Cayin Audio - Integrated/Power Vacuum Tube Amplifier 22/45 Watt with KT-88 tubes

"...What struck me right away was the Cayin's immediacy - a lifelike quality that was nearly like the sound of a single-ended-triode (SET) amp. (The Mac MC-275 is like that, too)...There was another similarity between the A-88T and the MC-275: ballsy bass. The Cayin's bass was exceptionally well controlled and extended for a tube amp. When a tube amp gets bass right, it gets it very right - ripe, rich, full-bodied. The Cayin did. I do like tight bottom ends...This amp was silent. There was very little background noise, either - a bugaboo with some tube amps (and solid-state models, too). For $1889-$1995, the Cayin A-88T's price, design, build quality, and sound are exemplary...it looks beautiful, and it looks beautifully built." - Sam Tellig, Stereophile, December 2005

"I was tickled pink by Cayin Audio's A-88T all-tube integrated amplifier from the moment I began to unpack it. The inclusion of white gloves signaled an attention to detail in the presentation that puts to shame several super-expensive items I've seen. It was even more impressive out of the box – handsome in an unapologetically retro style; ruggedly built using high-quality parts and point-to-point wiring; hand-assembled, hand-numbered, and hand-signed by the QC inspector…more than just a taste of truffles at mushroom prices…Fire up one of these Cayin amplifiers, watch the tubes come softly to life, Ella dreamily spinning out a melody while Ben Webster's tenor encircles her in ribbons of smoke and whiskey…and before you know it the whole chaotic modern world of mutichannel, home theater, format wars, iPods, and computers just fades away…No problems, then, with imaging and soundstaging, and a quite extraordinary immediacy…The A-88T handles orchestral music impressively, the ample bottom-end actually an advantage in late-romantic symphonies…unruffled composure – everything clean, well-ventilated, and involving." – Paul Seydor, The Absolute Sound, January 2007, www.theabsolutesound.com

"It's not even broken in, but it outperforms everything I have here. The minute I plugged this in, I knew I had something different because I started hearing layering from front to back. I don't know how they do it for $1,900, but I'm sure glad I bought this. The other thing is you don't have to set the bias. This thing here is self-biasing. I put it on the Red Rose speakers I bought from you guys, and they were tremendous. I put it on the Harbeths, they were amazing. Then I put it on the Maggies, and they again were tremendous. You know how with vocals, a lot of times it just sounds like a head suspended in between the speakers? With this thing, it sounds like the whole body standing there. You've got a hell of a product there. It's a steal. You couldn't build that in the states for less than $3,000. I went on Clark's say-so, and his word is as good as gold." - Richard Ponzi, Niagara Falls, New York

Another gorgeous, hand-crafted tube piece from Cayin, this one designed to deliver the sound of the classic McIntosh MC-275. Like it's brothers the A-50T and A-70T, this amp includes remote control switching between ultralinear and triode operation. The craftsmanship is absolutely first-rate, featuring point-to-point wiring, and each unit is hand-numbered and signed by an inspector.

• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Warranty: five years (parts); three years (labor); 90 days on tubes
• These Cayin products are remote-controlled

Click Here to Download the Owners Manual

This piece was hand-built with extreme attention to detail, including point-to-point wiring. Point-to-point was the way that amps used to be wired back in the 1950s and '60s when cost was not the primary objective. Nowadays, most everything contains circuit boards instead of this point-to-point wiring, which is much more dependable and better performing. The bottom line is that point-to-point wiring sounds better. It's one of the main reasons why these Cayin pieces sound like the classic tube gear from Marantz and McIntosh. Anymore, products that feature point-to-point wiring cost a fortune, or they feature sub-par workmanship. You simply are not going to find craftsmanship likewith this Cayin gear for anywhere close to this price.

There are output taps for 4, 8 or 16 ohms. This allows you to fine-tune the sound that you desire. Switching is simple, and listening to the differences is a lot of fun.

There is a removable cage, included at no extra charge. The cage snaps into place simply, so that you can take it on and off with no problem. Keep it on if you're worried about protecting your tubes, or take it off to show what real, heavy-duty, classic tube gear looks like. Turn off the lights and watch 'em glow.

"…there were a variety of interesting and outstanding Cayin products in the room including the A-88T Integrated amplifier, the 265A 40 Watt Class A integrated, the SC 10 Super pre-amp and VAS Citation 2 mono-bloc amplifiers. These products offer great sound at unbelievably affordable prices, while the Citation 2 monos take retro-cred to new levels of audiophile drool-worthiness. They looked great – they sounded even better. Meanwhile, an after-hours outing with the A-88T integrated, teamed with an Electrocompaniet CD player driving the Eben-X2s in the Nordost room reached the assembled group of vinyl die-hards to stunned silence – and in some cases, tears. Look for some really exciting products from Cayin and VAS, representing stunning value for the audiophile. The best of vintage sound combined with modern construction and componentry…" – Richard Foster, Hi-Fi+, Issue 42