[bluesaint]

Will it not supported DSD 256 to 512 under windows?  Is the DSD portion amanero based or?
 
Quote:

Cayin will join CanJam SoCal later this Saturday (19-20 March), we'll display the iDAC-6 in the event. If you are coming to CanJam, please drop by and check out the this new DAC. The iDAC-6 is small, but it does has everything you need from a DAC. This is Cayin first DAC primarily designed for Headfi system, and the footprint is so compact that it will fit on a desktop or bedside very well, don't miss the opportunity to check out the DAC.

 

[hugoboss]

at last this cayin can find now in taobao for i can say very good price maybe the best price performance in its price range
 
i have some curiosity for you Andy
1. why the tube is place in the dac , not the iah6, isnt the effect of tube can more be heard if it inside the iah6
2. i cant see any 6.4mm or 3.5mm jack output , only balance type .so no 6.4mm or 3.5mm at all?

 

[Andykong]

at last this cayin can find now in taobao for i can say very good price maybe the best price performance in its price range

i have some curiosity for you Andy
1. why the tube is place in the dac , not the iah6, isnt the effect of tube can more be heard if it inside the iah6
2. i cant see any 6.4mm or 3.5mm jack output , only balance type .so no 6.4mm or 3.5mm at all?

When we design the combo, we set the goal to match up as many headphone as possible, to do that we need to accommodate TWO factors: capability to drive headphone with wide range of sensitivity/impedance/current/damping factors, and tonal characteristic to match with versatile headphone selection, from the darker HD650/LCD to the brighter HD800/HE6. After a lengthy study and listening test, we decided to go for a DAC with versatile choices of timbre (2 output stage x 5 digital filter), and a headphone amplifier that can offer several voltage and current combinations (2 current mode x 2 gain selection) for headphone load. That's why we put tubes in DAC instead of headphone amplifier.

In fact this is not the first time we go for this approach. If you check out the CDT-17AMK2 CD player from Cayin, you'll notice 4 x Amperex6922 in the output stage of the CD player, the iDAC-6 simply inherit the techniques and tradition of Cayin's HiFi product concept.


(Photo from hiendy. com/hififorum)

Last but not least, one of the design objective for the iDAC-6/iHA6 is to enable trouble free music appreciation for all sectors including the non-audiophile users, so product stability is a big concern. Cayin will have a few tube headphone amplifiers down the road, but for a more life-style based product, we think Solid State headphone amplifier will have some practical advantages.

iHA6 has two 6.35mm headphone output, marked as low and high impedance on the front-panel. The XLR socket in iHA-6 are XLR/Phone combo socket, that's the only way to squeeze a complete headphone output interface on a small panel. Please check out John's (Project86) iHA-6 thread, he did mentioned using the single ended output from iHA-6, and you can find the specification of iHA-6 as well.

 

[Andykong]

Will it not supported DSD 256 to 512 under windows? Is the DSD portion amanero based or?

The iDAC-6 can support DSD64 and DSD128 only.

We used XMOS USB solution in iDAC-6

 

[project86]

The iDAC-6 can support DSD64 and DSD128 only.

We used XMOS USB solution in iDAC-6

 
 
But what about my huge collection of native DSD512 recordings?!?! Hundreds of albums....
 
 
Kidding of course. I still can't find much of my favorite music in hi-res PCM much less DSD of any type. DSD256 and DSD512 is basically a tech demo imho. 

 

[hugoboss]

i found some interesting review which use some famous headphone comparison and the reviewer found the best sound is beyer t1 here is the link
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://tieba.baidu.com/p/4107294294&prev=search

 

[hugoboss]

here is another review
 
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=http://audioivoodoo.blogspot.com/2015/12/cayin-idac-6-cayin-iha-6-zabojcze.html&prev=search

 

[swannie007]

  here is another review
 
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=http://audioivoodoo.blogspot.com/2015/12/cayin-idac-6-cayin-iha-6-zabojcze.html&prev=search

Interesting reading! I take it the reviewer really likes the combo. I am not surprised as I have numerous pieces of gear from Cayin and they all perform way above their price point. I am sure these will be no exception and I look forward to listening to them in the future. Oh yea, I love the look of the combo and the small footprint, ideal for my desk. Cheers from Oz.

 

[Andykong]

But what about my huge collection of native DSD512 recordings?!?! Hundreds of albums....


Kidding of course. I still can't find much of my favorite music in hi-res PCM much less DSD of any type. DSD256 and DSD512 is basically a tech demo imho. 

I wish I can live to see that day my friend.

All set and waiting to get on board, lets hope everything works out, rushing like hell, as usual.

 

[Andykong]

i found some interesting review which use some famous headphone comparison and the reviewer found the best sound is beyer t1 here is the link
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://tieba.baidu.com/p/4107294294&prev=search

here is another review

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=http://audioivoodoo.blogspot.com/2015/12/cayin-idac-6-cayin-iha-6-zabojcze.html&prev=search

Well, I mentioned some headphone pairing in the iHA-6 thread briefly, I agree with the contributor that the iDAC-6 and iHA-6 pair with T1 very well, better then the HD800 in my opinion. Since I prefer HD800 over T1 personally, so there is some synergy with T1 for sure.

 

[project86]

I don't have a T1 here at the moment. I'll have to track down one of the new 2nd gen models and give it a shot. Closest I have right now is the AKT5p which sounds overly warm from the single-ended output. I need to get an adapter to run it in balanced mode and then I'm sure it would improve - even the "low" impedance 1/4" jack is still a bad match for 32 ohm dynamic headphones. Audeze and HiFiMAN do great though, as do higher impedance Sennheisers. 

 

[project86]

Just realized we are talking about the amp, but this is the DAC thread - so here are a few more thoughts.
 
The DAC is super versatile. I pair it with the Auralic Taurus and activate the tube output when using HD800 (a somewhat bright combo). Or use SS out when pairing with V281 and Audeze headphones (a darker pairing). I trim volume a bit when using the Cayin in my speaker rig - switching from the NuPrime ST-10 amp (28dB gain) to a pair of the STA-9 monoblocks (22dB gain), it's nice to have that option. Then I switch filters and mess with balanced versus XLR outputs to get very subtle differences.
 
Overall it's an excellent, bulletproof little DAC that does anything you could ask. I'm very impressed with it. 

 

[grizzlybeast]

 

 
Not mine...wish it were! sounds pretty good on a first listen. tight bass too. 

 

[swannie007]

What is that beautiful red device on the right of the Cayins?

 

[project86]

Looks life a Trafomatic. They do all sorts of custom colors, which look surprisingly good (I'd be scared to order anything too bright but I do like the look in other rigs).