[peterinvan]

What does the RU6 screen show when you play a regular non-MQA track in Tidal?

I do believe that tidal does bypass all the windows APO's and SRC.

Windows 11, Tidal, Master Streaming Quality, Use Exclusive Mode > RU6 (NOS):

HiFi shows 44.1Khz
Master shows 96Khz e.g. Wilco, Cruel County (or 88.2Khz on some tracks, e.g. Billie Eilish TV))

 

[eins2dreivier]

Would the RU6 or the M15 be a better companion to the Meze Elite? Where I live there's no chance to listen to either device before purchase.

 

[Ichos]

Would the RU6 or the M15 be a better companion to the Meze Elite? Where I live there's no chance to listen to either device before purchase.

I don't think that any of these - excellent by any other means - dongles can do justice to the Elite.

 

[eins2dreivier]

I don't think that any of these - excellent by any other means - dongles can do justice to the Elite.

I'm aware of that. But my listening time away from the desktop is so limited that I can't justify spending more than 200-300 bucks on a portable solution. Both dongles should me way better than the one I got with my Pixel 2...

 

[Ichos]

I'm aware of that. But my listening time away from the desktop is so limited that I can't justify spending more than 200-300 bucks on a portable solution. Both dongles should me way better than the one I got with my Pixel 2...

Definitely better!
Well, both sound great, the M15 a little more technical and the RU-6 a little more analogue.
I would also add to your list the iFi Go bar which I think is the more powerful.

 

[sahmen]

Definitely better!
Well, both sound great, the M15 a little more technical and the RU-6 a little more analogue.
I would also add to your list the iFi Go bar which I think is the more powerful.

Speaking of the IFi Go Bar (Anniversary Gold plated edition), do you think it is worth getting if one already has the RU6? I nearly bought one yesterday when they became available again at a dealer I know, although I could not make up my mind. Does the GoLD Bar bring enough performance difference (from the RU6) to justify adding it to my collection of dongles? To complicate matters even further, I also have the Ifi Micro idsd Signature edition, which is transportable, rather than portable as the GoLD Bar dongle is, but still...

Although I found the Gold bar attractive for its looks and its potential use case as a dongle, I was not sure whether it was bringing enough "new performance" capabilities as a dongle to justify its cost in my case, but I would like to know your opinion about this.

 

[Ichos]

Speaking of the IFi Go Bar (Anniversary Gold plated edition), do you think it is worth getting if one already has the RU6? I nearly bought one yesterday when they became available again at a dealer I know, although I could not make up my mind. Does the GoLD Bar bring enough performance difference (from the RU6) to justify adding it to my collection of dongles? To complicate matters even further, I also have the Ifi Micro idsd Signature edition, which is transportable, rather than portable as the GoLD Bar dongle is, but still...

Although I found the Gold bar attractive for its looks and its potential use case as a dongle, I was not sure whether it was bringing enough "new performance" capabilities as a dongle to justify its cost in my case, but I would like to know your opinion about this.

As you probably already know this is a difficult answer that cannot be based in strictly "objective" criteria but it lies in the realm of subjectiveness.
The answer should be "NO" when judged considering actual performance against the gear you already own.
The transportable device is better and the RU-6 is as competent although slightly different.
But then, if you ask the devil's advice then he would say "YES" because the Gold bar is so good sounding that is worth having even if you own the best gear.
I almost bought one myself but a sudden refrigerator failure has defeated the Devil !

 

[sahmen]

As you probably already know this is a difficult answer that cannot be based in strictly "objective" criteria but it lies in the realm of subjectiveness.
The answer should be "NO" when judged considering actual performance against the gear you already own.
The transportable device is better and the RU-6 is as competent although slightly different.
But then, if you ask the devil's advice then he would say "YES" because the Gold bar is so good sounding that is worth having even if you own the best gear.
I almost bought one myself but a sudden refrigerator failure has defeated the Devil !

That's a terrific two pronged (or two-horned) answer, with the additional burden of a devil to defeat... I am totally inspired! Thanks

 

[peterinvan]

RU6 overheating with Grados???

I am using RU6 NOS, High Gain, 29db volume in all these use cases...

iPad Pro > Tidal > RU6 4.4mm balanced > Focal Elegia (Fluke meter 31.2 ohms)
With the Focals the RU6 just gets a bit warm.

iPad Pro > Tidal > RU6 4.4mm balanced > Grado SR325is (Fluke meter 34.2 ohms). Grados modified to use Meze 4.4mm balanced "silver" cable (1 ohm).
With the Grados the RU6 gets hot within 5 minutes. I can hold it in my hand, but it's pretty hot.

