Bought a Cayin RU7 and just received it today. Here are some short impressions:
Accessories wise, it comes with:
- USB A-USB C adapter
- USB C to USB C cable
- leather case
This dongle is extremely light, with smooth surfaces and an elegant glass LED panel. Build is good, the ports are reinforced with gold plating. It is a plug and play device, no issues with Windows 10 or my smartphone recognizing it immediately (I apologize as I'm not an Apple user and can't test compatibility with Apple architecture).
On to sound (these are out of the box impressions before burn in). The RU7 is warm neutral, very musical yet retaining good technical chops. It is a smooth dongle with minimal harshness even with "shouty" tracks. Soundstage (depth, height and width) is expansive and instrument separation is a standout on this dongle. Music is spaciously layered on a dark background, with instruments easily pinpointed in their own space. Notes edges are rounded and not piercing. Note weight is hefty with organic timbre for acoustic instruments.
There's high gain and low gain options, and the RU7 has huge power on tap with 400 mW @ 32 ohms, allowing it to drive most gear out there, perhaps other than some planar headphone behemoths or extreme outliers. These are my usual acid tests when trying out a new source:
- Final Audio E5000 (low sensitivity at 93dB/mW)
- Sennheiser HD650 (high impedance at 300ohm)
- Yinman 600 ohm (600ohm impedance and 87db/mW sensitivity!)
If the Final E5000 is not powered well, it sounds very bloated and muddy in the bass. The RU7 powers the E5000 well on 4.4mm (high gain) with complex bass tracks. Test passed.
For the HD650, it can sound boring and undynamic if not powered well. The RU7 passes this test too on 4.4mm (high gain).
The final boss, the Yinman 600 ohm earbuds, has very low sensitivity with a high 600 ohm impedance. The bass can be very nebulous and fuzzy when it is not juiced well, and the RU7 does a decent job powering it on 4.4mm (high gain), though perhaps desktop amps with larger power on tap may do a better job with regards to bass tightness and dynamics.
The RU7 has 0.5 ohm and 1.0 ohm output impedance respectively on the 3.5mm and 4.4mm ports, allowing it to be paired with fussy sensitive IEMs (based on audiophile rule of eights), so it doesn't skew the frequency response of these fastidious IEMs, which is something I appreciate (ie no change in sound signature). There's no hiss with these sensitive IEMs too.
When compared against the RU6, the RU7 is slightly less warm/analoguish, but the RU7 beats the RU6 handily in technical chops.
When compared against the Questyle M15, the RU7 has a more expansive soundstage, with better instrument separation. The M15 is a bit more neutralish with slightly better imaging/micro-detailing and more edge definition to notes. The RU7 can power more demanding gear compared to the M15, which is a bit limited in this department.
I do notice the RU7 gets slightly warm especially on high gain/4.4mm, but nothing scalding. I will do further tests and burn in and report back. Would like to also see how is its battery consumption with smartphones, but out of the box, I think the RU7 is an excellent dongle that melds musicality and technicalities well into a very smooth and pleasant soundscape. A keeper in my book!
Accessories wise, it comes with:
- USB A-USB C adapter
- USB C to USB C cable
- leather case
This dongle is extremely light, with smooth surfaces and an elegant glass LED panel. Build is good, the ports are reinforced with gold plating. It is a plug and play device, no issues with Windows 10 or my smartphone recognizing it immediately (I apologize as I'm not an Apple user and can't test compatibility with Apple architecture).
On to sound (these are out of the box impressions before burn in). The RU7 is warm neutral, very musical yet retaining good technical chops. It is a smooth dongle with minimal harshness even with "shouty" tracks. Soundstage (depth, height and width) is expansive and instrument separation is a standout on this dongle. Music is spaciously layered on a dark background, with instruments easily pinpointed in their own space. Notes edges are rounded and not piercing. Note weight is hefty with organic timbre for acoustic instruments.
There's high gain and low gain options, and the RU7 has huge power on tap with 400 mW @ 32 ohms, allowing it to drive most gear out there, perhaps other than some planar headphone behemoths or extreme outliers. These are my usual acid tests when trying out a new source:
- Final Audio E5000 (low sensitivity at 93dB/mW)
- Sennheiser HD650 (high impedance at 300ohm)
- Yinman 600 ohm (600ohm impedance and 87db/mW sensitivity!)
If the Final E5000 is not powered well, it sounds very bloated and muddy in the bass. The RU7 powers the E5000 well on 4.4mm (high gain) with complex bass tracks. Test passed.
For the HD650, it can sound boring and undynamic if not powered well. The RU7 passes this test too on 4.4mm (high gain).
The final boss, the Yinman 600 ohm earbuds, has very low sensitivity with a high 600 ohm impedance. The bass can be very nebulous and fuzzy when it is not juiced well, and the RU7 does a decent job powering it on 4.4mm (high gain), though perhaps desktop amps with larger power on tap may do a better job with regards to bass tightness and dynamics.
The RU7 has 0.5 ohm and 1.0 ohm output impedance respectively on the 3.5mm and 4.4mm ports, allowing it to be paired with fussy sensitive IEMs (based on audiophile rule of eights), so it doesn't skew the frequency response of these fastidious IEMs, which is something I appreciate (ie no change in sound signature). There's no hiss with these sensitive IEMs too.
When compared against the RU6, the RU7 is slightly less warm/analoguish, but the RU7 beats the RU6 handily in technical chops.
When compared against the Questyle M15, the RU7 has a more expansive soundstage, with better instrument separation. The M15 is a bit more neutralish with slightly better imaging/micro-detailing and more edge definition to notes. The RU7 can power more demanding gear compared to the M15, which is a bit limited in this department.
I do notice the RU7 gets slightly warm especially on high gain/4.4mm, but nothing scalding. I will do further tests and burn in and report back. Would like to also see how is its battery consumption with smartphones, but out of the box, I think the RU7 is an excellent dongle that melds musicality and technicalities well into a very smooth and pleasant soundscape. A keeper in my book!
Last edited:
