Cayin N5ii

This review only considers N5ii as a Spotify player and streamer, as others more qualified have already reviewed the audio quality and as a FLAC player. If you don't use Spotify, you can and should ignore most of the review!

Cayin N5ii has great audio quality, but avoid it if you plan to use it mainly as a Spotify player.

By far the most pervasive and frustrating issue is that the N5ii's Spotify stops recognizing offline files you have downloaded from Spotify. The files are still on the player, Spotify just doesn't find them. This happens regardless of using the internal storage or a microSD card. I have had this issue perhaps a dozen times over four months of usage. Sometimes it works for weeks, sometimes I get the issue every few days.

You are forced to delete the files with a file browser, and re-download everything. As Spotify is limited to 3333 offline songs per device, they take more than 30 gigs of space and bandwidth at highest quality, which will take hours.

There are several suggested workarounds and fixes found on the forums, none of which work 100% of the time for me. If you're traveling, you're SOL. The best way to ensure I have music at all times is that I loaded all my MP3s on the microSD card for the times when Spotify fails.

In fairness, this issues is not limited to N5ii and plagues some other DAPs, but that's little consolation when you've spent several hundred euros on a Spotify DAP which doesn't work properly. No Android phone or tablet I've ever used has this issue with Spotify, nor did my Sony NWZ-F886.

Another concern is the poor quality 3.5mm jack. After just four months of usage it's already much looser than originally. It's clearly weak plastic, and I highly doubt it will last almost four years like the Sony's did. Some people have reported failed ports on the forums. Fortunately there's the 2.5mm jack as backup for when it fails.

In addition, there are many more user interface and experience frustrations:

• Keyboard has a significant delay, and often drops typed keys or selected buttons entirely
• This combined with tiny on-screen keyboard makes typing even a song's name in search bar an exercise in frustration
• Due to the delays, browsing through your Spotify music collection is slow and cumbersome even if you don't need to use the keyboard
• Weak wifi, and it may cause static-like noise. Tech support suggested moving closer to my wifi router - I was five meters away from it, behind a glass door and some furniture. Therefore I don't recommend the player for streaming.
• When the screen is turned off, the player does not always return to Spotify when turning it back on. Then you have to start swiping and searching for Spotify in your list of programs. This has been confirmed by Cayin to be a "feature, not a bug," and that they will not fix it.
• UI is slow to respond and often misses taps entirely
• There's a 2.5 sec delay when pressing the hardware pause button. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but results in awkward social interactions.
• There's no hardware lock for the buttons

I have factory reset my N5ii several times, and used three different firmwares. I have only Spotify and the file browser installed, so overloading my DAP is not the issue.

Troubleshooting and fixing any of the Spotify problems is difficult since Cayin tech support doesn't have Spotify, so can't test anything (Spotify not available in China?). Therefore I don't think any Chinese DAP will have a good Spotify implementation in the foreseeable future, so there's really no good Spotify alternative in this - or any? - price range.

I really wanted to like the player, but due to the awful Spotify UI and UX I can't recommend it to anyone as a Spotify player, either for offline or streaming use. When the music is on, it's sublime, though.

Cayin N5ii - Versatility At Its Finest

Cayin N5ii is the newest DAP from the large high-end Chinese Audiophile Manufacturer, Cayin. They are known for their summit-fi desktop devices, while N5ii is more of an entry-level Digital Audio Player, and we're quite eager to see how it performs.




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Purchase link (MusicTeck): https://shop.musicteck.com/products/cayin-n5ii-android-based-master-quality-digital-audio-player

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Introduction

Cayin is a huge company from China who is generally known for producing some of the most awesome DACs, AMPs, and other Summit-Fi Desktop products, having a wide range of very expensive and well-made products available in China and Asia. N5ii is more of an entry-level DAP (Digital Audio Player), made with a lot of abilities in mind, like Streaming, Bluetooth, and an Android Operating System. Cayin is known for placing great pride in their products and for placing amazing amounts of work in every device they create, and their Cayin N6 was well-received when it comes to its sonic performance, so Cayin N5ii really intrigues us. Cayin is extremely reliable with warranty and with providing customer support, and we consider them one of the good companies to work with. Cayin N5ii is currently being sold by MusicTeck USA, along with being sold from Cayin Headquarters, Musicteck being a very trustworthy company with great prices and many amazing sales to look out for.

