started on the Topping $200 e50, so forward in the sound stage, mids and highs, had to use a battery power bank to finally get some base out of it, no thanks! I'm getting a 4.4mm balanced to RCA adapter cable, to get a bit more juice out of the RU7 for line out mode, hopefully the cable will work, as feeding a balanced signal into unbalanced can be tricky. If there's an IEM you would recommend that would pair alright with the RU7 and won't break the bank as a starting/entry level but good, I would look into it. Thank you, love your reviews!
One very important thing I noticed about these other 2 DACs is how they made me work extra to listen - Topping was too much detail coming at me, could only handle to listen to a few songs at a time. Modi was almost there with the mids and highs, I was actively filling in what was missing in my brain, so tiring and unsatisfying. Here came the RU7, didn't expect a lot after those other DACs. And this is where I was surprised, no matter what content, streaming platform, headphones or speakers I was and still am repeatedly wowed!! My brain is relaxed, as the RU7 sounds so natural to my ears with a slight added color in the mids/highs that just make my ears tingle. WTF, right? 😅 Also I love being able to change the sound slightly with 3 output DSD modes. I noticed it go from less impactful and close together sounding to a wider and more exciting sound stage with more color and detail, just FYI ;) Don't forget about those IEMs please. ;)
Alright I have a couple of options based off of elehat I've heard. The Simgot EA500 is entry point and can be had around $50-$75. You get two different tuning nozzles. For $109 range, I'd recommend the Kiwiears Quartet. They have tuning switches. Both the Dunu Falcon Ultra and Kiwiears Quintet are solid choices at the $200 range. Hope that helps and enjoy the RU7 as I see you are!
Great do they enhance the soundstage like airiness and depth?
@@tc9929 personally I didn't find a big difference in stage/depth. If there is, it is minor. It definitely didn't go the opposite way though in that it did not narrow things at all.
Read half way then had to skip once you mention sony wireless headphone you are using ..lol step your game up by leaving those wireless Bluetooth headphones and stay away from bose apple sony beats and all that's in that class if you want to start a real audiophile beginners game.
@@Angel-AbC9 he already mentioned that he used a 3.5mm cable line in method. So nothing to do with Bluetooth here. But the problem is not even that, but that Denon AVR to begin with. AVR's are good for movies only. Period. No wonder why he didn't like any dedicated DAC in the 1st place as he was already destroying that DAC flavor thru this AVR. He Is liking the RU7 because now he has a Headphone dac Amp combo dongle compared to his previous DACs.
I agree with the overall description of these dongles and their sound signatures. I however disagree with the idea that the RU6 won't tame brilliance or sibilance, it does. And that puts on the table a very important element to decide whether you want this or any other not R2R DAC. While it is true that you lose clarity and detail, you do soften excessive brilliance at the time you also make your sound across the board to have more body and personality, image and soundstage are also better and all together that is what I call it to be more "musical". This shared experience is based on using the RU6 with Hifiman Edition XS and Focal Elegia headphones adding Dunu and Hidizs MP145, this last a superb iem that together with the RU6 sounds sublime! 😊
Hmmm.... I never could differentiate between dongle dacs, or even dacs at an affordable price range in general. Reading between the lines, I guess this won't really do much in terms of perceived sound difference. Thank you for the video. Might pick up an FC6 at ultra discounted rates just to see what r2r is all about.
Thanks for a clear and complete review. Coming from tubes amps, I really like the analog smoothness of my RU6. One question: the R6 runs down my iPhone 13 battery fairly quickly - how does the RU7 compare re battery life?
I don't have an iPhone, however, I have read some of the battery drain issues still persist.
I got both the ru6 and ru7 + iPhone. I’d say the battery drain is about the same.
It’s any phone that r2r dongles draw on. It’s how they work. Doesn’t matter if it’s android or iOS.
@@asotomayor Thanks!
@@AndrewUKLondon Android or iOS? Dunno what this has to do with my question....
Thanks man!
have you noticed any difference in soundstage?
The Hiby FC6 R2R Dongle DAC surpasses both the RU6 and RU7 for tone and timbre and tonal density
I have dragonfly red and I like the energetic sound from this DFR. I'm using Thieaudio V16 Divinity which are super detail in sound. So, if I buy RU6, can RU6 make V16 more calm ?
I can't say for sure...but I'd speculate that it could help. Considering I found the RU6 a more smoothened presentation instead of more sharply detailed.
I own a ru6 is a fantastic dac love it. ..i sure going upgrade to ru7 . Change a good type c to type c cable do improve the sound quality
I got both the ru6 and ru7. The data cables won’t make a difference unless of course the cable is defective.
