I’ll be talking, mostly, about the new Cayin N7 DAP that I’ve been using heavily over the last week. It’s a hefty piece of electronics with great features, great sound, and great battery life. It can be used in a variety of ways because of the many output capabilities (and input capabilities) Cayin has given it. It’s the highest price point DAP I’ve held in my hands, the next being the Astell & Kern A&futura SE 180. Both sound amazing, and rather than compare their sounds, I focus on what my experiences were like when I was learning to use the N7 and when I was listening to music with it. The story starts when I get the box.

Unboxing​

The box is wrapped in thin plastic if your N7 is new, as mine was. The box looks nice enough that I relied upon my fingers to break through the wrap, so as not to damage the box. It is a tightly fitting box, where I had difficulty separating the top (outside half) from the bottom (inside half). I ended up finding that shaking it with authority caused the inside to come out just enough to work it the rest of the way out. Once it’s open, you’ll probably not want to close it again any time soon. The packaging is elegantly designed, with easy-to work ribbon pulls to get the player out from its nook, and another to lift the false bottom and get at the USB C-to-USB C cable and two headphone-plug adapters, one a 4.4 mm balanced (TRRS) right-angle adapter and the other a 3.5 mm single ended (TRS) right-angle adapter. These will fit onto a 2.5-mm plug, I think, but I don’t have one. The carrying case for the N7, a bright, yellow-tan or buckskin custom case, well designed to fit the N7 snugly, leaving its controls operable, is also under the false bottom.



First word of warning: keep your N7 in its case. It’s a good case, better than the case for the Cayin N3Pro. It holds the N7 inside the case with a powerful magnetic clasp, and the volume knob is well protected by the case material, unlike the case for the N3Pro, where the volume knob is not protected at all and is liable to get banged around. Also, the N3Pro case has no closure strap, so I once had the N3Pro slip out of the case and fall onto concrete, cracking the screen all the way through. It still worked, and I applied a type of rubberized superglue to help things stay together, but I eventually sent it back for a replacement screen. (Music Teck, the seller, was great about helping me figure out what could be fixed and at what cost. Through them, the expense was $30 for the new screen.) The most problematic thing about the N3Pro, in striking contrast with the N7, is the volume knob’s unreliability. I’ve had two N3Pros, and both had volume knob issues. They just gradually stopped working altogether. The N7’s volume knob is within the contours of the player’s chassis, and the case gives it extra protection. Also, it is beautifully engraved with two concentric rings with line designs, and a central flaming sun (if I’m interpreting the graphic right).

Anyway, I say keep it in the case because the back side of the N7 is easily scratched, though the back of mine is covered by a plastic membrane held in place with clear adhesive, allowing the gorgeous, crystal-like, quasi-holographic geometric pattern to show. The mistake I am always seeming to make with my DAPs is putting them into my pocket with my metal house keys and others, without thinking, and this always results in scratching the DAP. With a solid case like the one that comes with the N7, and with its attractive, eye-catching aesthetics, there’s not a good reason not to keep it in the case. Sure, the N7 runs warm, and its smooth curves and well-defined angles are nice to handle, but I already regret not having put it into its case today. Yes, the keys, again, have scratched it. I put it back into the case soon after realizing my mistake, and I have not had problems with overheating. Perhaps the metal-grilled back provides heat-sink capabilities.

The UI​

Some DAPs have regrettable operating systems and graphical user interfaces. The N7, having a full-fledged Android 12 OS with full Play Store access, is like magic for practical DAP purposes for a user like me. Comparing it with the Astell & Kern A&futura SE 180, it is as easy to add a streaming app or web browser to your N7 as it is on an Android phone. That is to point out that there’s no concern about whether the app has been put on a list of allowed or supported Android apps, as there is with the SE 180. I’ve put Firefox and two streaming apps (Qobuz and Bandcamp) onto my N7, and an internet browser app allows me to connect to Wi-Fi networks that involve interactive sign-in, like Starbucks hotspots. The N7 ships with the Via browser, and different browser apps are available through the Play Store.

