Cayin Desktop & Portable Audio Gear Overview

RICKY KOVACS | MOON AUDIO STAFF/

Cayin Desktop & Portable Audio Gear Overview

Meet the Latest Hi-Fi Brand at Moon Audio: Amazing Quality for the Price

Meet Cayin, the newest product line here at Moon Audio. Cayin is a division of Zhuhai Spark Electronic Equipment Co. Ltd., which started out in 1993 manufacturing tube amplifiers under the brand name Spark. In 2003, the company began manufacturing audio products under the name Cayin. For the next 10 years, they focused on the two-channel market before venturing into personal audio. They launched a series of DAPs (digital audio players) and desktop audio products. Cayin also developed a series portable audio products including portable amplifiers and in-ear monitors. Cayin products run the gamut in price as part of the company's effort to make quality audio available to a range of buyers. We at Moon Audio think Cayin products are a phenomenal value for the money, easily sounding as good products in higher price tiers.

Cayin DAC and CD player

Cayin Stackable Desktop Units

Cayin iHA-6 Headphone Amplifier

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The iHA-6 is a fully balanced solid state/tube hybrid headphone amplifier with enough juice to drive even the most power-hungry headphones. You'll get 7 watts into 32 Ohms in balanced mode (2.2w in single ended)! Enjoy the neutrality, power, articulation, and detail of the iHA-6. Far from being a dry or sterile sound, the iHA-6 exudes musicality and smoothness while exhibiting a high level of resolution for the discerning audiophile. Designed to pair with the Cayin iDAC-6 MK2, the iHA-6 can also be used with the DAC of your choosing. Add the Mini CD MK2 and you've got a beautiful three-unit stack. The iHA-6 has balanced and single-ended analog inputs. For headphone outputs, you get a 4-pin XLR, a pair of 3-pin XLR's, and then a pair of single-ended 6.35mm headphone jacks (inside of the 3-pin XLR's), one optimized for low-impedance headphones and the other for higher-impedance headphones. The chassis is an aluminum alloy with sandblast finishing to reduce external interference.

Tons of power

Stacks beautifully


Cayin Mini-CD MK2 CD Player

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The Cayin Mini-CD MK2 brings the CD back to the forefront of music playback. Sleek styling and impressive specifications make the Mini-CD the perfect addition to any hi-fi system. Upsampling support can greatly improve the fidelity of your favorite music, and combined with the audiophile-grade DAC you'll be finding plenty of new reasons to get your CD collection back out. The DAC chipset in the Mini-CD MK2 produces some of the best fidelity and sound quality for any CD player on the market. It's capable of upsampling from 44.1kHz up to 352.8kHz. And if you want to up your game, you can bypass the internal DAC and pair the Mini-CD MK2 with the iDAC-6. The Mini-CD MK2 has a set of digital outputs including S/PDIF RCA coaxial and i²S HDMI interface. i²S is going to take the raw data directly off your CD and send it to the DAC (whereas if you do any other digital output from a CD, it's got to be converted to that output). The VFD dynamic display is classic with a modern look, and the included remote control makes for versatile operation and complete control over your music.

 

i²S connection for pure raw data transfer to DAC

Sleek and stylish


Cayin Tube Headphone Amplifiers

Cayin HA-300MK2 Vacuum Tube Headphone Amplifier

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The HA-300 MK2 is a Class A, single-ended triode vacuum tube headphone and speaker amplifier that pushes the envelope of tube amplification when it comes to performance and refinement. This unit comes with its own specialized power supply to make sure your tube amp is getting the clean power it needs to sound its best. Together, the pieces weigh about 64 pounds. The HA-300 MK2 uses a matched pair of Gold Lion Genelex PX300B low-noise audio triodes as power output tubes for a natural and realistic sound. This unit also comes with Tung Sol driver tubes, and the power supply uses four RCA rectifier tubes. There are three headphone outputs: 6.3mm single-ended, 4.4mm balanced, and 4-pin XLR balanced. The analog inputs include a single set of balanced 3-pin XLR sockets, dual RCA single-ended sockets and to the far right a Weipu DC coupler for receiving power via the supplier cable from the PSU.

