Thanks for the good news Hawaiibadboy. I'm going to try it soon.
Cayin N3 Hi-Res DAP with AKM4490 DAC, apt-X Bluetooth, and Line, USB & Coax Out for $150
Sorry for the double post. Guess I was too excited
HibyLink on my Samsung S7 Edge now connecting and scanning files from my N3....and....Yesss...it's working wonderfully guys 
LuckyAce1974
New Head-Fier
What is the best process to rip SACDs so they can be played on the N3?
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2013
- Posts
- 15,522
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I know this not going to help those who already got N3, but MusicTeck now offers a bundle of N3 with Cayin leather case for $159; so it's just $10 more than original N3 (considering case alone cost $20).
scott1
100+ Head-Fier
I can't take any credit for making it faster, that's all @XVortex. I'll for sure be making more 'work-friendly' themes for the N3, and have already asked Cayin to consider giving us tools to make it easier to unpack/repack the firmware files to create custom firmware. I've also asked them to remove the built-in startup piano image to give the custom firmware a 'clean slate' startup screen. Hopefully they'll help us out and help make this powerful little player a real cult product!
Thank you guys, this is awesome. I like it all, the animation at start up, the minor grammatical stuff, and the nipple wallpaper is great!
The N3 is the first DAP I have ever owned outside of Apple products and it just keeps getting better and better. I've said it before but it really is the best $150 I have ever spent.
DBaldock9
Headphoneus Supremus
Ripping SACDs requires a hack, discussions of which may not be appropriate (or allowed) on Head-Fi Forums.
You can do a Google search, and find info on other web sites.
dnelsonn
New Head-Fier
Hey guys, first time on the forums. Mainly joined because I have a question and want to know if others are having a similar problem.
The power button on my N3 has been very finnicky. Sometimes a press will register nothing, other times it'll just make the screen flicker on and off a few times, and overall it's really difficult to turn on and off. Does anyone else have this issue or do I just have a bad N3 and should contact support about this?
The power button on my N3 has been very finnicky. Sometimes a press will register nothing, other times it'll just make the screen flicker on and off a few times, and overall it's really difficult to turn on and off. Does anyone else have this issue or do I just have a bad N3 and should contact support about this?
Sylean
Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 2, 2013
- Posts
- 95
- Likes
- 30
Hi everyone, I have a weird issue. I'm on the new beta firmware, and it seems that I can't stream music from my phone.
Hiby link works as a charm, but when it comes to stream, no can do. I go to BT options on N3 then I select my device in the paired devices section and it says it can't connect.
Has anyone encountered this issue ?
Hiby link works as a charm, but when it comes to stream, no can do. I go to BT options on N3 then I select my device in the paired devices section and it says it can't connect.
Has anyone encountered this issue ?
The HiByLink will "occupied" the BT connection, you can't use the N3 as wireless BT DAC while you are using the HiByLink.
Announcement of Cayin N3 firmware v2.0
http://en.cayin.cn/download/show?id=13513
https://www.facebook.com/CayinAudio/photos/a.299322053812361.1073741833.298179690593264/299320717145828/
The major feature of this new firmware is the formal introduction of HiByLink from HiBy Music. While this can be generally perceived as a phone-based remote control, the technology is actually much deeper than that. The HiByLink is a lossless resource sharing platform. It is based on duplex BT communication right now and might extend to cover other wireless communication means in the future. The HiByLink will connect your N3 DAP with the HiByMusic App on an Android mobile device (iOS device will be supported in the future) and your music resources will be shared with the HiByMusic App, the latter will read the file, manipulated the content, and control (feedback) the N3 operation. It can even offer user operations that are not originally available on the N3 DAP.
Saying the HiByLink has revolutionized the user experience of N3 is a bold claim but I am sure you’ll agree with this after you tried out the new firmware and HiByMusic App in pair. Just to name a few, gone completely was the issue of clicking the wrong capacitive button, and the up/down, left/right, next/pre controls are a lot more intuitive. You can browse through long lists of folders or music files at ease, and even create playlists on the big screen of your mobile phone. The best part is that you can perform all these while the N3 stays in your backpack/pocket or having the N3 connected to your home Entertainment system and you are relaxing at your sofa 3 meters away.
New Functions and System Optimization
Cayin N3 Firmware Upgrade
When the upgrade is completed, you can verify the current firmware version number by selecting “System Setting” menu, under “About the Player and storage information” option, check out the “Firmware Version” detail.
Attention
1. Update your N3 to the latest v2.0 firmware. You can verify the firmware version from System setting -> About the Player
2. Turn on the Bluetooth of N3 and you can see the new HiByLink option; turn this on and set apt-X to On as well.
3. Copy HibyMusic Android application package (HibyMusic_3.0.0_build_5313_Beta) to your Android mobile phone and install the app; You probably need to enable the phone to “allow installation of apps from sources other than Google Play Store” under Security menu
4. Start up the HiBy Music App, tap the HiByLink icon, and turn on HiByLink; the system will pop up a window to seek your approval to set the Bluetooth to broadcast mode. Make sure you have turned on the Bluetooth of both N3 and your mobile phone now. Click “Search for devices” to locate your DAP, and the system should display your N3 DAP as an available device, you can now select N3 to proceed.
5. After you select your device, the HiByMusic App will display a pairing notification. The N3 will NOT display any passkey. We recommend you to setup the connection from the HiByMusic App, so please select the “Pair” option. N3 will now be displayed as a “currently paired” device.
