Great amplifier, l was ok with the sound before. I brought this a88t almost 15 years before. However, recently I replaced the 6sn7 6sl7 with Russia tubes, and replaced kt88 with kt120, even without bias those tubes, the sounds become fabulous, the bass improved dramatically, the vocal remains warm and rich. It drives my 3 way speaker nicely.

Quite happy now, with kt120 no weakness anymore. 20% price vs high end devices, but performance nearly the same.

The A-88T is simply a very vivid spacious sound. You can sense the breath of the singer and the rub of the bowstring. A warm sound, not - punchy, brassy, raspy, shrill although the high notes are composed all the way up - imperative in my books. I had a top solid state for many years and still use it, however its neutrality is underwhelming and got boring. My other tubes amps were an improvement and still a nice variation, but so far, the A-88T tops my list. The result is you can listen all night long, and I do. I feel no need to look further and play with tube combinations a little. I have these matched to moderately sensitive Kudos speakers with a B&W subwoofer.

Weakness: The tube bias adjustment operation is difficult and dangerous for the novice and a 4 tube bias meter unit simplifies and improves the safeness and accuracy of the operation. I prefer manual adjustment vs automatic however as auto is unreliable for most units and tube variations. Once shown the proper way by a someone with experience, the job is simplified. The default input is CD so I exchange the more used AUX for the CD input. The amp mode defaults to ultralinear which is good for me, but not for everyone. The remote adjustment steps are too broad. All these are forgivable.

This Cayin amp is amazing for its money. I have a A-100T and to give everyone a rough idea how it sounds following is the link to my own home setup.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACjzTHmukXw

The Cayin A-88t is the first tube amp that I've bought and it just might be the last. I feel this amp is a great value for the money. My biggest concern was the power rating @ just 45 watts ulterlinear and 22 watts triode, but this amp has suprised me, it drives my Gallo ref. 3.1 @ 89 spl quite nicely. The amp could be described as warm in it's presentation. With my hard wood floors and hard plastered walls and ceilings that is a welcomed aspect of this musical instrument. The sound is warm, spacious and clean. It responds well to tube rolling. The stock tubes are pretty good but the tempation is to great not to play with some combinations. I exchanged the stock power tubes w/ KT88-EH and it appeared to brighten up a bit and it seemed a bit cleaner in the midrange. I've now exchanged those with the Gold lion KT-88 and my warmth is back with even more clarity in the midrange. The Gold lions are winners in this amp at least in my listening enviorment. This amp excels at acoustical, jazz, classical & of course the blues. I know how-about rock? I would perfer a good solid state amp over this one -but I'm not disapointed at all with it's ability to rock & roll. It is a very versitale amp. So to rap this up this amp looks great, it will drive most speakers and the sound is big. I would strongly recommend this amp @ this price point.

Strengths:
Music that sounds like you are right there for the performance. Great looks, excellent build quality and of course the price point.

Weakness:
Bias is within the unit and you must remove the bottom plate-beware of the danger. I find this not to be a real bad thing because once the tubes are broken in (about 50 hours) I re-bias and it is good for many months, I check it about every 2-3 months.

Similar products used:
Yamaha M1, Tandberg 4036, Bel Canto M300 mono's

Summary:
Bought it from a German guy for 1200euros. Unfortunately I found out that it was imported and had no S/N! Apart from this fact the amplifier is great. This is my first tube amplifier and it cannot be compared to any other solid state or hybrid amplifier I've ever had. Finally my music got 'flesh and bones'. The voices that sounded mechanical now have become lively and present, and I don't miss the bass I had with my old Primare at all. The only issue I had was the bright and sharp high frequencies from the stock preamp tubes. Therefore I've started changing the stock tubes with some NOS pairs. Firstly I bought a pair of Raytheon VT229 for 6SL7 and a pair of Sylvania VT231 for 6SN7. The harshness dissapeared and it was replaced by 'creamy', smooth highs, but unfortunately the sound lost control in low frequencies. Now I'm testing a pair of Raytheon VT231 and I'm quite satisfied so far but I'm thinking about buying a pair of Sylvania Bad Boy. The stock KTs are good but I've decided to replace them with 4 Genalex GL Reissues which are on the way... (thank God, my wife is very possitive with my favourite 'sport'..!).
All in all this is a fantastic amp with stunning looks and sound, and makes a perfect match with my (also Chinese jewels) Aurum V2M. If in the near future won't 'rain' 5000 euros in my balcony, there's no chance to change this amp!

