Cayin Audio were R2R pioneers in a smart music player, but the advent of the R2R RU6 USB-C DAC/amp dongle establishes them as masters of the fully-discrete resistor DAC topology in portable audio. Entering 2022, this is all it takes to achieve the buttery, natural and resolving sound, plus imaging depth, R2R is known for. Building a discrete R2R DAC in N6II/R01 had already been no mean feat. Yet to have gone one further, and implemented a 4.4mm DAC dongle for Android, iPads and laptops is a most ambitious step for R2R. It's worth it to Headfonics who cite RU6's "analog" approach, and the innovation extending to its volume control is lauded by Headfonia. [See Product Desc. For More] It gets harder every time it gets smaller, so RU6 marks Cayin as masters showcasing how they can make it work. Descended from R01, RU6's boasts a chain of 96 0.1% precision, temperature stable, resistors. That imparts a fidelity to mobile audio not yet experienced. Over 200 mW of balanced power gets most earphones and headphones loud, on the move. ecoustics say RU6 "is not only very unique but also one of the best of its kind". Everyday Listening rates "RU6’s wide stage and analogue-like note presentation granting it one of the sweetest and most euphonic sounds I’ve encountered". After thorough comparisons with other options, Twister6 qualifies RU6 as capable of replacing entry-level music players. Prime Audio Reviews confirms it differentiates itself from other DAC/amps, and it's Ear Fidelity's Best Portable DAC of 2021. Your music will be decoded up and down RU6's 24-bit ladder of individual resistors, crammed into its thumb-sized chassis over two separate six-layer PCBs. The actual R2R ladder DAC is kept apart from signal processing to lower noise. We pay attention when Cayin implement RU6 ala typical R2R – with a NOS (non-oversampling) mode. That's double the feat because the precision demanded goes up. Amidst minimal digital filtering, R2R's analog-like goodness gets delivered unmolested to your ears. Lovers of reference sound need not fret, however, with RU6's ability to switch from NOS to oversampling mode for the cleanest possible result. That scrubs any last distortion and artifacts beyond the audible human hearing range, leaving you to just enjoy your music, naturally, via one more Cayin innovation yet. That precision is backed up by a low-power, fully analog, volume control solution. A series resistor operates with shunts as voltage dividers in tandem with relays, to maintain near-perfect resolution of your music and a signal-to-noise ratio of over 110 dB. A totally novel volume solution has made this a feat for a USB-powered dongle DAC; let alone a R2R one.  Take all 30g of the RU6 built from CNC aluminium with you in your pocket, bundled with a USB-C cable as stock for all your mobile devices, with additional leather cases and Lightning-to-USB-C cable (not MFI-certified) sold separately.  Also check out the rest of Cayin's releases here, or view our other DAC/amps here.

Protect your RU6 from scratches with one of these — Tangerine Orange or Cobalt blue, your choice.

1-bit, multiple possibilities. After the debut of Head-Fi's first discrete 1-bit, all-to-DSD, music player in N7, Cayin Audio have miniaturised the technology further in RU7. This latest novel 4.4mm USB DAC/amp from innovators Cayin therefore promises to upsize your enjoyment of music with the same decoding topology that saw N7 greeted with aplomb. Built of 128 individual resistors, RU7 converts all your normal PCM playback – via CD rips, Hi-Res downloads and Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music streaming – into DSD before decoding to analog. Its size is proof that no task is too big for Cayin. Outputting in 4.4mm, RU7 is Cayin's perfect complement to the PCM, R2R, RU6. Headfonics says RU7 is "the best of the lot". Headfonia elected this mini DSD masterpiece to its Recommended Buys list. eCoustics add "it's the best dongle DAC we’ve tried yet". "RU7 continues the company’s hot streak of breaking new ground in DAC design ... 1-bit DAC in the RU7 is even more impressive than the R2R DAC [in RU6]" says The Headphone List. To Twister6 and ichos-reviews, RU7 even challenges DAPs. Bringing up to 400 milliwatts power to bear, the goodness of an all-to-DSD approach to decoding can be heard with all manner of portable Head-Fi. [See Product Desc. For More] All audio formats are passed as DSD through RU7's precise 1-bit decode. Cayin returns to Sony's Scarlet Book SACD revolution of the 1990s and elevates that conversion philosophy with modern mobile dongle hardware. RU7's highlight is its 1-bit decoder, converting all PCM files to quad-rate DSD first via DSP logic, while letting native DSD material flow on to the 128 discrete resistors in its DAC – in actuality a simple analog low-pass filter. There's zero error at the point of conversion in a 1-bit DAC. There, Cayin relies on Pulse-Density Modulation (PDM)'s total accuracy, and sheer ease of decoding. The pitch for DSD's 1-bit conversion is digital at its simplest and closest point to analog – level represented only either as a 1 or a 0, switching on or off. To achieve analog, the bitstream is simply low-pass filtered. Cayin's all-to-DSD discrete DAC is accurate ... and also elegant, breakthrough and historic in personal audio. It draws inspiration from the illustrious halls of Hi-Fi, where each EMM Labs, Nagra Audio, Playback Designs, PS Audio and of course, N7's, 1-bit DAC release has been greeted with accolades and fanfare. RU7's discrete proprietary tech immediately differentiates itself from commercial DAC chips, where IC packages are often too small to perform an ideal 1-bit conversion. RU7 also avoids the errors of dynamic element matching inherent to 2-7 bit delta-sigma decoders. The decoded analog goes through Cayin's specially designed resistor-based analog volume control for perfect channel matching at any level – facilitating that very special 1-bit discrete DSD decode and importantly preserving your music's true dynamic range resolution. A series resistor operates with shunts as voltage dividers in tandem with relays, to maintain near-perfect resolution of your music and a signal-to-noise ratio of over 110 dB. A totally novel volume solution has made this feat possible on a USB-powered dongle DAC. Cayin differentiates RU7 from RU6 in offering the former a line-out option whereby the volume control is bypassed for a fixed voltage out, perfect for listening into motor stereo systems as well as handy and portable personal speakers.  Meanwhile, RU7's 400mW output power is doubled compared to RU6's, such that this DSD DAC is capable of transferring all its forward-thinking fidelity into your prized transducers. Never fear for leaving your reference gear behind for Cayin's latest and greatest every-day carry.  There ends the list of exploits worthy of celebrating Cayin's 30th anniversary in arguably more ambitious a way than even N7 offered. Check out the rest of Cayin's gear here, or view our other USB dongle DACs here.

