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Cayin

Cayin - RU6

Portable R-2R DAC & Amp
Sale price₹ 16,999 Regular priceMRP: ₹ 24,999
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DELIVERY
Ships in 24-48 Hours
7 Day Replacement Guarantee

In case you receive the Cayin - RU6 with a manufacturing defect, please raise a return request within 7 days of delivery.

However, if you receive an incorrect / damaged / different product or one with missing accessories, please raise a return request within 24 hours of delivery. In case you receive a product with a missing, incorrect, or faulty accessory, you will be given a replacement accessory instead of the entire product.

Please make sure that the product is in the original packaging with all the accessories it came with. We'll also need an unboxing video and images of the parcel to investigate about the discrepancy. You may be asked to share images of the product and the packaging received for us to determine the damage or defect prior to approving the return request. The free replacement will be shipped only once the original order is returned.

A replacement will be issued only if:

- It is found to be defective
- It is determined that the product was not damaged while in your possession
- The product is not different from what was shipped to you
- The product is returned in original condition (with brand’s/manufacturer's box, MRP tag intact, user manual, warranty card and all the accessories therein)

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Warranty & Services

Don't sweat it, this Cayin - RU6 comes with a 1 Year warranty from Cayin that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about Cayin's warranty in India.

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Chi-Fi
Excellence

1 Year of
Warranty

Ideal for Audiophiles

These DAC & Amps are designed for discerning music lovers. If audio quality is important to you, a set of DAC & Amps like these would be ideal.


You can expect these DAC & Amps to present you with a refined listening experience. The audio quality exhibited by these DAC & Amps is a beautiful mix of musicality, technical brilliance and high precision.


These DAC & Amps deliver a spacious & open soundstage that makes you feel you are sitting at a live concert. Experience the magic and delve into pure sonic tranquility!
Best Suited for Portable Use

For those who value them, being able to carry their favourite DAC & Amp equipment when they are on the move is invaluable.


These DAC & Amps offer the ultimate portability experience without sacrificing sound quality. If you’re someone who appreciates cutting-edge engineering, quality sound and portability, then look no further.


Designed to be trusty companions, these DAC & Amps are cleverly engineered with the latest technology to offer the ultimate combination of portability & Hi-Fidelity!

4.4mm
Balanced Output

Metal
Build

DAC Chip
You may not even realise it, but most of us use a digital-to-analogue converter (commonly known as a DAC) daily. Built into your computers, tablets and smartphones, a DAC is fundamental to unlocking the convenience of digital music. Any device that acts as a digital sound source will need a DAC to convert digital audio to analog. A DAC converts the digital information stored in “0s and 1s” into an analog signal that's passed to speakers or headphones and ultimately our ear. In short, DACs play a large part in making digital music hearable. 

While this technical process is undoubtedly impressive, the DAC embedded into your smartphones or laptops is nowhere good enough to listen to your favourite music recordings in high quality. So, if you want to listen to music in high quality, an external DAC is essential to allow headphones or speakers to perform at their potential. An external DAC, first and foremost, will improve audio quality dramatically.
Pair with Laptop via USB

A majority of people use a laptop as the primary source device to listen to music or watch movies. Since the laptop is an essential part of the audio chain there are headphones and devices designed to work a laptop or computer system flawlessly. With the availability of USB connectivity, it becomes easier to pair various devices like an Amp, DAC or even headphones without worrying about drivers or any additional piece of software.

Connect With
USB-C

Upto 213mW @ 32Ω
Power Output

Volume Controls

If your DAC & Amps include volume controls or volume rockers, you can easily change the volume with a button press or volume knob turn.


DAC & Amps that have volume controls make its operation incredibly simple; turn up the volume on your smartphone or your source devices and then change the volume on DAC & Amps to the desired level.


This design feature allows you to have complete control over the desired volume according to your listening preferences.

Super Lightweight
Design

An R2R DAC is pretty much the buzzword of the year. Everyone wants one, but most are incredibly expensive and need a big fat setup. The Cayin RU6 is set to change that. Pocket-sized, on-the-go, R2R goodness for everyone.
RAGHAV SOMANI

About RAGHAV SOMANI

Raghav Somani is the Founder & CEO of Headphone Zone. An avid audiophile and musician since 2008, his choice of headphones include STAX Electrostats, Audeze LCD 3, and for music on the go, the JH Audio Roxanne + Astell&Kern SP1000 is never too far away. On his playlist, you'll find A.R. Rahman, Michael Jackson, and the Eagles.

INNOVATIVE 24BIT DISCREET R-2R RESISTOR LADDER DAC CIRCUIT

The Cayin RU6 features a self-developed 24bit discrete R-2R resistor ladder circuit that can decode up to 384kHz PCM audio. The basic idea of the R-2R ladder is a matched pair of resistors, the first is “R” and the other is “2R'' which has twice the value of R. To achieve 24-bit decoding, RU6 equips 48 units of resistors (23 x R and 25 x 2R), and that’s for one channel. So for a stereo 24 Bit R-2R decoder, RU6 features 96 units of resistors for life-like audio reproduction. With the advent of the R-2R circuit, Cayin RU6 establishes itself as the master of the fully-discrete resistor DAC topology in portable audio.

