How powerful is the cayin n8?
Edit: 750mw @ 32 ohms balanced is nice and for SE tube mode it’s 400mw at 32 which is still pretty good
Used it should be around 1.8k iirc
Ah, that is much more powerful. I guess those Nutubes can take more. Although honestly I’d rather have the Raytheon tubes in the N3pro. I wonder how the SS output on the R8 compares to the LPGT.
@MaynardGK might be able to answer this better, does the DX220 have low and high pass like LPGT?
Yes. the PEQ tool has 8 filter types in all: low pass, high pass, all-pass, band, peak, notch, high shelf, low shelf.
BTW: the next settings screen after EQ is a digital filter control with 7 roll-off options, so pretty sophisticated.
Imo the gold has more drive and punch, both are going for a warmer neutral tone, I think the gold might be a bit more refined and capable
Cool, it might be time to give the DX220 consideration then.
But none it seems compare to the P6, seeing that you said it falls somewhere between Holo Spring and Cyan. That’s quite an achievement!
From more listening it’s now leaning a bit more towards cyan but still in the middle, it really is impressive (which is prob why I’ve been so floored by it since I’m a sucker for a nice dac lol). But the trade off with the p6 is the feature set for sure (but personally I don’t mind that). I would love to see a more advanced player with similar or better performance, which is prob the LP6 or the Ti but I haven’t tried those yet to confirm. The LPGT prob has a similar quality amp as the P6, but as a dac it’s not as high preforming, but no real way to test that since in the daps you can’t really isolate the amp from the dac and feed the amp separately (but you can test them as dacs separately which is where I’m basing my assessment)
Someone on Headfi thought the LP6ti was better than the P6 for some reason, I think it was something along the lines of the LP6ti being more resolving and detailed, whereas the P6 had that more pleasant and soft warmer tonality. But that is just one person’s comparison.
For the price it better be lol, it’s pretty much a 2x increase in cost. But I would agree it’s a bit warmer tonality but only by a slight margin on the p6, but I wouldn’t call it soft imo
Yeah definitely. It’s a stretch even for a $3k DAP for me, let along a $5-6k DAP…
I heard one of these. Meh, it’s competent enough I suppose.
2 Likes
Just a quick update, I recently picked up a LessFox BX-2 Plus amp for the P6. Honestly this alone is damn good for headphones it’s not even funny. This amp with the line out of the p6 is extremely impressive (albeit large in size so less portable), drives really anything reasonable I throw at it with ease.
The BX-2 is a very interesting amp, it really doesn’t have much coloration to my ears and maintains the sonic signature of the dac you have going into it. It does increase stage width (but doesn’t sacrifice placement and depth), sharpen things up a bit, and perhaps is a tad bit cleaner with more detail but really it just sounds like the p6 but enhanced (and now can drive headphones with ease).
I have a feeling that I might not want the LP6 anymore with this around lol. Also in the process of selling my 220 max since there is absolutely no need for it anymore with this thing around, really don’t need the micro bl either but that does at least have a more fun tuning going for it, so holding onto it for now. You do see the most benefit with headphones, but some of my slightly more amp demanding iems actually benefit a fair amount as well, and even with the power this thing has with the proper setting noise floor or hiss is not a concern at all, almost as quiet as the p6 on its own, really impressive
Any more thoughts on it lol?
2 Likes
It is quite apparent that it is damn good and I would hope so for the price tag. If the differences were just subtle, I probably would have been disappointed based on costs. They elevated my Trinity from my least engaging pair to my most engaging pair. I can’t wear these when I’m trying to work or focus on something else; it’s impossible.
Let’s just say, I can’t imagine listening going back to anything else and to prove that, I’ll switch back to my Cayin today, so I can confirm it and make extended impressions.
4 Likes
I just finished about 2 hours of listening back on my old Cayin. Yes, the differences are quite apparent and don’t get me wrong, the Cayin is a great-performing DAP as well.
I would say the largest changes are in the intangibles. The P6 is quieter and has blacker blacks, which does a lot for spatial recreation and dynamics. I get way more sense of stage and accurate imaging. The Cayin did a good job with giving the music fullness and punch, but the P6 elevates that even more. On top, the P6 adds more accurate timbre and tone. Any time there are cymbal crashes, delicate instrument playing, or solo voices, you can imagine it much better. It adds texture. Needless to say, it’s tough to go back.
I would say in a short one-liner: the P6 is much more engaging in the experience and will pull my focus compared to my previous DAPs or desktop setups.
4 Likes
Any longer impressions on this portable amp?
Still really great, have been using it really often actually. Iem wise it really elevates the obravo and mmr in terms of spaciousness, a bit more detail, really good body and impact, and while sharpening things up a tad it never gets harsher. Other iems I have don’t benifit as much but still work fairly well, no noise floor although the volume ramps up a bit quicker than I would like in a low gain mode setting
For headphones is really were it impresses me, the diana v2 is a super good match here, really the best I have heard these headphones portable for sure, gets close enough to something like a v280 or gsx mini level performance but portable so really surprising there. I actually have also been using it with mysphere 3.2 and while it ends up being a bit less fun than what I like with the myspheres it ends up being a solid enough combo where I wouldn’t be disappointment with it if it was all I could use. I did try the susvara and it actually drove it to satisfying levels and listenable quality which while it might not seem good is very very impressive for a portable imo. I will say that with the adx 5000 it sounded good but a bit too lean and also a bit sharper than I prefer for that headphone. Aeon 2 was an excellent pairing for portability just like the diana, really does exactly what I like with those headphones.
I did try pairing it with other daps acting as the dac, and the p6 is the clear best pairing for it’s performance and signature it can offer. The paw gold 2017 was too bright and forward and tilted too far in that direction with the lessfox imo. The QPM was good but not standout. Going from a idsd it was a warmer pleasant sound but lost some resolution and control
2 Likes
P6 Pro is now out for preorder, will be picking one of these up for sure, seems like the main upgrades are better matched resistors, a touch screen and better ui, a bit better amp section as well
2 Likes
Any chance you’ve got one in yet? Also, is this still the best dac of any portable you’ve heard? If so, any notable ones you haven’t tried but may be jn the same league?
Nope, should be within the next few months though
Yup
I recently got to demo a lotoo paw touch gold titanium and as an overall dap that might get close, it has the edge in amp performance, but the L&P has the dac advantage so as an all in one it balances out. I will say in functionality and refinement of the UI and experience of use is much better on the lotoo, the P6 is much more rough around the edges but still usable
I also got to demo a hifiman hm1000 just recently which may actually rival dac performance, but I don’t have enough time with it to say (only got 30 min so that’s not enough time), will try to get more time on it in the future. But really out of what I’ve heard I really haven’t heard anything better dac quality wise than the P6 and I’ve at this point cycled through the majority of the dap flagships
2 Likes
Speaking of the HM1000, have you heard the R2R2000 much? Honestly, the idea of a very high tier desktop quality dac in a portable format has been fairly appealing to me for a while, so im real currioys about whats out there now that I find something better than the todler’s toy with 4 year old tech that is the hugo2+2go