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

[jmills8]

My humble setup

nice amp.

 

[BartSimpson1976]

yes, nice but no need to make full quote including pictures.

 

[twister6]

What device is perfect, Alex? I'm not saying it's not damn good, but like another guy a few posts up I feel like WiFi is a bit on the slow side. During installation of Play Services at Play Music, the downloads stalled out a couple times before succeeding. My phone on the same WiFi network had no problems in the same spot. Not a deal breaker, as this is first and foremost a DAP. And in fact, just like you, I feel this is much more what I was looking for from an Android-based DAP than the X7. I remember saying in the X7 thread that if I were looking for an Android-based DAP, is suggest people wait for the Cayin i5 or the upcoming Shanling Android-based DAP because I had a lot of faith in what those two can do after using their DAPs extensively.

 
I was just curious, Nic 

  Too many DAPs and headphones in my review queue now, so was just curious what I should pay attention to first with i5

 
I didn't even get to Google Play or wifi setting yet, just spent a little bit of time exploring the GUI (which I absolutely LOVE) and listening with a few of my TOTL iems/ciems.
 
The review unit I received has the latest fw and absolutely ZERO hiss with Zeus-R and Andro.  I tested it last night before going to sleep, and just for sanity check tested it again this morning with fresh ears on both low and high gain.  Pitch black background and zero hiss when playing or idling.  Don't have wifi enabled and EQ was off, so not sure if anything will change when other radios are on and if any digital noise couples in, but I can tell you that Zeus-R is hiss free under the current listening condition.
 
The case I received has a rather snugly fit, no complaints, but workmanship is not very neat where I see traces of glue.  Not sure if it's included or you buy it separately (seen it on Penon Audio for $25 and it says "leather").  I'm sure Dignis will have their $60 case soon, but in a meantime - this will do.

 

[audio123]

n5 + c5 or i5 + c5
ic used: crystalconnect
i prefer n5 + c5 stack

 

[davidcotton]

Cayin I5 uk stock at advancedmp3players.  At £399 that's a great price.

 

[McCol]

  Cayin I5 uk stock at advancedmp3players.  At £399 that's a great price.

 
Ordered mine yesterday, should be here tomorrow(Fri).
 
Enter STAY10% for another 10% off the price - worked for me.

 

[nmatheis]

Rozenberg: I toggled Idle Shutdown on after listening last night. Just a few percentage points lost overnight. Unless I'm missing something, it would be nice to have some System Settings.

 

[davidcotton]

   
Ordered mine yesterday, should be here tomorrow(Fri).
 
Enter STAY10% for another 10% off the price - worked for me.

Typical with the timing though.  I'm away next week (yay) but means I'll have to put off possibly ordering one until I get back.  Now that the volumes been matched between various apps its much more appealing.
 
One quick question though, can the volume knob be disabled so you just alter it from the touch screen?
 
Thanks

 

[Andykong]

Typical with the timing though.  I'm away next week (yay) but means I'll have to put off possibly ordering one until I get back.  Now that the volumes been matched between various apps its much more appealing.

One quick question though, can the volume knob be disabled so you just alter it from the touch screen?

Thanks

The easiest way to go into the touch screen volume control page is to turn the volume knob slightly and volume control page will overlay your existing UI.

 

[Andykong]

I was just curious, Nic    Too many DAPs and headphones in my review queue now, so was just curious what I should pay attention to first with i5

I didn't even get to Google Play or wifi setting yet, just spent a little bit of time exploring the GUI (which I absolutely LOVE) and listening with a few of my TOTL iems/ciems.

The review unit I received has the latest fw and absolutely ZERO hiss with Zeus-R and Andro.  I tested it last night before going to sleep, and just for sanity check tested it again this morning with fresh ears on both low and high gain.  Pitch black background and zero hiss when playing or idling.  Don't have wifi enabled and EQ was off, so not sure if anything will change when other radios are on and if any digital noise couples in, but I can tell you that Zeus-R is hiss free under the current listening condition.

The case I received has a rather snugly fit, no complaints, but workmanship is not very neat where I see traces of glue.  Not sure if it's included or you buy it separately (seen it on Penon Audio for $25 and it says "leather").  I'm sure Dignis will have their $60 case soon, but in a meantime - this will do.

I'll be frank, I am flattered, thank you!