Cayin Audio, you keep outdoing yourself. When every release from these innovators is expected to be a revolution, N8II had to break significant new ground. This tube or solid-state flagship music player achieves exactly that, with upgrades on every front. N8II plays with a deftness of touch to dynamics, realistic distances and imaging, plus a soundstage bathed in a gentle light that is at the same time detailed but never fatiguing. Headfonics heard N8ii up Cayin's tube DAP game. It went right onto Headfonia's Recommended Buys list. Twister6 heard "Cayin take their original N8 DAP to a whole new level ... beyond of 'everything but the kitchen sink'". Ear Fidelity declares it a "masterclass of a DAP", with "tube and Class A a game changer". Dual ROHM BD34301EKV DAC chips make their debut in N8II and portable audio, fronted by a full Google Play Android 9 operating system. That all feeds Cayin's new timbre selector that applies to both balanced and single-ended discrete amplifier outputs. [See Product Desc. For More] Four years in the making since Cayin's original N8 made history as the first portable tube music player ever, N8II achieves what its predecessor couldn't even have begun to dream of. It doubles up on its 6P1 tube complement in its small signal gain stage, packing two of Nutube's direct-heated dual triodes for true balanced, differential, operation from either its 4.4mm or 3.5mm outputs.  N8II's Nutubes can be turned on or off on both outputs to match your listening preferences. If you choose to bypass tubes, signal direct from the DACs runs to the power stage, benefitting your gear that loves the precise, clean detail associated with transistors. READ ALSO DAPs have gone down the tube Taking inspiration from Cayin's tube/solid-state C9 portable amplifier, N8II's differential analog design relies heavily on common-mode rejection to serve as a clean, transparent – but never sterile – flagship reference with 125dB of signal-to-noise ratio. A marvel of miniaturisation, N8II packs C9's discrete power stage, operating in switchable Class A or Class AB to put out up to 1,200 milliwatts. This bias system ensures the output of watts that are supreme in quality – a result of individual transistors being turned on and operated where their open-loop linearity is optimal to further push distortion down. Cayin leave you the ability to boost N8II's operating voltage beyond 7 volts, further ensuring transistor linearity while guaranteeing headroom for large dynamic swings on bigger cans that need it. However, it's not only about the quantity of power, but more importantly the quality. Signal integrity is key. N8II's volume control remains fully analog, eschewing a lossy digital control thanks to JRC's NJW1195A resistor ladder part, implemented only after the gain stage. Any attenuation is kept far away from the delicate output signal from new ROHM DACs – of which Cayin's implementation has been key. READ ALSO C9 – nothing is too extreme for Cayin BD34301EKV decodes DSD as a native 1-bit stream without PCM processing, owing to N8II's external analog volume control. ROHM's flagship chip's ability to output analog in current, pushing distortion figures down and upping tuning potential via N8II's extensive current-to-voltage I/V converter, also cannot be overlooked. This small-signal segment beginning from the ROHM DACs has been overbuilt for a music player. But what might be considered extreme elsewhere, is only expected from Cayin. Currawong says "N8II is for people who must have the best DAP of its kind, regardless of the cost".  ROHM's input signal processing via dither and advanced clock handling, plus a chip layout that's been streamlined for silent operation, are also talked up. N8II's FPGA feeds a pristine I2S signal to the dual DACs, after which they are upsampled by up to 32 times before being converted according to ROHM's linear-phase digital filters. Cayin have deployed the perfect Google Play-based Android 9 UI to feed every imaginable kind of content to its shiny new digital sub-system hardware. Direct Transport Audio bypasses otherwise mandatory sample rate conversion of stock Android. So play Tidal 16X MQA, Qobuz and Hi-Res Lossless Apple Music as the file was originally encoded with full confidence, with no undue digital tampering. The flexibility yielded by Cayin's Snapdragon 660 CPU and 6GB of RAM running optimised Android 9 is phenomenal, and fully at the service of N8II – Head-Fi's most advanced and complete music player in 2022. Those wanting more horsepower yet from Cayin can look at C9 as a potential stacking option from N8II's balanced line-outs here, browse Cayin's other revolutionary products here, or view all our other music players here.