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OFFERING OVERSAMPLING AND NON-OVERSAMPLING DA MODES

Cayin offers both Oversampling and Non-oversampling DA modes in RU6. For Oversampling mode, the Digital Audio Bridge will upsample the digital audio data to 384kHz through digital filters. This will enhance the resolution, reduce noise and improve the anti-aliasing of the digital signal. The Oversampling DA mode will offer a noticeable improvement in details and frequency extension. The playback is clean and sharp with a darker background. On the other hand, NOS DA mode maintains the sampling rate of the original bit-stream and playback will become very musical with a natural and organic presentation.

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EQUIPPED WITH FULLY ANALOGUE RESISTOR ARRAY VOLUME CONTROL

The majority of USB DAC/Amps rely on your phone's volume control to regulate the headphone output volume. Technically this was not a viable solution to Cayin RU6. Cayin created a fully analogue resistor array volume control circuit in response to this problem, offering 99 steps of volume adjustment via nine segments of resistors and switching relays. Resistor Array volume control features a very high-quality volume control design, extremely transparent when implemented correctly. This design is incorporated in a lot of high-end preamps and integrated amplifiers.

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FEATURES DUAL CIRCUIT BOARD LAYOUT FOR DSD AND PCM PLAYBACK

To minimise audio signal interference, Cayin has split the RU6's circuit into two 6-layers PCB, with digital and analogue circuits installed on separate boards. This safeguards the audio signal integrity and ensures the noise from the reference clock and DSP does not bleed into the amplification circuit. This architecture in turn delivers artefact-free audio every single time. This circuit design combined with the R-2R architecture enables the RU6 to support hi-resolution PCM and DSD audio formats with support for 384kHZ PCM and DSD 64/128/256 natively.

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INTUITIVE AND VERSATILE OPERATION WITH LOW POWER CONSUMPTION

Discrete R-2R circuitry is a low-power DAC circuit when compared to other highly integrated DAC chipsets. Because of this architecture, you can listen to music without worrying about your phone's battery draining out. USB-C connection offers compatibility with a wide range of phones, consumer electronics and computers. The hardware is intuitively designed, with the volume controls serving as menu selectors and the OLED screen displaying playback information. The Cayin RU6 also offers two gain settings to enhance performance with various IEMs and headphones. All this is wrapped in a 28g package.

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1 Year Warranty

Don't sweat it, this Cayin - RU6 comes with a 1 Year warranty from Cayin that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about Cayin's warranty in India.

Headfonia

"The RU6 is easy on the ears and it always has great clarity and a pitch black background. The volume control is one of the very best we have experienced with all of the dongles so far."

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DarkO Audio

"At the RU6's business end sit two headphone outputs: a 3.5mm single-ended socket and balanced 4.4mm Pentaconn socket. Switchable high/low gain assists with headphone/earphone matching."

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Headfonics

"The Cayin RU6 offers a different “analog” approach in the world of highly integrated delta-sigma chipset packages& DSP filters. Preserves a tube-like musical quality but with much finer volume control."

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Ecoustics

"If you are in the market for a very high-end Dongle DAC that delivers a lot more than most — the Cayin RU6 is the one you want. It offers all the features most need, great sound, and good power."

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Head Fi

"RU-6 is the 2021 dongle for me, a dongle that will make premium brands sweat. RU-6 value is its naturalism of replay and presenting the flavor of R2R w/o dropping technicalities."

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Prime-Audio

"The Cayin RU6 differentiates itself from other DACs not only with its R2R technology but also with its organic, analogue sound. If you’re someone who values character over absolute neutrality, this is the dongle for you."

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everydaylisteningblog

"Enthusiasts will be sure to enjoy the RU6’s wide stage and analogue-like note presentation that grant it one of the sweetest and most euphonic sounds I’ve encountered from a portable source yet."

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Customer Reviews

Based on 42 reviews
83%
(35)
14%
(6)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
2%
(1)
H
Harisankar (Ernakulam)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
Immersive, Natural and Detailed

Pros
1) Natural sound signature that is forgiving of even low resolution mp3 files but scales well with hires files.
2) Quite holographic soundstage and good imaging capabilities
3) Very dynamic sound signature with great bass thump and impact
4) Treble is detailed but not sibilant or overly sharp
5) The least expensive R2R Dac out there in the market
6) Powerful enough for almost any iem in the market

Cons
1) Not a truly balanced circuit despite the 4.4mm port
2) Rare instances of EMI interference noises
3) Volume changes can sometimes be a bit slowdue to the switching relay resistor volume control

My Setup
Smartphone: Oneplus7Pro
Apps used: USB Audio Player Pro (bit-perfect playback with Tidal and Qobuz integration), YouTube vanced, Apple Music
Iem used: 7hz Timeless through the 4.4mm port

First of all thanks to Headphonezone for bringing this unique product to the Indian market. The USP of this product is that this is the world’s first R-2R Dac in dongle format. R-2R Dacs are generally known for their more natural sound signature and huge difficulty involved in engineering one correctly as precise resistors have to be hand selected and arranged in ladder format. This Cayin RU6 uses 96 precise resistors in ladder form for 2 channel audio.

