Cayin Soul 170I
The Soul 170i blends velvet-smooth midrange, airy imaging and serious KT170 authority into a rare high-power tube experience. Triode mode brings warmth, density and vocal intimacy; Ultralinear adds bass slam, dynamic grip and broad speaker compatibility. hifitest.de and HIFI HUFF found its refinement, silence and build quality exceptionally persuasive.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
95/100
Build Quality
96/100
Value for Money
94/100
Pros
Triode and Ultralinear modes offer genuinely useful contrasts: romantic warmth and vocal intimacy in Triode, versus stronger dynamics, bass impact and control in Ultralinear.
Exceptional speaker-driving ability combines 130W ultralinear output with refined, composed performance on both efficient and demanding loudspeakers.
Premium point-to-point construction, quiet operation and impressively restrained transformer heat support its flagship-level build credentials.
Cons
At nearly 40kg, the amplifier is difficult to position safely and is best lifted by two people.
Its lively upper end may not be an ideal blind match for already bright speakers; careful system matching or tube rolling may be needed.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 95/100
Reviewers describe an unusually complete tube-amplifier presentation: highly resolved and refined, yet warm, dense and free of edge. Triode mode is praised for richness and beauty, while Ultralinear mode adds punch, bass drive and control without giving up the amplifier's musical ease.
Transparency Resolution
95/100
HiFi Huff calls the Soul 170i detailed without becoming over-detailed, and praises its clean, silky and grit-free presentation even at high volume. Thomas & Stereo likewise heard a refined, sparkling treble, while HiFi Huff's video review describes higher resolution and well-judged treble detail without brightness, thinness or hardness.
Tonal Balance Musicality
96/100
The tonal character earns especially strong praise for combining warmth, body and harmonic richness with clarity. HiFi Huff found Triode mode warm, beautiful and rich, while Thomas & Stereo highlighted the velvet-smooth midrange and vocal performance; hifitest.de aptly calls it a powerhouse with a musical soul.
Dynamics
95/100
Ultralinear operation is repeatedly praised for muscular power, dynamic contrast, bass kick and speaker control. Hifitest.de heard the Cayin handle Dexter Gordon's demanding dynamics with intoxicating ease, while Thomas & Stereo described its effortlessness under volume as V12-like and HiFi Huff found it composed at any listening level.
Soundstage Imaging
93/100
Spatial performance is described as organic and dimensional rather than artificially etched. HiFi Huff heard convincing 3D depth and organic imaging, hifitest.de praised realistic image size and sense of space, and Thomas & Stereo reported an airy, excellent soundstage.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
96/100
Construction receives emphatic praise, from HiFi Huff's description of exceptionally solid parts quality and execution to hifitest.de's account of traditional point-to-point wiring and terminal-board construction. The large transformer-based design is substantial enough to require two people to handle safely, while hifitest.de reports quiet, only hand-warm transformers after hours of use.
Value for Money
94/100
At roughly $5,490-$7,490, the Soul 170i is positioned as a premium purchase, but reviewers consider its performance unusually persuasive for the money. Hifitest.de rates price/performance from good to very good, and HiFi Huff argues that it is hard to find anything better at the price, potentially even against alternatives up to $15,000.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
No forum mentions found yet
Specifications
- Power Output
- TR 75W+ 75W (Triode Mode) UL 130W+130W (Ultralinear Mode)
- Frequency Response
- 5Hz~50kHz (-3dB)
- THD
- 0.2% (1kHz)
- S/N Ratio
- 97dB
- Input Sensitivity
- 420mV (Integrated) 1300mV (Pre-IN)
- Input Impedance
- 100kΩ
- Output Impedance
- 4Ω, 8Ω
- Max Power Consumption
- 680W
- Tube
- 22DE4*1, ECC83S*2, 6SN7*2, KT170*4
- W×D×H
- 430×488×238mm³
- Net Weight
- 38.7kg
Manufacturer's Description — Cayin
In 2018 Cayin has developed its 25th Anniversary model A-845PRO which got great welcome and feedback from the market from its extreme excellent sound performance to its elegant cosmetic design.
