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

[Andykong]

wishing there is a play all button / add all to now play list at the folder section to start playing every music including the sub folder.


or is there an android app to do


something like foobar2000 desktop, where you clicked on the main folder and all music in the folder (including sub folder) will be loaded in the now play list (tried foobar2000 android don't work)

Well, the internal memory and processing power of i5 is not in the same level as modern desktop computer, even our playlist function need to limit to 1000 entry maximum, so "add all to play list" is relatively high risk and will blow our memory limit. With 32GB internal and upto 256GB TF, we can easily go beyond 1000 music files in no time.

 

[Andykong]

I hope the priority is micro to usb c for mojo..in the next update..haha

The USB Audio output is top priority for next firmware.

 

[BartSimpson1976]

It would be nice if on the normal play screen sample rate and bit depth would be displayed as in the "normal" HiBy-app for Android.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

Well, the internal memory and processing power of i5 is not in the same level as modern desktop computer,

 
Not on the same level as a phone.
My biggest issue right now is the amount of RAM. Neutron is slow and the eq visualization is unusable which prompted me to download a memory info app. This device is at 80-90% load with Spotify or Neutron and 70-80% with stock player. The app to check uses about 2% which i confirmed on my Note 4.
 
The panels icon that shows all open items and lets you swipe them out of memory does not seem to work at all.
 
I will show it all in my vid with a side by side with another droid.
The sound?
Really really nice.

 
I think that added functions (droid based players) are going to need another gig of ram (2) in the future to make it more snappy.
 
I wrote code before and learned that well written code can make for much more efficient use of RAM so future FW releases can improve the experience but another gig might go a long way to make it better.
 
The sonics are very impressive and the detail retrieval is good enough to question why anyone would slap a Mojo on it and bypass a very fine implementation of the DAC stage?

 

[darveniza]

I want to thank darveniza for his detail impression and regular update, this is very helpful to fellow HeadFier who are interested in the i5, and his long term followup is something that can't be done in a Tour setting, a sincere appreciation indeed.

Every time I plug a set of headphones the music start playing, ..... You can turn off the "Breakpoint Resume" function, this is available in the Hiby Menu (wipe from Left to Right)

However I find that the hardware buttons and software screen of Cayin do not work with these apps. ...... We are working on this and hopefully will improve the touch screen support on these application. Unfortunately some of these third party application were designed with a mobile phone setting in minded, they don't expect to interact with hardware Play/Pause/Pre/Next button as these are not available in a mobile phone environment. By the way, on point (d) of your latest update, do you mean you can or cannot control?

i5 power management does not support Quick Charge, we don't have the Qualcomm chipset installed, so it is charging at 5v through the TypeC connector.

The Task killer in the third party application will kill all task except the native HiBy music player. I was under the impression that the Task Killer will only work on manual based, and there is no automatic or time based task killing function. I am surprised the Task killer will kill your active 3rd party application after certain time, I'll consult the Software Engineer to find out more about the Task Killer feature.

Have tested the Spotify app and performed a library update during playback, in my case the Spotify didn't terminated or halt, the library update can complete without any problem. Can you PM me some screen capture on this problem and I'll test the app in more detail.

Andy Thanks for the comments. I do appreciate you looking at the active forum T support your product this is great

I like your product versus my other options, hell I purchased it.

Will keep posting as I find any bugs or potential improvements

My comment of quick charge should have stated clearly that should be there for the next generation of the product

The external button ARE working now with the phone on locked, since I did 2.0. With 1.8 it was unreliable

In regards to the task killer I tested again. Very basic test while burning a new pair of IEM, I left the 3rd party app running playing music with my IEM's connected , came back 2 Hours later and found that everything (3rd party) was closed , including a small "notes" type . The only scenario in which that happens is under an aggressive power management scheme. Which I can tell based on Good experience with Chinese based Phones (ZTE, Xiaomi, Vivo,etc) including a brand new LeECO Pro 3 they all have this "philosophy" in the battery management approach.

 

[darveniza]

Not on the same level as a phone.
My biggest issue right now is the amount of RAM. Neutron is slow and the eq visualization is unusable which prompted me to download a memory info app. This device is at 80-90% load with Spotify or Neutron and 70-80% with stock player. The app to check uses about 2% which i confirmed on my Note 4.

The panels icon that shows all open items and lets you swipe them out of memory does not seem to work at all.

I will show it all in my vid with a side by side with another droid.
The sound?
Really really nice.

I think that added functions (droid based players) are going to need another gig of ram (2) in the future to make it more snappy.

I wrote code before and learned that well written code can make for much more efficient use of RAM so future FW releases can improve the experience but another gig might go a long way to make it better.

The sonics are very impressive and the detail retrieval is good enough to question why anyone would slap a Mojo on it and bypass a very fine implementation of the DAC stage?