Cayin Audio's famed amplification packs up to join you back on the road with the launch of C9, featuring 4.4mm and 3.5mm inputs and outputs. Headfonics praise it to the roof as it "revitalises tubes on the go, a traditional niche in our hobby that seems to be forgotten", going on to name it Best Portable Amp of 2021. This battery-powered, tube and solid-state hybrid lands in time for use on your office desks and in hotel rooms, establishing your reference headphone listening anywhere you so choose. [See Product Desc. For More] C9 is a fully-balanced, truly differential amplifier built upon the essentials establishing a device as basically thoroughly engineered. READ ALSO The full blow-by-blow story of C9's technical innovations A high operating voltage of more than eight volts and a reliance on discrete parts for over 90 per cent of the design means C9 is not only capable of putting out over 4 watts per channel, but also ensuring it is the cleanest, most linear kind of signal possible. Achieving 125dB of signal-to-noise ratio would not have been otherwise possible in a discrete design, with all the benefits that brings, without exacting layout. The input section exists on the popular Nutube. C9's dual timbre circuit revolves around two of Korg's fluorescent triodes or toggled solid-state FETs, the philosophical transistor alternative. READ ALSO C9 blurs the line with desktop amplifiers The delicate input signal is then passed to a discrete solid-state output stage that can be switched between working in pure Class A mode or Class AB. Built with individual transistors of Cayin's choosing allows great control over tuning and an innately linear open-loop circuit, with minimal negative feedback, to be fashioned, while producing genuine current for demanding headphone loads. C9 is a brute in ballet shoes, confirmed by the big volume pot controlling dual precise MUSES resistor ladder attenuator parts occurring after the driver stage, kept far from the input signal for maximum integrity.  Line outputs from Cayin's own N7, HiBy Music's R6III plus R2R RS6, and iBasso Audio's DX320 will never be better pampered than via C9. Use it in a mobile stack acting as the platform for Hedd's HEDDphone® – absolutely recommended, says Ear Fidelity – MYSPHERE 3.2, Rosson Audio Designs, plus almost any ABYSS or HIFIMAN, to shine. "And while DAPs come and go", Twister6 believes "C9 should last you a while to enhance any source you pair it up with". Headfonia say it "should really be the first amp to look at to get four completely different sound signatures that's simply impressive". See how Cayin's design chops translate to their desktop amplifier offerings here, or view our other DAC and amplifier offerings here.

Cayin's Lightning cable for Apple users. ***Please note cable is not MFI-certified.

"Anticipated but unpredictable" is the slogan that fronts Cayin Audio's N3 Pro tube music player, and isn't that an apt statement. This actual Raytheon JAN6418 vacuum tube entry-level music player from Head-Fi's tube specialists packs a dual operation (triode or ultra-linear) mode from its 3.5mm output. [See Product Desc. For More] That's before you want to enjoy the detail its 4.4mm solid-state output unearths from dual AKM4493 DAC chips. The switch from emotion to precision is stark. The expectations that follow from the entry tier of portable players completely surpassed. READ ALSO DAPs just went down the tube with Cayin's N3 Pro Sheer versatility had Headfonia impressed. Headfonics "noticed just how many different IEMs I was trying with the N3 Pro's various timbre modes just to see which came out on top". The Headphone List recognised Cayin's need to innovate again. Naturally open, tube mode isn't shy passing high-frequency information. It's perfect for opening up the sound of Acoustune's HS1300SS and HS1695TI, Campfire Audio's Solaris 2020, DUNU's Luna, Grado Labs' Hemp Headphone, Ikko Audio's OH7, Sony's IER-M9, and even the Empire Ears Legend X and Valkyrie II. It's a story that sells itself before its sound does, another on Cayin's long list of firsts told in the form of 10 pages that you can read here. Not content to say they offer the first vacuum tubes in a music player, the ability to toggle amounts of negative feedback via triode and ultra-linear mode is unsurpassed and documented separately here. Also look at N3 Pro's flagship N8 brother here, browse the rest of Cayin's offerings here, or check out the rest of our music players here.