Strengths:
Fabulous sound, looks and build quality. Nice remote (if you don't buy it from an idiot who broke a screw while changing batteries).

Weaknesses:
No 'easy' or 'auto' bias. You have to risk your life by opening the bottom of the amp and bias it manually!
It always defaults to triode mode and you have to switch it to ultralinear everytime you switch it on.

Similar Products Used:
Not quite similar... previous SS and hybrid amps: Atoll, Marantz, NAD, Densen, Unico, Primare

I am using a Audio research amplifier to run my main system , Now inorder to go for a second system , i was in search for a Tube amplifier and auditioned Cayin A88T , Jolida ( forgot the models) , Jadis , Prima Luna , Cary , Vincent and Audio Research Integrated Tube amplifier apart from N numbers of Solid state amplifier,

After all these auditions , the reason i choose the Cayin A 88T is the load these amplifier can drive and the warmth and the details it can produce. The Audio research was a very good performer but the price diff was too high. The Jolida was detail but little forward and a bit rolled up in the low end. The Vincent Power and pre was a good one but their Integrated was well below par. Also auditioned the MF A5 which was a good buy for the price the dealer quoted me. but i didnt like the sound

The first thing i did in my cayin is the tube rolling. I changed the tube to the Mullard and then had some Russian tubes , The cayin is very good when you change the tubes and the sound is terrific.. When i change the tubes , i can feel the difference which is very prominent. Running my B&W 804 through these Cayin was very easy and the performance came near the Audio Research components. Mind the AR is much more costilier then the Cayin.. I will recommend this amplifier to anyone who is looking for a Tube Integrated amplifier.

Finally, the sound I was looking for has been found in the Cayin A-88T.

I started auditioning and buying/selling used gear with solid state amps. BAT, Forte, Musical Fidelity, McIntosh to name a few. Then I migrated to hybrids including Blue Circle and Unico (all of the above great amps by the way). Then I moved on to tube amps including Prima Luna, an older Conrad Johnson, VTL, Amarro 318B, Cary SLI 80, Cayin A-100T, and finally the Cayin A88T. What a trip it was.

What I realized along the way is that I prefer a warm amp that has realism, immediacey, and front row you are there living sound. My two favorite tube amps proved to be the VTL and Cayin. The Cary, Prima Luna, and VTL seemed to be of the same genre. That is, tube amps with close to solid state detail and accuracy, but a blush of tube realism to them. Of the three, I liked the VTL IT-85 best in this genre, feeling it to be a tad more musical and just a little less analytical, but still very warm, revealing and open. The music just jumped right out at me, and I heard nuances of the music not heard before.

The Cayin on the other hand, made up in lush, natural, vibrant alive midrange warmth, for the little if any that it lost in upper frequency etch and detail. It is not a dull amp at all though. Nothing seems lost to me, the midrange is moved forward, and the sound is very timbre correct and natural. Not eched, but not too soft or dull in anyway by my ears like some of the older Conrad Johnson gear (the newer CJ gear sounds more open). The A-100T had more power, but was a little more detailed yet slightly less warm than the A-88T by my ears (still a great amp!). It generated a bit of heat though with its octet of power tubes. It almost seemed as if I could fry eggs on the glass shelf above it.

