[alan_g]

no its set to usb

 

[fourrobert13]

no its set to usb

I had this problem. I had to get a new cable because the Cayin cable is garbage. I bought an Anker cable and the problem was solved (although BS that I had to buy a new cable).

 

[lisq199]

I can say with confident that N3 is the quietest DAP in Cayin line up so far, and the background noise of N3 is among the best when consider its output and driving power.

We can't just look at the background noise issue without considering the output different. Let's compare the rated output of iphone (@33ohm) and N3 (@32ohm)
iphone 6 = 26.39 mW,
N3 = 130mW+130mW
Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8554/the-iphone-6-review/11

So the N3 is pumping out around 500% (rated) output when compare to a mobile phone, to control the final (total) noise output at the same level, the N3 will have to lower the noise floor by 80% to start with.

This is just a simplified illustration, there can be different aspects to look at the same issue, for example we can look at the signal processing path of amplification design, the N3 will go through voltage amplification and then current amplification, but most if not all mobile phone will not have any "amplification" inside the phone as most likely it will be a direct output form the DAC chipset.

So comparing the background noise of a mobile phone against a high power DAP is not really a fair game. Cayin has tried our best to keep the background noise down to a level that it won't affect music listening, but the noise is still there, if you are sensitive to the background noise (trust me, some ears are more sensitive than others on hissing) or you try to look for it deliberately, the noise is there. Fortunately we didn't receive a lot of complain on the background noise so far (200+ pages) so we assume the noise issue is at acceptable level to most users.

I understand the frustration on background noise because I was an addict on noise detection when I start this hobby, I even bought a Westone W1 IEM (122dB/mW) as noise detector to challenge DAP and headphone amplifiers, but over the years, I start to "undo" my attention to the hissing and it works gradually. When I don't deliberately look for it, I don't hear it even with my noise detector IEM. Let's hope the issue is getting better to you down the road.

Thanks for your reply, but I'm not sure if I completely agree.
1. I do acknowledge that it's a lot harder to reduce background noise if the output power is high, but I also own a FiiO X5 2nd gen (245 mW), and it has an almost completely dark background, so I don't think higher output power is a valid excuse for background noise.
2. Since I exclusively use IEMs and exclusively listen to classical/acoustic music, I don't think I'm just being anal about the background noise. To be fair, the hiss is not noticeable at all when the music is loud, but it does get annoying with things like solos and string quartets, and I rarely deliberately look for the background noise.

In the end, I still think Cayin N3 is a nice little DAP. I actually prefer its sound signature over the FiiO X5 2nd gen, but because of the background noise issue, I don't think it should be used with sensitive IEMs.

 

[Slater]

my n3 has suddenly stop showing up as a drive on my mac and is only charging via usb.

Have you tried a different cable?

 

[gLer]

no its set to usb

Get a new cable. The Cayin cable is hit and miss.

 

[Andykong]

At some point in the future will the N3 be able to recognise audible files (.AAX I think)? Would make it the perfect DAP for exercising then!

We don't have this in our plan because currently Audible does not support Linux. Unless Audible or Amazon provide a Linux solution, we can' take up this format.

 

[Andykong]

Headphone Sound Quality

The HM 601 as the best for me, most natural timbre, excellent weight to the sound, most expansive imaging, great dynamics and macro detail. It glossed over some of the micro detail up top, the neat little background noises, though it did an amazing job with transients! Pretty good given the price, NOT on par with the Geek Out v2+ but for $125 pretty darn good!

The N3 on the Short Delay Filter was second best, brighter, more micro detail and less resolving of transients, amazing dynamics but it lacked impact and weight, often a little thin, but very fast, pulled out textures that the Hm601 often smooths, which some times against the N3 sometimes works with it

UCA 202's headphone out is terrible... very soft, REALLY deep but very cramped

Line Out Quality

The UCA 202 and HM 601 where excellent, the UCA 202 had a deeper wider more precise image overall but was still a little soft where as the 601 kept it's amazing timbre and weight with the sound stage opening up a little more, it lacked a little depth an precision compared to the UCA 202

N3 line out is a big improvement! Not as thin, better transient resolve, and better precision in imaging, but still thin sounding compared to the other 2 and not as expansive as either

Headphone Power Output

UCA 202 is appalling, hm601 isn't as impressive beside the N3, the N3 has 3 gain options and has the most power overall! I was surprised

User Interface

All HAIL ROCKBOX, seriously though I love it, it's faster than the N3 UI and has more options, The N3's button configuration is easy enough to figure out, but I still find my self accidentally hitting back when I want to scroll down, vs the more Caveman layout of the hm601

Function
N3 really surprised me here! The blutooth dac connectivity is a little noisy, but it's a good convenience. For what it's worth the N3 sounds better than the onBoard output of my LG V20... but I liked how many connectivity options the N3 offers, it's a Digital Jack of all Trades! The UCA 202 on the other hand is more of an analog jack of all, and the HM 601 has caveman level functionality... it play music, it not play music, it play music into amp, and that's it...

