[twister6]

I think he was being sarcastic!!

As a reviewer I hear this every week, so I know some people really mean it lol!

 

[dannyvstheworld]

China MSRP was just announced - CNY 12999. Approximately USD 2000 (or should I say USD 1999).

 

[Andykong]

Cayin C9: TOTL Portable Headphone Amplifier

Cayin was founded in 1993 and is one of the largest audio tube amplifier development and manufacturing facilities in the world. We have developed over 400 products to date, ranging from CD players to speakers, all of which provide the same high-quality benchmark, but our amplifiers have been particularly well-received within the audio community. That's why when we venture into Personal Audio back in 2013, we started with C5, a portable headphone amplifier, because amplifier is always our purest achievement.

The N8 DAP marked our milestone in Personal Audio and laid down the foundation for a flagship portable headphone amplifier. The 2018 N8 was Cayin’s first cost-no-objective product in Personal Audio, but that does not mean we can ignore the scientific (physic and electronic engineering) constraints, so by the end of the N8 R&D, we pondered: what if we can find a way to relax the physical constraints? What if when we have more space, more battery power, more room for heat dispersion, …., we know we need to apply the law of subtraction and take away some features in order to stay focused. There were several ideas on the table: C8, C8DAC, ….etc, eventually we started off with C8 and today we delivered the C9.

As the model number has implied, C9 is the top model in Cayin product lineup. When we develop N8, we decided to use “8” because that is a lucky number to Chinese and we also visualized that there might be technology advancement to DAP down the road. For C9, we didn’t need to reserve that leeway because we know the analogue engineering inside out, it’s very mature and as far as Cayin’s concern, this is our ultimate.

The C9 will be available by 20 January 2021 and the suggested retail price is US$1,999. Price and date might vary because of logistic and tax consideration. Please consult your Cayin dealer for local availability and price.

For detail design and specification of C9, please refer the updated opening post HERE.

 

[arijitroy2]

Cayin C9: TOTL Portable Headphone Amplifier

Cayin was founded in 1993 and is one of the largest audio tube amplifier development and manufacturing facilities in the world. We have developed over 400 products to date, ranging from CD players to speakers, all of which provide the same high-quality benchmark, but our amplifiers have been particularly well-received within the audio community. That's why when we venture into Personal Audio back in 2013, we started with C5, a portable headphone amplifier, because amplifier is always our purest achievement.

The N8 DAP marked our milestone in Personal Audio and laid down the foundation for a flagship portable headphone amplifier. The 2018 N8 was Cayin’s first cost-no-objective product in Personal Audio, but that does not mean we can ignore the scientific (physic and electronic engineering) constraints, so by the end of the N8 R&D, we pondered: what if we can find a way to relax the physical constraints? What if when we have more space, more battery power, more room for heat dispersion, …., we know we need to apply the law of subtraction and take away some features in order to stay focused. There were several ideas on the table: C8, C8DAC, ….etc, eventually we started off with C8 and today we delivered the C9.

As the model number has implied, C9 is the top model in Cayin product lineup. When we develop N8, we decided to use “8” because that is a lucky number to Chinese and we also visualized that there might be technology advancement to DAP down the road. For C9, we didn’t need to reserve that leeway because we know the analogue engineering inside out, it’s very mature and as far as Cayin’s concern, this is our ultimate.

The C9 will be available by 20 January 2020 and the suggested retail price is US$1999. Price and date might vary because of logistic and tax consideration. Please consult your Cayin dealer for local availability and price.

For detail design and specification of C9, please refer the updated opening post HERE.

Hi Andy, do you have any idea if any dealers from EU have them in Stock right now or would have shortly? Thanks!

 

[Andykong]

For the record, we finally received the ALPS potentiometer yesterday, so we make a short video clip immediately. In fact the original order is still pending at Dalian, nothing is going in or coming out since 22 December. We placed another order from Hong Kong dealer, but it takes several days to clear the custom, a lot longer than previous practise. Fortunately the potentiometer arrived before the final deadline. If we couldn't receive the package by this weekend, we might need to postpone the C9 to 1 March, after the long break of Chinese New year.