30 years in audio feels like a lifetime, and the N30LE AKM AK4499EQ hybrid tube/solid-state flagship music player is a fitting milestone of Cayin Audio's anniversary in Head-Fi. "With all its available tuning options", Twister6 thinks "you have access to multiple tools to finetune N30LE sound to a perfection". Like Cayin's line flagship N8ii DAP but on steroids, the 300 Nutube-built N30LE give their two prized, rare and out-of-print AKM AK4499EQ DACs from 2019 each the CNC-machined titanium-steel alloy platform to shine upon. N30LE counts on a Hyper Mode that runs maximum Class A bias and operating voltage together, made possible by a power supply built upon an instantaneous EDLC ultracapacitor, to surround said AK4499EQs with an analog stage that is a true statement of Cayin's circuit expertise. With their unrivalled experience working with Korg's Nutubes, N30LE's third-generation 6P1 tube circuit within can be operated with two flavours of sound by adjusting the negative feedback around them – a "Modern" setting emphasising speed and transparency, and "Classic" operation with more warmth and romance. [See Product Desc. For More] Cayin placed these tubes in the voltage gain stage once again, where they will exert the most positive influence on N30LE's final sonics. It's the first and the last time Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM)’s legacy four-channel AK4499EQs will be leashed to Nutubes, marking an historic moment. High quality, linear open-loop small signal from Korg's low-capacitance, high-bandwidth Nutubes running on high operating voltages then feeds a potent discrete solid-state power stage that drives your headphones. Hyper Mode ups the entire operating voltage in the circuit, with a 470mF Electric Double Layer Ultracapacitor (EDLC) capable of discharging DC instantaneously to help reproduce the huge, sudden transients of musical notes into difficult loads.  N30LE's high-voltage rails see operating voltages for its power section rise above 7 volts, the linearity of discrete transistors assured as a result. Cayin's discrete headphone amplifier can be operated in Class AB or an optimal Class A, for sonic tweaking with your favourite earphones and headphones. Differentiating itself from even other flagships that cling to op-amp layouts seeking THX-certification but with inordinate amounts of gain and feedforward/feedback, Cayin's linearity remains excellent already in the open-loop, owing to its high operating voltages and bias. Those ensure individual transistors are working in optimum condition. Distortion and noise are kept low, without resorting to the excessive use of negative feedback. Cayin designed a true-balanced differential amplifier to further improve N30LE's linearity, and you can count on common-mode rejection at its best whenever you plug in via 4.4mm preserving its resolution. It's an output stage that's direct-coupled to improve low-frequency performance, and N30LE audibly plumbs the lowest bass depths. With the extension down low, phase reproduction in the audible human hearing range for taut, hard-hitting and life-like dynamics is excellent. At the tip of the power stage's spear, unconventionally large output transistors ensure excellent current-handling for good reason, to reap the full benefit of N30LE's overbuilt power supplies for analog and digital sections. Unfazed driving even the punishing low impedances of Raven, Odin and Legend Evo from Empire Ears, plus the Vision Ears EXT, Subtonic Audio's Storm, Focals, Fostexs and Rosson Audio Designs, Cayin's 30-year tradition building amplifiers that provide actual power as proper voltage sources into halving resistances continues with N30LE. You'll want to exploit all of N30LE's technical feats by getting as much of your music aboard. So Cayin built in the futuristic Snapdragon 665 SOC and 8GB of RAM to run Android 12 perfectly. A 12,570mAh battery supplies up to 10 hours of use. Stream Hi-Res Lossless Tidal and Apple Music at full bit and sample rates with Cayin's Direct Transport Audio OS that bypasses detrimental Android sample-rate conversion. And in this way, N30LE ensures not just that Cayin's 30th anniversary year keeps getting better, but it also gives AKM's cherished AK4499EQs a fitting farewell as they pass on into history. Celebrate Cayin's milestone more by checking out their other gear here, or view all our other DAPs here.