@@asotomayorWhich do you prefer? I like my RU6 but it has hiss and EMI distortion when used with my PC/Mac (even with usb isolator, probably power issue due to not being designed for desktop use)
Hi, big fan of your work, would appreciate your inputs on my query and sincerely appreciate your reply: I have Ie 600 running off iPad/Apple Music/dragonfly red which sounds good, but what if I got ru 6 or 7, how much percentage increase in sound quality would I get (10, 20%?) and which is better the 6 or 7 based on my setup? Thanks a bunch.
Well, this where you need to figure out what you're looking for. The RU6 is more of an analogue sound. More blended and less finite results. The RU7 has more sharper edges on the music and tightens things up more. Also both would require the lighting dongle if you don't already have it for Apple products. I've also heard some slight issues with Apple products with some dongles. I would research that a bit. As for percent of sounding better...that I can't tell you as that's all subjective to me. If you enjoy the sound using your dragonfly red that is worth considering. Don't upgrade to upgrade unless you feel you are missing something.
Thanks for your feedback!
really useful. I use some software (would be hated by almost all audiophiles) to juice up my music, so i don't need that extra 1-5%
RU6 is awesome dac its dac like no other. Im sure that RU7 is also excellent dac its a cayin product so no doubt about it but that kind of sound (digital precise…) you can find at any other dac even in the 100-150 usd price range. But for RU6 sound flavor you have to spend 2000+ usd for a proper R2R desktop setup which can’t be portable as RU6. Oh that RU6 sound signature 😇
How does this comapre to the mojo 2 when being used as a dac output to external amp?
How’s this paired with a 7hz timeless? Is a good pairing? Currently have 7hz timeless and Questyle M15
I can't comment on that but I will say I've not found an IEM yet that didn't pair up well with the RU7. I took it to CanJam and paired up very high end IEMs and all sounded great!
@@Skeeb23 thanks! I used to own a denafrips ares and im looking for that R2R sound 🙂
7hz+ru6 best in the best!
How would these compare to a Schiit Bifrost 2/64
The BF 2/64 is a top notch, incredible quality dac imo. The RU7 and RU6 won't compete to its level. I would however recommend these as similar competition to the Modi/modius for sure. More so the RU7 with its LO mode. The BF 2/64 adds more details and an addicting punch to my music. It's a bit more intimate but still an excellent dac.
Listening on my ru-6. Sounds like ru-7 is better than ru-6 that 99% do not need. In other words if you are buying a new one buy ru7 and if u already have a ru6 be happy with it, also if you like tube like sound then ru6 is the one to buy. Jus summarizing …from all general opinions … 😅
How about FC6
How bout it? 😂 It's on a list for the HiFi For Bri Series!
Yes it is crazy and dumb to own both if have ru6 stay with it if not go straight to ru7 plain and simple
I got both and yes you do get different flavours.
Go for RU7 just because it's the newer one..? That's a pretty crazy and dumb suggestion, if you ask me.
yeah i can imagine having 1 for pc entertainment usage and another for music listening, and swap them occasionally
You don't have a good solid-state desktop do you?
?? What would make you think that? Yes, I do.
@@Skeeb23 Like? You mention Cayin tubes (seen as props) or soft sounding dongles from the same. Just wondering. Seldom are known a reviewer's references, in either gear or music.
@@aRc11-11 That's fair. Yeah I mention in my videos quite a bit that I own the Liquid Platinum, which I get it as being hybrid. I also own the Cayin iHA-6 which is not a tube amp. My other amp I own and use all the time is my ADI2DAC though not exactly what you were asking. I owned the Jotunheim 2 for quite some time as well. I prefer things with a warmer lean but I do also like the more transparent listen I can get out of the 2DAC.
@@Skeeb23 I enjoy the softer, warmer and more gentle playback. Kind of reminiscent of my partner pairing 😁. Relax, you acted like my query was an attack. Just honest curiosity.
@@aRc11-11 no worries, I'm on edge today with some personal things going. I appreciate you asking as I agree it's good to know a reviewers preferences and gear.
Dont like when a reviewer does not pick a liking as if hes in good hands with the company owner and dont want to interupt that so he would just play it safe and compliment both and say audience you make the choice , lol , not good.
Understood and I have no connections with Cayin other then I believe they make great products. I did say I'd personally pick RU7 but some people out there have several dongles out there. Same as those who carry an extensive collection of gear in general. Such is the hobby.
Nice. Which is best: cubed ice, or crushed ice?