The leather case an optional item, we have bundled the leather case as free gift to first 500 units of i5 back in June and that was before the International version firmware is available, so strictly for China market only. After that it become a paid option.

 

[Andykong]

Cayin I5 uk stock at advancedmp3players.  At £399 that's a great price.

Great, I am expecting this, make my day.

 

[audio123]

the cayin i5 a must get dap

 

[DNG A SPTRA]

Sorry willing to ask again, does the cayin i5 can change themes? If it can, how? Thanks

 

[twister6]

 

I was just curious, Nic 

  Too many DAPs and headphones in my review queue now, so was just curious what I should pay attention to first with i5

I didn't even get to Google Play or wifi setting yet, just spent a little bit of time exploring the GUI (which I absolutely LOVE) and listening with a few of my TOTL iems/ciems.

The review unit I received has the latest fw and absolutely ZERO hiss with Zeus-R and Andro.  I tested it last night before going to sleep, and just for sanity check tested it again this morning with fresh ears on both low and high gain.  Pitch black background and zero hiss when playing or idling.  Don't have wifi enabled and EQ was off, so not sure if anything will change when other radios are on and if any digital noise couples in, but I can tell you that Zeus-R is hiss free under the current listening condition.

The case I received has a rather snugly fit, no complaints, but workmanship is not very neat where I see traces of glue.  Not sure if it's included or you buy it separately (seen it on Penon Audio for $25 and it says "leather").  I'm sure Dignis will have their $60 case soon, but in a meantime - this will do.

I'll be frank, I am flattered, thank you!

The leather case an optional item, we have bundled the leather case as free gift to first 500 units of i5 back in June and that was before the International version firmware is available, so strictly for China market only. After that it become a paid option.

 
I gotta be honest with you, I was pleasantly surprised.  As someone who has access to many new DAPs and constantly tests and compares, I already reached the conclusion that with latest releases from many different manufacturers the gap between mid-fi and summit-fi DAP sound quality is very narrow.  And as a result, you will end up paying a hefty premium with diminishing returns to squeeze every last ounce of performance to have the absolute best flagship sound quality.  The gap is bigger when you go down to a budget-fi releases where people just care for something simple and convenient on the go.
 
Right now the mid-fi DAP market is the most exciting to watch, to see how close they get to flagship sound quality, how much functionality gets squeezed in, how original the design looks, how well the GUI is executed, the battery life, the storage capacity, touch screen interface, etc.  So far, I see i5 getting checkmarks next to many of these features.  Just played around with Google Play, and really like the app integration.  So far, i5 experience doesn't feel like an audio app on top of a fully open Android, but instead it's a self-integrated music interface with 3rd party apps you can load on top of it.  Within minutes I had YouTube and Spotify running without a problem.  Yeah, I do see what others mean about slower network connection, in terms of app download, but there are no hiccups in music streaming.  Really like the clever design of the interface where you are not dealing with fully open Android.  This is a music DAP, while Android apps are an add-on, not the other way around.

 

[McCol]

 
Typical with the timing though.  I'm away next week (yay) but means I'll have to put off possibly ordering one until I get back.  Now that the volumes been matched between various apps its much more appealing.
 
One quick question though, can the volume knob be disabled so you just alter it from the touch screen?
 
Thanks

 
You won't regret buying when you get back plus I'm pretty sure AMP3 always have either that or another 10% code that is valid.
 
The I5 itself is from early impressions very good.  Main thing for me was not to have the interference I experienced when using any streaming modes with the Fiio X7 which thankfully the I5 doesn't suffer from.  No hiss or interference with so far.  
The UI on this is excellent, I can imagine that if you wanted to use the full Android experience it could be laggy but that's not the point of this for me.  I want a DAP that can do my Spotify and other streaming which in my brief session this afternoon and evening it does with ease. Video's, web browsing and all other functions can be done on my phone.
 
The Hiby music player is nice and easy to use and it works flawlessly with my Spotify.  
 
Build quality seems excellent, it really is a very nice unit, feels solid in the hand with a nice weighty feel to the whole unit.
 
SQ wise I would be guessing from memory but I would say it isn't quite as warm as I found the Fiio(which is a good thing for me), I often found the Fiio to be a bit too warm for my liking.  I also recently owned the DP-X1 and again from memory I would say this has a similar kind of sound but take that with a pinch of salt.
 
Only tried with my Flare R2Pro's and they match very well with the I5, will try my Ety's over the weekend.