Cayin i5 Lossless Android DAP with AKM4490 DAC supporting 32/384 PCM + 64/128 DSD

[Ziggomatic]

Do any of you fine people have thoughts on how well the i5 drives the new Beyerdynamic Amiron (or other similar Beyers)?
 
I am aiming for a new set, but wondering if I'll need a new amp as well if I get the Amiron. Thanks!

 

[nmatheis]

From the "now playing" screen, you can drag your finger along the circular progress bar (the orange dots) to quickly fast-forward or rewind. 

Great album

 

[Ziggomatic]

Great album

 

 

[Ziggomatic]

  Do any of you fine people have thoughts on how well the i5 drives the new Beyerdynamic Amiron (or other similar Beyers)?
 
I am aiming for a new set, but wondering if I'll need a new amp as well if I get the Amiron. Thanks!

 
I appear to have found an answer from Headphonia's Amiron review (here), but thoughts are still appreciated...

 

[miceblue]

Here are my impressions of the i5.

Spoiler: Photos

Disclaimer: I was a participant of one of the product tours for the i5, as arranged by Andykong, so a big thank you needs to be given to him for letting me join the listening tour!

Just as the same with Cayin's iDAC-6, the i5 seems to be a top-notch product in my opinion, and I would easily recommend it to those looking for a sub-$1000 portable media player.


Product Score Summary:
Value: 4.5/5
Audio Quality: 4/5
Design: 4/5
Battery Life: 4.5/5
User Interface: 5/5
Overall: 4.4/5




[rule]

Spoiler: User Interface

5/5 rating

I wanted to start off with the user interface. To me personally, the user interface of a portable media player is the #1 priority, so it is impeccable that such a device has a really usable interface both in graphical user interface and hardware.

BAM! Enter the i5!
No, the user interface is not perfect, but it's really darn good, and I'd consider it perfect compared to other products I've tried. Despite it running an older version of Android, it runs smoothly on the i5's hardware, which isn't a trivial detail considering other media players out there.


Navigation is simple and intuitive in the graphical user interface. The only problem I ran across was connecting to a local WiFi network and not being able to use the Dropbox feature (it said the link was invalid).

Using Android's quick settings by dragging your finger from the top of the screen, you have access to many useful settings, including screen brightness, WiFi, Gain, USB DAC mode, etc.. One thing I might suggest in a future firmware version is to include an option to toggle the filters of the i5 (of which there are 5), or if not filters, the general audio settings (perhaps a "More Settings" button can be added to the currently available gain options menu).

Even the Now Playing screen is well laid out. Instead of a traditional straight-line timeline seeker for the current audio track, the timeline seeker is in a circular fashion right outside of the play/pause button. I've never seen the seeker laid out like this before, but it's easily accessible with 1-hand controls, and as a person with small hands, that is always appreciated. The playlist playback mode is controlled with an on-screen scrolling mechanism, so you don't need to keep pressing the button to change the mode if you accidentally skip past it.

The software's volume control is also really convenient if you need to adjust the volume quickly. Just turn the physical volume knob, and adjust the volume on the screen by sliding your finger up/down.


Speaking of the physical controls though, the i5 only has 4 buttons, and it's the only 4 buttons you'll need: FF/RW/Play-Pause/Power. Simple, easy-to-locate, have nice tactile feedback. The volume knob has a lot of resistance (while still being silky smooth in terms of operation), so it won't turn easily in your pocket unless you have tight-fitting clothing and you slide the i5 in one of those pockets.


As an aside, although I don't think it matters much, but when I used the i5 as a USB DAC, even if I was playing 16/44.1 CD-quality files, the i5 would show 24-bits on the display.

[rule]

Spoiler: Design and Battery Life

4/5 Rating [Design]
4.5/5 Rating [Battery Life]


^ When the i5's screen turns off, it has this kind of retro TV shut down animation. Small things like this in the i5's graphical user interface make it noteworthy, in a good way, since nothing appears to be stock Android in the software and it makes for a unique experience for the user.


The only really big gripe I have for the i5 is its weight. This thing is like a brick both in terms of its size and its mass. The size I don't mind too much as it fits in my pocket just fine, but the weight does feel odd. In your hand, I found the i5 to be a bit top-heavy, presumably because of the volume knob(?).

Although I give a thumbs up to the direction of using USB C for devices, it hasn't quite been widely adopted yet, so if you lose the included USB C cable, you're likely stuck having to buy another cable. One thing I don't like about the USB DAC implementation is the asynchronous USB buffer: it seems to delay audio by 0.5-1 second when playing a regular video or audio stream, which means this device also isn't completely ideal if you're working on something that requires precise audio timing such as editing audio and/or video.

Outside of these things, the i5 feels really rock-solid in terms of build. As mentioned before, the physical media buttons are easy to access and the volume knob's resistance makes it nice to prevent large accidental volume changes when in a pocket.

Although this is just my opinion, I think the carbon fiber (and carbon fiber on consumer electronics in general) on the back looks a bit tacky. A pure black backing would have looked a lot nicer to me, like the Questyle QP1R (simple and sleek).


In terms of the battery life, I never did a complete battery drain. I did manage to get around 5 hours of playback during one listening session and there was about 60% battery left before I started to charge it, so the rated 11 hours of playback seems reasonable to extrapolate, which is very reasonable.

While I had the i5 in my pocket, the device did not become super warm when playing PCM, which is good to see. I've encountered a few portable media players that get uncomfortably warm in my pocket.