Listening with the N7​

There’s plenty of power in the single-ended headphone output to drive 300-Ω Sennheiser HD650s, and they sound great with it. Listening to the silky guitar of Tal Farlow’s album Chromatic Palette reveals just how good the 650s can sound with a great source and plenty of power. With the balanced headphone output, my Sendy Peacocks, at just 50-Ω, were at a moderate listening volume when in a quiet office waiting room, and the volume control was at 38 out of 100. The Senns, for the record, are comfortably loud through the single-ended output, with the volume at 60 out of 100. Different albums, with different dynamic levels, will cause your experience to vary. Chromatic Palette came out in 1981, and more recent albums, such as John Scofield’s Combo 66, and Bibio’s BIBIO, have noticeably louder sound at the same volume setting, with Bibio being a little too loud at a volume setting of 60, when played through the HD650s. When positioning the N7 on a flat surface such as a coffee shop table, the volume knob can be swiped easily. The knob has little resistance to turning, and it’s oriented vertically (axis is horizontal) when placed flat on a table. The volume divisions on the knob are such that even a casual adjustment allows a precise tailoring of the volume to one’s liking. I haven’t taken it apart(!), but it is likely a rotary-shaft encoder circuit connected to the volume wheel, which spins endlessly in both directions.


The player’s HiBy player app’s play mode came set to (or I accidentally set it to) “Shuffle all,” and I could not find a way to change it, either in the controls on the device or in any manual or article online. This may sound petty, but just imagine, for a minute, not having any control over the order in which songs play, when playing with the Cayin music player app (play modes work fine for apps downloaded from the Play Store). I try to listen to an album, and the tracks play in random order. I select the tracks for the play queue, and they play in random order. I reached out to Music Teck, the retailer, for help. It turned out there is an icon/button in the upper-left corner of the slide-up GUI square you get if you tap on the song currently playing, at the bottom of the large screen (icon circled in photo, below). I was flummoxed, since neither the Cayin manual nor the internet had a solution to what seems to be a basic aspect of operation; but, the N7 is a complex piece of software and hardware, and documenting everything, especially those things that might seem obvious, would greatly expand the manual and the cost of it.


One thing I have liked about the Cayin DAPs I’ve owned (which are, admittedly, limited to the N3Pro and the N7) is the ability to change amplification types. On the N3Pro, there are four amplification modes (if one counts balanced as a fourth): a solid-state single ended mode, triode and ultra-linear tube modes, and a solid-state balanced mode. The N7 has solid-state class A and class AB to choose from. Maybe it is too early to say, or maybe my ear is not developed enough, but I cannot tell any difference in sound between these two. I expect some people could. Just having the opportunity to compare them is a fun feature. The Cayin marketing verbiage makes suggestions for what music to listen to with either class of amp. For Cayin’s pitch for the N7, see https://en.cayin.cn/features/7/15/592.html.

An outstanding experience I have had with the N7 is, several days after beginning to listen to it, I played back a live recording of Brad Mehldau on piano, backed by bass and drums, at the Village Vanguard in New York, NY. The striking thing was how wonderful it sounded through the modest pair of Sennheiser HD600 open back, over-ear headphones I’m wearing even now. The sound stage was as wide as if I were sitting in the front row, right up against the stage, with a drum set to my right, the acoustic bass nearer to center stage, and the acoustic piano on my left I have been listening to these Senns for days, since I only very recently acquired them and I had not thought much of them before giving them a chance. I’ve been surprised by the similarities in sound between the HD600s and the HD650s. The listening experience is magnificent. Neither has the dominating bass of the HD6XX’S and later 600-series Senns.

I found sounds to my right were farther to my right than I think I had ever heard them. Typically, I hear with a wide left side of the sound stage and a short right side, where my ear marks the rightmost expansion of the music. Here, some of the mikes for the drum set are coming from beyond that. Again, let me say, these are not Sennheisers about which I remember hearing praise. It’s the N7 and the expert sound engineering at the Vanguard, which has long impressed me with its live recordings, that produce the expansive listening space and orchestration of tone. The higher price point Sendy Peacocks also sound terrific with this album, and for some of the same reasons.

The N7 as a Pre-amplifier​

One cool thing about the Cayin N7 is that not only does it have balanced and single-ended headphone jacks, but it has both balanced and single-ended line-level outputs as well—and it has balanced and single-ended pre-amp level outputs, with adjustable output up to several volts. The line-level and pre-amp level outputs share jacks, while the headphone jacks are separate jacks from those. This prevents accidental switching to a very high output level and exploding your ears with a blast you may not have expected. A word of warning: the N7 gets very unhappy if you try plugging into both pre-amp and headphone jacks at the same time. Play stops and a kind of digital grunt comes through the headphones before there is silence, in which I wondered, a bit fearfully, “What have I done?” I didn’t break it. The N7 is a heavy, solidly built piece of audio gear. All the same, I’m not going to do further experimentation with plugging in multiple outputs at the same time. There are some experiments that are not meant to be carried out.

