[HiFiHawaii808]

It doesn't knock off the $699 Dethonray Honey. I find the W2 gives a false sense of detail by elevating the upper mids and treble but the quality of the timbre is quite digital. It kind of has that sabre glare thing going on, like the Geek Out series.

Hopefully the R2R of the RU6 will avoid this issue and give us a more natural timbre.

The S2 is better than the W2 in this regard. I haven't heard the Dethonray Honey, but that's not a DAP either.

 

[armstrj2]

I thought the iPad Pro has USB-C but the iPad is still lightning? I am an Android man so I am very ignorant about Apple products, but I have used iPad Pro as digital transport in audio shows and their USB Audio output is among the best in tablet products, so I am quite sure RU6 won't have any problem with that.

iPad Pro models and the new Mini are USB C.

 

[hemtmaker]

I thought the iPad Pro has USB-C but the iPad is still lightning? I am an Android man so I am very ignorant about Apple products, but I have used iPad Pro as digital transport in audio shows and their USB Audio output is among the best in tablet products, so I am quite sure RU6 won't have any problem with that.

Thanks, I am using the new iPad mini which does have a usb c port now

 

[docked seaman]

It doesn't knock off the $699 Dethonray Honey. I find the W2 gives a false sense of detail by elevating the upper mids and treble but the quality of the timbre is quite digital. It kind of has that sabre glare thing going on, like the Geek Out series.

Hopefully the R2R of the RU6 will avoid this issue and give us a more natural timbre.

What version firmware are you using on the w2? The sound changed pretty drastically on a recent update. Lost the upper mids boost. Sound much better to me now.

 

[Stuff Jones]

What version firmware are you using on the w2? The sound changed pretty drastically on a recent update. Lost the upper mids boost. Sound much better to me now.

I sold it months ago. Glad they may have fixed it.

 

[abitdeef]

I've got no problems with W2 treble at all. It's well defined with the proper harmonics and timbre. I haven't noticed a treble glare since dx90 or the old fiio x7. Been using new firmware.

My only small complaint would be it doesn't quite have the depth or holographic sound of a nice dap. Sorry to veer off topic but we can't really talk about RU6 yet because none of us has it But with cayin's latest releases like n3 pro and all around great daps like n6ii and n8 I can't imagine anything other than a killer dongle.

My dream dap would be a smaller and lighter n6ii with tube capabilities- besides being able to use modules. Probably impossible to make and I know the n6ii isn't really big but just a bit more svelte and light would be killer. Android 10 or up, 6 gb of ram and BT 5.1 and oled screen if we're going to dream

 

[monsieurfromag3]

I've got no problems with W2 treble at all. It's well defined with the proper harmonics and timbre. I haven't noticed a treble glare since dx90 or the old fiio x7. Been using new firmware.

My only small complaint would be it doesn't quite have the depth or holographic sound of a nice dap. Sorry to veer off topic but we can't really talk about RU6 yet because none of us has it But with cayin's latest releases like n3 pro and all around great daps like n6ii and n8 I can't imagine anything other than a killer dongle.

My dream dap would be a smaller and lighter n6ii with tube capabilities- besides being able to use modules. Probably impossible to make and I know the n6ii isn't really big but just a bit more svelte and light would be killer. Android 10 or up, 6 gb of ram and BT 5.1 and oled screen if we're going to dream

My dream DAP too!

 

[Ufanco]

I've got no problems with W2 treble at all. It's well defined with the proper harmonics and timbre. I haven't noticed a treble glare since dx90 or the old fiio x7. Been using new firmware.

My only small complaint would be it doesn't quite have the depth or holographic sound of a nice dap. Sorry to veer off topic but we can't really talk about RU6 yet because none of us has it But with cayin's latest releases like n3 pro and all around great daps like n6ii and n8 I can't imagine anything other than a killer dongle.

My dream dap would be a smaller and lighter n6ii with tube capabilities- besides being able to use modules. Probably impossible to make and I know the n6ii isn't really big but just a bit more svelte and light would be killer. Android 10 or up, 6 gb of ram and BT 5.1 and oled screen if we're going to dream

That be a killer dap maybe cross a woo audio with a ? then shrink it.

 

[abitdeef]

Yep and maybe use Korg newtube to save some space. Would be cool to use new battery tech also because a beefy conventional battery like a lion poly takes up quite a bit of space.

 

[felix3650]

Having had Holo Audio's Cyan R2R I'm quite interested in this. Should be fun comparing it to the W2.

@Andykong
Will it have the same LDO, 24.576MHz local clock and resistor array as the N01? From the PCB pic you posted I can spot the DAB chip. The ladder network along with the other components like S2P register and OS filter will be in a different PCB
Line Out might be a challenge in such restricted space and due to the noise characteristics of a R2R topology.

 

[Pcppps]

I dont understand why all these dongles do not allow customized eq

 

[Andykong]

Glad to know there is a choice.

 

[ClieOS]

I dont understand why all these dongles do not allow customized eq

You can do EQ two ways, digital or analog. A customizable analog EQ required a lot of circuit, so that's impossible to do. That means it must be processed in the digital domain, just before the D-to-A stage. To do it digitally on a USB dongle will need some kind of processing power, either in the form of a custom processor (i.e. XMOS or FPGA) or some kind of DSP chip. Either ways will take up a lot of space and power, not to mention incurring significant cost. So it is not a matter of 'we can't do it', but more like 'we don't think it is worth it' - especially since you can do digital EQ on the smartphone much easier since smartphone has plenty of processing power and a lot of EQ app to do the exact same thing much cheaper than to implement processor or DSP on the dongle itself.

 

[abitdeef]

Most high end dongles (w2, s1, ru6) are capable of it but you almost need a companion app to be able to set the custom eq values easily. Like Quedilix has.

 

[Andykong]

I dont understand why all these dongles do not allow customized eq

How do you want to control your EQ setting on the tiny screen? touch screen? limited buttons?

I won't say all, but most DAC/Amp only support basic control and operation. If they provide digital EQ feature, they'll need to upgrade the MCU to a more powerful one, that will increase cost, circuit complexity and power drain. Given all USB DAC dongle are struggling with limited power supply (around 100mA as mentioned by other users), your mobile phone is probably a better place to control EQ, full screen control and more processing power at your finger tip.