4.4mm - 3.5mm adapter

It had to be Cayin. From those who gave Head-Fi the first Android-based R2R DAP, and the first similar discrete resistor DAC/amp dongle, comes N7. This all-to-DSD flagship music player is a fitting celebration of Cayin Audio's 30th anniversary. Built of 128 individual resistors and original DSP work carried on a FPGA, the fully-balanced, differential, 1-bit discrete DAC in N7 is proprietary Cayin through and through. It's "the kind of DAP that invigorates your listening experience with headgear that perhaps over time you have gotten a bit blasé about" praised Headfonics. "Cayin is putting the bar very high for themselves and the competition" added Headfonia. Twister6 wrote home about N7 after he adopted it as his daily driver for "flagship-level performance". It's a flagship bargain to eCoustics. ichos-reviews envies "the lucky owner with many hours of pure musical bliss". Cayin doesn't differentiate between CD rips, Hi-Res downloads and Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music streaming. The Android 12, Google Play Store N7 converts all your normal PCM playback into DSD.  All formats are then passed as DSD through N7's precise 1-bit decode, before signal flows on to a balanced 4.4mm discrete transistor headphone amplifier biased into Class A. [See Product Desc. For More] Caiyin's latest innovation combines the best of digital and analog technology to emerge totally unique and apart from an increasingly mature market. N7's corporeal, physical and tangible sound is unmatched by any other DAP. N7 doesn't just sound surprisingly non-digital: it's utterly realistic and true to life. Natural and chock full of resolution, Cayin's landmark release stands apart by presenting music in a spectacular yet totally even-handed way bottom to top. Cayin returns to Sony's Scarlet Book SACD revolution of the 1990s and elevates that conversion philosophy with modern hardware plus a proprietary DSP trick or two. N7's highlight is its 1-bit decoder, drawing inspiration from the Philips and Marantz DSD DACs of yore. N7 converts all PCM files to octo-rate DSD first via DSP logic, while letting native DSD material flow on to the 128 discrete resistors in its fully-balanced DAC – in actuality a simple analog low-pass filter. There's zero error at the point of conversion in a 1-bit DAC. There, Cayin relies on Pulse-Density Modulation (PDM)'s total accuracy, and sheer ease of decoding. The pitch for DSD's 1-bit conversion is digital at its simplest and closest point to analog – level represented only either as a 1 or a 0, switching on or off. To achieve analog, the bitstream is simply low-pass filtered. Cayin's all-to-DSD discrete DAC is accurate ... and also elegant, breakthrough and historic in personal audio. It draws inspiration from the illustrious halls of Hi-Fi, where each EMM Labs, Nagra Audio, Playback Designs and PS Audio 1-bit DAC release has been greeted with accolades and fanfare. N7's discrete proprietary tech immediately differentiates itself from commercial DAC chips, where IC packages are often too small to perform an ideal 1-bit conversion. N7 also avoids the errors of dynamic element matching inherent to 2-7 bit delta-sigma decoders. The delicate analog voltage waveform painstakingly decoded from DSD in N7 is precious. Cayin's R&D, invested building their own DAC, pays off as the fragile small-signal goes on to be handled by a similar discrete bipolar transistor gain stage. This design is more than up to the task of preserving the signal – mere op-amp ICs need not apply. Instead of wasting their DAC development efforts by entrusting the analog job to commercial ICs, Cayin's labour of love continued into its discrete, differential, analog stage for common-mode rejection. N7's driver section counts on all the benefits that come with a discrete bipolar design – low voltage noise, low open-loop gain and the resultantly lower negative feedback necessary, high slew rates and unity gain stability. This accurate linearity means that whatever entered N7's DAC as digital, comes out exactly the same in analog. There's a reason N7 portrays elements within the soundstage with such solidity, the aural images it generates so convincingly rendered – its small signal post-conversion is of the highest quality, and inherently stable without going into oscillation caused by too much gain product. The utmost attention is paid throughout. The results of which can be fed out as a line or pre-amp voltage to a downstream amp such as Cayin's C9 tube/solid-state hybrid portable amplifier. The decoded analog goes through a four-channel analog volume control before reaching the Class A discrete output amp, facilitating that very special 1-bit discrete DSD decode and importantly preserving your music's true dynamic range resolution. N7's high rails see operating voltages for its power section rise above 7 volts, the linearity of discrete transistors assured as a result. Cayin's discrete headphone amplifier can be operated in Class AB or an optimal Class A, for sonic tweaking with your favourite earphones and headphones.  Differentiating itself from even other flagships that cling to op-amp layouts seeking THX-certification but with inordinate amounts of gain and feedforward/feedback, Cayin's linearity remains excellent already in the open-loop, owing to its high operating voltages and bias. Those ensure individual transistors are working in optimum condition. Distortion and noise are kept low, without resorting to the excessive use of negative feedback. Cayin designed a true-balanced differential amplifier to further improve N7's linearity, and you can count on common-mode rejection at its best whenever you plug in via 4.4mm preserving its resolution. It's an output stage that's direct-coupled to improve low-frequency performance, and N7 audibly plumbs the lowest bass depths. With the extension down low, phase reproduction in the audible human hearing range for taut, hard-hitting and life-like dynamics is excellent. At the tip of the power stage's spear, unconventionally large 5 ampere output transistors ensure excellent current-handling for good reason, to reap the full benefit of N7's separately regulated power supplies for analog and digital sections. Capable of following the impedances of the Empire Ears Raven, Odin and Legend Evo down low, Cayin's 30-year tradition building amplifiers that provide actual power as proper voltage sources into halving resistances continues with N7. You'll want to exploit all of N7's technical feats by getting as much of your music aboard. So Cayin built in the futuristic Snapdragon 665 SOC and 4GB of RAM to run Android 12 perfectly. A 9,000mAh battery supplies up to 10 hours of use. Stream 16X Tidal MQA and full Hi-Res Lossless Apple Music at full bit and sample rates with Cayin's Direct Transport Audio OS that bypasses detrimental Android sample-rate conversion. And voilà: there ends the list of exploits as long as Cayin's illustrious history that the discrete 1-bit DSD decoding, Class A N7 brings to market – ready to take on the next 10 years. Also look how Cayin intend to define a new era via their entire catalogue here, or view our other music players here.

Designed by Cayin to fit C9 while keeping both style and functionality. The backplate has vented grilles for heat dissipation while you enjoy hours of pristine playback time offered by the incredible C9.

