[nmatheis]

Just got the new pleather case in from my man Andrew at MusicTeck (who's got an N3 giveaway going on right now btw ). The case looks great, fits like a glove, and really stays put (doesn't slip off easily). I know it will be a point of contention, but personally I'm glad the mSD slot is open. As snug as the case is (good thing btw), it'd be a total pain to have to remove the case just to swap cards. Just my two cents. No on to the glamour shots

 

[BartSimpson1976]

stitching seems to be done better then on the similar i5 case. Open cardslot matter of preference. But I remember when I had very snug dignis case for my Sony A15 it was very hard to get it out again.

 

[nmatheis]

stitching seems to be done better then on the similar i5 case. Open cardslot matter of preference. But I remember when I had very snug dignis case for my Sony A15 it was very hard to get it out again.

The tightness of this one reminds me of the Dignis case I've got on my Opus #1...

 

[JaeYoon]

The tightness of this one reminds me of the Dignis case I've got on my Opus #1...

Yeah I love leather case for n3.
20 usd is not bad! Good work on musictek.

 

[Andykong]

Announcement of Cayin N3 firmware v1.2

http://en.cayin.cn/download/show?id=13510

New Functions and System Optimization

1. Add new Lock Screen function in System Setup menu. User can disable the Next/Prev and Play/Pause button on right side panel of N3 by setting this function to ON. Please be reminded that Volume Control buttons on the left side panel are not affect.
2. Display composer, artist and album information at the lower part of the Playing Now screen.
3. Rectify the file deletion bug of Hidden Menu pop-up at Playing Now screen
4. Rectify the S/PDIF bug to output 192kHz and 384kHz music file properly.
5. Rectify the DSD compensation bug from v1.1 to adjust output correctly.
6. Minimize accidental Bluetooth disconnection by changing the control interface to “hold Enter key to disconnect from BT”
7. Remove all music title from “Recently Pay” after TF card is removed.
8. Modify the Playlist icon under the first level menu of “Music Category”
9. Modify the status bar design of Theme B
10. Correct misspelling of English User Interface

Cayin N3 Firmware Upgrade

• Each version of firmware might contain minor different, consumer please decide on your own accord whether you need to update the firmware of your N3 DAP.
  
• Under normal circumstances, firmware upgrade will not cause any damage to user information, but Cayin cannot exclude the possibility of upgrade failure due to mal-operation or any other reason. For these reasons, you might be required to format your N3 DAP and result in losing person data stored on the player. We strongly suggest you backup all your personal data stored on the player before you perform firmware upgrade.
  
• The N3 firmware cannot be used in other product, and the firmware from other product cannot be used in N3
  

Firmware upgrades procedure

1. For safety reason, please make sure the N3 DAP has not less than 50% battery power before you proceed, otherwise please charge up the player before you upgrade the firmware
   
2. Download the latest firmware from Cayin website (www.cayin.cn). Decompress and copy the N3 firmware file (update.upt) into the root directory of a TF card.
   
3. Insert the TF card into the N3 DAP and complete your firmware upgrade with either one of the following steps:
   • While N3 has been turned on, select “System Setup” and scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, select “System Update”, the system will complete the upgrade process automatically, and reboot the player after update is completed.
     
   • While N3 has been turned off, hold the round physical “Enter” button, and then hold the “Power on/off” button, the system start the firmware upgrade process and will complete the process automatically. It will reboot the player after update is completed.

[COLOR=FF00AA]Note:[/COLOR] N3 can support FAT/FAT32/exFAT/NTFS formatted TF card during the firmware upgrade process.

When the upgrade is completed, you can verify the current firmware version number by selecting “System Setting” menu, under “About the Player and storage information” option, check out the “Firmware Version” detail.

Attention

• Do not operate the machine during firmware upgrade
  
• Please delete/remove the firmware file from the TF card after firmware upgrade
  
• Please update your Music Library after firmware upgrade
  

 

[docholliday]

Rectify the DSD compensation bug from v1.1 to adjust output correctly.

