Have you tried using the full Mark Levinson Reference series driving a pair of 100+dB sensitiveity horn speaker? Or using a pair of Audio Note Quest 8Wpc SETA to drive the Magico M6 or M9? Absolutely no compromise?
TBH, using a 500mW per channel DAP driving a pair of 115db BA IEM is not significantly different.
Lol
Your examples are nonsense. Obviously, we need products that are adapted to each other. But the basis of a dap, of a (digital or analogue) source, and generally of electronics, is not to produce induced noise, as little as possible, and ideally to be dead quiet.
The full Mark Levinson Reference of my friend is connected with the Revel Salon v1. The "real" Salon. The v2 are like toys, compared to.
Here is why : the 33 and 33h amps (bi-amp) amps were specifically designed for these speakers, and vice versa. It's a very difficult electric load (83db/w/m), with an impedance that can drop to 0.5 ohm.
In addition, my friend has a ultra rare 1.2 version, notably equiped with a modified filter and modified membranes and mobile equipage : there are only 5 pairs in the world which were produced. He possesses the light grey colour.
That's why they then released the Revel Salon v2 (There were 2 development teams at the time; that's when Harman bought out Mark Levinson)... much less demanding... but compromised.
Amps 33 and 33h are designated for very high electrical output (power and current, and they are perfectly clean, fully regulated).
It's him :
https://www.murmure-audio.com/
Conversely, I have another friend equipped with JBL Everest loudspeakers (very high sensitivity), and full Audionote amplification... Mark Levinson source too (30 dac and 31 transport).
And another's with a couple of Pass XA300 amps, XP-32 preamp system and the best Esoteric digital ensemble (power, dual dac, transport, clock...). Loudspeakers are Focal STELLA Utopia III EM.
Myself, I do have a "not too bad" little system.
Etc.
But hey, it's not a c*ck contest. It's just a world that I know "a little".
And also, all these systems have one thing in common : they are perfectly optimized, and silent.
And no compromise. True high end.
To return to Cayin, or other hyped daps, and even beyond the prices charged (it's something else and above all, the fruit of marketing positioning...
), I find it unacceptable that these products can hiss. Not even to mention, sometimes (or too often), a high output impedance = bad engineering...
That's my point.
What interests me with this particular Cayin product is that it isn't an Nth dap with a delta sigma chip...
I know this Marantz product (based on the same technology) very well too :
https://www.marantz.com/fr-fr/product/cd-players/sa-10
Perfectly clear, natural and... Dead quiet. Basics.
To be continued.
).