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Cayin, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. This review is not sponsored nor has been paid for by Cayin or anyone else. I'd like to thank Mr. Kong from Cayin for providing the sample for the review. The sample was provided along with Cayin's request for an honest and unbiased review. This review will be as objective as it is humanly possible, and it reflects my personal experience with Cayin N5ii. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in Cayin N5ii find their next music companion.



About me

https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.com/p/about.html



Packaging

First things first, let's get the packaging out of the way:













Cayin N5ii comes packaged in an elegant, large black package, with a simple yet elegant scheme drawn on the cover, and with the technical specs etched on the backside of the package.

Very few DAPs in this price range come with this wealthy package, and with a copious user guide / manual.

Part of the packaging, N5ii comes with a glass screen protector applied from the factory. One thing we loved about the screen protector was that it didn't have any hard or sharp edges, and that it didn't impose any issues during usage, and that the sliding properties of it are quite really good.

There is a rubber case included in the package, being rather different from the dust-magnet cases we noticed sometimes, this one feeling rather nice to the touch, while providing more protection and better grip to N5ii.

The cables included with N5ii feel pretty solid as well, and while Cayin also provides upgrade cables, we feel that the default package is pretty good and leaves a very positive overall feeling.



What to look in when purchasing a high-end DAP

https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/p/what-to-lookl.html



Technical Specifications









MCU: Rockchip RK3188
Display: 3.65” 845×480 TFT touch screen
DAC: ESS9018K2M
Op-Amp: OPA1622 x 3
Storage: 32GB + TF (up to 400GBx2)
Headphone: 3.5mm + 2.5mm (Balanced)
Line: 3.5mm (shared)
Digital: Coaxial, USB Audio (in/out)
USB: Type C (2.0), charging, OTG
System: Custom Android 5.1
RAM: 1G DDR3
Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz
Bluetooth: BT4.0 (SBC)
Battery: 3000mAH
Duration: ~12 hours (single-ended) ~9 hours (balanced)
Charging: ~3 hours (2.1A)
Dimension: 115*57*15.3 (mm)
Weight: ~150g


Sound Specification

Phones Out (Single-ended)
Power rating: 150mW+150mW (@32Ω)
Frequency Response: 20-20kHz (±0.2dB, Fs=192kHz) 5-50kHz (±1dB, Fs=192kHz)
THD+N: 0.002% (1kHz, Fs=44.1kHz；20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
Dynamic Range: 116dB (20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
SNR: 116dB (20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
Channel Separation: 76dB
Output Impedance: ≤0.4Ω
Connector: 3.5mm TRS (shared with Line Out)
Phones Out (Balanced)
Power rating: 250mW+250mW (@32Ω)
Frequency Response: 20-20kHz (±0.2dB, Fs=192kHz) 5-50kHz (±1dB, Fs=192kHz)
THD+N: 0.002% (1kHz, Fs=44.1kHz；20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
Dynamic Range: 117dB (20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
SNR: 117dB (20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
Channel Separation: 92dB
Output Impedance: ≤0.6Ω
Connector: 2.5mm TRRS


Line Out

Output Level: 2.0V (@10kΩ)
Frequency Response: 20-20kHz (±0.2dB, Fs=192kHz) 5-50kHz (±1dB, Fs=192kHz)
THD+N: 0.003% (1kHz, Fs=44.1kHz；20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
Dynamic Range: 116dB (20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
SNR: 116dB (20Hz-20kHz, A-Weighted)
Channel Separation: 92dB
Imp. matching: ≥10kΩ (suggested)
Connector 3.5mm TRS (shared with Phone Out)



Build Quality/Aesthetics/UI/Firmware


The first thing one notices about N5ii is its nimble size and shape, being quite small and easy to carry, but feeling pretty sturdy. The volume wheel above the display is one of the things we love when it comes to N5ii, as it has a rather larger weight and iot provides a really nice tactile feedback to changing the volume for N5ii.







