[kevtn8]

This is a very special DAC so I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm currently using my RU7 via line out ( 4.4 to XLR) to my Mcintosh preamp stereo system. This is a desktop usage case. I'm streaming Qobuz through my Roon Nucleus. The USB cable is AudioQuest Carbon.

The sound is amazing with one big issue : I'm getting constant distortion whenever the sample rate changes. If I'm playing the same album or if the next album / song is same sample rate there is no issue. However, whenever the next song or album sample rate changes there is constant distortion unless I hit stop on Roon and go back to beginning of track and start over.

Since I love the sound of this DAC so much I'm hoping someone can help me. Is there something that I'm doing wrong in my setup or settings in Roon I haven't thought about ? I've played around with the Roon Resync delay but that didn't help. Worst case scenario, do you guys think my unit is defective ? I'm a little lost right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Headcan]

This is a very special DAC so I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm currently using my RU7 via line out ( 4.4 to XLR) to my Mcintosh preamp stereo system. This is a desktop usage case. I'm streaming Qobuz through my Roon Nucleus. The USB cable is AudioQuest Carbon.

The sound is amazing with one big issue : I'm getting constant distortion whenever the sample rate changes. If I'm playing the same album or if the next album / song is same sample rate there is no issue. However, whenever the next song or album sample rate changes there is constant distortion unless I hit stop on Roon and go back to beginning of track and start over.

Since I love the sound of this DAC so much I'm hoping someone can help me. Is there something that I'm doing wrong in my setup or settings in Roon I haven't thought about ? I've played around with the Roon Resync delay but that didn't help. Worst case scenario, do you guys think my unit is defective ? I'm a little lost right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I don't think it's your unit. I have experienced what I believe may be the same issue with various dongles, including RU6. I'm running ROCK on NUC and use mostly Roon Ready Endpoints/Streamers, no issue with those, however when connecting one of these dongles to a Rasberry Pi running latest Ropieee, I get this distortion noise in between tracks when tracks with different sample rates start playing in a playlist or Roon Radio. This noise continues on, until I stop playback, wait for a sec and then resume playback.

 

[sofastreamer]

@Brain Damage
Here is my comparison between RU7 (DSD64) and EF400 (DAC).
I use the Cayin HA-3A Headphone amp.

Setup:
1) UAPP as source bit perfect, RU7 connected to pulwtop hub, into amp via balanced 4.4>xlr; R10P connected via XLR to amp
2) UAPP as source bit perfect, EF400 connected via xlr into amp; R10P connected via xlr to amp
Important: On EF400 only use the XLR outs not the RCA!
The RCA is quieter and carries a lot less energy (bass, trebles, etc.) you can't make that up with higher volumes on the amp!

I think you can melt it down to two sentences:
A) RU7 is warmer and that's very beneficial for the reproduction of female voices. Timbre in mids is better
B) EF400 is better at everything else.

The RU7 in my setup makes the song "norah jones - don't know why" magical (DSD64 only)
Without the RU7 it's a good song, but with RU7 in the chain, it touches your soul. Simple as that.
But at the same time, the RU7 doesn't do that to all songs or all voices.
I guess it has to be a song that's focusing 100% on the voice and has very lean instrumentation.

The EF400 is close and way more realistic than my 5000$ ESS9038q2m all-in-one (AVM CS 2.3) but it's not as good for that kind of songs as the RU7.
So why it is better for everything else?
As soon as it gets dense the ef400 provides a lot of good attributes.
1.) It's smoother as the ESS9038q2m, you can hear at very loud volumes without any harsh edges
2.) it's not as warm as the RU7, not so focused on the mids, bass and trebles are more energetic
3.) Separation is a lot better, more clarity, RU7 sounds a bit muddy and stressed
4.) Better detail retrieval
5.) Bigger sound stage

Good example are rock songs like Metallica - My friend of Misery
Guitars in general sound extremly good with the ef400
Bass drums have better slam and are more precise
Cymbals really cut though the sound.
Guitars don't mix with voices or bass guitar. You can hear the difference already at the beginning (Intro), it sounds less warm, well defined and more realistic.

If you like to use the RU7 as a dac, it really makes a difference to use the balance out and line out setting.
And if you listen to vocalists mainly, I think you don't need much more.