Dual chassis design

Natural, realistic sound


Cayin HA-6A Tube Headphone Amplifier

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Enjoy a live music experience in your own private space with the Cayin HA-6A Tube Headphone Amplifier. Compared to solid state amplifiers, vacuum tube amplifiers are known for their warm, rich, rounded, and full-bodied sound. However, the HA-6A gives the listener a dual operation mode option for customizing the sound to suit their tastes and their music. Triode mode is smooth, lush and harmonic, making it ideal for vocal and string music. Ultra-linear mode is clean, energetic, and authoritative, making it ideal for music that requires a lot of punch and control. The HA-6A comes with a pair of Electro-Harmonix EL34 tubes. The HA-6A is equipped with a 4.4mm balanced jack, 6.35mm standard jack and 4-pin XLR balanced jack. The lightweight aluminum alloy front panel features two lighted VU meters for a stunning visual effect.

 

Dual operation mode

Stunning design


Cayin HA-3A Tube Headphone Amplifier

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Discover the full-bodied, musical, and indulgent sound of the Cayin Audio HA-3A Tube Headphone Amplifier. The Cayin HA-3A is a transformer coupled, fully vacuum tube headphone amplifier that will skillfully drive a range of headphones, from planar magnetics to high-sensitivity earphones and IEMs. Unlike the HA-6A, however, the HA-3A will not drive the most demanding of headphones. The HA-3A uses two 6V6 output tubes, two 12AU7/ECC82 driver tubes and one single 22DE4 rectifier tube. The HA-3A has two analogue inputs: balanced XLR and single ended RCA. The outputs are: 4-Pin XLR balanced, 4.4mm balanced, and 6.35 single-ended. The amplifier offers 3 impedance settings (low, mid, high) and it is available in shiny black or silver.

 

Indulgant sound

3 headphone outputs


Cayin Portable Audio

Cayin N8ii DAP Music Player

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The N8ii DAP Music Player is a premium portable music listening experience that's packed with every flagship-level feature you could want. Designed around a pair of ROHM BD34301EKV DAC chips, you can listen in either solid state or tube amp mode, thanks to a pair of Korg Nutubes. Dual amplification mode allows you to choose either Class A and Class AB mode. Mix and match these four options for a variety of sound flavors, from warm and lush to clean and tight. Equipped with Wi-Fi and Android 9, the N8ii is streaming ready. You also get 128 GB of internal memory for your own music files plus the option to insert an SD card for additional file storage. The N8ii can decode up to PCM 32BIT/768kHz files and up to DSD512. The N8ii features Bluetooth 5.0 and supports major codecs such as LDAC, AAC, and SBC, plus you'll get up to 11 hours of battery life. At about 15.5 ounces, the N8ii is on the bigger and heavier side as portable DAPs go. There a large AMOLED touchscreen display, and most of the I/O (including 4.4mm and 3.5mm headphone outs and an I²S port) are on the bottom of the unit save for the SD card slot, which is housed on the right side of the device with other control buttons. Up top you'll find a luxurious gold volume control knob.

Choose solid state or tube + Class A or Class AB mode

i²S port for superior data transfer


Cayin N8ii DAP Music Player

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Introducing Cayin’s latest music player, the N7. The N7 DAP features a fully discrete 1-bit DAC, fully-balanced design, LPF, and headphone amplifier. The N7 is the latest in high-resolution portable sound from one of the leading audio manufacturers of premium digital music players. The Cayin flagship N8ii remains ones of the most popular DAPs on the market today, but the N7 takes a completely different approach to hi-res sound. The N7 developed the first miniature pure 1-bit DAC circuit with four rails of resistor network, resulting in astounding accuracy and likely one of the closest experiences of analog in a portable (DAP) application. The discrete 1-bit DAC can native decode up to DSD512 and accept PCM up to 32 Bit/768kHz. Cayin also developed a discrete LPF (low pass filters) circuit to tune the output stage of their 1-bit DAC to closely resemble a smooth and natural sound signature. The headphone amplification of the N7 is nothing short of spectacular; it is fully-discrete, fully-balanced design with Cayin’s renowned Dual Amplifier Operation (DAO, choice of Class A or Class AB) feature. The N7 is Android 12 based with Google play preinstalled so it is streaming ready.

