![]() The One Cast headphone amplifier is not fully discreet and offers only a single SE output as opposed to both balanced and SE. It does not offer the equivalent of the Cyrus Audio’s 4th Gen Class D amplifier 100W output for speakers so that’s a negative point in terms of flexibility but it does have superior performance for pure headphone output. On a like-for-like basis, it should be compared only to the headphone amplifier of the One Cast which is also a Class AB design. The iHA-6 is a Class AB headphone amplifier with fully discrete components and a balanced circuit design. ![]() You will have to buy an additional phono stage with good grounding if you want to use a turntable with the Cayin i-Series. However, the MK2 newer DAC and design further lowers distortion to 1115dB and 122dB balanced on the MK2 giving it a distinct advantage.Ī key One Cast feature missing on the iDAC-6 MKII is that phono stage which I find very handy. The One Cast SNR on pre-out would have been competitive with the original iDAC-6 MKI’s AK4490 implementation at 107dB compared to 105-110dB on the older Cayin DAC. It will accept a line-in SE (via AV) so you can technically bypass its DAC with something like the iDAC-6 MK2 for headphone and speaker amplification. The One Cast also has a pre-out but it is only single-ended with no balanced equivalent so it is limited to 2.4V maximum output. On top of that, the iDAC-6 MK2 has a dual timbre mode with its additional quad triode tube buffer and standard resistor-based topology that can add some coloration to both the line-out and the pre-amp analog signal. The line-out rating is a standard 2.2V and 4.4V whereas the pre-amp offers a lot more a maximum of 7V unbalanced and 13V balanced which is ideal for powered amps. The iDAC-6 MK2 topology is also a balanced and single-ended circuit for an independent lineout and pre-amp design. You get a higher level of decoding from the iDAC-6 MK2 at DSD512 and PCM 32BIT/768kHz compared to just 32BIT/384kHz and DSD128 from the One Cast. The iDAC-6 MK2 is a recent launch in 2020 and it does benefit from an upgraded ES9028 PRO DAC compared to the One Cast’s older 2-channel ES9018K2M chipset. Whereas the One Cast uses the HDMI ARC technology for routing incoming audio out via speakers or the PO. Both have HDMI ports but the iDAP-6 uses the I2S protocol for linking to a DAC with an I2S receiving port such as the iDAC-6 MKII. It also has LAN capability which is a strange omission from the One Cast. What the iDAP6 does have though is local transport options on the rear and front (OTG & SD card) to allow you to hook up hard drives or flash drives for enhanced digital media storage. The One Cast’s integration means it’s one dial for volume and can be master-controlled via the Google Home app also. You have to connect it via the variable voltage setting on the DAC or via the iHA-6 headphone amplifier. There is no onboard volume control on the iDAP-6. If you want to stream Spotify you will have to use a Bluetooth connection with the iDAP-6 but you can also do that with the One Cast if you so choose and both offer aptX as the maximum rate for receiving. However, the One Cast offers the newer 801.11ac protocol which maxes out at 1.3Gbits per second (162.5 MB/s) or around double the capability of the iDAP-6 802.11n rate.ĭo note, however, this is a 5GHz protocol only so will only be effective over short distances compared to the 2.4Ghz band which is more suited to larger room setups or zones in other rooms.īoth devices offer DLNA and Airplay integration via WiFi through 3rd party apps such as BubbleUPnP but only the One Cast can Chromecast meaning integration with the likes of Google Nest, Deezer, and Spotify as well as voice activation and control. Starting with streaming, both devices have good WiFi streaming capability with 802.11a/b/g/n rates. The One Cast also has a more comprehensive suite of streaming options with integrated Chromecast though neither has a dedicated app for managing the devices. On a high level, the Cayin suite has an edge in terms of DAC and headphone performance but lacks a few features that the One Cast has such as the phono stage and direct speaker amplification. Priced on their own the iDAP-6 is $799, the iHA-6 is now $699, and the iDAC-6 MKII is $999 giving it a combo price of $2497 or around $500 more than the One Cast SRP. You can buy all 3 separately and they are designed to neatly stack on top of each other with integration via rear digital and analog wiring. The Cayin i-Series is comprised of 3 different components, the iDAP-6 streamer, the iHA-6 headphone amplifier, and the iDAC-6 MK2 DAC with pre-amp output. Rather, we have modular systems that come close hence our comparisons section reflects that. ![]() The Cyrus One Cast is quite a unique device so there is no single device we have reviewed before that offers the exact same features.
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