For dense music, rock, pop, the RU7 is not a "very" good choice as a desktop dac.
I prefer the ef400 for it's energy, clarity and better bass.
Everything sounds more controlled.

In any case the HA-3A adds a lot to the fun I have with both dacs.
The amp in the ef400 does not add much to the sound. The HA-3A makes the music more smooth and at the same time more energetic.

In the end it all depends on the combination.
I can't tell you how the RU7 sounds with another amp or paired with different headphones.

nice write up and very interesting comparison, thank you a bunch!

 

[ttt123]

I’m using that cable with my iPhone 14pro and can’t get it to work, it cuts out or won’t even play at all the cable works with my other dacs and the ru7 works fine through my MacBook so it’s definitely the combo of my phone and ru7. Anyone find a solution to this?

I'm using the MFi07S with iPhone 14 Pro Max, with no problems. So not sure what is causing the problems on your setup.

 

[mattiastomas]

Just got an RU7 over the weekend. So far it am enjoying the sound and the synergy with the ZMF Bokeh. Does anyone know if its safe to leave the dongle plugged into the computer continuously?

Or should I unplug it when I'm done using it?

 

[vandung2510]

Just got an RU7 over the weekend. So far it am enjoying the sound and the synergy with the ZMF Bokeh. Does anyone know if its safe to leave the dongle plugged into the computer continuously?

Or should I unplug it when I'm done using it?

Leave it, it's fine. It will keep using power if you leave it plugged in tho.

 

[kevtn8]

I don't think it's your unit. I have experienced what I believe may be the same issue with various dongles, including RU6. I'm running ROCK on NUC and use mostly Roon Ready Endpoints/Streamers, no issue with those, however when connecting one of these dongles to a Rasberry Pi running latest Ropieee, I get this distortion noise in between tracks when tracks with different sample rates start playing in a playlist or Roon Radio. This noise continues on, until I stop playback, wait for a sec and then resume playback.

I believe from my experiences with other DSD Dacs such PS Audio Directstream and Sony HapZ1ES that a clicking noise ( on sample changes ) is more common. This is first time I've encountered this constant distortion. Have you just been resigned to this and learned to live with it or have you done anything different ?

Based on what you're saying this may be due to RU7 not being Roon ready or certified ? Cayin has asked me to test this out directly connected to my phone. So far I have only used it as desktop DAC. Also I've ordered some cables and adapters so I'll be testing out spdif/ optical input on RU7 ( taking out USB from the equation) to see if this helps or not. Still streaming from Roon Nucleus, but spdif / optical is coming from Gustard U18 instead. I'll keep this thread updated with my findings. Thanks

 

[vandung2510]

I believe from my experiences with other DSD Dacs such PS Audio Directstream and Sony HapZ1ES that a clicking noise ( on sample changes ) is more common. This is first time I've encountered this constant distortion. Have you just been resigned to this and learned to live with it or have you done anything different ?

Based on what you're saying this may be due to RU7 not being Roon ready or certified ? Cayin has asked me to test this out directly connected to my phone. So far I have only used it as desktop DAC. Also I've ordered some cables and adapters so I'll be testing out spdif/ optical input on RU7 ( taking out USB from the equation) to see if this helps or not. Still streaming from Roon Nucleus, but spdif / optical is coming from Gustard U18 instead. I'll keep this thread updated with my findings. Thanks

I've sold the RU7 purely because of that clicking noise lol. I'm usually forward youtube video quite many times so it's even more annoying in my using case.

 

[Headcan]

I believe from my experiences with other DSD Dacs such PS Audio Directstream and Sony HapZ1ES that a clicking noise ( on sample changes ) is more common. This is first time I've encountered this constant distortion. Have you just been resigned to this and learned to live with it or have you done anything different ?

Based on what you're saying this may be due to RU7 not being Roon ready or certified ? Cayin has asked me to test this out directly connected to my phone. So far I have only used it as desktop DAC. Also I've ordered some cables and adapters so I'll be testing out spdif/ optical input on RU7 ( taking out USB from the equation) to see if this helps or not. Still streaming from Roon Nucleus, but spdif / optical is coming from Gustard U18 instead. I'll keep this thread updated with my findings. Thanks

I don’t use any of my dongles as desktop DACs. My initial use case was to run a battery powered Raspberry Pi on WiFi as endpoint in our conservatory/sunroom, where I don’t have power or Ethernet outlets. This was just after release of RU6. At the time I also reached out to Cayin, hoping a firmware update would resolve it. I have since settled on the Roon Ready FiiO M11 Plus DAP as portable endpoint, to which I connect the various dongle DACs I have.