There's nothing like Enleum's HPA-23RM on the market. As if being one of the only current-source headphone amplifiers on the market isn't enough, HPA-23RM also operates without negative feedback and features a relay-based variable gain volume control in a portable, battery-powered package. Chae Soo-in was never one to design something to please every member of the masses, but the HPA-23RM is possibly the closest he's come to doing so for Head-Fi.  Soundnews handed it their unequivocal Gold Award. "Compaction without sonic degradation is really hard work" said 6Moons but Enleum aced it! Headphone Guru says it packs serious punch driving Susvara. Enleum's current-source technology infuses musical notes and textures with microdynamic zeal and a charged portrayal, associated with the finest Class A designs. It offers ample extension at the frequency extremes and, at the macrodynamic level, delivers scale and stage. Flat impedance headphones such as HiFiMANs, HEDD Audio's Heddphone 2, the ZMF Headphones Caldera and Final Audio's D8000 Pro will thank Enleum. HPA-23RM is the first resurgence of a current-source amplifier since the days Bakoon International rebranded as Enleum. [See Product Desc. For More] And in addition to the HPA-23RM's current-source output, Chae has designed a completely separate circuit and output that functions as the kind of voltage source found in 99 per cent of other amps, intended for use with your Focals, Fostexs and earphones. In this portable Enleum are therefore two entirely different headphone outputs that allow you to mix and match between what sounds best with your transducers, and act as an empowerer for all your flagship sources. 3.5mm or RCA line-in from any of Cayin Audio's N7 and HiBy Music's RS6 or RS8, for fireworks at your desktop or on your travels. But if you are familiar with Enleum and Bakoon, you'll immediately gravitate toward its specialised trademark: the current-source output on 1/4". While there may be temptations to draw quick and easy comparisons to current-mode amplification found in products like Mass-Kobo and Questyle Audio, Enleum's current-source amplification is entirely unique and mutually contradictory. Working in a way that keeps output current levels constant at all times, even as impedance and voltage fluctuate, the HPA-23RM aims to address a perennial problem – that headphones and earphones induce distortion in amplifiers because they are not simple resistive loads, but rather have complex, frequency-dependent, inductive and capacitive components. However, with the HPA-23RM aiming to eliminate distortion by driving headphones as a constant current source, you experience much greater linearity, hearing an output that faithfully reproduces what was received at the source: the input. Reduction in the effects of backward electromotive force from headphone drivers results in a cleaner sound. With greater linearity and a more accurate final product, negative feedback, typically employed to correct glaring errors, can be eliminated in the HPA-23RM. Enleum's circuit transmits the signal faster and can be kept simpler with far less transient intermodulation distortion arising from feedback. Single-ended operation emphasises even-order harmonics over odd ones, granting a natural portrayal of music that never once sounds artificial. Enleum's JET2 sliding bias scheme intelligently monitors the operating conditions of the discrete devices that make up HPA-23RM's circuit/s, ensuring that transistors operate linearly biased against their current sources in single-ended operation, without generating excessive heat from full Class A. This is a thoughtful addition for a portable product. Listeners can enjoy these innovations with both the current-source and 3.5mm voltage-source outputs on the HPA-23RM. If you aren't into art nouveau and aren't ready to embrace Enleum's current-source output, stick with the conventional voltage-source output that has defined gain amplifiers for nearly all of history. Your ears would certainly benefit from experimenting with either circuit, each completely separate from the other. Some of your gear would certainly thank you, especially those that gravitate towards the low output impedance typical of a voltage source, like Focal's Utopia and IEMs. These transducers also particularly crave a low noise floor. HPA-23RM's precise relay-based discrete resistor volume control provides just that – but not in the way you think. Rather than attenuating signal levels, it's a variable gain volume control that leaves the fragile input signal untouched. Instead, it changes the total amount of gain that's applied to the signal, with only the necessary amount used and never incurring the consequence of detrimental noise from an excess. Variable gain is possible only because HPA-23RM is a zero-feedback design. Enleum's volume control is ideal for preserving the signal-to-noise ratio and the true dynamic range of your music. And a fully-regulated 18650 battery power supply, operating at 1.2MHz, similarly ensures a quiet performance. HPA-23RM is thus a tour de force that demonstrates how mature Enleum has become, offering users abundant choices between two completely different circuits in one chassis – each on par with the other in terms of quality, with only synergy defining your final choice. Look up all of Enleum's gear here, or view our other amplifiers here.

Dual Texas Instruments PCM1792s, a heritage chip brought into the future as examined by Headfonics, Headfonia and The Headphone List, for Cayin's N6II. [See Product Desc. For More] You'll be able to see everything from Cayin here and all our other music player options here.  To look up Cayin's other modules for the N6II, view A01, E01, E02 and R01. Before proceeding, you'll also need to check out Headfonia's lowdown on all of the N6II's motherboards released to date!

Designed for the CAYIN N3 Pro. 

If HA-6A and HA-300 MKII were amps you would argue for, HA-3A is the one that's impossible to argue against. Cayin Audio managed to wrap a single-ended Class A 6V6 tube amplifier into a compact A4 sized package, for desktop headphone versatility. Weighing in at just over 10KG, not one gram is wasted with Cayin packing their famed power and output transformer iron into even the smallest member of the pack. It immediately leapt onto Headfonia's Recommended Buys list for a reason. HA-3A is Headphone Guru's "slice of heaven", bringing the benefits of transformers designed and built in-house to meet the demands of modern headphones – both planar-magnetic and dynamic, high or low impedance. [See Product Desc. For More] Flexibility might be the first topic discussed with the lightweight and compact HA-3A, but compromise in quality was never an option. Cayin's point-to-point wiring is de facto again for signal integrity, and the EI core output transformers utilise their shape to take the transparency of 6V6 power tubes out beyond the human hearing range. These power tubes popularised by their use in Gibson and Fender electric guitar amplifiers are run in single-ended Class A. Linearity is a given through the holy grail of bias operation, even at this price point, while tube operating voltages allow for large operating points. Distortion is below even the threshold of HA-3A's bigger HA-6A and HA-300 MKII brothers – clipping theoretically only occurring beyond the former's maximum power envelope.  And any distortion will be of the even-order variety expected of tube amplifiers, for a smooth, warm and holistic sound. 25AX4GT tube rectification rounds out a fully-regulated linear power supply built around Cayin's in-house toroidal power transformer. In there is Cayin's promise – for low cost of entry, weight and size, the flagship trappings of HA-3A are impossible to deny. A regulated linear power supply, Class A bias, high tube operating voltages, low capacitances, even-order harmonics and EI core output transformers ensure Cayin's baby of the bunch gets mentioned over similarly-priced solid-state competitors, and even higher-priced tube alternatives. For those shopping with limitations to size and weight, HA-3A absolutely sounds like an offering without limitations. Particularly if Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and ZMF Headphones are your typical port of call.  As for those without space or weight constraints, make the HA-6A and HA-300 MKII your first candidates, or view Cayin's other offerings here and our other desktop amplifiers here.