Battery Life
I charge my HM 601 like once every 2-3 weeks. An I get around 30 hours of playback time! The N3 I charged every 2 days and got maybe 8-9 hours tops...


Ultimately, for now the N3 and HM601 both have my recommendation, more so the Cayin N3 seeing as finding a Rock Boxed hm601 is going to be difficult, where as with Cayin we get amazing customer service and a warranty. The HM 601 isn't really a practical recommendation, though pair'd with Rockbox it's a tough combo to beat for just a super basic digital audio player, but I was really excited to have had a chance to listen to the N3! I love the digital filters, and all the awesome functionality it offers.

An it averaged an overall score of 92, vs the Hm601 at 91, so I'm really impressed with the N3. I'm looking forward to hopefully hearing some of Cayin's nicer offerings in the future

Thanks sincerely for your detail analysis of your impression. We have a lot of Q&A in this thread, but in-depth sharing of listening impression is kind of lacking. Cayin values sincere and honest opinion towards our products, so when Mshenay said HM601 outperformed N3 in his impression, we know he is speaking his preference honestly, he knows what he likes and Cayin has offers highest level of freedom to our tour reviewer.

The bar chart comparison is something new, we don't see that very often in HeadFi impression, it works effectively for me, much faster then going through several paragraph of description and I can grasp the pro and con immediately, very clever (and attention to detail) indeed.

So you have tested the line out but not the digital out of N3? We have faced a lot of limitations when we design the line out circuit and have given the priority to the dual digital out design. Let's see if other reviewer will spot this out and cover our digital out features in more detail.

It would be even better if you can pose a picture of UCA 202, HM 601 and N3 along side each other, this will help reader to visualize the comparison you have conducted. Might now sound very logical but this really help in my experience.

 

[Andykong]

whats the point of the line out then?... if it pass through the same road than the phone out (and not directly from the dac, as it should be) whats the point of having a line out? I feel quite disappointed of this. I mean, I love my N3, but now I will never use the line out.

Please give it a try. It is not as bad as one can imagine from the description. In fact @Mshenay has involved the Line out of N3 in his impression and the result is not bad at tall.

The important part is whether the line out of N3 is clean enough to serve as a source for your downstream equipment. We have done a lot of test and calibration before we finalized on the current setting. At 1V, the line out from N3 might be a bit low (standard is 2V), but we have make sure the signal is very clean at this output level, it is definitely usable.

 

[Detectit]

Been through a weekend of listening with the Cayin N3. And i am very satisfied of this little baby.

Navigating through the menu's needs a little "practice" as the keys are very close to each other.

To the developers @Cayin would it be an idea to map the round button on "what's playing now"?
So even when you were in a settings or folder menu and pushed the display off button.
Push the round button and you will enter the "now playing" screen.
Now it's just an alternative "on" button.

Dont know how other think about it? Looks convenient to me.

 

[velasfloyd]

Please give it a try. It is not as bad as one can imagine from the description. In fact @Mshenay has involved the Line out of N3 in his impression and the result is bad at tall.

The important part is whether the line out of N3 is clean enough to serve as a source for your downstream equipment. We have done a lot of test and calibration before we finalized on the current setting. At 1V, the line out from N3 might be a bit low (standard is 2V), but we have make sure the signal is very clean at this output level, it is definitely usable.

thanks for the answer,
ok! I will give it a try!...

 

[leobigfield]

Is it/will it be possible to answer calls through the N3 when the Hiby Link is being used to connect the cellphone to the player? That would be a nice feature if you are using a IEM with mic in the N3 and don't want to take the phone out from your pocket to answer it.

 

[DBaldock9]

Is it/will it be possible to answer calls through the N3 when the Hiby Link is being used to connect the cellphone to the player? That would be a nice feature if you are using a IEM with mic in the N3 and don't want to take the phone out from your pocket to answer it.

I doubt it, since the N3 doesn't have a 3.5mm TRRS jack, with an ADC channel for a Mic input.

 

[riffrafff]

I doubt it, since the N3 doesn't have a 3.5mm TRRS jack, with an ADC channel for a Mic input.

It doesn't have a TRRS jack? How does the N3 "support CITA standard headphones" (quote from the Cayin web page)?

 

[Makiah S]

Forgive the video, it's been a while and my verbiage is a little rough. An I'm not as hands one as I could have been, I ultimately need inlay pictures of the device in between the periods of time when I'm not hands on, either way I do love our mass consumers!

Also new chart with a Total,

Spoiler: New Chart

@Andykong

Time constraints restricted me from running it as a USB dac, how ever the Line Out performed well. Having a dedicated amp to run it isn't something I've seen before, but it still functioned as intended. The clarity and amazing dynamics of the inherent AK dac chip are improved upon when I feed it line out into my PicoPower

 

[Detectit]

Need some advice.

I saw a nice used Schiit Lyr amp. When i look on the Cayin website i see the possibility to stack on a DAC/Amp which looks a bit if it needs a separate DAC.??

My initial question can i use the N3 with 3.5 to RCA on the line in on the Lyr.... Or is it underrated for that amp? Do i need a better DAC?