[Vitaly2017]

not really, i just ask about this with Caiyin. They told me that only the low-pass filter part of 1792a is in dsd mode.

I still have no idea what that means or how it works lol. This is new stuff for me ...

 

[jmills8]

I still have no idea what that means or how it works lol. This is new stuff for me ...

You do not talk to me that way!! I am a Division Manager!! I can do 100 push-ups in twenty minutes.

 

[Andykong]

I ment that from what Andy said the amp t01 is pushing sound out being in dsd all the time...

No, this is not what I said.
What you described "pushing sound out being in dsd all the time", is commonly referred as "All-to-DSD", this is a transcoding function that involve transform all PCM bitstream to DSD BEFORE decoding. T01 didn't have this function, and we never claim we had.

What I described was related to the decoding setting in PCM1792A, which was the original question about. Most DAC chipset will not handle All to DSD or All to PCM type transcoding, you need an extra SRC chipset (e.g., AK4137EQ from AKM), or a powerful FPGA handling the DDC conversion, which is not we are discussing, nor existed in N6ii (T01).

not really, i just ask about this with Caiyin. They told me that only the low-pass filter part of 1792a is in dsd mode.

For those who are interested in the technical explanation in detail, please download the PCM1792A datasheet from Texas Instrument and read through the 61 pages (even if you don't understand most of it like me ). TheT01 has both PCM mode and DSD mode enabled, and the DAC chipset will engage (or operate, whatever you call it) in PCM mode or DSD mode automatically, depends on the nature of the incoming bitstream. If the DAC chipset is operated in PCM mode only, it will not be able to sync with the 5.6MHz and 11.2MHz bitstream, as suggested by the datasheet of the DAC chipset.

We were focused on the behaviour of PCM1792A in previous discussion. The truth is, the different goes beyond the DAC chipset and affected by the overall implementations (as always). In the case of original N6 vs T01, the FPGA, DAC chipset setting, and LPF specifications are all designed differently. The FPGA in N6ii is lot more powerful then that in N6, and we used second order LPF in N6 (as required by PCM decoding) vs third order LPF in T01 (as required by DSD decoding).

 

[Wild Boar]

Deleted

 

[Taz777]

Back in post #3,941 I gave my views of the Cayin N6ii + E01 module + beyerdynamic Xelento IEMs:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cay...rized-smart-dap.904153/page-263#post-15531659

I've now had a chance to test out the A01 module with this combo.

Cayin N6ii + A01 module + beyerdynamic Xelento IEMs

My source music was streamed Qobuz Hi-Res and some CD-quality FLACs stored locally on my N6ii. The reason for the Qobuz Hi-Res tracks was that I've been listening to a new album that was released a few days ago using the E01 module and a couple of the tracks were very fresh in mind and had been listened to more than five times each, listening out for every detail possible.

The listening environment was a very quiet bedroom at night, so there was very little ambient noise.

The volume was set at 36, which is slightly lower than I had set for the E01 module.

Tracks list (song / album / artist / source):
A Woman Like Me / A Woman Like Me / Lindsey Webster / Qobuz Hi-Res 24-bit 44.1kHz
Always Love Me / A Woman Like Me / Lindsey Webster / Qobuz Hi-Res 24-bit 44.1kHz
Just Imagine / Vincent Ingala / Can't Stop Now / FLAC 16-bit 44.1kHz
Love Is Always Young / Got It Goin' On / Chieli Minucci/ FLAC 16-bit 44.1kHz
Harbor Nights / Incognito / Spyro Gyra / FLAC 16-bit 44.1kHz
Cruisin' / Just The Beginning / Adam Hawley / FLAC 16-bit 44.1kHz
I Can See It In Your Eyes / Walk The Walk / Rob Zinn / FLAC 16-bit 44.1kHz
101 Eastbound / The Very Best of Smooth Jazz [Disc 1] / Fourplay / FLAC 16-bit 44.1kHz
Until Always / The New Edge / Acoustic Alchemy / FLAC 16-bit 44.1kHz
The Principle of Pleasure / Sunlight / Chris Standring / FLAC 16-bit 44.1kHz

These are mostly smooth jazz tracks, fairly well recorded, and with a lot of detail and subtle sounds, a good contrast of instrument sounds and some vocals from Lindsey Webster who has an amazing voice. They also have a decent dynamic range.

Now, for how these tracks sounded to my ears.

I would say that the bass and sub-bass is almost on a par with the E01 module, with the E01 module presenting this a little more smoothly.

The overall presentation from the A01 module, across all of the tracks listed above, was somewhat more forward than that from the E01 module. Psychologically, this made me feel that the musicians and vocalists were too close to me and I was being 'suffocated' and just wanted everything to move back a little. There was also a little less of the layering that I found with the E01 module (i.e it was not as easy for me to locate individual musicians in a song compared to the E01 module). Everything was there and generally in the right place in the soundstage, but I had to listen more intently for each individual instrument.

Trying to describe these impressions in another way: with the E01 module an instrument in the background would 'invite' me, or draw me, in to the soundstage stage, and I could focus in it very easily. It was if the musicians were each saying 'Come over here and listen to this!'. With the A01 module I had to, in my mind, walk around the soundstage myself in order to see who was doing what in terms of the individual performances of the musicians. The presentation of the music was slightly less inviting. Apologies if this sounds crazy but that's the only way I can describe it!