With the sucess of the model we have been thinking to expand the range and have a new reference line of products for Cayin.
Thanks to Tungsol and Mike from New Sensor because they just annouced KT170 new flagship tube which give us a chance to realize our thoughts.
That is how Soul 170I starts.
Soul 170I is designed on basis of Tungsol KT170 Power Tube. It outputs 130 watts Power in Ultralinear Mode or 75 wats power in Triode Mode per channel.
Designed in Class AB Push-Pull Soul 170I takes two pieces of powerfull KT170 tube per channel.
All tube Integrated with 22DE4 Tube Rectifier for Power supply, ECC83S voltage amplification stage, 6SN7 driver stage and KT170 output tubes.
Following the design concept of Cayin Soul 170I offers two operation modes: Triode and Ultralinear.
As you can see from above for these two different modes the output power are different.
However it is not more than that. Change the output mode you will get a different sound signature instantly.
Triode Mode is Tendering, Rich in Harmony, Smooth and Soft. Ideal for Vocal and Instrumental Music.
Ultralinear Mode has power and extension. Clean with energy. Ideal for music has punch and dynamic and at such mode it offers excellent control ability.
Three pairs of line inputs, one pair of Balance Input and one pair of Pre-In are located on the rear panel of the amplifier.
In our Soul 170I not only the Single Ended RCA inputs provided but also the XLR Balance Input.
Different from other inputs Pre-In offers you a possibility to connect to some other Preamplifier so that you can the Soul 170I as a power amplifier.
One pair of Sub Output is located on the rear so that if you want to get more Bass you can use the interconnector to connect with your Subwoofer system.
Speaker terminals for 4 and 8 ohm speakers are located on the rear panel of the Amplifier.
ser bias controls for KT170 Power Tubes have been used for bias adjustment and one meter has been added to the top plate to allow you to monitor bias with ease.
Anodized aluminum front, fully vented chassis with excellent gorgeous finish, and wood side panels give you a product of art in front of your eyes.
Soul 170I, same as other products from Cayin emplys Point to Point wiring.
The entire circuitry including signal path is painstakingly hand wired with heavy-gauge cable by craftsman.
Soft-start circuit and High Voltage Delay to protect the amplifier for extended life of sensitive components.
High Voltage Fuses are used in the amplifier for protection which are located on the top plate close to the Power tubes.
In case there were failure of tubes the Fuse will react first that you can know easily where the issue is.
Premium Parts: Alps volume control, Porcelain Tube Sockets, Audio grade capacitors and carbon film resistors,
Toroid transformer for power supply, Wide bandwidth EI output transformer, etc.
Output transformers are the most important part of any tube amp.
They determine how low the bass will reach and how high the top end goes.
Cayin output transformers are custom-designed, wound in-house, and massive.
Enable compliciated multi-layer winding and multiple impedance output to match with different needs.
Carefully matched output will sound Blanced, natural and realistic across the complete audio spectrum.
Custom designed Toroid Power transformer with strong power production and extreme low hum level provides a reliable performance and extradonary control.
Standard with remote control, Soul 170I can memorize last operation of the unit once switched off.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Cayin Soul 170I
- A Tube High Fidelity — online and in-store — Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands (website)
- A1 Futureshop — online and in-store — North Rocks, New South Wales, Australia (website)
- Addicted to Audio — online and in-store — Epping, Victoria, Australia (website)
- Advanced MP3 Players — online and in-store — Musselburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (website)
- AES — in-store — Mitte, Hessen, Germany (website)
- Apos Audio — online and in-store — Oakland, California, United States (website)
- ARK Audio — online and in-store — Borensberg, Östergötlands län, Sweden (website)
- Art & Voice — online (website)
- Art et son — online and in-store — Montréal, Québec, Canada (website)
- Audeos — online and in-store — Żywiec, Województwo śląskie (website)
and 67 more verified dealers