Aha! So I wasn't imagining that the DSD gain was going the wrong way!

 

[PT7673]

Aha! So I wasn't imagining that the DSD gain was going the wrong way!

I thought I misunderstand the gain compensation.

 

[cheungtsw]

How does it work as a DAC for Win10 Creator's edition? Thx.

 

[eaglesgift]

I hope this isn't the wrong place to ask questions....I recently bought a Cayin N3 and I'm loving the sound but I'm not sure which of my chargers to use with it (as an aside, when I had it plugged into a USB port and was transferring a lot of files onto the MicroSD card from my PC, the battery actually drained rather than charged).

I used a 5v, 1A iPhone charger to charge it the first time (battery was at 0% OOTB, which I thought was a little odd) and that was fine, although it took quite a while. I want to use a 5V, 2.1A iPad charger but as the reviews I've read specify 1.5 to 2 Amps, I wasn't sure if this would be OK.

My knowledge of electricity is sketchy to say the least and I'm sure I'm being overly cautious about 100 milliamps in any case but am I right in thinking that the N3 will draw no more than the maximum current it needs and I therefore needn't worry about the fact the charger can provide a little more juice? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

[waynes world]

My main source is music from external storage to a RPi running minidlna to a Naim Unitiqute (upnp).

Maybe this is a dumb question, but have you tried the same files directly from the N3? Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback of the N3's SQ that I've been reading, I can't help but think that something other than subjectivity is at hand. Maybe a hidden setting or something?

 

[gLer]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but have you tried the same files directly from the N3? Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback of the N3's SQ that I've been reading, I can't help but think that something other than subjectivity is at hand. Maybe a hidden setting or something?

I also didn't quite get Brian's setup. Brian, do you mean to say you're testing the N3 over bluetooth, or with files stored on the N3? If the former, don't expect any great shakes in terms of SQ, especially since we've now verified the N3 doesn't receive wireless BT over aptX. Likewise if you're only testing SQ with the N3 connected as a USB DAC, there are limitations on what it can do compared to native playback.

 

[gLer]

Announcement of Cayin N3 firmware v1.2

Thank you Andy and Cayin! Will load it up tonight and give it a spin. Thanks for your continued interaction with us on this forum and offline.

PS. Hope you got the list of FW suggestions and feedback I sent to John the other day. Doubt any of those are in this version but look forward to more updates in the near future!

 

[eaglesgift]

Hmm, never used lrc files in my life. Would be cool if the N3 manual gave us a hint on how the Lyric function is supposed to work. Anyone else tried this with any success? (PS. already figured out that adding a cover.jpg or folder.jpg image to a music folder works for cover art, as well as embedded cover art in the file tag. Not sure why lyrics should be any different).

Just for info, in case it saves anyone else some time, files named 'front' as well as 'cover' or 'folder' are picked up as album art. .png files work fine too and there doesn't seem to be a size limit or not one I've reached yet. A few of the albums I transferred onto my MicroSD card had 2MB or 3MB image files in the folders and they were picked up fine as well.

 

[BrianD19]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but have you tried the same files directly from the N3? Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback of the N3's SQ that I've been reading, I can't help but think that something other than subjectivity is at hand. Maybe a hidden setting or something?

I also didn't quite get Brian's setup. Brian, do you mean to say you're testing the N3 over bluetooth, or with files stored on the N3? If the former, don't expect any great shakes in terms of SQ, especially since we've now verified the N3 doesn't receive wireless BT over aptX. Likewise if you're only testing SQ with the N3 connected as a USB DAC, there are limitations on what it can do compared to native playback.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for continuing to help.

I'm now a bit confused by what it is confusing you.

When asked what is my main source of music, I took that to mean what am I used to so I described my home hifi setup. This is mainly flac files stored on an external drive feeding a Naim Unitiqute streamer.

