The Chinese brand Cayin has been on the Hi-Fi equipment market for more than 20 years and is exported to more than 20 countries around the world. Cayin was founded in 1993, and since then the main priorities have been a wide range of prices and improving sound quality in each subsequent device while maintaining affordability. The first tube amplifier (FU29) was released in 1994, but it can still be found on the secondary market, which certainly shows that Cayin products are designed to last and last.
The price-quality ratio of Cayin products turned out to be excellent, so the public quickly gained respect for the brand. Moreover, the company was supported by the local government and a new production facility was opened in 2006, capable of producing more than 10,000 amplifiers per year. Designing an analog device is not only a constant search for know-how. Tradition and team play a very important role. Cayin values and takes care of its employees. For example, Chen DeHai, chief engineer, has been with the company since 1994, Wu Xiandong, marketing director, since 1997, and Li Aimen, assistant general manager, joined the company in 1998.
It is also important to pay attention to every detail during development and production. When designing its plant, Cayin took into account individual capacities to create its own transformers – now every power and output transformer in a Cayin tube amplifier is designed and wound by the company’s engineers. With such a meticulous approach, it seems self-evident that all amplifiers are assembled by hand. In 2013, the company began producing portable players, which became very popular among fans of high-quality personal audio. However, the basis of the Cayin catalog has always been and remains stationary components, about which, oddly enough, a little less is known. The company’s products include tube and transistor amplifiers, digital players, CD players, acoustics and a number of accessories. And today we will look at the “I” series line, first presented to the public four years ago.
Today, the I Series includes the iDAP-6 digital desktop player, the iDAC-6 digital-to-analog converter, and the iHA-6II headphone amplifier (marketed simply as the iHA-6). By the way, a new modification of the iDAC-6MK2 DAC will be launched in the summer, but more on that later. First of all, it is worth noting that all three devices that make up the series are proposed to be used as a single system. On the other hand, any of the devices can be freely used separately. For example, the iDAP-6 digital transport can be easily connected to a third-party DAC and output the signal to an existing power amplifier. Thus, you will get a home audio system with almost unlimited possibilities in terms of playing digital Hi-Res music. If we consider this trinity in the format of one system, then everything is very harmonious: the devices are ideal for each other both in size and appearance, and in functionality.
