The Jazz 80 is the latest highlight from Cayin. A handmade tube amplifier that adds wireless music playback to the portfolio, but at the same time has been designed and manufactured to the highest Cayin standards.

The Jazz 80 comes in a solid design,with high-quality workmanship throughout and made from selected components.

The excellently crafted, deep glossy case is probably the first thing that positively strikes the observer.

This metallic dress looks good, but at the same time provides the necessary protection for the valuable electronics.

Nevertheless, the attention first falls on the total of eight tubes. In the rear area, that would be four KT88 output tubes.

They provide the power amplification. In the row in front of them are four identical looking, smaller glowing tubes. However, a closer look reveals that they are two different models: Two 12AU7s sitting on the outside and the two 12AX7s placed in the middle.

While the 12AX7s act as preamp tubes and amplify the voltage level of incoming music signals, the 12AU7s serve as phase splitters and drivers for the KT88s. In keeping with this, the developers have placed emphasis on a cage that has been painted in the same color as the cabinet.

This appears a bit more modern than known from the competition and it protects the high-quality tubes from mechanical damage.

As if all thatwere not enough, the Jazz 80 stands on four shock-absorbing feet.

In addition, there is a Bluetooth module, thanks to which this tube amplifier is also able to communicate wirelessly with appropriate players such as smartphone, tablet, laptop or even the TV. This turns the HiFi specialist into a modern audio center.

The connection setup is very simple: If the input source “Bluetooth” is selected, the small blue LED flashes. At the same time, the Cayin identifies itself as “Cayin HD BT” to its potential play partners. Now, a tap of the finger is all it takes to connect the external player and Jazz 80 wirelessly. The transmission is done via LDAC codec. LDAC stands for “Low Delay Audio Codec” and allows the wireless transfer of high-resolution audio content at a maximum transfer rate of up to 990 kbps. This should especially please smartphone owners with Android operating systems from version 8.0.