Cayin RU7: 1-Bit Resistor Network Dongle DAC /Amp

[Andykong]

Well, the unit arrived today. And it does sound very nice, though the amount of listening time has been short.

Andy, there is an option to play music resampled at DSD 256. And that is working well.

However, it is really hard to get it to recognize DSD. I don't think it is hardware, as I have found one app that can output DSD. Hopefully the mainstream software vendors can work it out somehow. The app is called Ever Play. It does not handle gapless (even though there is a setting for that). Plus the developer is sending a rather bleak message about the future of the app when one goes to purchase the product.

If anybody knows of other apps that send DSD properly to dongles such the RU7 please chim in. As far as I know, Neutron has the problem along with HiBy Music (my primary app) and FIIO Music. In the case of Neutron I found this out from posting in the forums, I don't actually have the app (at least yet).

I was a little bummed by heeding comments that "it works" along with other units. I think the problem is that most people don't understand it when I ask about DSD and instead answer about their experiences with PCM. Which is not a problem with any dongles that I know of with the iphone 15 line.

Besides the gaps between tracks DSD sounds very nice on this unit.

That's exciting news, we can now confirm the USB port of the iPhone 15 is more "normal" when compared to the Lightning port of other iPhones. If you can pair it with more demanding headphones and push the RU7 to high gain, All-to-DSD256, and volume beyond 70 if you don't hear any shuttering, that means we have a real deal ..... at least for the moment.

Sorry, I am not in the iOS ecosystem, I am ignorant about the app landscape in the iOS platform, I hope others can chime in regarding the DSD bitstream output issue.

 

[Andykong]

Just in case you guys want to read my "don't shake the dongle" review that got featured recently on the main page of Head-Fi

Spoiler

you can read it here : https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/cayin-ru7.26493/reviews#review-32067
@Andykong

Haha, this is a nice one.

I definitely will warn fellow users with the same line if they shake the Dongle like what you did in the YouTube clip. Glad you enjoy your RU7 after all.

 

[jonmbarlow]

Will this power the Fiio FT3 (350 ohm)?

 

[thang3291]

My Z1R just got a new friend. Very impressive so far.

 

[HiFlight]

My Z1R just got a new friend. Very impressive so far.

What is it?

 

[HiFlight]

I must be

 

[991 Carrera 4S]

You can't control the playback via the RU6 or RU7, to do that we need to add a new signal path to one of the 4th poles and it will introduce hum to very sensitive IEM when using regular TRS connectors.

You can't use it to control volume either, with discrete DACs like RU6 or RU7, we rely on analog volume control AFTER the DAC circuit. Adding a volume control BEFORE the DAC circuit will lower the data integrity and defeat the purpose of the discrete resistor network DAC circuit.

Ok, so no in-line controls.
And in-line microphone?

 

[DBaldock9]

Ok, so no in-line controls.
And in-line microphone?

In order for an in-line microphone to work, the already full RU7 would need to have an ADC added, to digitize the audio, and send it up the USB cable to the phone or PC.
It might also need to detect an "Answer / Hang-up" button press, to use it for phone calls.

 

[Fusi]

Can the RU7 drive the moondrop venus?

 

[randomshape]

Is it possible to summarize all information we have at moment regarding clicking between tracks? How can we solve it (my setup is android and USB 2.0)? As far as I understand, using the smartphone with USB 3.0 and higher can minimize or totally eliminate the problem of clicking? Is it true? Also gapless playing or crossfading can be useful. Clicking is really the only one annoying problem of this superb device for me and I believe for many others (not taking into consideration quite high power consuption).

That's exciting news, we can now confirm the USB port of the iPhone 15 is more "normal" when compared to the Lightning port of other iPhones. If you can pair it with more demanding headphones and push the RU7 to high gain, All-to-DSD256, and volume beyond 70 if you don't hear any shuttering, that means we have a real deal ..... at least for the moment.

Sorry, I am not in the iOS ecosystem, I am ignorant about the app landscape in the iOS platform, I hope others can chime in regarding the DSD bitstream output issue.

 

[Andykong]

Ok, so no in-line controls.
And in-line microphone?

In order for an in-line microphone to work, the already full RU7 would need to have an ADC added, to digitize the audio, and send it up the USB cable to the phone or PC.
It might also need to detect an "Answer / Hang-up" button press, to use it for phone calls.

Thank you @DBaldock9 for a very precise answer, yes, that's what we need to do if we want to add in-line microphone support in RU7.

@991 Carrera 4S I understand some Dongle DACs can support in-line control or in-line microphone, especially products that adopt a highly integrated chip-based solution when a lot of features are pre-packed into the semiconductor chips. However, both RU6 and RU7 are designed with discrete DAC technologies, our selling point is a purist chip-less approach to achieve the natural old-school audio experience. If you are looking for a feature-rich Dongle DAC, the RU7 probably won't meet your needs.

 

[Andykong]

Is it possible to summarize all information we have at moment regarding clicking between tracks? How can we solve it (my setup is android and USB 2.0)? As far as I understand, using the smartphone with USB 3.0 and higher can minimize or totally eliminate the problem of clicking? Is it true? Also gapless playing or crossfading can be useful. Clicking is really the only one annoying problem of this superb device for me and I believe for many others (not taking into consideration quite high power consuption).

I don't think we have a lot of iPhone 15 + RU7 users in this thread right now.

 

[Wes S]

I just got my RU7 today, and I have to say it sounds incredible.

I have the new ZMF Bokeh hooked up to it, powered by my Samsung S22+, and it's one heck of a combo.

Cayin and ZMF both know good sound no doubt.

 

[suno23]

I just got my RU7 today, and I have to say it sounds incredible.

I have the new ZMF Bokeh hooked up to it, powered by my Samsung S22+, and it's one heck of a combo.



Cayin and ZMF both know good sound no doubt.

came to see Wes speak. he did not dissappoint

 

[Andykong]

I just got my RU7 today, and I have to say it sounds incredible.

I have the new ZMF Bokeh hooked up to it, powered by my Samsung S22+, and it's one heck of a combo.



Cayin and ZMF both know good sound no doubt.

I really didn't expect a RU7 open box impression from you, what a surprise.

RU6/RU7 and HA-300mk2 are the starting point and end point of Cayin's Personal Audio line, now you know our range.