[Polky74]

Can you compare the Ru7 with the DC04pro please ?

I've opened a thread comparing my dongles, but I haven't inserted the RU7 yet, also because it's the latest one, but I'll do it soon. In the meantime, you can take a look at the others if you like.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-dongle-war-w1-dc04pro-m15-ru6-ru7.968388/

 

[Polky74]

RU7:The last of a kind, the first of a new kind

We have reached the last dongle of my collection and these are my impressions, obviously personal and questionable. What is RU7? Honestly, I can't say... sure in shape it's a dongle, but it's also a formidable dac, but it's also an excellent IEM/headphone amplifier (for its size), but it's also an ideal companion for your phones /PC, but it is also a miracle of engineering applied to music, but it is also the companion that will make you listen to your favorite music in a way that will leave you speechless. It is a bit of everything and has a bit of everything. Very close to an excellent dap for musical quality, very close to a dap for driving power, very close to a desktop hardware for general performance, very close to an excellent dac with a real line-out. What makes it different from the other four previously evaluated by me, the first thing you will notice listening to it is that it has a not well defined character, it is as if it were modeled on the music it manages in that moment, it can be delicate and full of nuances, but it can also transform into a dac full of energy and dynamics. It has power that puts it well above average dongles, but it doesn't make use of it that will make you jump off your chair, but it will make everything connected to it sound damn good. In a word, its characteristic is "kindness"... which is not "weakness" like in other cases, rather the opposite... it is the use of strength, definition, musicality, positioning of the instruments, presence of the same just as recorded on the track you are listening to and not according to what it does best. It's a box full of things... the naturalness of the RU6, the versatility of the DC04PRO, the definition and extension of the W1, the power of the M15. Can you replace them all? No, but it gives you all the features you loved in the other four. Last thing, the most important is that it really corrects the sound with its "All to DSD" technology not like the filters of the other dongles that all look a bit similar... here the difference is felt a lot and always through this, you will find the most congenial way for you to listen to it with the different IEMs/headphones you have and with the type of music you like to listen to. It's perfect? No and maybe the next ones won't either... RU8... RU9... and so on. But that's the one that's closest to us right now.

 

[grumpy213]

Been listening to my RU7 for a few hours and it’s been very enjoyable.

Going to withhold from waxing poetic until I get more time in but the cliff notes so far is that it feels spacious and relaxed compared to my other sources in a nice way.

Only element that’s a miss so far is that it’s noise floor hasn’t been ideal with my Andromedas but I sorta knew that coming in through the measurements.

 

[davide256]

@Andykong is there any significant difference between the DSD sections of the RU6 and RU7? I note that your signature
stresses the RU7 as a 1 bit DAC which by definition is native DSD

 

[Andykong]

@Andykong is there any significant difference between the DSD sections of the RU6 and RU7? I note that your signature
stresses the RU7 as a 1 bit DAC which by definition is native DSD

The RU6 is designed around a 24-bit R-2R DAC circuit, it is PCM only by design, the Digital Audio Bridge in RU6 will convert DSD to 24 Bit/384kHz PCM before feeding the digital audio signal to the DAC circuit. For more detail on the R-2R DAC. please refer to the "24Bit Discrete R-2R Resistor Ladder DAC" section in the opening post of RU6 thread.

The RU7 adopts a completely different DAC design, the 1-bit DAC circuit will decode DSD signal natively, but the Digital Audio Bridge will convert PCM to DSD64 or DSD128 or DSD256 before feeding the digital audio signal to the DAC circuit. For more detail on the 1-bit DAC. please refer to the "Fully Balanced 1-Bit DAC architecture" section in the opening post of the RU7 thread.