 

[Andykong]

Hi Andy, do you have any idea if any dealers from EU have them in Stock right now or would have shortly? Thanks!

Definitely not right now, the first production batch was a small scale test-run, and all the units were used as safety licensing, show demos, and send to dealer as sample only, there isn't any retail unit available as of today, not even in China. The first batch will be rolled out from our factory next week, on 20 January. I don't have the sales allocation with me, that table changed everyday and it's outside my scope as consultant.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Cayin C9: TOTL Portable Headphone Amplifier

Cayin was founded in 1993 and is one of the largest audio tube amplifier development and manufacturing facilities in the world. We have developed over 400 products to date, ranging from CD players to speakers, all of which provide the same high-quality benchmark, but our amplifiers have been particularly well-received within the audio community. That's why when we venture into Personal Audio back in 2013, we started with C5, a portable headphone amplifier, because amplifier is always our purest achievement.

The N8 DAP marked our milestone in Personal Audio and laid down the foundation for a flagship portable headphone amplifier. The 2018 N8 was Cayin’s first cost-no-objective product in Personal Audio, but that does not mean we can ignore the scientific (physic and electronic engineering) constraints, so by the end of the N8 R&D, we pondered: what if we can find a way to relax the physical constraints? What if when we have more space, more battery power, more room for heat dispersion, …., we know we need to apply the law of subtraction and take away some features in order to stay focused. There were several ideas on the table: C8, C8DAC, ….etc, eventually we started off with C8 and today we delivered the C9.

As the model number has implied, C9 is the top model in Cayin product lineup. When we develop N8, we decided to use “8” because that is a lucky number to Chinese and we also visualized that there might be technology advancement to DAP down the road. For C9, we didn’t need to reserve that leeway because we know the analogue engineering inside out, it’s very mature and as far as Cayin’s concern, this is our ultimate.

The C9 will be available by 20 January 2020 and the suggested retail price is US$1999. Price and date might vary because of logistic and tax consideration. Please consult your Cayin dealer for local availability and price.

For detail design and specification of C9, please refer the updated opening post HERE.

Very impressive work Andy really looking into it, I am now torn between M8 + C9 or M30 hmmm

C9 has some amazing features, its nice to see that the market is going fully into ToTL iem arena. Perfect timing for C9!

 

[arijitroy2]

Very impressive work Andy really looking into it, I am now torn between M8 + C9 or M30 hmmm

C9 has some amazing features, its nice to see that the market is going fully into ToTL iem arena. Perfect timing for C9!

You cant use M30 as a preamp, and for me is where C9 wins, I can use BX2 plus as power amp then for heavy duty phones!! Although I am quite tempted by M30 but not sure what the output power is in that.

 

[vkenz]

I think this is exactly how they do the pricing. The thing is N8 is already incredibly expensive...

Yeah, and the N8 have these wonderfully sounding DAC + Music Player + digital connectivity etc etc. + 2 AMPs (SS + Tube). And this C9 is just the AMP portion of the N8 more or less. Now, is it worth it?

 

[Vitaly2017]

You cant use M30 as a preamp, and for me is where C9 wins, I can use BX2 plus as power amp then for heavy duty phones!! Although I am quite tempted by M30 but not sure what the output power is in that.

They said it will run any headphones even the hard to drive and the sensitive iems to.

But me I am using tia Fourté Noir and they barely require any power lol. But from my experience of trying different gears, a super high quality amp will still improve the sound quality experience by a lot even for small iems.... It improves details perception, atmospheric feel, open sound, all sound get lifted with a better quality amplitude...

 

[arijitroy2]

They said it will run any headphones even the hard to drive and the sensitive iems to.

But me I am using tia Fourté Noir and they barely require any power lol. But from my experience of trying different gears, a super high quality amp will still improve the sound quality experience by a lot even for small iems.... It improves details perception, atmospheric feel, open sound, all sound get lifted with a better quality amplitude...