The display of Cayin N5ii is actually smaller than we're used to seeing on most DAPs, but we managed to navigate our way through the menus. The display color is on the cooler side of things, but for a music player with a smaller display, this didn't prove to cause any actual issue, as it is possible to read song names and it has enough brightness and contrast for outdoors usage. It still is something to take into account when purchasing N5ii.

Cayin N5ii comes with Android and supports a wide array of third party apps, along with Streaming apps, being one of the most versatile entry-level devices we tested to date.

The Wifi signal is generally good, stable, and one can listen to music without much interruption when using N5ii, at least from the Wifi signal perspective. The Bluetooth signal is also fairly good, and we didn't encounter any specific issues with N5ii during our tests.

Before we started writing this review, we made sure to update the firmware to the latest available from Cayin.

All in all, the experience of using Cayin N5ii is fairly good, we did not meet with any critical bugs, and besides the whole system being on the slower-to-response side, the audio experience was fairly good for us. While we can't say it is generally laggy, it isn't as snappy as some more expensive DAPs, although it is in line, or maybe a touch faster than DAPs at a similar price point, like AP200 from HIDIZS.

For those interested in playing music from their own collection, Cayin N5ii sports two microSD slots, and we'd like to note that this is the only DAP we've seen which comes with dummy mSD card protectors included in the package. The two mSD slots work with our 128GB + 256GB mSD card collection.

Cayin N5ii relies on USB Type-C rather than microUSB, thing which is also quite impressive and which made us happy, as Type-C feels more reliable in general, than the older microUSB iteration.

The overall GUI (Graphical User Interface) took us around two minutes to get used to, being pretty typical for an Android device, the biggest surprise with N5ii being how handy the back button came in actual practice.



Sound Quality



The sonic signature of Cayin N5ii is most impressive, fairly detailed and with a larger and wider soundstage, and with a neutral-to-slightly-warm overall tonality. This is a DAP which can put some energy into the IEMs / Headphones it is connected to, the energetic overall tuning making it a dream pair for warmer and thicker sounding headphones, like our beloved Meze 99 Classics.

Clarity and dynamics are top notch, especially for this price range, N5ii being one of the more revealing DAPs we tested in the midrange area, giving a rather punchy and clear presentation to all music played through it. The listener can notice multiple layers of instruments, along with the finer details between those, and one can also notice finer textures being played both in the foreground and in the background.

Cayin has been great at implementing the rather powerful ESS DAC within, making N5ii sound very clean, yet not overly aggressive, so while it is very musical, it stays revealing and takes on the inherent advantages of ESS DACs, which are known for their revealing textures and clear presentations.



Soundstage



The soundstage is quite wide, although it also has copious amounts of depth and instrument separation. Instrument layering is done well, and there is a good coherency to the whole presentation. Stereo imaging is top notch, and the sonic cues to placing instruments in the sonic landscape are there, and kept safe'n'sound. Overall, Cayin N5ii has an excellent soundstage presentation, on the larger side, especially if paired with the right IEMs or Headphones.



PRaT / ADSR



The PRaT is slightly complicated to talk about when it comes to a DAP because the IEMs and Headphones also do a large part of the job of revealing textures, but when it comes to Cayin N5ii and connecting it to something rather revealing, we can only say that it does a darn good job. The most inetersting part of its texture presentation is that it provides not only it can reveal macro-textures, but N5ii is also pretty darn good with revealing micro-textures, especially for this price range, and when compared to something priced similarly.



