Cayin N3 Hi-Res DAP with AKM4490 DAC, apt-X Bluetooth, and Line, USB & Coax Out for $150
Jun 21, 2017 at 3:41 PM Post #2,596 of 6,262
Hi @Andykong,

Do you have any advice on how to get rid of the 'pop' sound in between of songs? Thanks.

Can you describe your playback condition in more detail?
Playback mode: Sequential playback of a complete folder? Shuffle playback of all song?
File Format: all songs in one format? mixtures of different PCM format with different resolution? mixtures of PCM and DSD format with different resolution?
Condition of the Pop sound: happen in every song? happen when change a folder under folder playback?

Any additional detail to help us understand your playback condition will help us to identify the cause of the pop sound, and then we can determine whether that is resolvable.
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:26 PM Post #2,597 of 6,262
Hi head fiers, greetings from India. I am facing a weird issue that when i charge my N3, the blinking light stop and start being continous around 93-94%.
Any one else facing this issue? I am on custom firmware 1.2.
Thank you.

Hi all head fiers, i am suffering with one issue and that is my N3 os showing the battery pwrcentage correctly when charged. The led glows continously when battery reaches 93%, after that i kept on charging it and it took around 50 minutes to reach from 93 to 100. My best guess is that it os fully charged at 93% but showing it incorrectly. Any fix for this? @Andykong

While Lithium battery installed in N3 does not have memory effect, it does has what we called inaccurate gauge issue, and this is a common problem to Lithium battery based appliance, especially to a newly purchased unit because the battery might has been idled and/or drained for a long time. If you run into inaccurate battery reading, or in the worst case, sudden power off when the battery reading indicated otherwise, I suggest you do a gauge calibration to verify the problem. In fact this is something that we all should be doing occasionally. I normally do this after 15-20 charging cycle (2 times 50% charging is count as one cycle) An inaccurate gauge can lead to the fact that the the battery capacity values are are wrong. The battery may report that it still has reasonable capacity when in fact it has a much lower value, and this causes the device to shutdown unexpectedly, or it might stop charging because the battery has been fully charged already but the battery reading stated otherwise. You can google the terms "Calibrate Gauge" on Lithium Battery if you want to find out more information along this issue.

To calibrate the gauge of a lithium battery, you simply need to do a full discharge followed by a full charge, so this is what I advice:

  1. Turn on the LED screen to maximum brightness and set the screen to "always on", keep it running until the player turn off itself.
  2. Charge the battery overnight, till you see 99% or 100% on the meter
  3. To test the battery is in good condition, set the screen to minimum brightness and 30sec duration only, set it to playback on any CD quality files (Wav or FLAC) continuously til the player power off again. Keep the screen off and check the battery reading every hour, and drop down the battery readings for record.
Hopefully the duration and accuracy of battery reading will go back to an acceptable level after the calibration.

On top of performing battery calibration regularly, I also suggest we change our charging practice. For Lithium battery, drain it to the last 2% or charge it up to 100% are not recommended. Take a look on the following diagram if you are surprised by my statement.

Lithium DST-cycles-web2.jpg

cf: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries

Figure 6 illustrates dynamic stress tests (DST) reflecting capacity loss when cycling Li-ion at various charge and discharge bandwidths. The largest capacity loss occurs when discharging a fully charged Li-ion to 25 percent SoC (black); the loss would be higher if fully discharged. Cycling between 85 and 25 percent (green) provides a longer service life than charging to 100 percent and discharging to 50 percent (dark blue). The smallest capacity loss is attained by charging Li-ion to 75 percent and discharging to 65 percent. This, however, does not fully utilize the battery.

In other word, if we use the green line (cycling between 85% and 25%) as the reference battery life, the black (100%-25%), red (100%-40%) and deep blue (100%-25%) will shorten the battery life, and that's why we should avoid charging a lithium batter to 100% whenever possible. The purple (75% - 45%) and orange (75% - 65%) will offer much longer battery life but that will be very inconvenient due to low battery utilization. So stick with the green (85% - 25%) and cyan (75%-25%) curve probably is the better practice.
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:30 PM Post #2,598 of 6,262
But I think it is nothing to do with the max current. You can try on a computer USB socket just to see if it is the same. One thing is sure, if it was ONLY a software problem we would have all this problem. So one part should be depending on the hardware too: charger or N3

I would say it relate to the status of the battery which is a variable instead of a constant. :sunglasses:
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:31 PM Post #2,599 of 6,262
HI, thank you very nice app
I have updated my N3 and installed the app on my phone (Android v5.0)
All is working nice for the moment except the synchronisation of the volume.
If you modify the volume directly on the N3 the information is not given to the App.
If you change the volume from the App it is correctly transmitted to the N3.