I know, that's why I use Luna with BX2 plus on high gain It's a treat!!

 

[vkenz]

Hi twister6, I've loved reading your reviews for many years now.

I think you're right. My passion is single-DD earphones and no modern DAP I've heard has a high-enough quality headphone amp to drive them to their full potential. I've yet to hear the DX220MAX or Kann Alpha and imagine they'd have a bit more oomph than usual, but earphones particularly those with DDs can scale far better than people think and benefit enormously from the addition of an standalone amp, and that's without even bringing the magic of tubes into the conversation.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn a N6ii/A02/C9 type system could sonically surpass an SP2000 alone (or equivalent) quite easily. Cayin's problem is you don't need to re-wire the brains of most humans to happily spend large amounts on flashy electronic devices with small screens because Apple & co. have done all the hard work for them. Convincing them to spend thousands on an analog amplifier when no shortage of community "experts" will tell them a DAP offers all the power they need is another story

Besides they may even be correct when it comes to all-BA earphones, or at the very least any money spent on an amp in that case probably won't yield full benefit just as cash spent on cables to feed single-DD earphones won't be as well-spent as if they were all-BA. Removing true enthusiasts from the equation, I also wonder how hard Covid has hit the luxury goods market and whether Cayin would've chosen to pursue this project had the pandemic arrived before they started.

Nonetheless I'm very earger to read future C9 impressions. Perhaps they can raise the bar of portable amp performance?

Very doubtful it could. But yeah, maybe it will be a welcome surprise. Hehe. The more you listen to the SP2000, the more it says to you why, it is the "one".

 

[Vitaly2017]

I know, that's why I use Luna with BX2 plus on high gain It's a treat!!

Unfortunately bx2 didn't work for me and I still found it was not 100% transparent, it have slightly minimally altered the sound or did not fully translated ir in its full original form....
Maybe it was romi interconect cable doing that?

Also bx2 had a volume problem, to strong so even i low gain I was at maximum 1/4 and it had glitches and volume fade out due to channel disbalance in the potentiometer at very low volumes.

In my opinion C9 is the top new amp to go, it has a lot neet fetures

 

[arijitroy2]

Unfortunately bx2 didn't work for me and I still found it was not 100% transparent, it have slightly minimally altered the sound or did not fully translated ir in its full original form....
Maybe it was romi interconect cable doing that?

Also bx2 had a volume problem, to strong so even i low gain I was at maximum 1/4 and it had glitches and volume fade out due to channel disbalance in the potentiometer at very low volumes.

In my opinion C9 is the top new amp to go, it has a lot neet fetures

Weird, I have none of those issues! Infact I and other users who have got it discussed how transparent and clean it is. Does not color the sound, pure amplification. This makes me realize that R8's amps are bit on the warm side rather.

I do use the silver 4.4mm interconnect cable from Romi, but I also have one other from 3rd party both sound the same! Might be a faulty unit of yours I guess?

I always wanted a Korg NuTube based amp, didnt get to buy the AMP9 from Ibasso, but now C9 is here and most likely will go for it.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Weird, I have none of those issues! Infact I and other users who have got it discussed how transparent and clean it is. Does not color the sound, pure amplification. This makes me realize that R8's amps are bit on the warm side rather.

I do use the silver 4.4mm interconnect cable from Romi, but I also have one other from 3rd party both sound the same! Might be a faulty unit of yours I guess?

I always wanted a Korg NuTube based amp, didnt get to buy the AMP9 from Ibasso, but now C9 is here and most likely will go for it.

Is it ibasso dx200 you have ? You seem to like clinical sterile sound I am the complet opposite.

Talking of R8 you said right, it has a small hint of warmth which makes it sound more life like and slightly less clinical. I have the R8 and M8 right now also ordered dx300. For me R8 is too lean and not musical. Its too natural and neutralish. I need coloration, vibes, waves and musical curves

R8 is a very good dap but not with what I am after.