I also notice that on my desktop PC > RU6 > Grados, playing the same album in HiFi (from Foobar2000) and Tidal Master:
44.1Mhz, RU6 gets warm.
88.2 Mhz RU6 gets hot.

With the Focals it's just a little bit warmer playing the "Master" version.

Anyone else notice this?
Would +4 ohms draw that much more power?
Does it take more power to process 88.2 Mhz?

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[oldkid]

RU6 overheating with Grados???

I am using RU6 NOS, High Gain, 29db volume in all these use cases...

iPad Pro > Tidal > RU6 4.4mm balanced > Focal Elegia (Fluke meter 31.2 ohms)
With the Focals the RU6 just gets a bit warm.

iPad Pro > Tidal > RU6 4.4mm balanced > Grado SR325is (Fluke meter 34.2 ohms). Grados modified to use Meze 4.4mm balanced "silver" cable (1 ohm).
With the Grados the RU6 gets hot within 5 minutes. I can hold it in my hand, but it's pretty hot.

I also notice that on my desktop PC > RU6 > Grados, playing the same album in HiFi (from Foobar2000) and Tidal Master:
44.1Mhz, RU6 gets warm.
88.2 Mhz RU6 gets hot.

With the Focals it's just a little bit warmer playing the "Master" version.

Anyone else notice this?
Would +4 ohms draw that much more power?
Does it take more power to process 88.2 Mhz?

Any ideas?

Thanks

You might be onto something there. I use my RU6 everyday on the go. Sometimes, it gets really hot to the point I can't put it in my pocket. I'll try to see if it happens specifically when listening to MQA, even if there shouldn't be any MQA decoding happening with this DAC

 

[justanut]

You might be onto something there. I use my RU6 everyday on the go. Sometimes, it gets really hot to the point I can't put it in my pocket. I'll try to see if it happens specifically when listening to MQA, even if there shouldn't be any MQA decoding happening with this DAC

There isn't. Your transport device does the 1st unfold and passes it to RU6. Strange. Is it your device heating up and not RU6 though?

 

[peterinvan]

RU6 overheating with Grados???

I am using RU6 NOS, High Gain, 29db volume in all these use cases...

iPad Pro > Tidal > RU6 4.4mm balanced > Focal Elegia (Fluke meter 31.2 ohms)
With the Focals the RU6 just gets a bit warm.

iPad Pro > Tidal > RU6 4.4mm balanced > Grado SR325is (Fluke meter 34.2 ohms). Grados modified to use Meze 4.4mm balanced "silver" cable (1 ohm).
With the Grados the RU6 gets hot within 5 minutes. I can hold it in my hand, but it's pretty hot.

I also notice that on my desktop PC > RU6 > Grados, playing the same album in HiFi (from Foobar2000) and Tidal Master:
44.1Mhz, RU6 gets warm.
88.2 Mhz RU6 gets hot.

With the Focals it's just a little bit warmer playing the "Master" version.

Anyone else notice this?
Would +4 ohms draw that much more power?
Does it take more power to process 88.2 Mhz?

Any ideas?

Thanks

You might be onto something there. I use my RU6 everyday on the go. Sometimes, it gets really hot to the point I can't put it in my pocket. I'll try to see if it happens specifically when listening to MQA, even if there shouldn't be any MQA decoding happening with this DAC

New test…
iPad > RU6 3.5mm > Oppo PM-3. 39db volume. Tidal “HiFi”. 88.2 Mhz. Does not even get warm.

Can anyone from Cayin step in and tell us what causes the RU6 to heat up, and more importantly at what temperature will the device be damaged??

 

[gr8soundz]

New test…
iPad > RU6 3.5mm > Oppo PM-3. 39db volume. Tidal “HiFi”. 88.2 Mhz. Does not even get warm.

Can anyone from Cayin step in and tell us what causes the RU6 to heat up, and more importantly at what temperature will the device be damaged??

Only used mine at home so far but I noticed my RU6 gets much hotter in oversampling mode.

 

[animalsrush]

Ru6 NOS mode+ one plus 8T or iPad Pro 2020 + poweramp player ( flacbox on iPad)+ 50 clicks volume driving either 64 audio Nio or Noble K10 using balanced or 3.5 mmTRRS. It gets quite warm ..

Same goes for moonriver 2 . But lotto s2 never got warm

 

[Brain Damage]

Well, I have just tested: PC>Audirvana>Qobuz>RU6>iFi Zen CAN>Beyerdynamic DT880 pros and wow, this synergy is really nice. Just proves the RU6 is really an amazing dongle dac with both headphones (including hard to drive cans) and IEMs.