That's a good observation. I'll feedback the volume synchronization issue to HiBy Music. :beerchug:
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:34 PM Post #2,600 of 6,262
Looks great! There's already a Hiby app on the iPhone App Store, I take it we're not talking about the same app... So a few questions to those already using it: do you still connect your headphones to the N3 and just control it from the app? Do you play music from the N3 on the phone? (In which case you lose the DAC/AMP benefits of the N3?) I assume you can't use Bluetooth headphones while using the app? Thx.

That's the same app, but the official release does not have the HiByLink in place, this feature is only available in the Beta version and we are waiting for the formal announcement from HiBy Music for the launch date of the official version.
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:36 PM Post #2,601 of 6,262
This is the Best Feature ever.
Wow. I can't believe how good it is.

Thousands of music on Cayin N3, while playback controlled thru phone, really smooth operation and without loss of sound quality. Wow.
Goodbye capacitive buttons.

I have a good laugh when I read your last sentence, but then, I want to say Amen. :beerchug:
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:39 PM Post #2,602 of 6,262
For the record, I haven’t received any English UI resource or UI recommendation so far. I’ll ask around to make sure this has not been holding up somewhere.

You can download the updated English strings here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/690747argsm9340/english.zip?dl=0

For the record I would be happy to help Cayin edit/proof the English resources for new firmware updates for the N3 or any other DAP at no cost to you. I am a professional technology writer by trade but also an enthusiast. I completely understand your strict processes when it comes to quality control.

It’s an unfair speculation that Cayin will not introduce a feature become “other companies are doing successfully”. I have no idea where you get this idea from. Quoting what other company are doing or not doing does not change our decision. To explain our position in a simplified statement, we look at user needs, prioritize them according to frequency of request, and implement them when it is technically feasible, within budget, and will not causing any interference with other existing function.

I apologise if I caused any offense, and I assure you I didn't mean to do so. I merely pointed out a feature that I thought would be useful on the N3, and given its technical similarities with another product, used it as an example. By no means was I suggesting Cayin has any obligation or even interest in doing so, and for what it's worth I chose the N3 over all other DAPs in this price range because I felt it was the best in its class as-is. I'm sorry if my enthusiasm in suggesting possible new features caused offense - that was not my intention.

Sorry that Cayin cannot fulfill your personal need, if this is such an important issue to you, maybe I can help you to sell your N3, to minimize your lose so that you can look for a replacement that satisfy your requirement?

That's a bit harsh Andy. I am a VERY happy N3 user, as you'll soon read in my review.

Yes I'm not a big fan of the startup animation, which is why I changed it in the custom firmware, but that's a personal opinion which I'm sure is not universally shared. It doesn't mean I don't have the utmost respect for Cayin, and for the N3. I did a lot of research before buying the N3, and I am completely satisfied with my choice.

Being able to customise the appearance of personal technology products is all part of the experience of using them. Just look at how customisable our phones are today, our computers, almost anything with a screen and UI.

I wasn't asking for another DAP, just an easier, more user-friendly way to customise a device I love using without having to learn Linux code. I'm sorry if that came across as a personal criticism of Cayin or the N3. Again that wasn't my intention.

This is an enthusiast's forum and I was merely sharing my ideas. I won't make another mention of competitors or UI elements that I personally dislike if this causes offense.
 
Jun 21, 2017 at 4:41 PM Post #2,603 of 6,262
The actual music is still played through the N3, right? In which case there wouldn't be any loss in sound quality because the app is really just a remote control for the N3 rather than a music player on the phone? If so, I can see this giving birth to a new breed of tiny screen-less, button-less DAPs...

I can confirmed that the HiByLine "controls" the N3 remotely, so all the file storage and playback function remain "local" at N3, and the Bluetooth connection of HiByLink will not involve any data streaming during the playback, so there shouldn't be any loss in sound quality with the exception of Bluetooth interference. For the record, we have never received any complain on Bluetooth interference so far, so I guess we are safe in this round.
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:46 PM Post #2,604 of 6,262
Hi @Andykong
I would be very happy if I can help you in anything for the french language. It is my native language and I am a specialist of Audio/video, for a high end brand I wil not mentionned here to respect the rules of the forum :). If you think it good be a good idea I can also help you for spanish (I speak it fuently).

Your kind offer is noted and much appreciated. I'll not hesitate to get in touch with you if we need any help in French and Spanish translation. Will drop you a PM so that we can keep in touch. :beerchug:
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:49 PM Post #2,605 of 6,262
You can download the updated English strings here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/690747argsm9340/english.zip?dl=0

For the record I would be happy to help Cayin edit/proof the English resources for new firmware updates for the N3 or any other DAP at no cost to you. I am a professional technology writer by trade but also an enthusiast. I completely understand your strict processes when it comes to quality control.