Portable Usage

When it comes to its portability, Cayin N5ii is amazing in every sense a device can be, it is small, light, nimble and ergonomic for one-handed usage.



The amazement doesn't stop here, as Cayin has managed to add a back button at the bottom of N5ii, which we weren't sure if it'll work so well at first, given its placement, but which we found out works just fine, mostly due to its smaller size.

The battery life of around 11 hours works well for portability, and even if you listen quite loud, it should last you for a one-day trip.

The power output of Cayin N5ii is enough for most IEMs and portable headphones out there, as long as they are below 64OHM of impedance and reasonably power efficient. This should cover virtually all sub-300 USD IEMs and Headphones, and in our tests, it did a great job with Meze 99 Classics, and even with Ultrasone Signature Studio, if you don't mind listening a little quieter.

As a desktop device, the USB DAC function is under construction at this moment, but we trust Cayin will figure it out, since they have the support of Hiby, one of the largest and most trusted software developers in the audio world.

All in all, Cayin N5ii is super portable, its size and ergonomics being ideal for taking it on a walk, or even jogging with it.



Select Pairings

Please note that for any pairing, the IEM or Headphone has more impact on the final result than the DAP, the best DAP being one that is as transparent as possible - Cayin N5ii being quite good at this, especially given its clean and vivid signature.













Cayin N5ii + Dunu Falcon-C - Cayin N5ii is quite excellent at driving the little magical IEMs from Dunu, and it gives them a good amount of dynamics along with a good soundstage and instrument separation. Falcon-C already has a V-shaped signature, and N5ii doesn't really change that tuning, giving them that impressive and engaging sound in all its might.

Cayin N5ii + Unique Melody Martian - UM Martian is quite a precise and clear IEM with a tight bottom end, a clear and very detailed midrange, and a bright and energetic top end. Cayin N5ii, will enhance their analytical side and will give them an even more revealing nature.

Cayin N5ii + ClearTune VS4 - The combo has a neutral sub-bass, an enhanced and romantic mid-bass, a thick and satisfying midrange, but with more detail, and with a little dip in the upper midrange, after which they bring more sparkle in the overall treble, with a leaner upper treble approach. It is fun and invigorating to listen to.

Cayin N5ii + Dita Truth Answer Edition - Dita Answer, the Truth Edition is a rather analytical IEM with excellent resolution and revealing abilities, with a neutral bass and mid-bass, a neutral and very clear midrange, and a more enhanced and sparkly treble that is there to keep them engaging and explosive. Dita Answer The Truth Edition sounds open and sparkly with N5ii, having its analytical abilities really well placed into the spotlight.

Cayin N5ii + IMR Acoustics R1 - IMR Acoustics R1 is fun IEM, with a very intriguing signature, a V-shaped sound, with a strong sub bass, a more natural mid bass, a natural and organic midrange, and an enhanced upper midrange and lower treble, ending in a natural upper treble. N5ii gives R1 a very coherent tuning, with a quick and revealing sound, a clear and vivid midrange, and an enthusiastic treble, all with a wide soundstage and a very good overall definition.