However, the slightly more romantic sounding Cayin A-88T also I easily drive my floor standing Spendor S8e speakers with 45 Watts per channel. of underated high current power Moreover, the combination of the 6SL7 and 6SN7 pairs of tubes added a midrange warmth close to Single Ended Triode amps (SET) sound. (by the way, I had an Almarro 318B in the house to compare to the Cayin, although it sounded great in the mids, it didn't have enough power at all to drive my fairly efficient Spendors well - if you like to turn the music up at all, the Almarro is recommended for use only with ultra efficient speakers and a musical subwoofer. This recommendation also leaves out everyday monitors with the Amarro by the way, as my Spendors are more efficient than them).

The Cayin A-88T is very responsive to tube rolling. With the stock tubes, it sounded slightly etched though very good for my tastes, yet still warmer than the Cary and Prima Luna. However, when I inserted some revealing yet warm Mullard CV569 (6SL7, ECC35) tubes along with synergisic lush timbred RCA VT-231 tubes (6SN7) along with some SED KT88 power tubes, I was in acoustic paradise. I rolled alot of tubes to come to this combination.

My system now is a Olive media server, with a Monarchy M24 DAC driven by Amperex PQ 7308 tubes (tried many DACs also), the Cayin A-88T, and Spendor S8e floorstanders (which by the way are more efficient than most monitors and put out wonderfull bass, rich natural midrange, and clear extended yet warm highs - no B&W metal dome tweeter fatigue here!.)

So, for now the upgrade bug has passed and sitting down and listening to the wonderful system I have put together is all I want to do for ahile. I have seen the A-88T sell for around $1,000 recently. Don't let the price fool you. The Cayin sounds so great it is a no brainer at almost any price. McIntosh and Cary iare probably sweating bullets. If you are considering buying your first tube amp or upgrading, why buy what I think is the best tube amp for the money out there and get a Cayin A-88T. I recommend if for some reason you want even more detail and don't mind giving up a bit of midrange, then try a VTL amp.

Strengths:

Warm, revealing, realism, vibrancy, powerful.

Weakness: None

looks, cosmetics, features, sound, build quality

tubes not auto biasing, you have to flip open the bottom of the amp to rebias tubes

Wanting to get back into tubes after selling off my Jolida 302b, I was searching for a high quality tube amp with modern features (remote, pre-amp bypass) to combine with my HT system.

Cayin caught my attention because of the numerous positive reviews of the PrimaLuna/Cayin el-34 models but wanting to get something with a little more power so thought I’d try a KT88 based tube amp.

After surfing around, the Cayin A88T met my criteria but unlike the previous reviewer, I did not critically audition the competition for a broader comparison. So, my review is solely based on what I know about this amp as accurately as possible.

Like many people, I started online and easily found the authorized and Asian “grey market” distributors. But, there was a big discrepancy between the MSRP of these distributors. At first glance, the hundreds dollars saved purchasing through “grey market” was alluring. But once you factor in higher shipping costs, lack of warranty, professional advice/service, duties and voltage difference, it probably isn’t worth while to save a few hundred bucks at most.

Still torn on where to buy the Cayin, I intentionally held off on my purchase for a few months until my vacation in Asia where one stop off was Hong Kong…and that’s where I got it. This baby was purchased new from Hong Kong’s authorized Cayin dealer for a price so good, that the plane ticket + cost of amp, equaled the North American MSRP for ~$2000.

How It Sounds
At first, I wasn’t that impressed and thought it didn’t even equal my good old Jolida 302b. But after 10-15 hours of play, the amp opened up and music became richer sounding.

Sonically, I pretty much agree with what the reviewer below mentioned, so I’m not gonna repeat what’s already been said (just read review below).

Tube Rolling
After a month, indeed the Cayin is wonderful sounding, good but not great, not jaw dropping WOW.

Then, I did the obvious thing for tube amps and changed the stock power tubes KT88 (actually not bad, very neutral & clean sounding) to 6550 Tungsol re-issues and right away there was an audible improvement. Instruments & vocals had more “weight” and generally more realistic sounding.

