[subguy812]

My Cayin i5 arrives today. It will be nice to give it a listen. I have always been an AK fan for comparison.

 

[Septimus]

Hey, its me again, the guy with the delay problem.
may someone here please test this video on pc with the i5 in dac mode?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucZl6vQ_8Uo
for me the sound comes out about exactly when the ball is on the highest point which should equal a delay of 0.5 seconds.
im starting to think, that maybe i really have been delusional when i thought that i had replay without delay before and
maybe it is just normal this way/will maybe be improved with future firmware.
or maybe i just broke something.

 

[davidcotton]

  Hey, its me again, the guy with the delay problem.
may someone here please test this video on pc with the i5 in dac mode?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucZl6vQ_8Uo
for me the sound comes out about exactly when the ball is on the highest point which should equal a delay of 0.5 seconds.
im starting to think, that maybe i really have been delusional when i thought that i had replay without delay before and
maybe it is just normal this way/will maybe be improved with future firmware.
or maybe i just broke something.

AndyK posted a while back about there being delays with youtube.

 

[Septimus]

 
AndyK posted a while back about there being delays with youtube.

yes, i know that.
but i think i had way less of a delay before, so it would be nice if someone would just test this and tell me if he has the same amount/less/more delay.

 

[Andykong]

The delay from USB DAC is a different problem when compare to Youtube type application. This is kind of technical but since the issues has been raised again, I'll try my best to explain the situation.

i5's USB DAC is implemented in Asynchronous mode. This has been well-accepted as the only acceptable option for high fidelity audio application. In fact USB Audio used to be rejected by the audio community and the Asynchronous USB was the game changing technology, all of sudden everyone wants Asynchronous USB in their digital audio chain.

So what exactly is Asynchronous USB DAC?

True asynchronous mode is a bidirectional communication scheme wherein the DAC requests audio frames from the computer and stores them in a [COLOR=FF00AA]buffer[/COLOR]. The DAC takes the data from the buffer using a first in, first out (FIFO) logic, and controls the timing using its own clock. The timing of the signal is, therefore, [COLOR=FF00AA]completely independent of the computer[/COLOR], and should not be affected by any of its jittery processes

Understanding Digital Music -- USB Audio Transfer Method from Soundstage.

So please do not expect the audio output of an Asynchronous USB DAC will synchronize with its source (a compute in this case), the technology has purposely make them independent from each other, a buffer is added into the chain deliberately, and this will inevitably delay the audio signal output with reference to the source computer.

The delay will not be "improved" by future firmware, because this is a correct implementation of Asynchronous USB DAC.

 

[subguy812]

Yaaa! My package arrived! Time to listen. I upgraded to 2.0 firmware. Are there any settings or downloads I need to enhance my listening?

 

[Lavakugel]

  Yaaa! My package arrived! Time to listen. I upgraded to 2.0 firmware. Are there any settings or downloads I need to enhance my listening?

Whats the first impression vs AKs?

 

[Lavakugel]

Very curious what version 2.1 will improve.

Which player do you prefer cayin i5 vs fiio x5 2nd. Difficult?

 

[subguy812]

  Whats the first impression vs AKs?

Intial impression... a warmer sound. More power. Could be I am trying it first with the Meze 99 classics which are warm in their own right.
 
I will have some time today to test it with a variety of iem's & hp's as well as genres of music.

 

[koluludome]

Which player do you prefer cayin i5 vs fiio x5 2nd. Difficult?

X5 will give you a feeling of more airriness than i5 due separation between instruments, vocal is not as close as i5 is but instrument and vocal in i5 look bulkier than X5.

Conclusion from my own opinion
X5 give you a feeling of luxury sound that little bit unreal if you hear it carefully while i5 give you a warm real performance

I can listen to X5 longer than i5 but I prefer i5 sound instead

All from my blurry memories of X5

 

[PinkyPowers]

Intial impression... a warmer sound. More power. Could be I am trying it first with the Meze 99 classics which are warm in their own right.

I will have some time today to test it with a variety of iem's & hp's as well as genres of music.

I suspect you'll note the i5 is warmer on all of your phones. Our AK120ii is a bit closer to neutral. It's slightly warm, but not as warm as the i5. Also, I think the treble is a little rolled off on the i5.

But yeah, there's definitely more power in the Cayin.

 

[subguy812]

I suspect you'll note the i5 is warmer on all of your phones. Our AK120ii is a bit closer to neutral. It's slightly warm, but not as warm as the i5. Also, I think the treble is a little rolled off on the i5.

But yeah, there's definitely more power in the Cayin.

In my brief time, I will say the sound is not far off from the AK, very close. It is a powerful dap, using 25-35 on low gain volume. It is warm as are most of my hp's, feeling warmth all around. Nice dap! I have a couple of criticisms but I will give it some more time before I mention them, if they still exist.

 

[glassmonkey]

My initial impression of the sound on the i5 was that it is very warm. Like cozy blanket warm, especially in the bass. Every AK4490 implementation I've heard before has had a more incisive brighter sound, so the warm sound coming out of the i5 caught me a bit by surprise. The warmth smooths over some bass detail and gives the sound a little bit slower quality. So far it isn't my preferred signature, but I still need more time to let the system and my ears burn-in. I think that this DAP will need to be paired with bright headphones to have a more balanced sound, luckily I've got the Noble Encore on hand, and it qualifies in that regard.

 

[audio123]

  My initial impression of the sound on the i5 was that it is very warm. Like cozy blanket warm, especially in the bass. Every AK4490 implementation I've heard before has had a more incisive brighter sound, so the warm sound coming out of the i5 caught me a bit by surprise. The warmth smooths over some bass detail and gives the sound a little bit slower quality. So far it isn't my preferred signature, but I still need more time to let the system and my ears burn-in. I think that this DAP will need to be paired with bright headphones to have a more balanced sound, luckily I've got the Noble Encore on hand, and it qualifies in that regard.

I5 for me is a mix between N5 and N6. Comparing to the N5, I5 is less warm.

 

[subguy812]

Obviously, my i5 is brand new and the initial impressions were a bit warm. I am adjusting to the sound and beginning to hear some real quality here. As stated previously, I have always liked the Ak dap's. The thing I wrestle with is "perceived value". I really don't like when folks say for the money, however this dap is really starting to grow on me, at a price of at least 1/2 of the cost of what I am accustomed to. I am beginning to also find my way around some of the firmware annoyances. I am still experimenting with various iem's and headphones, even the warm 64 Audio U12 is beginning to pair well.