The combo of Cayin RU6 plus 7hz Timeless produces a highly dynamic, engaging, and wide sound signature. The naturalism of the R-2R Dac especially helps in adding more midrange lushness to the sound signature of the 7hz Timeless compared to my Hiby R3 Pro Sabre Delta Sigma-based DAP which I used earlier. The soundstage also gained a more holographic nature with the Cayin RU6 compared to the Hiby. Songs such as ‘Thriller’by Michael Jackson, ‘Jack Sparrow’ by Royal Philharmonics Orchestra as well as ‘Doors and Distance’ by Antonio Sanchez illustrate the soundstage capabilities of the RU6. ‘Chali Kahani’ from Tamasha gives a clear illustration of the great dynamics of RU6.

A note on value for money: This is priced at the Summit Fi range of dongle dacs at the moment and encroaches upon the price category of a Mid-Fi Dap such as Shanling M3X. I would say that for anyone ok with carrying a dongle with their smartphone, RU6 is a great value for money product especially when you consider the high-end and niche tech inside as well as the highly natural and engaging replay of music offered by the RU6.

User picture

Hi Harisankar,
We are so happy you took out time & elaborately reviewed the product. We are sure this will help our customers to make an even better & informed decision.

V
VENKATA (Mumbai)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
Excellent USB DAC

Tried with both IOS ( iphone 11) and android LG G8x.
Initial impressions: no regrets
Probably the best usb dac in market right now.

Currently using - Earmen sparrow and LP W2. This is definitely a good addition to them

Using to drive primarily IER Z1R , UM MEST MKii , IMR EDP+

Excellent tonality and bass. Widest sound stage you can get through a USB DAC till now.

Really impressed. As many say it requires some burn in, hope it may open up better and settle on treble.

S
Samrat Ganguly (Baharampur)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
One of the best dongle dac

Hi all
I bought cayin RU6 because I wanted to test the R2R technology.
The dongle is very well built. The type C poty, the chasis, the SE and balanced ports look premium. The matte finish of sides and back, glass front, the metallic line along the sides - all look very good. This is a sturdy device. The buttons are kept at horizontal orientation to the sides rather than conventional parallel orientation. They work perfectly.

Connection was easy. Just plug and play.

Setting- three settings. Gain - high/ low, sampling - OS/ NOS. OS is oversampling, which makes the sound slightly warm and add more flavor to it. NOS is slightly boring but detailed. Last is screen backlight timing. These can be changed just like looto paw.

Sound- Accurate and lively. Details- its NOT one of the most detailed dongle DAC. That accolade belongs to Looto paw s1 and L&P W2.
Soundstage- definitely one of the largest, if not the largest among dongle dacs.
Localisation- average. Sound notes mix together and less separation among instruments. So pin point accuracy of instruments on soundstage not possible.
Highs- they are well represented.
Mids- Lush and full vocals. Both male and female vocals feel very good. Its not mid-forward presentation but gives perfect representation.
Bass- very good, solid bass with good sub-bass and reverbs. Not the fastest like A&K dongle. But still very well regulated. Slight bass bleed to the mids.
Power- good for iems. Not for power hungry cans but its understandable.

Tonality- here W2 and DAPs like ibasso dx160 and m11 plus are slightly ahead. Overall very good DAP like tonality compared to many other dongle dacs available in market.
Timbre of instruments- its accurate and lifelike

Competition- L&P W2 is priced similarly. Both are good. W2 slightly ahead in SQ but background noise in W2 is more while streaming.
Its ahead of looto paw S1 and A&K dongle in terms of tonality and presentation.

Overall verdict- if you wamt to experience R2R technology, this thing doesn't disappoint. Good organic warm sound with good technical capabilities. It'll be among top 5 dongle DACs definitely.

User picture User picture

Hi Samrat,
We are so happy you took out time & elaborately reviewed the product with a comparison. We are sure this will help our customers to make an even better & informed decision.

Y
Yash Shah
Awesome

R2R DAC in such a small form factor is insane. It sounds incredible. In the space of compact dongle DAC the RU6 definitely shines and provides insane value for money.

Thank you for the awesome reviews & ratings Yash!

S
Salil Mohammad
Pocket-sized but packed with a punch

So, let me start by saying that Cayin is a pioneer in making audiophile geeky sorta gear. This little guy lets you switch between 2 modes making it super convenient. The screen is super clear, conveys information perfectly fine.

Hey Salil, thank you for the great review. Absolutely delighted to read you are loving this!

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