 

[twister6]

The thing that intrigued me is the fact that reviews come out on everything in the audio field... even things that perhaps only those who review them own... and then... the reviews of the two articles most awaited by the public such as the W4 and the RU7 keep us waiting... mhhh...
So is it to take the children to school, to go to the gym and go shopping that these reviews don't come out? lol
Honestly I don't think of any conspiracies... I think more of the fact that it seems like nobody wants to take the first step... or maybe "this time" they don't want to condition the purchase. In a month's time, when the reviews come out, they'll be less "harmful" because whoever wanted one of the two will already have it at home for quite a while (the fans chose before they came out). Behind this however there is more... much more, (this is the conspiracy) there is that houses like L&P, Cayin,iBasso,Hiby and Questyle are fighting over dongles as they did (and still do) with i dap. The purchase of a dongle, for some it can mean "saving" money compared to that of the relative dap/dac/amp... but for others it is the way to get to know a company and even push them to buy a dap of that one immediately afterwards business. Today the dongle fits more easily into an audiophile's home... and an audiophile usually isn't satisfied with a dongle... especially if it makes him go "WOW how does this little thing sound" and after two seconds he thinks... so the dap of this company how will it sound? It will sound more or less the same… lol

"So is it to take the children to school, to go to the gym and go shopping that these reviews don't come out? lol"
I think you might have too much free time on your hands while binge-watching US shows like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

There is a market for both, a dongle and a standalone DAP. I had many discussions with my readers, can't speak for everybody, but it seems those who are hardcore audiophiles look at a dongle for convenience, to get them closer to standalone DAP, but not as a replacement. Some people want to enjoy their music, dive into the sound without being distracted by social media updates, emails, txts, notifications, and they can only get there by putting their smartphone down and switching to a standalone DAP. You have others who are on the go, or want to take a short break while at work without dragging a standalone "brick", and that's where a quality dongle comes into play. Also, noticing a number of people who have a limited budget, let's say under $300, and it will be hard to find a high quality standalone DAP in that price range, even if you go up another $100. So, for under $300 they can upgrade their smartphone to sound as a quality DAP which could cost double that much.

Or, for example, people will get a dongle for their laptop to give them a clean LO for external amp connection, like RU7. Plus, many are looking specifically for dongles with a volume control because your smartphone volume adjustment (depending on the app) will have coarse steps. So, you set digital out to max from your smartphone, and control the volume externally from a dongle to get the best sound quality, something you can't achieve with M15. Btw, in my humble opinion, I think many of those manufacturers you mentioned are relying on loyalty of their full size DAP customers who will also buy a dongle to compliment their DAPs. Regular smartphone consumers don't care about dongles or DAPs and will go straight for TWS earphones. But with all that said, dongle manufacturers do get creative, to stand out from the crowd, to be more competitive, such as higher output power for more demanding loads, discrete DAC designs, additional functionality, etc.

 

[captblaze]

Has anyone done any extensive listening to DSD files? Reason I ask is that I have noticed that when I play dsd 64 files with the RU7 set to DSD256 I get some time smearing (slowing down) and as soon as I drop back to DSD64 it goes away.

 

[gLer]

Has anyone done any extensive listening to DSD files? Reason I ask is that I have noticed that when I play dsd 64 files with the RU7 set to DSD256 I get some time smearing (slowing down) and as soon as I drop back to DSD64 it goes away.

I would think (and correct me if I'm wrong, @Andykong) that you'll want to match the native DSD file resolution with the correct DSD setting on the RU7. Why would you want to downsample DSD256 to DSD64? Ideally, I'd love to see RU7 automatically selecting its own DSD setting for native DSD files, or even bypassing the DSD setting when playing back native DSD files.

 

[captblaze]

I would think (and correct me if I'm wrong, @Andykong) that you'll want to match the native DSD file resolution with the correct DSD setting on the RU7. Why would you want to downsample DSD256 to DSD64? Ideally, I'd love to see RU7 automatically selecting its own DSD setting for native DSD files, or even bypassing the DSD setting when playing back native DSD files.

It is when I upsample. Makes no sense to down sample a DSD file

 

[Smirk 24]

Received my unit today, it's great.

Can someone smart explain to me the benefits of DSD over PCM and if the "All to: DSDXXX" setting always on or if it can be turned off?

I'm not well-versed in this. Thanks in advance.

 

[gabriely]

All right, after trialing a lot of dongles (M15, RU6, RU7, FC6) over a very long period of time I've pulled the trigger on the RU7.

Just out of curiosity, is it normal that volume is different on my phone vs. on my computer? Same gain and volume setting, same track from Apple music, but on my PC it's a lot louder.

 

[Polky74]

Received my unit today, it's great.

Can someone smart explain to me the benefits of DSD over PCM and if the "All to: DSDXXX" setting always on or if it can be turned off?