Comparisons








Cayin N5ii vs Opus #1 - We should start with the obvious, Cayin N5ii has a lot more features than #1s, coming with Streaming abilities and a lot more usage potential. Cayin N5ii also comes with two microSD slots. In size, N5ii is smaller than #1s by a good margin, but since we use Mi Max 2 as a smartphone, we usually prefer larger displays for our portables. Cayin N5ii had a few bugs to sort out at first, but now it is getting stable, while #1s has been absolutely stable since the first moment we received it. The display, on the other hand, has much better color, much better contrast, much better brightness, larger size and looks better on Opus #1s, while it is smaller, consumes less battery and leads to a more nimble navigation on Cayin N5ii. The overall navigation, on the other hand, is more natural and feels more native on N5ii, especially with the back button at the bottom and it being a hardware switch rather than a software button strip, as Opus #1s has. Cayin N5ii can sideload / install apps and has Hiby support (an amazing little app), while #1s does not have any of those features, being a bare Music Player. The sound is more neutral on Cayin N5ii, with a slightly colder and more analytical approach, it also feels a tad more revealing. The soundstage is similar in size, and there is a similar amount of overall detail, although on N5ii it is better with textures and with its PRaT. In the end the two devices are very different, N5ii being a multi-purpose device with a much wider usage scenario, covering even #1s's main usage scenario as it features two microSD slots, but it is a smaller device, more nimble, easier to use with one hand for people with smaller hands, so it is also more portable. Opus #1s has the better display, and more driving power available to it, along with a warmer sound and a more laid-back presentation with an effortless and less aggressive presentation. They serve different usage scenarios, and we feel that users will be more attracted to one of them, depending on their usage scenarios and tastes, the device design being rather different as well.

Cayin N5ii vs HIDIZS AP200 - This is an interesting comparison because AP200 is priced pretty closely to N5ii and they both have similar Android Operating Systems. The differences start with the physical device, where AP200 tends to be wider and somewhat thicker, while N5ii is smaller and more nimble. The navigation is fairly natural on both, both being powered by Hiby systems, but N5ii has a more dedicated integration with a more customized user interface. The sonic signature is in favor of N5ii as it has better clarity and overall detail, along with a more expansive soundstage, although AP200 has a thicker and warmer presentation, along with a slightly smoother overall sound and especially a smoother treble. N5ii has better technical abilities and a more revealing sound, a Summit-Fi IEM like HiFiMAN RE2000 revealing this pretty well, and N5ii tends to be the more natural sounding DAP in the end, AP200 being a tad too laid-back in comparison. The display quality and color tone is closer to a natural one on AP200, but the difference is not that big in the long run, both N5ii and AP200 having a cooler color temperature to their displays. The battery life tends to be longer on N5ii, but the driving power tends to be slightly smaller on the Single ended output, while AP200 doesn't have a balanced output at all, so if one is looking for a DAP with a balanced output, N5ii is the only from the two that has one. AP200 has a single microSD slot, while N5ii has two slots, offering twice the storage capacity AP200 offers. Given the differences between them, if you're looking for a more neutral / natural device, N5ii surely serves that purpose well, while if you're looking for a smooth and warm device, AP200 serves that purpose well.

Cayin N5ii vs HiFiMAN Megamini - Here, N5ii costs a bit more than Megamini, as Megamini is around 100$, where N5ii is closer to 370$. The two devices are different in every way possible, but both are ultra-portables, Megamini also being quite small in size and being quite thin. The navigation is much better with N5ii, as it has a touchscreen and you can jump between files and folders, where Megamini relies on buttons for its navigation. Song selection and menu navigation are much more natural on N5ii, and so is the speed, N5ii being snappier and quicker, feeling a tad more responsive as an overall device. Megamini features a single microSD slot, where N5ii features two, and Megamini has a really minimalistic design, with no Wifi, no Bluetooth and no other bells and whistles, where N5ii has Streaming abilities, Bluetooth, Wifi and many other abilities which one may find necessary for their musical enjoyment. When it comes to their sound, N5ii sounds like an upgrade to Megamini, being more vivid, with better bass reproduction, better control, a larger soundstage, and a better overall revealing ability, making music feel more forward, and at the same time better defined. Even so, Megamini has a scary high driving power for its size and price, and we really loved it back when we reviewed it, N5ii not making it any less intriguing for a 100$ device, but being a really worthy upgrade for those who are on a budget, but who want to go above the 100$ price area.