Choose Class A or Class AB mode

1-Bit resistor network DSD decoding


Cayin RU6 Portable USB DAC/Head-Amp Dongle

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The RU6 Portable USB DAC/Head-Amp Dongle from Cayin is a portable USB R-2R DAC and headphone amplifier, allowing you to connect to your devices for high-quality, audiophile-grade sound wherever you are. The RU6 is compatible with iOS, MAC, Android, Windows, and can also be configured with DAPs via USB audio output. With features like oversampling and non-oversampling modes, high and low gain options, and volume buttons that double as menu selection, the RU6 is a petite powerhouse that offers PCM support up to 384kHz and DSD support DSD64/128/256. A 1-inch OLED screen displays playback information, which is a near feature. The RU6 also has both 3.5mm unbalanced and a 4.4mm balanced headphone jack for maximum compatibility with headphones.

 

Petite powerhouse

Screen with playback info


Cayin RU6 Portable USB DAC/Head-Amp Dongle

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The C9 from Cayin is the perfect accessory to your favorite headphones whenever you're on the go. The portable headphone amplifier has the option to switch between class A and AB, tube or solid state, high or low gain, and plenty of other options and features. Pair the C9 with you favorite source for rich, organic sounding high-fidelity audio. Your choice of timbre: vacuum tubes or solid state. The C9 has a tailored-designed, fully balanced 40ch dual timbre circuit. It comes equipped with a quad set of Toshiba 2sk209 JFET and a pair of KORG Butube 6P1 double direct heated triodes. They're applicable to both single-ended and balanced phone output. Vacuum Tube Timbre Circuit: this is a redesigned timbre circuit featuring the two miniature double direct heated triode (DHT) Nutube 6P1. Applicable to both single-ended and balanced output, with carefully implemented NFB, reduces THD+N to 0.03%. It delivers a euphoric and energetic presentation with the utmost delicacy. Solid State Timbre Circuit: The solid state option is a fully discrete buffer and amplification audio circuit. It's designed around two matched pairs of high-quality, low-noise audio frequency Toshiba 2sk209 JFET. They deliver a warm and rich timbre that is realistic and engaging.

 

Tailored designed Fully Balanced 40ch Dual Timbre Circuit

Fully Discrete, Fully Balanced, Class A/AB


Cayin Cables & Adapters

Cayin USB-C to 3.5mm Coaxial Cable (CS-40TCR35)

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Cayin RU6 Portable USB DAC/Head-Amp Dongle

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Cayin PH-4X 4.4mm TRRRS to 2.5mm TRRS Balanced Adapter

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Video

Check out our newest brand ... Cayin! | Drew's Audiophile Tech Tips

Moon Audio CEO Drew Baird, P.E., is thrilled to bring Cayin products on board, including portable and desktop solutions. Watch here for a sneak peak of the lineup, including the iHA-6 Headphone Amplifier, the iDAC6 MK2, and the iDAP-6 Music Streamer.

<Click to watch the video


Ricky Kovacs

My dad told me to be responsible and get a job that would allow me to finance my passion for music. Well, I did. That's why I spend all day in a proverbial candy store for music lovers. It's a dream job really.

Ricky Kovacs is a performer at heart but loves to bring his passion and experience with music to others. With a background in both politics and religion, Ricky has a knack for writing about divisive topics - which is why at the end of the day he loves writing about the one thing that brings us all together: music. Outside of Moon Audio, Ricky enjoys performing music in his band, recording, video games, virtual photography, reading, traveling, partaking in the finest scotch, and spending time with his wife, newborn, and doggy.