I'm not well-versed in this. Thanks in advance.

All to DSD is how the dongle works and it can't be turned off...you can only choose between 64-128-256 the lower it is the more you go towards an analog sound the higher it is the more you go towards a more focused sound and with more details... but increasing, the energy consumption also increases...

 

[itwasluck]

RU7:The last of a kind, the first of a new kind

We have reached the last dongle of my collection and these are my impressions, obviously personal and questionable. What is RU7? Honestly, I can't say... sure in shape it's a dongle, but it's also a formidable dac, but it's also an excellent IEM/headphone amplifier (for its size), but it's also an ideal companion for your phones /PC, but it is also a miracle of engineering applied to music, but it is also the companion that will make you listen to your favorite music in a way that will leave you speechless. It is a bit of everything and has a bit of everything. Very close to an excellent dap for musical quality, very close to a dap for driving power, very close to a desktop hardware for general performance, very close to an excellent dac with a real line-out. What makes it different from the other four previously evaluated by me, the first thing you will notice listening to it is that it has a not well defined character, it is as if it were modeled on the music it manages in that moment, it can be delicate and full of nuances, but it can also transform into a dac full of energy and dynamics. It has power that puts it well above average dongles, but it doesn't make use of it that will make you jump off your chair, but it will make everything connected to it sound damn good. In a word, its characteristic is "kindness"... which is not "weakness" like in other cases, rather the opposite... it is the use of strength, definition, musicality, positioning of the instruments, presence of the same just as recorded on the track you are listening to and not according to what it does best. It's a box full of things... the naturalness of the RU6, the versatility of the DC04PRO, the definition and extension of the W1, the power of the M15. Can you replace them all? No, but it gives you all the features you loved in the other four. Last thing, the most important is that it really corrects the sound with its "All to DSD" technology not like the filters of the other dongles that all look a bit similar... here the difference is felt a lot and always through this, you will find the most congenial way for you to listen to it with the different IEMs/headphones you have and with the type of music you like to listen to. It's perfect? No and maybe the next ones won't either... RU8... RU9... and so on. But that's the one that's closest to us right now.

Wow this was really well said, thank you for your thoughts and comparisons. The RU7 strikes such a great balance between R2R and traditional delta-sigma DACs that I am actually selling all my delta-sigma gear. I never thought a dongle could match a desktop setup and here I am preferring this tiny dongle over my actual gear. The RU7 does everything right providing a natural and organic sound without sacrificing the details and while maintaining the subtle nuances in music, it’s quite spectacular.

On top of that you get the flexibility to reduce the organic sound and add slightly more detail by moving up to DSD256. Did I mention the incredibly wide soundstage? It’s wider than my RME. With the RU6, you get that R2R smoothness but with a few caveats. For some, it might be a little too warm and fuzzy. But with the RU7? I can comfortably recommend it to anyone regardless of their sound preferences. This dongle does it all and I can’t wait to see Cayin make a dedicated 1-bit DAC.

Last time I wrote an unfavourable review for Mojo 2 in the Mojo 2 thread and people didn't take it too well.

I feel like everyone only want to hear glowing reviews, so those have unfavourable reviews just chose to not say anything here on.

Haha ignore those guys. Say what you want man! Not everyone wants to be bombarded with overly etched edges and detail!

Has anyone done any extensive listening to DSD files? Reason I ask is that I have noticed that when I play dsd 64 files with the RU7 set to DSD256 I get some time smearing (slowing down) and as soon as I drop back to DSD64 it goes away.

Are you running the dongle through your phone? It’s possible the phone can’t handle the load when on DSD256. I’d only go up to DSD128 with an IPhone.

 

[Polky74]

All right, after trialing a lot of dongles (M15, RU6, RU7, FC6) over a very long period of time I've pulled the trigger on the RU7.

Just out of curiosity, is it normal that volume is different on my phone vs. on my computer? Same gain and volume setting, same track from Apple music, but on my PC it's a lot louder.

It happens to me too and I don't understand why...

 

[captblaze]

Are you running the dongle through your phone? It’s possible the phone can’t handle the load when on DSD256. I’d only go up to DSD128 with an IPhone.

This on PC. I rarely use my iPhone (except for testing) as a transport