[ThanatosVI]

I love the N6ii so much that I ended up buying all the boards, so now I have a complete set, and NO external amp to try out the A02.. LMAO

Well then your next quest should be the aquisition of a C9...

 

[bukumurah]

I was considering the C9.. but was not sure if it would be powerful enough for the most demanding or super high impedance headphones.. and there is no way for me to try the C9 out domestically

 

[Andykong]

I was considering the C9.. but was not sure if it would be powerful enough for the most demanding or super high impedance headphones.. and there is no way for me to try the C9 out domestically

If have have difficult headphone in your system already, you can go for a desktop amplifier such as HA-6A, and use A02 line out as source to the amplifier. If you don't have demanding headphone already or didn't plan to buy one immediately, there is no point to wait for the next target. It is like wanting to buy a display card for your computer, but you are worry that you need more graphic power with some unknown games that you might be using in the unknown future.

 

[jmills8]

I was considering the C9.. but was not sure if it would be powerful enough for the most demanding or super high impedance headphones.. and there is no way for me to try the C9 out domestically

Which "most demanding" headphone are you using ?

 

[bukumurah]

At the moment the Audio Technica R70x.. plus I also have the VE Zen 2.0 earbuds with super high impedance that I would consider quite demanding.. LOLs

 

[SHOOTINGTECHIE]

I love the N6ii so much that I ended up buying all the boards, so now I have a complete set, and NO external amp to try out the A02.. LMAO

You might wanna do try a good amp with A02 but I would suggest it only if you have some hard to drive Headphones

R70x loves an amp so invest in a good one

 

[twister6]

At the moment the Audio Technica R70x.. plus I also have the VE Zen 2.0 earbuds with super high impedance that I would consider quite demanding.. LOLs

I covered this pair up in my R01 review, it was no issues driving R70x (470ohm), had it at volume 65, Empyrean at volume 52, and Beyer T5p 2nd at volume 42, and to my ears they were driven to their full potential with R01.

 

[bukumurah]

By the way, apart from the extra power (voltage), would there be any difference in sound signature at all when using the N6ii in Low vs Medium vs High gain at varying volume levels (volume matched by ear) with reasonably sensitive iems or headphones?

 

[Andykong]

At the moment the Audio Technica R70x.. plus I also have the VE Zen 2.0 earbuds with super high impedance that I would consider quite demanding.. LOLs

R70x is high impedance, but not really that demanding in handling, you can check page 4 of C9 review from Alex Twisters.

I have VE Zen 2.0, and I have tested it tonight. With A02 line out to C9 at low gain, you probably won't go beyond this volume setting, this is extremely loud already, and the soundstage of Zen 2.0 is wide opened.

 

[bukumurah]

That is an interesting pair of VE Zen 2.0 with removable cables and Dita OSLO..

 

[Andykong]

I was considering the C9.. but was not sure if it would be powerful enough for the most demanding or super high impedance headphones.. and there is no way for me to try the C9 out domestically

If you plan to get a portable headphone amplifier and worry that C9 is not "powerful enough for the most demanding or super high impedance headphones", then the question is, what is your alternative choice?

 

[Andykong]

That is an interesting pair of VE Zen 2.0 with removable cables and Dita OSLO..

I believe that is VE Zen 2.0 Omega Edition.

 

[bukumurah]

Honestly I am not very sure myself.. but according to a friend who is a trusted local reviewer, an AC-powered amp is always better with a lot more headroom if compared with even the best battery-powered ones.. so all along I had been looking at the C9 with that in mind..

 

[Andykong]

Honestly I am not very sure myself.. but according to a friend who is a trusted local reviewer, an AC-powered amp is always better with a lot more headroom if compared with even the best battery-powered ones.. so all along I had been looking at the C9 with that in mind..

Yes, definitely, that's why I stated that if have have difficult headphone in your system already, you can go for a desktop amplifier such as HA-6A, and use A02 line out as source to the amplifier. I have repeated this recommendation several time in this thread already.

The key question is, do you want to stay with portable usage? Or do you plan to use desktop system? If you plan to stick with portable, you should have avoud those portable unfrienfly headphones to start with, agree?

 

[utdeep]

I got the A02 too with no external amp. I’ve had the C9 twice now and it hasn’t made me happy. The R01 is simply amazing with my Sennheiser IE900s and the LCD-4Z. Super curious about how it will sound with no external amp with the LCD-5 I should have soon.

The Cayin C9 is a preference issue I think. I found that in every circumstance that I needed an external amp, the iFi Diablo felt better to me. Since the iFi Diablo has a decent DAC, then just about any player would work well as a data source.

On the other hand, if I don’t need an external amp, I can’t imagine a better player than the Cayin N6ii with R01.