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RE: Avoid Chi-Fi --- Is Cayin still in business ??

Hi Abe - I have experience auditioning both the Rogue CM II (which I currently own) and the Cayin CS55A.

At the dealership I heard both connected to Magnapan 1.7 (that's right Maggies), source was Vault2i through an electrocompaniet DAC.
Sound could not have been different - the Cayin sounded better, more lush a bit more layered and clear. But with Rock - it had less bass, less impact and snap then the Rogue.
When listening to the Rogue, it seemed like I was listening to SS in comparison, but it did have that tube 3-d to it, darker background ...but it seemed to grow on me.

So, I was on the fence and took each one home for a week.
Running through an Arcam CD36 FMJ (yes I am still in the Stone age) and Spendor S6e speakers - I preferred the Rogue by a hair.

In my system, the soundstage was a bit larger, and it just had that snap and bass output and slightly darker back ground then the Cayin. It still had a bit of the tube sound (I was running SS prior) that won me over.

I could have easily lived with the Cayin, and I was not hurting for power - I don't crank my music to high levels anyway.
My Spendors are on the warm side, and the S6e is a bit bass shy, so the added bass/impact of the Rogue helped tip the scales. Perhaps if I had Focal Aria's I may have opted for the Cayin.


One final note, I preferred the look, build quality, and ease of changing the taps on the Cayin.


Edits: 06/30/20
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