I'm just now trying out the single-ended pre-amp out into my Sublime Audio active crossover and from there into three Schiit Audio Aegir class-A solid-state power amps. Active tri-amping is a little project that has given me much satisfaction. This pre-amp out feature allows me to get a solid-state pre-amp (class A or class AB) instead of my all-tube Schiit Audio Valhalla pre-amp/headphone amp. I’ve tried both amp types available on the N7—class A and class AB—and, as I said above, it may be too early, or my ear may not be sophisticated enough, to distinguish the two. I can’t hear a difference, though I do not deny there could be one. There’s some talk on audio forums, that any type of amp, if built properly, will sound identical to any other type of amp that has been built properly—say, a tube amp vs a switching amp (class D amplification), but I cannot weigh in on that discussion. Again, Cayin makes recommendations about what sounds better with class-A or class-AB amplification. I leave it to the reader to learn about it. This is not the place for a long digression on that.

Rather than compare the N7 as pre-amp to my Valhalla 2 pre-amp, I’ll try to describe the listening and listener-user experience of operating the N7 in pre-amp mode. Even at output levels of over 70 out of 100 (max.), I have not heard any clipping. To give this a good test, I’ll try out a recent, high dynamic-level pop recording. (I’m using the single-ended pre-amp output—I don’t have a stereo set-up where a balanced pre-amp can be used.)

Turning the pre-amp level to 100 out of 100 (maxing it out on the N7), I selected “Boom, Clap” by Charlie XCX and a track called “Zoo Rave.” Here, the limiting factor is undoubtedly my power amps, which run 30 W max RMS with an unknown max power rating. Loud volumes and hard transients such as bass drums and cymbals are probably harmed by the relatively underpowered stereo I own. I don’t throw raves in my house. At typical listening levels, with the N7’s pre-amp output level set to 80 out of 100, there is no sense that the music was being smashed down and transients are weak, even on a hard-hitting track such as “Boom, Clap.” Listening, now, to an M4A (Apple) CD-rip of a 1990s edition of Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto, at a pre-amp level of 80 out of 100, the dynamics are free and open. Nothing seems compressed or smashed down. The volume is not loud during this quieter part of the work, but there is plenty of room for reproduction of both quiet tones and louder tones. And the sound is marvelous. Different instruments sound separately and are not crowded into aural porridge.

I have not addressed many of the sale points for the N7, such as the discrete resistor network and the up-sampling to DSD for outputs. I have tried each of the four DAC/amp modules that are available for the Astell & Kern A&future SE 180 DAP, a mighty piece of hardware, and the sound of the N7 seems to take the best aspects of each of them and produce a lovely tonal palette with enough bass, mid and treble to support all the types of music I have tried with it. I especially love hearing classical and live jazz recordings, since the dynamic range on the N7 is large, with its powerful amplifiers that can play quietly or loudly. And the fidelity of the music the N7 puts out is luscious. I cannot speak to it as an “audiophile’s” choice—though I use the term, audiophile, in the name of this substack. The term seems to have different meanings depending on who is using it. I prefer the simple interpretation of a literal reading of its word roots, which I think come out as “lover of sound,” as “philosopher” is often given to mean “lover of wisdom.” That—lover of sound (or, alternatively, lover of music)—seems like a good starting point for discussing nuances in meaning.

So, I’m not saying this is a “reference” DAP that recreated the music experience as the artists and engineers and producers may have intended. I am saying it sounds superb—at least as good, to me, as the A&K SE 180 with any of its modules. These are the only two DAPs at this price point I’ve heard. I can’t compare it to others at the same price point. Their numbers may be different, but different sounds can elude numbers we have available today, at this relatively early stage of understanding how measurements of sound and the physical characteristics of hardware relate to the music as it is heard.

The Cayin N7’s ease of use, with the Play Store available, multiple mechanical buttons on the side, and a responsive volume knob, as well as its multifarious output capabilities, make this a versatile DAP that can be used by a person who doesn’t design computer systems for a living. I try to refrain from giving a “thumbs-up/thumbs-down” evaluation in what I have to say about audio equipment. I see it as a hobby, even an adventure, that can take me down surprising paths. I believe there is no “right” DAP for everyone, though I think some are better than others. I’m not giving this a star rating either. I am happy I purchased it, and I intend to use it for a long time and in many ways. I offer my description of what it was like for me to use it and my description of the music I heard through it. When it comes to audio gear generally, my story is this: until I heard it, I didn’t know what I was missing. And then I knew the monetary cost was worth it. I give this a 4.5 because it is the most powerful, flexible, usable DAP I have used, and the -0.5 star is because I can't hear any difference between class-A and class-AB amplification. That could just be me. My experience with DAPs at this price point is limited, so I may be overly impressed, and it may fare worse when compared with more DAPs at its price point. For people excited about hearing their favorite music on good or even great equipment—like myself—deciding that a splurge is worth it has always ended with happier listening.