6. You can now leave the HiByLink page and go back to the music playback interface by pressing the Music Note icon. From now on, all display and control on the HiBy Music App will pertain to / be directed to the remote device (i.e., your N3 DAP). We recommend you to scan your music before you move on. While the music files will be sorted into Title/Album/Artist/Genre, the album art from the remote device cannot be displayed in thumbnail views; they can however be displayed on the playback screen.
http://en.cayin.cn/download/show?id=13513
https://www.facebook.com/CayinAudio/photos/a.299322053812361.1073741833.298179690593264/299320717145828/
The major feature of this new firmware is the formal introduction of HiByLink from HiBy Music. While this can be generally perceived as a phone-based remote control, the technology is actually much deeper than that. The HiByLink is a lossless resource sharing platform. It is based on duplex BT communication right now and might extend to cover other wireless communication means in the future. The HiByLink will connect your N3 DAP with the HiByMusic App on an Android mobile device (iOS device will be supported in the future) and your music resources will be shared with the HiByMusic App, the latter will read the file, manipulated the content, and control (feedback) the N3 operation. It can even offer user operations that are not originally available on the N3 DAP.
Saying the HiByLink has revolutionized the user experience of N3 is a bold claim but I am sure you’ll agree with this after you tried out the new firmware and HiByMusic App in pair. Just to name a few, gone completely was the issue of clicking the wrong capacitive button, and the up/down, left/right, next/pre controls are a lot more intuitive. You can browse through long lists of folders or music files at ease, and even create playlists on the big screen of your mobile phone. The best part is that you can perform all these while the N3 stays in your backpack/pocket or having the N3 connected to your home Entertainment system and you are relaxing at your sofa 3 meters away.
New Functions and System Optimization
- Incorporate HiByLink* to connect with HiByMusic App.
- Increase file limit of Music Library from 12,000 titles to 20,000 titles
- Improve the quality of Bluetooth output by reducing distortion that happens occasionally
- Rectify the S/PDIF distortion or output error under specific operation sequence
- Improve the Bluetooth connection stability with Apple MAC systems. We recommend users to start playback AFTER Bluetooth paring is completed.
- Update French User Interface
- Optimize the battery reading accuracy at specific operation sequence after the battery is fully charged
- HiByLink is only available in Android environment right now, the iOS version is under development.
- When HiByLink is turned on, it will occupied the BT connection, N3 cannot function as wireless Bluetooth DAC at the same time.
Cayin N3 Firmware Upgrade
- Each version of firmware might contain minor different, consumer please decide on your own accord whether you need to update the firmware of your N3 DAP.
- Under normal circumstances, firmware upgrade will not cause any damage to user information, but Cayin cannot exclude the possibility of upgrade failure due to mal-operation or any other reason. For these reasons, you might be required to format your N3 DAP and result in losing person data stored on the player. We strongly suggest you backup all your personal data stored on the player before you perform firmware upgrade.
- The N3 firmware cannot be used in other product, and the firmware from other product cannot be used in N3
- For safety reason, please make sure the N3 DAP has not less than 50% battery power before you proceed, otherwise please charge up the player before you upgrade the firmware
- Download the latest firmware from Cayin website (www.cayin.cn). Decompress and copy the N3 firmware file (update.upt) into the root directory of a TF card.
- Insert the TF card into the N3 DAP and complete your firmware upgrade with either one of the following steps:
- While N3 has been turned on, select “System Setup” and scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, select “System Update”, the system will complete the upgrade process automatically, and reboot the player after update is completed.
- While N3 has been turned off, hold the round physical “Enter” button, and then hold the “Power on/off” button, the system start the firmware upgrade process and will complete the process automatically. It will reboot the player after update is completed.
- While N3 has been turned on, select “System Setup” and scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, select “System Update”, the system will complete the upgrade process automatically, and reboot the player after update is completed.
When the upgrade is completed, you can verify the current firmware version number by selecting “System Setting” menu, under “About the Player and storage information” option, check out the “Firmware Version” detail.
Attention
- Do not operate the machine during firmware upgrade
- Please delete/remove the firmware file from the TF card after firmware upgrade
- Please update your Music Library after firmware upgrade
1. Update your N3 to the latest v2.0 firmware. You can verify the firmware version from System setting -> About the Player
2. Turn on the Bluetooth of N3 and you can see the new HiByLink option; turn this on and set apt-X to On as well.
3. Copy HibyMusic Android application package (HibyMusic_3.0.0_build_5313_Beta) to your Android mobile phone and install the app; You probably need to enable the phone to “allow installation of apps from sources other than Google Play Store” under Security menu
4. Start up the HiBy Music App, tap the HiByLink icon, and turn on HiByLink; the system will pop up a window to seek your approval to set the Bluetooth to broadcast mode. Make sure you have turned on the Bluetooth of both N3 and your mobile phone now. Click “Search for devices” to locate your DAP, and the system should display your N3 DAP as an available device, you can now select N3 to proceed.
5. After you select your device, the HiByMusic App will display a pairing notification. The N3 will NOT display any passkey. We recommend you to setup the connection from the HiByMusic App, so please select the “Pair” option. N3 will now be displayed as a “currently paired” device.
6. You can now leave the HiByLink page and go back to the music playback interface by pressing the Music Note icon. From now on, all display and control on the HiBy Music App will pertain to / be directed to the remote device (i.e., your N3 DAP). We recommend you to scan your music before you move on. While the music files will be sorted into Title/Album/Artist/Genre, the album art from the remote device cannot be displayed in thumbnail views; they can however be displayed on the playback screen.
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Just in case you have not noticed, we have created our Facebook account this week, still kind of under construction, we'll add more details gradually. If you are a Facebook users, please don't hesitate to add us to your list. 
https://www.facebook.com/CayinAudio/
https://www.facebook.com/CayinAudio/
Nice one @Andykong. Look forward to testing HiByLink. Any idea when the iOS version will launch? If we install Firmware 2.0 will it work with the iOS version as soon as it launches or will you issue updated firmware support for iOS?
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