Carrying high fidelity audio signal with superior ductility and flexibility.// FEATURES- Sharp yet flexible, we choose premium material for every single cable and craft it with special annealing and recrystallization process- Strong tensile strength proven by conducting a series of professional test to ensure long-time usage in practical conditions- High quality gold-plated connectors that are resistant to corrosion or oxidation// SPECIFICATIONS- Conductor count: 24-core- Wire count: 8-wire- Cable: 8-core 6N Single Crystalized Copper

Cayin Audio’s HA-300 MKII is upon us, to ensure the modern headphone enthusiast can continue to enjoy the magic from historic 300B tubes with any headphone. Important refinements over its predecessor include a MUSES72320 resistor ladder electronic volume control part. This preserves signal-to-noise ratio and channel balance down to the ALPS-controlled encoder's lowest level – perfect for however much, or little, travel you need. A 4.4mm output ensures yet more headphones can be plugged in via Pentaconn’s ubiquitous connector for transformer-balanced operation. With headphones having developed leaps and bounds since the turn of the decade, Cayin guarantee their latest and greatest flagship keeps up with the times. That was exactly as Headfonics discovered, such that any can thrown at it performed in ways not thought possible. [See Product Desc. For More] HA-300 MKII has been built again as a Class A single-ended triode amplifier to preserve the all-important even-order harmonics audio enthusiasts crave from such topologies. But Cayin's flagship remains a truly reference device. The direct-heated magic from Genelex PX300Bs – bearing the Gold Lion mark of quality – continues to provide Cayin with access to square law, load line and graceful soft-clipping triode functions at the drawing board to push down distortion without the crutch of negative feedback.  HA-300 MKII's high tube operating voltage ensures excellent open-loop linearity and additionally reduces the need for negative feedback. Clean power is supplied by a physically separated power supply built around a massive toroid. A choke input in tandem with a huge smoothing capacitor locks stable, quality, DC power in place without sag, post 22DE4 tube rectification. Indeed, power supply regulation is thorough, extending beyond typical small signal regions to encompass even the power stage and high-voltage sections of the amplifier. Huge EI-core output transformers with reinforcing shielding are wound in-house to Cayin’s exact spec for frequency extension at the extremes, lowering impedances and providing immense inductance for the lowest bass reproduction, plus great top-end transparency owing to their shape. Custom-built AudioCapX MultiCap coupling capacitors upgraded for MKII's signal path are also ideal for passing low frequencies and extending bass down to 10Hz. Phase reproduction in the audible human hearing range remains stellar as a result, with taut dynamics and impactful slam – not the wooly affairs of yesteryear's transformer amps. That high bandwidth gets delivered into any working personal audio transducer, with HA-300 MKII's output transformers allowing it to drive low-impedance, low-sensitivity planar-magnetic headphones balanced via 4.4mm and 4-pin XLRs pushing up to 6 watts on the front. That potent Class A power can even be switched to speaker terminals on the rear to drive high-impedance, high-sensitivity passive speakers from the likes of Rogers, DeVORE Fidelity or Zu Audio. What's crazier is this brute in ballet shoes produces next to no hiss into sensitive earphones via 4.4mm ... a true feat, barely imaginable, till this point. There is therefore almost no scenario in which you can't enjoy this HA-300 MKII behemoth. Or, employ a different Cayin specialist that you can browse here, and view all our other amplifiers here.

A local file storage controllable by remote mobile app, Cayin's IDAP-6 outputs optimal digital signal to your downstream DAC. Pampering your precious DAC pays dividends: hear the difference in a clean AES/EBU output or PS Audio-standard I2S, which Cayin's iDAC-6 Mk. II boasts. Ask us about compatibility with your DAC today. You'll be able to see everything from Cayin here and all our other DAC & amp options here.

Another Cayin Audio amplifier that lends you multiple variety. This mid-tier EL34 HA-6A with the top-tier sound gets praised by John Grandberg on Darko.Audio for its multiple flavours and way of excelling with all of them. The ability to roll between EL34 and KT88 power tube variants is special in the world of tube headphone amps. With 19 possible options split across HA-6A's driver and power tube permutations, these choices ensure Cayin's versatile champ is a tube roller's delight thanks to an unrivalled ability to customise the final sonics. No other amp let's you swap HA-6A's stock EL34s for Tung-Sol's 6L6GC STR – the "best modern example" of a model Justin Weber has gone on record calling the "greatest American power tube that ever existed".  Even a sonic hybrid between an EL34 and a KT88 surfaces through Genalex's Gold Lion KT77, like Tung Sol's 6L6 made newly under the quality control of New Sensor Corporation. And great driver tubes show up in JJ's ECC802S, long-plates that have been compared favourably to legendary Mullard and Telefunken options. In a direct shoot-out, even without the extra dimension tube rolling grants, one pundit gave HA-6A the upper hand over the previous usual suspect in class, Woo Audio's WA22. [See Product Desc. For More] Depending on your power tube choice, HA-6A has the ability to dump up to 4.5 watts per channel of pure Class A power into your cans, but that's just the beginning of the story. Large EI core output transformers built in-house to Cayin's spec means it's not just brute force but also finesse ensuring great, clean frequency extension at the bass and treble extremes – otherwise a weak point in other tube amplifiers. Meanwhile, a loosely wound EI core power transformer ensures greater AC line performance over a conventional toroid, avoiding saturation plus the negative impacts caused by the latter's high magnetic flux. A choke input in tandem with smoothing capacitors locks stable, quality, DC power for HA-6A in place without sag, post 22DE4 tube rectification. Running EL34s in either triode or ultra-linear mode, or aftermarket KT88s via a switch on the back, yields multiple pairings. Swap to taste, for perfect sound quality with your beloved TOTL headphones from Audio-Technica, Focal, Sennheiser and ZMF Headphones. Equip with an Element series DAC from Matrix Audio for Roon Ready and Tidal streaming. Make the step further up yet with Cayin's flagship HA-300B MKII here, browse the rest of Cayin's gear here, or check out our other amplifier options here.