I apologise if I caused any offense, and I assure you I didn't mean to do so. I merely pointed out a feature that I thought would be useful on the N3, and given its technical similarities with another product, used it as an example. By no means was I suggesting Cayin has any obligation or even interest in doing so, and for what it's worth I chose the N3 over all other DAPs in this price range because I felt it was the best in its class as-is. I'm sorry if my enthusiasm in suggesting possible new features caused offense - that was not my intention.



That's a bit harsh Andy. I am a VERY happy N3 user, as you'll soon read in my review.

Yes I'm not a big fan of the startup animation, which is why I changed it in the custom firmware, but that's a personal opinion which I'm sure is not universally shared. It doesn't mean I don't have the utmost respect for Cayin, and for the N3. I did a lot of research before buying the N3, and I am completely satisfied with my choice.

Being able to customise the appearance of personal technology products is all part of the experience of using them. Just look at how customisable our phones are today, our computers, almost anything with a screen and UI.

I wasn't asking for another DAP, just an easier, more user-friendly way to customise a device I love using without having to learn Linux code. I'm sorry if that came across as a personal criticism of Cayin or the N3. Again that wasn't my intention.

This is an enthusiast's forum and I was merely sharing my ideas. I won't make another mention of competitors or UI elements that I personally dislike if this causes offense.

I'll download the English resource file and check it out. Many thanks for your contribution to make the N3 better then ever.

It's not a matter of offense or not, you have put me in a very difficult position because when you quote Fiio is doing this or Shanling is doing that, I can't comment on why they can do this but we can't. Forum rules forbid us to comment on the practice of our competitors.
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 4:55 PM Post #2,606 of 6,262
I'll download the English resource file and check it out. Many thanks for your contribution to make the N3 better then ever.

It's not a matter of offense or not, you have put me in a very difficult position because when you quote Fiio is doing this or Shanling is doing that, I can't comment on why they can do this but we can't. Forum rules forbid us to comment on the practice of our competitors.
As I'm relatively new to Head-Fi I wasn't aware of that rule. Now that I know, it won't happen again.
 
Jun 21, 2017 at 5:17 PM Post #2,607 of 6,262
I can't take any credit for making it faster, that's all @XVortex. I'll for sure be making more 'work-friendly' themes for the N3, and have already asked Cayin to consider giving us tools to make it easier to unpack/repack the firmware files to create custom firmware. I've also asked them to remove the built-in startup piano image to give the custom firmware a 'clean slate' startup screen. Hopefully they'll help us out and help make this powerful little player a real cult product! :wink:

We have created DIY Theme toolkit for our N6 and N5 DAP previously, we received a few applause for that, but the tools were under utilized from what we have observed. All the subsequent discussion and interaction with customers and dealers shows no sign of actual usage and less than a handful of customers has actually tried this out. One of the reasons is that users need to go through the DIY process again when we issue a new firmware. So we have decided not to offer any DIY Theme toolkit to N3 for the moment, and we'll consider the possibility to do that after the firmware become stable.

If you are interested, you can check out our previous DIY Theme toolkit. In fact they are actually compatible with N3 to certain extend.
http://en.cayin.cn/download/show?id=13429
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 5:21 PM Post #2,608 of 6,262
We have created DIY Theme toolkit for our N6 and N5 DAP previously, we received a few applause for that, but the tools were under utilized from what we have observed. All the subsequent discussion and interaction with customers and dealers shows no sign of actual usage and less than a handful of customers has actually tried this out. One of the reasons is that users need to go through the DIY process again when we issue a new firmware. So we have decided not to offer any DIY Theme toolkit to N3 for the moment, and we'll consider the possibility to do that after the firmware become stable.

If you are interested, you can check out our previous DIY Theme toolkit. In fact they are actually compatible with N3 to certain extend.
http://en.cayin.cn/download/show?id=13429
Thank you Andy. Much appreciated!
 
Jun 21, 2017 at 6:08 PM Post #2,609 of 6,262
We have created DIY Theme toolkit for our N6 and N5 DAP previously, we received a few applause for that, but the tools were under utilized from what we have observed. All the subsequent discussion and interaction with customers and dealers shows no sign of actual usage and less than a handful of customers has actually tried this out. One of the reasons is that users need to go through the DIY process again when we issue a new firmware. So we have decided not to offer any DIY Theme toolkit to N3 for the moment, and we'll consider the possibility to do that after the firmware become stable.

If you are interested, you can check out our previous DIY Theme toolkit. In fact they are actually compatible with N3 to certain extend.
http://en.cayin.cn/download/show?id=13429

Very cool.

As a long-time Rockbox enthusiast on other platforms, I think a kit like this would be fantastic!
 

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