However, it wasn’t until I changed the preamp tubes did I fall in love with the Cayin. First, I swapped the stock 6sn7 tubes for vintage RCA’s (reputation for being smooth and luscious sounding) but the dynamics, resolution & soundstage dwindled and after a few weeks swapped back the stock tubes.

Still not satisfied, I swapped all 4 preamp tubes to tungsol reissues. Now I had an all Tungsol tubes (preamp+power)…and I was indeed WOWED!! Like the 6moons professional review said about this amps, “it sounds strikingly glorious”. Tonality is spot on! Strings have a natural sounding reverberation, individual piano keys are heard with accurate decay time.

To sum it up, the Cayin has the strengths of a good solid state integrated such good bass control, rhythm, dynamics and the smoothness, tonal accuracy that tubes amps are reknown for.

On a side note, plugging my cd player directly into the Cayin and using it only as power amp does open up the sound and has an even fuller & 3D presentation. Also, even though it’s only rated at 45/watts/channel, it sounds just as powerful as solid state amps I have owned with double the power.

Similar Products Used:

Jolida, Bryston, NAD, Marantz

Smooth and extended highs - sparkling clarity, yet without that ear surgery "bite"
Fast, deep bass - great for rock & electronica(!)
Balanced midrange - vocals are stunning
Overall, musical with excellent detail
The better the speaker, the better this will sound - no limitations

None detected yet - will update the review if any come up

Over the past year and a half, I listened all the top lines available in my area, and came down to a few finalists - the Ayre AX-7e, Simaudio I-5 LE, Marantz PM-11S1, and the McIntosh MA2275. All were superb, and had their own signature sounds. The Marantz in particular has been overlooked by the audio press, which is puzzling - a fascinating product, relaxed, highly detailed and musical.

I eventually arrived at the Analog Room in San Jose, a friendly establishment with a hand-picked inventory of the very best products. I listened to a variety of high end systems, then wandered over to the Cayin. I was curious, but not particularly hopeful - I had heard other Chinese products which hadn't been all that remarkable.

Was I wrong. This amp blew the doors off everything I had heard up to that point. The sound was deep and warm, yet highly detailed with a perfect tonal balance (to my ears, anyway). It handled everything across the board - electronica, rock, jazz, acoustic, soul, vocals, classical. The low watt rating was deceptive, as it effortlessly drove a pair of demanding speakers. I returned with my money in hand the very next day. When I got the unit, they upgraded it with 6550s - said it would sound slightly better. Either way, it sounds incredible.

If you are in the market for a new integrated amp, check this out. You'll be amazed.

Customer Service

The guys at the Analog Room were superb. They switched out tubes and biased the unit for me. No pressure sales, and patient, which is why I spent money there. Lots of great LPs to choose from.

Similar Products Used:

Evaluated: Marantz Reference Series (detailed & surprisingly musical), Simaudio I-5 LE (a very close second - strong contender), Cary (great build but sounded somewhat diffused in comparison), McIntosh tube integrated & MC275 amp (great units, but Cayin sounded slightly better - personal preference), Manley Stingray (another close finisher - sounded great but just liked Cayin better), PrimaLuna (fine build, good at extremes of detail, but seemed to only hit extended highs and deep lows with the midrange somewhat lost in the middle - however, this could have been speakers, and I hear rumors that PrimaLuna and Cayin are built at the same facility. Besides, Upscale Audio/Kevin is awesome), Musical Fidelity A5 (very nice for solid state but not as good as the Cayin), Ayre (SUPERB highs, close decision also, if I could have afforded high end Ayre separates this may have been the winning line). Caveat - all units were 2005/2006 issue - heard in different systems and many variables with speakers, sources, cables, etc. were involved - I may have decided differently if all units were presented in the same system, but the Cayin sounded simply perfect.