[NateInBelgium]

   
Where did you buy those ? I might be Interested.
 
Are they better than the Meze Classics earphones ? I put an order and still awaiting the delivery. 

 
I bought two pairs of KZ ZSTs, the original Carbon Fibre finish and the Colourful editions on Gearbest. You can also find them on Aliexpress.
 
Sorry I can't comment on how they compare to the Meze Classics as I don't own them. I have compared them to AKG Y50 on ear headphones, and they sound much more dynamic. The AKG Y50s are great value for money but I prefer the sound of the ZSTs.
 
I also have Sennheiser HD590s, maybe I need to try them with the N3! they don't get a lot of use being open back, so much sound leakage...

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

   
I bought two pairs of KZ ZSTs, the original Carbon Fibre finish and the Colourful editions on Gearbest. You can also find them on Aliexpress.

Any changes in sound from the Colorful's to the Carbon Fibres?

 

[iponyrobot]

Im curious about balanced armature iems,but would it be worth buying them with the N3?

 

[abitdeef]

Two things, last night my shoulder was hurting (pinched nerve) so I had a big glass of red wine and took a walk. I brought n3 and just shuffled all my orb albums and my god they sounded good. I was waking around the lake by my house ( they have sidewalks ) and I took my n3 out to fiddle with the dac filter and I dropped it face down on the sidewalk

Now I work for the township and I know those sidewalks are a composite of concrete, silica, quartz, and various ground up scrap minerals that some have a hardness of 8.5 on the mohs scale to prolong the life of said sidewalk.

Anyways I had taken my screen saver off the other day and I thought the screen was scratched to hell because I dropped my iphone 6s on the same sidewalk and it scratched the screen.

Imagine my surprise then when I got home and found zero scratches on the plastic? screen. I was really impressed because the surface of the sidewalk is very abrasive as to not be slippery when wet. Good stuff!

The second thing is if Cayin would ever make a tiny dap like this that sounds this good and had a touchscreen and a separate line out with a little better build quality- like i5, well that would be my ultimate dap and I would pay a pretty penny for it!

As it is though I love this little beast, walking around the lake late at night and hearing the orb in all their glory, I got so many of those 'I never heard that before' moments that it was just what the doctor ordered. I came home more relaxed and was able to sleep.

I really think it was the area I was listening in and the absolute quiet of late night that helped my mind concentrate on the music In was listening to. And because the n3 has good resolution

 

[nmatheis]

abitdeef - I know you're asking for better build quality, more like i5. That would make N3 heavier, resulting in more impact when dropped. Ergo, I'm betting part of why your N3 survived the drop with minimal damage is is very lightweight construction. If it were heavier, I'm not sure you would've been so lucky. Just my two cents...

iponyrobot - Why wouldn't you use BA IEM with N3?

 

[abitdeef]

abitdeef - I know you're asking for better build quality, more like i5. That would make N3 heavier, resulting in more impact when dropped. Ergo, I'm betting part of why your N3 survived the drop with minimal damage is is very lightweight construction. If it were heavier, I'm not sure you would've been so lucky. Just my two cents...

iponyrobot - Why wouldn't you use BA IEM with N3?

True sir, but I imagine my ideal dap would cost at least 300 dollars or more and when I pay that much for a dap it doesn't leave the house ( I use my clip+ ) the only place it would go is in my car to use the LO, or Bluetooth. But I'm sure the light weight helped save the screen.

 

[abitdeef]

Im curious about balanced armature iems,but would it be worth buying them with the N3?

Yes they sound great, as do dynamic drivers.

 

[NateInBelgium]

Any changes in sound from the Colorful's to the Carbon Fibres?

None that I am aware of. Certainly nothing i could hear.

 

[groucho69]

Two things, last night my shoulder was hurting (pinched nerve) so I had a big glass of red wine and took a walk. I brought n3 and just shuffled all my orb albums and my god they sounded good. I was waking around the lake by my house ( they have sidewalks ) and I took my n3 out to fiddle with the dac filter and I dropped it face down on the sidewalk

Now I work for the township and I know those sidewalks are a composite of concrete, silica, quartz, and various ground up scrap minerals that some have a hardness of 8.5 on the mohs scale to prolong the life of said sidewalk.

