I have exactly same gear M15 RU6 IE600 and Iphone 11 pro max, I was wondering should I purchase RU7 despite I already have M15 and RU6. After your opinion (and others for that matter) I realize that I should skip this dac because it seems to me that RU7 is sonically about half way between R2R and delta sigma and after purchasing RU6 I found that I solely use RU6 after maybe a month of AB testing (M15 and RU6). So perhaps I like and prefer R2R sound signature more than digital no matter that M15 technically wise is superior than RU6 but overall RU6 is better sound experience for me at least and the music I listen dominantly.Got to demo this alongside the Questyle M15 and the RU6 (on an IE600 and Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, just in case that matters). Please take whatever I say with a great big heaping pinch of salt - I've gone through so much gear this weekend that I'm damn near completely fatigued and everything's beginning to sound the same + I'm new to the hobby so I don't know anywhere near as much as I should in order to be authoritative/reliable.
Between the RU6 and the RU7, I don't think there's any reason why you'd go for the RU6 now.
Between the RU7 and M15, both are very detailed and resolving listens though I notice the M15 is perhaps very slightly cleaner, whereas the RU7 is a slight touch warmer sonically, very natural-sounding with great transients and musicality. Very noticeably, decay on the M15 sounds too fast (which is not necessarily a bad thing in itself) to the point of being incredibly abrupt when compared next to the RU7 - on a track where I noticed very natural decay & reverb of certain instruments on the RU7, on the M15 the decay was much faster and abrupt - was wondering where half of what I heard on the RU7 is.
Something I noticed and I'm not sure if it was just that unit, or if this is replicable - if I lock my phone while listening, or exit the Apple Music app while listening, audio cuts out for a brief moment. Not sure if this is an issue with that one specific unit and/or my phone, or if this is replicable, but figured I'd bring it up anyway.
I even created blind test experiences for few friends who are into music for ages and have much more experience than me with different gears including professional ones and interesting enough for me was that every single one of them chose RU6 sound signature over M15. At least on IE600 and even on cheap gear like 7hz zero
Didn’t have any warm (dark) IEM for testing maybe they will pair better with M15 but for me IE600 and Cayin RU6 is endgame match.
Don’t get me wrong M15 great DAC and is completely different beast but I now use M15 only for critical listening not for casual or when I just want to disconnect myself and enjoy music.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
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