Value and Conclusion

It is no mystery that Cayin is one of the largest Chinese manufacturers of Audiophile devices, and that they do have a lot of summit-fi AMPs and DACs, although all of those are for desktop, Cayin DAPs being new and more innovative. We had a chance to play with Cayin N6 before, and it was an intriguing DAP, but sadly we couldn't keep it for long enough to write about it, and we always wanted to write about a Cayin DAP, N5ii being the first we had the chance to.



Starting with the build quality, this is a tank, really well placed together, coming in a high-end package, and with a lot of useful accessories. There is a glass screen protector installed form the factory, and it works like a charm, not having sharp edges, and staying well on N5ii's display after a good amount of usage.

The software is pretty stable on our side, and most bugs have been sorted out by Cayin's hard work. All in all, the UI navigation feels natural, the display has a good amount of brightness, and although it is a tad cool in its colors, the size itself isn't really meant for gazing album cover art, being a rather nimble and portable device made to carry around. Browsing and and playing music from our collection has been a pleasure, and testing some very light streaming indicated positive results.

Another area where Cayin managed to impress is in battery life. Although this means that Cayin N5ii works best with lighter, easier to drive equipment, like IEMs or easier to drive headphones, the battery life is pretty good, and maybe one of the best one can find in this price range.

Cayin N5ii is pretty competitive at its price point, being a fair update to devices less expensive, and while something like Opus #1s might have more driving power available for harder to drive headphones, N5ii has a much wider usage scenario available for it, with much more options, like Streaming and third party apps support.



If you want a very energetic, lively, vivid and revealing DAP for around 370$, this one is really worth considering, especially if you rely on Streaming and other modern means for listening to your collection. With a large battery life, two microSD slots and a clean, revealing, neutral, and detailed sound, Cayin N5ii is sure to impress anyone looking for a very cunning and versatile DAP in this price area.

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Purchase link (MusicTeck): https://shop.musicteck.com/products/cayin-n5ii-android-based-master-quality-digital-audio-player
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I'll be straightforward with the review, despite i had a week of ownership, I had not the time to actually have an in depth tryout, too busy in life.

Layout

The DAP is quite easy to navigate and just upon unboxing, I can already figure out what buttons are at where and the positions of the IO. Just have a look at the images, I dont need to explain, just look at it


So you can guess which is for what right? good. Thats all for layout.

OS

The OS is generally functional as an offline player, thats how i tried mine. I dont quite believe in streaming as a "quality" audio on a dap. Transition between interfaces are smooth, read speed of indexing is good on my 200GB, doesnt take ages to index. I used the DAP in audio priority mode only, which is no eq influence or software interruptions to the audio.

Treble
The high notes is quite sharp and crispy. Good high extensions where you can hear the drum sets crashing down but does not irritate the ears.

Vocals
Vocals is the sweet dough of the DAP. You can hear the forwardness of the singer which is quite important and necessary as it's the core of any music. Lead vocal and back vocals are separated quite well and at times could fool people with the layering.

Bass
Bass slam isnt very heavy, but the notes are clearly noted and does pops when it comes into focus. It does somehow lack the super low notes, those that brings the gloomy feelings to the music type. It just cant go that low, and lays flat at a point.

Driving ability
I was going adventurous and tried it with a couple of items i have, and particularly the LCD-2C. On the noble audio sage, it's all good and flowery, but on the 2c, it just couldnt push it to authority. In comparison, on my AR-M2, on the 3.5mm too, the sage picks up a whole lot of noise floor, hearing the device amp powering up, buzzing and hissing all the way, but it can drive the 2C really well.

As brother andykong pointed out, it's a choice of power and noise, they are both mutually exclusive, and i kinda agree on that. The N5 does have a lower noise floor but lack power for some headphones. M2 is noisy AF but can power high end cans.

So, is this dap considerable as an option? Well, to be frank, I had tried a couple DAPs before, as reviews mostly, so thats a week on each, the N5ii does come in mine at times, considering how easy is it to use, and with the good sound quality and versatility, I say its a buy.