The way I've been using the N3 is:
Flac files stored on a micro sd card with earphones connected to the N3 as you'd expect. I think it doesn't sound exactly smooth and is a bit harsh. (grainy wasn't a good description)

To test the functionality, I have a cable to connect from the N3 headphone socket to the Unitiqute (it is a streamer with a built in amplifier and numerous inputs). I also used a cable from the N3 headphone socket to a JBL portable speaker and finally, I tried the Bluetooth capability of the N3 by pairing it with the JBL portable speaker.

The flac files stored on the sd card used in the N3 are copies of the flac files stored on the external storage that feeds the home hifi. I reloaded these to the sd card yesterday in case there was an issue with the files on the card.

For use as a USB DAC, I have the same files on my laptop that I load into foobar 2000. I've downloaded the Cayin universal driver and selected it in Preferences in foobar as the "sound card". The N3 is connected to a USB port using the included USB-C cable and I'm listening to music with the earphones connected to the N3. It is badly distorted. I suspect a driver issue but I've re-installed it twice and it still doesn't work.

Does that clarify things or am I doing something a bit odd?

 

[docholliday]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for continuing to help.

I'm now a bit confused by what it is confusing you.

When asked what is my main source of music, I took that to mean what am I used to so I described my home hifi setup. This is mainly flac files stored on an external drive feeding a Naim Unitiqute streamer.

The way I've been using the N3 is:
Flac files stored on a micro sd card with earphones connected to the N3 as you'd expect. I think it doesn't sound exactly smooth and is a bit harsh. (grainy wasn't a good description)

To test the functionality, I have a cable to connect from the N3 headphone socket to the Unitiqute (it is a streamer with a built in amplifier and numerous inputs). I also used a cable from the N3 headphone socket to a JBL portable speaker and finally, I tried the Bluetooth capability of the N3 by pairing it with the JBL portable speaker.

The flac files stored on the sd card used in the N3 are copies of the flac files stored on the external storage that feeds the home hifi. I reloaded these to the sd card yesterday in case there was an issue with the files on the card.

For use as a USB DAC, I have the same files on my laptop that I load into foobar 2000. I've downloaded the Cayin universal driver and selected it in Preferences in foobar as the "sound card". The N3 is connected to a USB port using the included USB-C cable and I'm listening to music with the earphones connected to the N3. It is badly distorted. I suspect a driver issue but I've re-installed it twice and it still doesn't work.

Does that clarify things or am I doing something a bit odd?

The thing in common here seems to be the phones you're using...which you haven't said what they are. I haven't heard anything harsh, as long as the digital filter was set correctly and the source file was of good engineering. The EQ is usually set flat, except for the occasional boost for 31/63 and 8k/16k. I use UERR, JH-5, JH-16 (all customs) as well as Sony 7506/7520 with mine. So far, the N3 has been fairly accurate with the files thrown at it. Poorly mastered/mixed files show up quickly, especially with the UERRs. I don't just listen to off-the-shelf music on mine, there's a lot of times where I will use it to check the daily mixdown on tracks that I've recorded in studio and live. If the person recording pushed the EQ too hot in recording, it shows - mostly as harshness and is quickly fatiguing. With these tracks, I can often A/B compare the recorded track to the live monitor on another take directly off the board or by walking into the recording room.

There's a lot of DACs that do tint the sound, but usually by bloating it with a glaze of warmth or smoothness to appease the hi-fi mindset. You haven't told us what tracks you are noticing the "harsh" quality on nor have you told us what phones you are using...that would be a good start to narrowing down what you're hearing. I'm not a subscriber to hardware burn-in (at least not for audio), but I do subscribe to ear and mind burn-in. It can take some time for the mind to "reset" and "tune" to the sound of a new source, especially if the previous source had a noticeably different tone or tint. When I mix a new live room, I always play a track or two of something I'm really familiar with first so that I can hear how the room tints the sound. Once I've done that as a baseline, then I'll start to mic and tune the band and/or EQ'ing the room down to neutral.