Anyways I had taken my screen saver off the other day and I thought the screen was scratched to hell because I dropped my iphone 6s on the same sidewalk and it scratched the screen.

Imagine my surprise then when I got home and found zero scratches on the plastic? screen. I was really impressed because the surface of the sidewalk is very abrasive as to not be slippery when wet. Good stuff!

The second thing is if Cayin would ever make a tiny dap like this that sounds this good and had a touchscreen and a separate line out with a little better build quality- like i5, well that would be my ultimate dap and I would pay a pretty penny for it!

As it is though I love this little beast, walking around the lake late at night and hearing the orb in all their glory, I got so many of those 'I never heard that before' moments that it was just what the doctor ordered. I came home more relaxed and was able to sleep.

I really think it was the area I was listening in and the absolute quiet of late night that helped my mind concentrate on the music In was listening to. And because the n3 has good resolution

ya and this helps too
 

 

[rawrster]

I read twister6's review on the N3 and it has me very interested. I have a Fiio X5 3rd generation dap and a smaller dap would absolutely be beneficial. It appears that the N3 is better than the X5 and costs less so I could purchase the N3 and a custom cable for my Andromeda and sell the X5 and still make out on top or break even.I only have one micro sd card in my Fiio X5 (I was meaning to buy another one but got lazy but 200gb is plenty of space) so if I do sell it nothing is lost. My only uses will be as a dap and usb/dac with my laptop. Bluetooth is nice and I may get a BT earphone in the future but not anytime soon. 
 
I do have a few questions. Has anyone used this with the Andromeda or very sensitive earphones? If so, how is the hiss level? Also, how is the UI? I know UI has gotten better than a few years ago so I don't want to experience any frustrations with the UI. (I used to own a Hifiman many years ago and that frustrated me to no end)

 

[rathgar]

So got mine today. And with the coax cable running to my mojo the volume still effects output. Im waiting on usb cable to try it. So my guess is that this isnt actually bit perfect output. But havent heard yet. Not much for technical support this thread is. But case looks nice.

 

[rathgar]

Ok so when playing a dsd file still coax out to a mojo i can not adjust volume. Pushing buttons does nothing volume slider doesnt even show on screen. But when playing a flac the volume is adjustable. Hopefully this is something software related and can be fixed.

 

[scott1]

Ok so when playing a dsd file i can not adjust volume. Pushing buttons does nothing volume slider doesnt even show on screen. But when playing a flac the volume is adjustable. Hopefully this is something software related and can be fixed.

I have a usb and no coax but still have the same issue when I run it to my Lake People DAC. It is kinda nice to be able to use the EQ but I would rather know it's a pure digital signal.

 

[twister6]

  I read twister6's review on the N3 and it has me very interested. I have a Fiio X5 3rd generation dap and a smaller dap would absolutely be beneficial. It appears that the N3 is better than the X5 and costs less so I could purchase the N3 and a custom cable for my Andromeda and sell the X5 and still make out on top or break even.I only have one micro sd card in my Fiio X5 (I was meaning to buy another one but got lazy but 200gb is plenty of space) so if I do sell it nothing is lost. My only uses will be as a dap and usb/dac with my laptop. Bluetooth is nice and I may get a BT earphone in the future but not anytime soon. 
 
I do have a few questions. Has anyone used this with the Andromeda or very sensitive earphones? If so, how is the hiss level? Also, how is the UI? I know UI has gotten better than a few years ago so I don't want to experience any frustrations with the UI. (I used to own a Hifiman many years ago and that frustrated me to no end)

 
The hissing comment about Zeus (in my review) is applicable to Andro as well.  When you pause/idle, there is no hissing, when you hit play it's not very audible, but when you playing music and lower volume to zero you hear this synthetic hissing.  Will depend on the type of music you're listening to, if it's a lot of instrumental and acoustic with quiet passages, you will probably hear some.
 
Regarding GUI, it's your typical Hiby interface you will find in N3/N5/N6 as well as X1/X3/X5 non-touch DAPs.

 

[docholliday]

Ok so when playing a dsd file i can not adjust volume. Pushing buttons does nothing volume slider doesnt even show on screen. But when playing a flac the volume is adjustable. Hopefully this is something software related and can be fixed.

I play DSD64 and DSD128 files all the time and have absolutely no problem adjusting volume. I also get all metadata and album covers appearing perfectly.