I also found the A01 a touch more fatiguing to listen to. This might be for two reasons: I had to work harder to to explore the soundstage, and there was a tiny bit more 'harshness' in the overall sound. This did surprise me. We are talking tiny differences here but after a couple of hours of continuous listening, I did start to notice this slight harshness was detracting from my enjoyment of the music. In contrast, with the E01 module I couldn't stop listening until I forced to get some sleep. The very forward presentation contributed to this earlier fatiguing with the A01 module.

Now, for travel use, none of the above would really be noticeable, apart from the slightly more forward presentation of the A01 module. The big advantage the A01 has is battery life, so it will be the module that I use for travel. The E01 will remain my preferred module for bedtime, critical listening where sound quality is paramount.

I hope that gives an idea for those who are interested in the differences that I hear between the A01 and E01 modules, and how the music is presented by the beyerdynamic Xelento IEMs through these modules.

 

[Taz777]

@CayinSupport Is there a way to make the N6ii behave as a digital transport? In other words, can I use its digital output to feed an external DAC? Here's what I would like to achieve:

Qobuz streaming --> Cayin N6ii --> External DAC --> Headphone amp

So I just need the N6ii to act as a digital transport. I notice that there is an I2S interface, but I cannot find any documentation on how to use this interface.

 

[DrumSeb]

Mine works well, just make sure to update the player...
I use also the Cayin custom cable USB-C coaxial to 3.5mm, it sound a bit better to me..

 

[Currawong]

I still have no idea what that means or how it works lol. This is new stuff for me ...

Honestly, I wouldn't care about it. The important things in a DAP are this: Is it pleasant to listen to music with, using your preferred IEMs or headphones? Does it have the functionality and battery life you want? Everything else is pretty much irrelevant.

 

[DrumSeb]

@CayinSupport Is there a way to make the N6ii behave as a digital transport? In other words, can I use its digital output to feed an external DAC? Here's what I would like to achieve:

Qobuz streaming --> Cayin N6ii --> External DAC --> Headphone amp

So I just need the N6ii to act as a digital transport. I notice that there is an I2S interface, but I cannot find any documentation on how to use this interface.

Very simple, plug and play, You just need a usb-c cable to your DAC. But the N6ii does sound already very good.

 

[Taz777]

@DrumSeb This is to enhance my bedside system. Of course, for normal use I listen to the N6ii directly and It sounds amazing. However, I want to make more use of very high impedance headphones and to bypass the internal DAC sometimes - for example, if I have the E01 module in my N6ii then that has no line out, it would save me swapping to the A01 module.

The way I understand things is that I have two options:

1. Use the I2S interface with a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable from N6I to my external DAC (assuming the external DAC has an I2S input);

2. Use the USB-C interface with a USB Type-C OTG cable and a USB to whatever my DAC has.

My understanding is that the I2S interface provides a better digital stream in terms of clocking.

 

[DaYooper]

Cayin has on their site, and on Amazon, a usb-c to digital coax cable.

 

[DrumSeb]

I think the I2S is just compatible with Cayin, and PS audio DAC.
But, should be the best..
Also, You can buy a Coaxial USB-c to 3.5mm..So the Module output doesn't matter much. ( Cayin Custom Cable).

 

[Taz777]

I think the I2S is just compatible with Cayin, and PS audio DAC.
But, should be the best..
Also, You can buy a Coaxial USB-c to 3.5mm..So the Module output doesn't matter much. ( Cayin Custom Cable).

From what I understand (and I may be wrong), the I2S interface is compatible with the pinouts of PS Audio’s DACs. So, in theory, any external DAC with an I2S input that is wired to PS Audio’s specs should work. I’m just intrigued by I2S and want to explore this output on the N6ii. From a cable point of view this is ideal as any mini-HDMI cable to HDMI should work. Obviously the DAC would need an I2S input in the form factor of an HDMI socket.

I’m hoping @CayinSupport can clarify. My backup plan is to use the USB-C dongle as you’ve mentioned.

 

[greyforest]

From what I understand (and I may be wrong), the I2S interface is compatible with the pinouts of PS Audio’s DACs. So, in theory, any external DAC with an I2S input that is wired to PS Audio’s specs should work. I’m just intrigued by I2S and want to explore this output on the N6ii. From a cable point of view this is ideal as any mini-HDMI cable to HDMI should work. Obviously the DAC would need an I2S input in the form factor of an HDMI socket.

I’m hoping @CayinSupport can clarify. My backup plan is to use the USB-C dongle as you’ve mentioned.

different i2s interface is wired differently, there is no universal standard. Some interface allows you to define the signal path inside the hdmi cable, but most of them are not. I2s in theory is ideal for transmitting digital data, because in the end both spdif and usb signals all got translated into i2s and than feed to the dac.

 

[royalemint]

@Andykong Sorry if this has been discussed before, I have a question about burning in the E01 dac amp. Should I burn it in A class mode or AB class mode or it doesn't matter? I was planning to do A class 200 hrs and AB class 200 hrs. Thank you in advance. Stay safe, stay healthy.