MAGAZINE
Even though Cayin is more known for its tube devices, this player does without tubes in the analog output stage. The Mini-CD MK2 has a slot-in drive, and its 24-centimeter width makes it an ideal match for Cayin's i-series devices like the iDAC-6 MK2. The connections are also optimized for this DAC: Both devices can communicate via an HDMI cable using the I2S protocol.
This way, the player can output CD data, upsampled to eight times the sampling frequency of 352.8 kHz, to the DAC. Alternatively, a coaxial S/PDIF as well as an analog RCA output are also available. Internally, the Mini-CD MK2 converts using the ESS ES9018K2M DAC chip. The new Cayin Mini-CD MK2 is available at a price of around €400 in Germany.
