Cayin Audio unveiled three fresh products at the High End Audio Fair in Munich, which are the iDAP-8 network player, the iDAC-8 tube DA converter, and the iHA-8 fully balanced Class A headphone amplifier. These devices are a perfect match in terms of both technical specifications and visual aesthetics, with all three sharing a width of 27 centimeters.
Cayin Audio i-8 Series
Cayin’s designers have combined classic elements (tubes!) with new technological concepts. The new devices have a clear structure with the centrally located displays in combination with the round controls. The horizontal slats of the side panels also fit into the overall concept. Only the dark feet seem a bit of a strange deviation compared to the aesthetic silver, but on the other hand, it makes the devices seem to float a bit. Well, it might also be a bit of a matter of taste.
Cayin Audio iDAP-8: digital music player
The iDAP-8 has an internal memory of 128 GB that offers the possibility to play music. The native Android streaming apps allow the user to easily enjoy online music services such as Apple Music and Tidal in high-resolution lossless quality. In addition, audio files can be played from a NAS, USB storage medium, SD card or via the 2.5-inch SATA slot for optional HDDs or SSDs up to a capacity of 4 TB. The iDAP-8 can output a pure audio signal to the external DA converter from the 8 series via the I²S interface with HDMI connection. Cayin has also installed the other common digital outputs.
Cayin Audio iDAC-8
The Cayin iDAC-8 is a DA converter equipped with tubes in the analog circuit. These are triodes of the 6H6b-B type, four in total. The user has the choice of having the signal output via the tubes or via semiconductors. DA conversion is done by DAC chips of the type AK4191EQ and AK4499EXEQ. Two copies of the latter are used, a separate DAC chip for each channel to achieve maximum channel separation. Cayin promises that an iDAC-8 presents exceptional musical authenticity.
The power supply is based on a toroidal transformer that is assisted by almost 30,000 µF smoothing capacity. All common digital inputs are mounted. The specified frequency range is 20 Hz to 50 kHz. Analog music signal is output via cinch and via XLR.
Cayin Audio iHA-8: fully balanced headphone amplifier operating in class A
The iHA-8 headphone amplifier delivers an impressive power of almost 10 Watts per channel in class A. The specified frequency range is from 10 Hz to 80 kHz.
The circuit is completely symmetrical and consists of four channels that are responsible for the left and right channels in pairs. The iHA-8 is therefore very suitable for connecting balanced headphones via the 4.4 millimeter jack plug connection or the Pentaconn connection. The oversized 70 Watt power supply with a smoothing capacity of 50,000 μF and the generous output power enable control of any dynamic or magnetostatic headphones.
Prices and delivery information
The new Cayin iDAP-8 and iDAC-8 have a recommended retail price of just 1,600 euros. The iHA-8 is available for just under 1,150 euros.
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