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In Reply to: I've owned the Cayin for about a month now... posted by krisjan on January 13, 2006 at 02:22:59:
I imagine there are plenty of folks who are curious about this two-channel, Chinese-made CD/SACD player so I will attempt a very thorough evaluation. I apologize in advance for the lengthy comments but hope they convey my thoughts.
AppetizerSome years ago, I moved from solid state (ss) amplification to an all-tube set-up (see below). The only thing missing in the chain was a tubed front end which for 5 years now has been a stock Sony SCD-777ES (with the exception of having the chip replaced under warranty to fix the bust of noise problem with some SACD’s). The Sony has performed flawlessly during this time and provided a good start on SACD. I have also been reasonably satisfied with the cd playback of the Sony player. Nevertheless, I knew that there was more to be had in terms of harmonic realism and so I have been thinking about switching to another front end player. My bias for tubes greatly played into this search. When I saw the specs for the Cayin SCD-50T player, I was intrigued since it offered both ss and tubed outputs. In researching this player, I found that it is available from at least two sources at very disparate prices. The player can be had for $1795 from Acoustic Sounds which is presumably the 110 volt version though it is not specified as such. Further, they offer the player with a 5-year parts, 3-year labor warranty. The alternate source is NY Sound (nysound.com) where the price is $995 plus a shipping cost of $165 (ships direct from China). When I first looked at the player on the NY Sound web site, there was no indication of the player voltage requirement. I sent an email asking and didn’t get a response. Also, there was only a 1-year warranty being offered. With the large difference in price, I decided to take a chance on the NY Sound offer. Shortly after placing my order, I went back to the web site and noticed that they had now added that the player was set up for 220 v operation much to my dismay. I sent another email and got a response this time – they were sending a voltage converter along with the player so there would be no problem operating it in the US. “Ok, we’ll see†I thought.
They claim 2-3 business day DHL delivery. It actually took about six days (after waiting about a week for the product to become available to ship). It arrived extremely well packed and in excellent shape (along with a second package containing the voltage transformer). A few more notes on the features of this player. In addition to the dual ss/tube outputs, it also provides a feature that downmixes a multichannel SACD to two channels if one chooses to do that (selectable from the heavy, multi-function aluminum remote). The default is the standard 2-channel mix when inserting an SACD. The disk drawer is smooth and somewhat slow in operation and it is extremely quiet in operation. The disk loads much more quickly than the Sony. The display sits below the drawer and one can choose several levels of brightness from the remote. It is large enough to see well from my listening position (about 9 feet away). Note that the player manual sent was in Chinese but you can download an English version from the web.
Main Course
I installed the player and have run it for about 50 hours now (mostly not listening during this time) to allow things to burn in and see if there would be any issue with early failure. It has worked perfectly during this burn-in time. Most of my evaluative listening so far has been with SACD and I have been quite impressed with the sound of the player especially through the tubed output section. I have traditionally used the 3rd movement of Shostakovich’s 8th symphony as a good acid test because the various orchestra sections are displayed well in this movement. I used the recent Wigglesworth/BIS release. The Cayin player offers a more realistic string sound compared to the Sony. There is more meat on the bones and overtones are ripe (like they are live). When switching to the ss output, the player sounded less real (quite similar to the Sony, really) but still OK. To me, this is the trademark difference between tubes and ss and it does reveal itself in this player. The ss sound was just a bit more sterile and less harmonically rich The Vivaldi/La Stravaganza SACD from Channel possessed a realistic soundstage and proper “bite†of the period strings. This is a great demo SACD for period strings and the Cayin handled it very well. Again, in ss output, the result was less involving.
I also listened to several SACD’s using the downmix option. One thing to note is that the playback level drops substantially in this mode (I’m not sure why that is). Also, the soundstage receeded significantly in this mode, even after adjusting for the volume difference. I would not recommend this mode of play unless, of course, the disk does not have a 2-channel track (I don’t have such an SACD in my collection).
I also did the “next room†test by playing the BIS/Beethoven/Kempf release of several famous Beethoven piano sonatas and listening from an adjoining room. I could almost be convinced that there was a Yamaha grand playing in that room (almost). The sound was full and realistic, transients being precise with terrific dynamics.
The Mendelssohn string quintets on Bis sounded excellent (do you get the idea that I love Bis recording?). On the Sony, this recording sounds a bit recessed with too much hall resonance (something I’ve found from time to time on Bis chamber music recordings). On the Cayin, however, the ensemble was more upfront in the soundstage while retaining a natural, sweet string tone in a convincing hall ambience. This was a real pleasant surprise and bodes well for the future of this player.
I did listen to some classical cd’s (I have several thousand CD’s so they claim most of my listening time). I was not disappointed here either although I do prefer the sound delivered by SACD. I would also rank this player as superior to the Sony on cd, something I attribute to the tubed output. Quite listenable – in fact, enjoyable.
Dessert
Although I’ve not had the player for a long time yet, at the moment I am excited about what this player delivers. I do have some concerns but they are related to longevity and warranty about which I cannot yet comment. If this player holds up as well as the Sony I have to conclude that it is a major bargain in audiophilia. I have not yet opened the player up to take a look inside. I assume that some tube rolling could also be beneficial but I’m in no hurry to swap out the tubes. The switch to a fully-tubed playback chain has played out as I had hoped. Nothing beats the live event but this takes me a step closer. I could listen to this player (especially in SACD mode) for hours on end. That’s a sweet dessert! Now, more listening…
Mark
System:
Cayin SCD-50T SACD player
Anthem Pre-2L preamp
ASL Explorer monoblock amps
Spendor SP 1/2e speakers(more system details can be found in the inmate systems part of this site)
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Follow Ups
- Here's my initial review... - krisjan 02:49:02 01/13/06 (2)
- Re: Here's my initial review... - Doug Otte 08:40:35 01/13/06 (1)
- Re: Here's my initial review... - krisjan 14:08:25 01/13/06 (0)
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