Neutron will not behave at the same level of your smartphone (not even your Note 4) the core processor and GPU are still more advanced in these high end phones. The Android version used on the i5 is not the best one for performance.This I know based on Neutron update release log and the forums.

 

[imbasaurus]

This is two directly different observation. @imbasaurus said his i5 keep jumping to next folder and he wants to turn it off, but @kel77 said he can't get the i5 to play through folders.

When I use Folder tab select and playback, I can turn on the "Play Through Folder" and it works as intended, and turn off the feature to stop it from jumping to next folder. Maybe the Album tab will behave differently? I'll check that out next time and confirm with you on this subject.

Thank you for this one, @Andykong, yes, i am encountering this issue when playing using album tab not through folder tab. it's just a strange behavior i noticed, that Hiby Music player continuously play through albums even though i am playing on album tab. for faster replication, go to the last track of an album and then press next button. it will go to next album. 

 

[PinkyPowers]

Firmware 2.0 fixed the sorting issue when using Browse By Folder.

I don't detect any sonic changes between 1.8 and 2.0. Which is good, because I really like the sound.

The Over the Air update function did not work. I received an error stating the servers were busy, so I updated manually.

The i5 suits my ears so much I have not felt any desire to go back to the AK120ii. I'm not saying it's as good, but rather there is nothing obviously lacking in its rendering. The overall performance is so satisfactory I can just listen for hours and love every part of what I hear.

Excellent work, Cayin!

 

[SubSTI]

Gapless is on the to-do list

If you were referring to the kind of support we have for Dropbox cloud (a dedicated entry point in the Home screen), that required a customized gateway and we do not have any plan for other personal cloud music service at the moment.

Thanks, gapless is a showstopper for me, and others. 
 
Not being able to stream from the Amazon cloud is something I can live with.
At home I can use DLNA and the music stored on the Synology, on the go there is a 200GB od MicroSD card and USB OTG using an USB stick or a small powered disk drive

 

[darveniza]

SubST1, what is the problem you are encountering with Amazon????

 

[SubSTI]

SubST1, what is the problem you are encountering with Amazon????

No problem with Amazon, I have an Amazon Cloud subscription and was wondering if Cayin could add Amazon Cloud to the streaming options, just like they did for Dropbox.
But this is not going to happen according to AndyKong.

 

[darveniza]

SubST1, got it. I thought you were talking about streaming music from Amazon prime front. But you are streaming your personal content from AWS cloud

 

[SubSTI]

SubST1, got it. I thought you were talking about streaming music from Amazon prime front. But you are streaming your personal content from AWS cloud

Yes, at least that was the idea 

 

[Demard]

Well, the internal memory and processing power of i5 is not in the same level as modern desktop computer, even our playlist function need to limit to 1000 entry maximum, so "add all to play list" is relatively high risk and will blow our memory limit. With 32GB internal and upto 256GB TF, we can easily go beyond 1000 music files in no time

found another solution, play through folder work just fine, jumping from one sub folder to another when it end

 

[darveniza]

A few items to share with the group

As everyone one else own a big collection of music extracted from buying new and old CD's and due to this have used devices like A&K (which have sold) to Android based units like Pioneer,Onkyo to now Cayini5.
I feel that Cayin has an edge against the traditionalcompetition on:

A) Size vs weight ratio, it feel good in the hand, easy to navigate without looking for example in pocket or dark spaces

B) Exterior finish and color, do we really need to make everything black or gray

C) Android based, for me having the ability to access the Android ecosystem so I can use music services but also other players like Neutron is big. I know Neutron looks nicer in screens over 5". But hey still be able to access,use at your leisure is great when you look at what your getting versus price

D) Price, we have to give Thanks to Pioneer, Onkyio and Cayin in bringing a dose of reality to the DAP community in regards to pricing. Seriously I know a lot of Head Fi community like their AK, AR,etc but pricing was just getting out of control for a cumbersome UI, look, size , overall options. With phones like HTC10, VIVO, LG V10 providing some good audio features I think our message to these companies is if you want to us to buy a $2K DAP you better give us more than a buggy Tidal stream capability

E) If I combine my items C and D previously stated I can state that having these Android DAP have allowed me to discover a lot of more music in a short time than before. I don't need to be at my laptop, I can be anywhere and immediately create new playlists,etc . Plus at the same not having to spend all this money on one single item. I know people will bombard me with specs on A&K, etc but really how much do I need to enjoy a HiFi experience. My Cayin combined with my IEM's really give me that balance

But really one of the best features for the Cayin i5 is having AndyKong, his involvement with the product from a response and updates is a huge issue as it shows commitment to the product. The continuous updates are good, I know others will have the perspective that indicates a lack of quality but I will disagree as even Apple perfect smartphone wonders get updates on a fairly regular intervals . Pioneer and Only have great products but firmware updates to correct or expand features are very lagging

Let's keep the improvements coming