You should not experience this issue when connecting to phone via ARC or Roon remote or any other streaming app.

 

[Casey’sToneQuest]

I'm using the MFi07S with iPhone 14 Pro Max, with no problems. So not sure what is causing the problems on your setup.

Dang it’s a real bummer! It works fine on my MacBook Pro and sounds great with the Bokeh but with my phone it cuts in and out or just stops playing randomly… my Fiio dongle works just fine with the same ddhifi cable!

 

[kevtn8]

I don’t use any of my dongles as desktop DACs. My initial use case was to run a battery powered Raspberry Pi on WiFi as endpoint in our conservatory/sunroom, where I don’t have power or Ethernet outlets. This was just after release of RU6. At the time I also reached out to Cayin, hoping a firmware update would resolve it. I have since settled on the Roon Ready FiiO M11 Plus DAP as portable endpoint, to which I connect the various dongle DACs I have.

You should not experience this issue when connecting to phone via ARC or Roon remote or any other streaming app.

At least I can confirm that there's nothing wrong with my RU7. Last night I attached RU7 to my phone and streamed from Roon ARC and even using Roon Radio for most of time, there was no noise or distortion of any kind. Using SE output into my IE600 , I was very impressed. So you are correct that this distortion is mainly Roon desktop DAC issue. I'm still looking forward to test out the optical / spdif input to RU7 ( via desktop) to see if this helps. I will update this thread when that happens. Thanks everyone.

 

[Anouk]

You can use the iBasso CB19 y-cable which is a very good one of the USB-data/power split-cables together with a powerbank or any external 5V power supply for portable use. Also the very specific active powered USB hubs for desktop use mentioned several times in USB-dongle threads here which also cleanly separate power and data ("pulwtop USB-C 4port hub") work very well to get the most out of your RU7 or any other USB-C dongle. But be aware that that is not true for any other random USB-hub.

Edit: It is nicely explaind here and many similiar posts:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hiby-fc6-r2r-dongle-dac-reborn.969134/post-17882915
... and the RU7 can draw up to 1.5W of power if properly supplied by an external source which the "normal" host devices usually do not provide from their USB-ports and thus limit its performance significantly.

Wow this is extremely interesting. Want to experience now what this can do for the ru7.
This is probbably weird and convoluted bu is it possible to do something like this while still using phone as source? I guess realistically not and you can only do it when having a laptop or macbook as music source?
Thanks again anyway
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Anouk]

You can use the iBasso CB19 y-cable which is a very good one of the USB-data/power split-cables together with a powerbank or any external 5V power supply for portable use. Also the very specific active powered USB hubs for desktop use mentioned several times in USB-dongle threads here which also cleanly separate power and data ("pulwtop USB-C 4port hub") work very well to get the most out of your RU7 or any other USB-C dongle. But be aware that that is not true for any other random USB-hub.

Edit: It is nicely explaind here and many similiar posts:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hiby-fc6-r2r-dongle-dac-reborn.969134/post-17882915
... and the RU7 can draw up to 1.5W of power if properly supplied by an external source which the "normal" host devices usually do not provide from their USB-ports and thus limit its performance significantly.

Duh stupid i was so focussed on the desktop hub section that i forgot you mentioning the ibasso cable. So it might work after all for me. Great!

 

[Anouk]

Dang it’s a real bummer! It works fine on my MacBook Pro and sounds great with the Bokeh but with my phone it cuts in and out or just stops playing randomly… my Fiio dongle works just fine with the same ddhifi cable!

I am using this cable as well with the normal iphone 15 and the ru7. I still get some clicks but no cutouts when music is playing.

 

[Anouk]

Still enjoying using the ru7 velcroed to my iphone case its a very nice combo. The us b cable is a bit stiff so sometimes a bit worried that it might break or something but I like the smallish plugs.
I did switch from dsd 256 to 64 which i do prefer with my dunu alpha 3 earbuds but that might change once i get the cable to separate power from data.
Any recommendations for wall warts or power banks to get the maximum power from these?
Thanks in advance
Greetings, Anouk,