Cayin C9: Dual Nutube, Fully Balanced Class A/AB Portable HeadAmp
Feb 10, 2021 at 6:33 AM Post #1,037 of 6,204
yes, maybe not full body case, just enough to protect from light bump and scratches.
 
Feb 10, 2021 at 10:20 AM Post #1,043 of 6,204
Small corner at home for a poor man just learning about music
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Feb 10, 2021 at 10:21 AM Post #1,044 of 6,204
Feb 10, 2021 at 10:56 AM Post #1,046 of 6,204
Good to hear about the Hugo 2 synergy. Any more impressions of this pairing? Are you going via RCA or 3.5mm to 3.5mm IC?
I am doing it through 3.5 to 3.5 mm IC, and I have tried both the Pre-in mode and line-in mode of C9. The effects are quite similar: You get mostly Hugo 2 sound signature plus a lot more power in the output. The sound did become slightly more analytical, I think partly due to me using the SS mode of C9.

In addition, I have found that the degree C9 (even in line-in) changes the signature of the source vary from source to source. For example, I have always found Hugo 2 to have a dominant sound signature (in a good way), so what C9 does is mainly giving it more power. If I use a source like LPG, the change in sound signature is much more noticeable.
 
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Feb 10, 2021 at 11:02 AM Post #1,047 of 6,204
I am doing it through 3.5 to 3.5 mm IC, and I have tried both the Pre-in mode and line-in mode of C9. The effects are quite similar: You get mostly Hugo 2 sound signature plus a lot more power in the output. The sound did become slightly more analytical, I think partly due to me using the SS mode of C9.

In addition, I have found that the degree C9 (even in line-in) changes the signature of the source vary from source to source. For example, I have always found Hugo 2 to have a dominant sound signature (in a good way), so what C9 does is mainly giving it more power. If I use a source like LPG, the change in sound signature is much more noticeable.
Isn’t the 3.5mm the phone out ? RCA will be your true line out. I think the differences of influences between sources that you observed is from the True line out on LPG vs the phone out ?
 
Feb 10, 2021 at 11:05 AM Post #1,048 of 6,204
Isn’t the 3.5mm the phone out ? RCA will be your true line out. I think the differences of influences between sources that you observed is from the True line out on LPG vs the phone out ?
I have checked this. Hugo 2's line-out mode is really just setting its volume/output power to max. RCA and phone out all share the same source in the back, just different output formats as I understand it.
 
Feb 10, 2021 at 11:10 AM Post #1,049 of 6,204
I have checked this. Hugo 2's line-out mode is really just setting its volume/output power to max. RCA and phone out all share the same source in the back, just different output formats as I understand it.
So it doesn’t have any Line out, and that is why the C9 influences it differently than LPG which I assumes having true line out

The C9 has the ability to expose the quality of line in performances from the source very well. That is how I come to realize the Max has a true Balanced Out Vs others which has Pseudo Line Out and especially VS just phones out
 
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Feb 10, 2021 at 11:24 AM Post #1,050 of 6,204
So it doesn’t have any Line out, and that is why the C9 influences it differently than LPG which I assumes having true line out

The C9 has the ability to expose the quality of line in performances from the source very well. That is how I come to realize the Max has a true Balanced Out Vs others which has Pseudo Line Out and especially VS just phones out
I think this is very true. From a different angle, this is not necessarily a bad thing for the combo of Hugo 2 + C9; I enjoyed its sound signature very much, but just have some complaint for its power in driving full-size headphones. Adding a C9 to it helps to address this.
 

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