Cayin C9 Portable AMP Tube/Discrete

I wasn’t really sure with what Cayin was planning with the C9, but I have to say I like it a lot and more as I expected.

The bad? Well there is the high end price tag but at the same time you get a very versatile amplifier, with great sound quality. And not only is it excellent for on the go, but it’s also a great desktop amp. Then there is the size as it for a portable unit is quite chunky, but as a desktop amp, it’s incredibly small.

Performance-wise the Cayin C9 excels and delivers what it promises: a reference, high end sound. And it doesn’t stop there. You get four completely different sound signatures, balanced and single ended in- and outputs and a dedicated pre-mode. That’s simply impressive!

Some people will complain that it’s an amplifier only, but I feel that this is one of its strengths. As it’s an amplifier only – with rechargeable and replaceable batteries – its life time compared to portable devices is extremely long. And as it performs so well, I can easily see myself and many other C9 owners use this C9 amplifier in our desktop setups for many years to come.

Looking at it like that, we can only conclude that the Cayin C9 is a great reference amplifier. If you’re in the market for an amp (transportable or desktop) that can handle almost everything and which offers you a multitude of sound signatures on top of that, the Cayin C9 should really be the first amp to look at.

The Cayin C9 is the company’s most refined version yet of their DOA and timbre technology inside their portable audio gear. Not only that, but it also revitalizes tubes on the go, a traditional niche in our hobby that seems to be forgotten in the head-long rush to find that one DAP on steroids.

Granted it is big, heavier than a DAP, and more on the transportable side but DAPs cannot do what the C9 does, at least not yet. I would also consider it a potential desktop amp replacement given its power.

It can PRE-amp out of a desktop DAC and pack enough power to handle most headphones easily. Yet, at the same time deliver an impeccable black background for almost all gear bar the most sensitive on its balanced output. And with tubes, real tubes, and a sound that stays true to that tube sound.

Replaceable batteries, easily obtainable and relatively cheap 18650’s at that, is also a clever move. That should keep the C9 chugging along quite happily for years without any concerns other than gradual wear and tear of the components inside.

After all, this is a pure amp so the product life cycle here should be very long. Some of my best analog gear or amps are years old and still sounds excellent today if well looked after. I cannot see how the Cayin C9 will be any different.