[rule]

Spoiler: Audio Quality

Throughout the duration of my time with the i5, I spent the majority of it using it as a portable media player walking around the neighborhood or city with the Etymotic ER4-SR or OPPO PM-3. I did use it at home as a USB DAC for my STAX SRS-2170, and as a USB DAC/amp for my AKG K701 just to test out though. My favorite pairing was with, by far, the ER4-SR.

I honestly couldn't really hear much of a difference at all between all of the available 5 digital filters that the i5 has to offer, but I did settle on the short delay sharp roll-off (this might be a minimum phase digital filter). Ironically, I settled on the same filter for my iDAC-6 review, so there's that going for it.

I'll keep this section short and to-the-point. I've generally liked the sound of DACs featuring AKM DAC chips and the i5 is no exception. The i5 as a whole has an overall warm sound signature to it (warm upper-bass/lower-midrange, and a smooth but soft treble), which makes it ideal to be paired with brighter headphones and used for mobile listening. It has both a musical characteristic due to its warmth, but still manages to be resolving and high-fidelity.

In terms of presentation, I thought the i5 sounded a bit congested in soundstage, but it has good instrument separation and imaging.


Really, I couldn't pick out a specific thing that the i5 did well or bad in terms of sound. I was able to just enjoy the music without having to worry about the sound quality, which is not something that I come across very often in this industry. When using the i5 as a USB DAC, the richness and hint of warmth from the i5 made the ER4-SR sound a bit more like the ER4-XR to me, adding just a bit of that musical enjoyment to the lower frequencies of my music.

At low-gain, 10/100 volume, the i5 had plenty of power to adequately power the ER4-SR, and no background hiss, so I don't think power is something to worry about for 99% of the people out there.

[rule]

Spoiler: Value and Conclusions

4.5/5 Rating

As a whole, I think the i5 is a near-perfect device for a portable media player. It manages to do well in many of the criteria I demand out of a media player that I would use for mobile listening sessions. Minus the weight of the i5, I really cannot think of a sub $1000 portable media player that I would recommend as a whole for the criteria above, and that is a huge accomplishment of the i5 I think. Both the sound quality and the user interface are among the best I've encountered in a portable media device, and having that all packed into one unit makes it a bargain for the MSRP.

 

[U-3C]

Nice review!
 
The device looks so sexy...\(☆v☆)/

 

[miceblue]

Nice review!

The device looks so sexy...\(☆v☆)/

Thanks! I definitely agree that it's one of the more attractive-looking devices out there, both in terms of graphical user interface, and physically.

 

[pr0b3r]

Another sexy look. i5 by the dock.

 

[Robmoores1]

Did you listen to the Etymotic XR with the Cayin? Put looking for a good pairing for mine and wondered if the XR gave a lot more bass or do you think the SR is adequate?

 

[miceblue]

Did you listen to the Etymotic XR with the Cayin? Put looking for a good pairing for mine and wondered if the XR gave a lot more bass or do you think the SR is adequate?

I don't have the XR, so I can only comment on the SR pairing with the i5, in which I really liked it. When paired with the i5, it reminded me a bit of the XR since the i5 has a warm sound signature overall, and the XR is a bass-boosted SR essentially.

I bought the SR for having a more accurate diffuse-field model monitor, and could always use hardware and/or software to add a little more oomph to the bass. The i5 is one such device, and it worked really well for me.

If you like the XR's response, the i5 would enhance the warmth a bit, which I don't think would be detrimental especially if you use them while mobile listening where extra background noise drowns out the bass a little.

 

[subguy812]

I haven't read any comments regarding the i5 and the HD650. I have spent a little time this evening with the pairing and it really kicks ass. Any comments?

 

[Robmoores1]

I don't have the XR, so I can only comment on the SR pairing with the i5, in which I really liked it. When paired with the i5, it reminded me a bit of the XR since the i5 has a warm sound signature overall, and the XR is a bass-boosted SR essentially.

I bought the SR for having a more accurate diffuse-field model monitor, and could always use hardware and/or software to add a little more oomph to the bass. The i5 is one such device, and it worked really well for me.

If you like the XR's response, the i5 would enhance the warmth a bit, which I don't think would be detrimental especially if you use them while mobile listening where extra background noise drowns out the bass a little.

Thanks for be reply. I've not heard either but I think from reviews I would lean towards the XR's because of the slight bass in increase albeit I am not sure if you could simply achieve the same with a touch of equalisation.

 

[amahikas]

Hi Ziggomatic,
 
I own Cayin i5 and DT1770Pro and DT1990 Pro.
The combination of i5 and 1770 or 1990 sounds great for Me and i5's volume is 55 to 80.
I have tried Amiron Home with i5 too, and i5's volume was around 85.
 
IMO i5 has enough power to drive 1770 and 1990 and Amiron Home, and I don't think an AMP is necessary.
But an AMP could be good if You want to change the sound.

 

[Ziggomatic]

Thanks for the response - good to know!

 

[miceblue]

Hi Ziggomatic,

I own Cayin i5 and DT1770Pro and DT1990 Pro.
The combination of i5 and 1770 or 1990 sounds great for Me and i5's volume is 55 to 80.
I have tried Amiron Home with i5 too, and i5's volume was around 85.

IMO i5 has enough power to drive 1770 and 1990 and Amiron Home, and I don't think an AMP is necessary.
But an AMP could be good if You want to change the sound.

I've tried the 1990 and I liked it very much (actually it's probably my favorite Beyerdynamic headphone as of late). I think the i5 would pair nicely with it.