@Hazi59 saw you recently got a W2, how has it been so far?
I think it is really good for a dongle dac. Having that many features on a dongle dac is pretty remarkable. The sound signature to my ears is a very subtly warm neutral (then again, I am using the NOS filter and the #2 refined option, so it could be that). I also think it is pretty cool that it comes with a USB C and Lightening Cable, so it works for Android and Apple users. The main thing though is it just sounds very realistic to my ears while also having a surprising amount of power for a dongle dac. In my opinion, it will take a lot for a true competitor to offer a dongle dac that packs in the amount of features, power and sound quality that the W2 offers.
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@M0N are you planning to try Cayin RU6?
I might, although Iām going to wait a bit to see how things pan out honestly, still a bit skeptical itās all that good
Yeah, to be honest at the moment the first impressions seem to be mediocre to me.
If you have one in I would try and give it some days of burn in time, since that will likely play a role considering topology, but yes I havenāt heard the best things about it so far
No I donāt have one with me. I almost pre ordered it, but changed my mind after reading the first impression and brief comparison to the W2.
Iāll pick one up eventually, but not until the hype settles, still havenāt picked up the r2r version of the n6ii, which people were calling a p6 pro killer although now I see so many being sold off so apparently that didnāt last lol
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So, I ended up buying the RU6. Apparently a local store is selling it, which saves me a lot of shipping cost. Iām aiming for a 150 to 200 hrs of burn in. Iāll report after I reached that time.
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Some first impressions:
- I was expecting the RU6 to be quite hot, but surprisingly itās not that hot. The AK PEE51 is way hotter than this. Itās about the same temp with the W2.
- The RU6 definitely need to be burnt in. When I first listened to it, it was horrendous. The lower frequency was muddled up, no layering, terrible resolution. The highs were also weird.
- After 2 hours of burn in, the lows are becoming better, same with the mids and highs.
- For the time being I wouldnāt compare this with anything. Itās still unrefined and definitely will be stomped by the other dongle DACs.
- For the tonality, it has a little emphasis on the low end and the upper treble. Not so sure if it will change further.
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So this isnāt going to be super-useful information since I wasnāt really expecting it and I canāt A/B the two different firmware versions, but I updated my L&P W2 from V1.0.2-something to the latest version, V1.0.3.6, and I feel like it sounds noticeably different.
I donāt really have a way of describing it other than maybe that it sounds āless coloredā? Like maybe the signature is a little bit less warm/fuzzy than I remember it being before? Anyway, just wanted to put that out there if anyone else was thinking about updating their firmware, it might tilt the signature a little bit.
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Interesting, Iāll have to update mine and see what happens
Also @bruh.wav any update on the cayin?
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Yea Iāll write my thoughts today. I think 100 hours of burn in time is the way to go. After that time I donāt really hear any more significant difference.
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RU6 Review
TL;DR: Itās a natural sounding dongle DAC, but thatās where the strong suit ends. It kinda falls behind in terms of technicality.
Before Burn in and warm up
The RU6 needs to be burnt in. When it was still brand new, the RU6 has an elevated lower bass and forward mids, but the upper mids and highs were messed up. It was incohesive and not smooth. I think this was the reason why most people said that it sounded dry and in a way it also gave the perception of detail, but I think thatās not the case. It was just an unrefined DAC.
After Burn in and warm up
Pretty much everything improved after the burn in. I think one of the most noticeable change is in the tonality of the DAC. In terms of layering and imaging, it also improved drastically. So, letās look at it one by one.
Tonality
I would describe the RU6 as a warm sounding DAC. It has an elevated lower bass and a more forward mids, also paired with a mellow highs. The mellow highs play really nicely when it presents string and brass instruments. Most of the times I find that cheaper delta sigma DACs can have this gritty sound for violin, cello and trumpets, but thatās not the case with the RU6. Violins are smooth and trumpets are not annoying. But unfortunately the mellow highs makes hi-hat and cymbals lose their sparkle.
Soundstage, layering and imaging
The RU6 makes everything presented in a larger and wider soundstage. Itās not really an accurate presentation of the music, but itās a nice thing to have. Itās wider than itās taller. I donāt get much of a height perception from the RU6. In terms of layering, the RU6 also have more layering, but it falls apart in terms of imaging. For me the imaging was kinda blurred. Before it was burnt in, the imaging was smeared all over the place. It improved significantly with burn in, but never to the point where you get a pin point imaging.
If Iām going to compare it with the W2, the RU6 has a larger soundstage, but a blurred imaging, while the W2 has a smaller soundstage with a pin point imaging.
Timbre
The RU6 plays really nicely with acoustic instruments and vocals. It sounds natural.
Transient and Decay
This is where I have a problem with the RU6. The transient is soft and the decay is long, even a little bit too long. The soft transient made kick drums, snares and other sharp hitting sound to be softened. I didnāt get the same sharp definition and excitement from the RU6. The decay is also a problem. When thereās a busy and fast beat track, the long decay made everything overlaps each other. Snares sounded like it was going forever when it shouldāve stopped. But at the same time, this soft transient and long decay play a large role in creating a natural timbre and large soundstage. So, I guess the RU6 is not a good DAC for electronics, rock and a like genres.
Detail retrieval
The detail retrieval in the RU6 is not the greatest, especially the details in the highs. When Iām listening to a pop album, I always feel like thereās a veil that covers the highs. The detail for the mids and bass is alright.
Practicality
I donāt feel like the RU6 is the most practical DAC to use. While it is a nice thing to have resistor array for the volume attenuation, it also made watching movies and going through different songs bothersome. Thereās a delay if you switch songs and adjust the volumes. At first itās not really a big deal, but after a while itās something that I notice.
Conclusion
I think the RU6 is a really natural sounding DAC when compared to its competitors, but thatās where it ends. It plays really nicely in an orchestral, chamber, vocal and jazz music, but lags behind in electronic, rock, pop and a like music. If I didnāt know the fact that the RU6 is an R-2R DAC, I would say the RU6 is above average, but not spectacularly great DAC. I would recommend this DAC if you mainly listen to classical and acoustic music, but for electronics, pop and the others, you might want to choose other DAC.
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Nitpicking
The RU6 is well made, but for some reason it doesnāt inspire quality to me. When you press the button thereās this hollow sound and the tactile feedback is kinda rough.
The RU6 also doesnāt feel as dense as the W2 or the S1. These complaints are kinda ridiculous actually. Thatās why I separate it lol.
Some afterthoughts
I think the RU6 is quite a unique item. It excels in one thing but not so much in the other. To be honest, I wouldnāt recommend this DAC if this will be your only DAC, but if you already have some other DAC and want to try something new, the RU6 is a really good buy.
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Where are you finding the new firmware? I donāt see it on Musictecks site where I usually look for firmware updates. Keep waiting on another update for the P6P as wellā¦
Not OP, but you can find it from the official L&P website, this Google Drive or this Head-Fi thread.
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Recently I saw Clarus CODA USB DAC. They said itās a class g dongle DAC. Anyone here have experience with them? Looks pretty interesting, but kinda pricey.
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Class G? Is that some form of hybrid of A/B/D?
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Theyāre even more efficient than class D. AFAIK theyāre usually used for outdoor speakers, concert speakers and PA stuffs. Quite interesting to see it in a dongle DAC.
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