The little desktop DAC that could. Cayin's iDAC-6II keeps up with the digital times by upgrading its silicone to ESS Sabre ES9028Pro level. This future-proofing meets the decidedly vintage, though. Opt to employ the tube analog output stage Cayin thoughtfully builds in, to enjoy the best of the past and the future. Excellent refinement of the technology at hand saw Headfonics remark on the iDAC-6II's ability to improve almost any system with its clean, sweet presentation. You'll be able to see everything from Cayin here and all our other DAC options here.

AKM AK4497, based on the winning Cayin N8 flagship formula and celebrated by Headfonics, Headfonia, The Headphone List and Twister6, for Cayin's N6II. [See Product Desc. For More] You'll be able to see everything from Cayin here and all our other music player options here.  To look up Cayin's other modules for the N6II, view T01, E01, E02 and R01. Before proceeding, you'll also need to check out Headfonia's lowdown on all of the N6II's motherboards released to date!

This is Cayin's first release of a 4.4mm balanced cable with 0.78mm 2-pin earphone connectors.  8-wire 28AWG hybrid cable + Unidirectional Crystalised OFC (30 Core Wire )+ Silver Alloy (30 Core Wire) Heat-shrink curling, over-the-ear design High quality gold plated connectors (resist oxidisation & corrosion) Plug: Gold plated brass 4.4mm Designed for the Cayin YB04, compatible with most earphones with 2pin connectors.

2.5mm - 4.4mm adapter

Power hasn't come in a more potent package than Cayin Audio's little desktop iHA-6. Up to seven watts per channel promises to drive every headphone with aplomb, including HiFiMAN's notorious HE-6, Arya and Susvara, plus all Dan Clark Audio FKA MrSpeakers. [See Product Desc. For More] With the ability to improve based on the quality of sources, building blocks for a fantastic desktop rig begins from the iHA-6, said John Grandberg for Innerfidelity. Its 95 per cent discrete design counts on modern power FETs to push some serious power into any pair of cans – this is not an overstatement. Power is not to be confused for loudness here. You'll be able to benefit from the inherent low internal gain typical of any Cayin discrete circuit to drive both the Focal Stellia and HE-6, plus everything in between, in the optimal range of iHA-6's volume control. For anyone familiar with what that means, it's a big deal. You'll also be able to see everything from Cayin here and all our other DAC & amp options here.

YD01 is the stuff of dreams, wielding the magic material that is beryllium. Fantasy's beryllium-plated dynamic driver offers credibility to the idea of a Cayin Audio chain: capably built by the same manufacturer from start to finish, source into IEM.  Cue all associations with beryllium – Fantasy is resolute about its portrayal of detail, with forceful and taut dynamics – and there's still more than meets the eye. [See Product Desc. For More] Chambering affairs in a two-way cavity and magnet structure means airflow in the shell is controlled more precisely, as your music flows from the big, composite diaphragm. The higher magnetic flux as a result allows more linear excursion. Fantasy boasts power, and more importantly, control. Its 10mm driver starts with a sandwich driver core of biocellulose, a paper-like fiber prized in audio for its effective damping at higher frequencies. This surface is then coated with beryllium for the metal's stiffness, lightness and air acceleration properties. That means Fantasy's driver material combination helps it move as a perfect piston over all frequencies up to and above its working range, keeping distortion down due to cone and modal break-up as frequencies rise. It's a truly full-range driver, producing bass all the way to a treble waveform perfectly and accurately. Headfonics were the first to hail it for its "beautiful upper midrange and amazing depth of field". Twister6 were struck by Fantasy's "max clarity and resolution with the min coloration and distortion of the sound". In Everyday Listening's simple terms, it's "out of this world". Fantasy is built in every way as a flagship IEM. Both Advance and Supreme cables from Nobunaga Labs improve this in various ways, as does the myriad of stock tips included. Hear it through a thorough collection of our music players here, browse Cayin's other releases here, or check out all our other earphones here.

A first IEM from Cayin showcases serious credentials. Expansive sound-staging not unlike one or two higher-priced alternatives such as Campfire Audio's Andromeda underline why it's worth your attention. The Headphone List states "from the soundstage, to the resolution, to that smooth, airy treble, the YB04 enthralls you with its unique voice and astonishing performance". With four balanced armature drivers, this affordable mid-fi option brings quality previously undreamed of in this tier.