[BetterLate]

When I first read your suggestion I thought "NO NO I love the Cyan." After sending it back this afternoon, I already missed it after returning home. I wanted to order another cyan one right away so it would be here Monday. I managed to restrain myself and after having the evening think it over, I do feel more comfortable ordering the red so that I know that it will be from a different production batch. I also decided that I could love the red just as much, so I have just ordered the red to arrive on Tuesday.



I didn't have enough time left in my return window to try that but I am definitely interested in the custom firmware. I plan to put it on the new player soon... once I know everything is working correctly. I just need to find the posts that tell me where to get it.

LOL. I wasn't assigning special powers to the red, just a time marker for when I purchased. I do like the red, though, and have had no issues with it. You are right, you will know it is a different batch

 

[mbwilson111]

LOL. I wasn't assigning special powers to the red, just a time marker for when I purchased. I do like the red, though, and have had no issues with it. You are right, you will know it is a different batch

When the red first became available it seems some of you guys were assigning special powers to it! Anyway, like you said, I will know it is from a different batch. I hope I like the shade of red that they used for the silicone case. I know some do not like the silicone but I like that is it easy to keep clean.

I think that the N3 is nearly perfect. I do wish the font was not so small and sometimes I wish there were real buttons instead of the touch "buttons."

 

[BetterLate]

When the red first became available it seems some of you guys were assigning special powers to it! Anyway, like you said, I will know it is from a different batch. I hope I like the shade of red that they used for the silicone case. I know some do not like the silicone but I like that is it easy to keep clean.

I think that the N3 is nearly perfect. I do wish the font was not so small and sometimes I wish there were real buttons instead of the touch "buttons."

Silicon case is a hideous almost-orange. The N3 is between brick and candy apple

 

[mbwilson111]

Silicon case is a hideous almost-orange. The N3 is between brick and candy apple

uh oh...

The cyan case does not match the player either but it is a very nice shade of blue. I guess I will have to learn to love hideous almost-orange. It is a good thing you do not see much of the color of the player when it is in the case so it won't clash too badly.

 

[Andykong]

uh oh...

The cyan case does not match the player either but it is a very nice shade of blue. I guess I will have to learn to love hideous almost-orange. It is a good thing you do not see much of the color of the player when it is in the case so it won't clash too badly.

The N3 Cyan and Red are both metallic color, we can't reproduce the shade on a plastic material, that's why the color of the silicon cover is slightly different from the player itself.

Since you have the blue silicon cover right now, I has snapped a photo of all five silicon cover with the red and blue placed adjacent to each other, you should be able to "visualize" the shade of red by comparing the blue silicon case on the photo against the real one you are using right now.

 

[Andykong]

Thank you both for your answers

@CayinSupport :1. I use the music library category, therefore i don't make use of the folder view / folder playback. Everything i have on my N3 is in MP3, and 99% in 320 kbit/s and 44.1 khz.
All of the albums i listen to are in an uniform format, so nothing differs from each other in each respectable album formatwise.
I don't use DSD or even FLAC / any other format due to space limitations (128 GB Micro SD, ca. 6700 songs). Also, i have the N3 set to MdB since i mostly use it with my Philips SHP9500.

As for the "pop" itself: It really is the most notable when listening to songs with perfect transition, i.e. every song from The Dark Side of the Moon flows into each other.
Because the gapless is not perfect, it causes a tiny popping sound between songs, if there is a direct transition.
If there is a bit silence between songs (about 1 sec or more), then a pop won't be audible. However, since i mostly listen to albums, which are meant to be listened to gapless,
it can be a bit disappointing.
For example: When using Foobar2000 on my PC or Smartphone the gapless is really perfect, no matter if it is in 320 kbit MP3 or FLAC or any other Hi-Res format.


2. @Andykong @CayinSupport : These are photos of the album art in the Artist category of the Sony NWZ-A15. I hope they are self-explanatory but if you'd like me to go into
greater detail i will of course do that. The photos are in "chronological" click-order (so to say), so that you can get a good impression. Since i only have the onboard 16 GB from the player itself,
i only put two artists on the Sony for example purposes.
Overall, i find this menu organisation to be more visually pleasing and intuitive. Soundwise, the Sony can't compete.

From what I observed, the A15 does not dispaly any album art thumbnail at the artist page, you have to select a particular artist and hit the album list in order to display the album art thumbnail alongside each album, is that what happens with the Sony DAP?

 

[Andykong]

Pinky has put up his review, at long last!

The Universe on the Head of a Needle – A Review of the Cayin N3
​

Thanks for the review, I know you'll like it, I hope N3 will hold it place in your entry level DAP benchmark for a while.

 

[theframe]

From what I observed, the A15 does not dispaly any album art thumbnail at the artist page, you have to select a particular artist and hit the album list in order to display the album art thumbnail alongside each album, is that what happens with the Sony DAP?

Exactly ! Although it is a small thing, it does in my opinion ease navigation quite a bit since i (and i think most people in general) prefer to look at pictures instead of words. Sometimes just viewing the album name takes a little bit of mental effort for me to actually attribute the album name to the album art i have in my head.

Would be frickin' amazing of you if you could implement this into the next FW update. This would would elevate the already good user experience even further ☺.

 

[Andykong]

Exactly ! Although it is a small thing, it does in my opinion ease navigation quite a bit since i (and i think most people in general) prefer to look at pictures instead of words. Sometimes just viewing the album name takes a little bit of mental effort for me to actually attribute the album name to the album art i have in my head.

Would be frickin' amazing of you if you could implement this into the next FW update. This would would elevate the already good user experience even further ☺.

I believe the N3 screen is a bit too small for similar UI design. To accommodate an album art in this page. we need to increase the row height significantly. The Sony DAP has a much longer screen to start with, but it can only display 6 album entries in this page, if we were to implement similar design on N3, we probably need to change the current 8 rows design to maximum 5 rows. Please understand that we cannot just change the second level of Artist Category without affecting other screens, once we change a layout, we need to conform other UI design to maintain a systematic "family" design, so to the lease, we need to change all the row height of the Music Category section, this will significantly increase the number of "pages" that other users might need to go through before they find their song.

 

[theframe]

I believe the N3 screen is a bit too small for similar UI design. To accommodate an album art in this page. we need to increase the row height significantly. The Sony DAP has a much longer screen to start with, but it can only display 6 album entries in this page, if we were to implement similar design on N3, we probably need to change the current 8 rows design to maximum 5 rows. Please understand that we cannot just change the second level of Artist Category without affecting other screens, once we change a layout, we need to conform other UI design to maintain a systematic "family" design, so to the lease, we need to change all the row height of the Music Category section, this will significantly increase the number of "pages" that other users might need to go through before they find their song.

Hmm that's unfortunate.
Actually, the screen size of the Sony NWZ A15 (2,2") is actually smaller than the N3 (2,4"). Even the display resolution is less (320x240 vs 400x360).
I guess the biggest difference is the screen format, in that the Sony is a bit more "widescreen-ish" than the N3.

However, if it affects the UI too much i guess it can't be helped.
Maybe you can add it as a function, that can be turned on or off in the settings?
Nevertheless, thank you for your support

 

[goody]

guys what OTG cable do you recommend for amp connection...Also i am on version 1.2 do you guys recommend i upgrade the firmware separately ? the latest is 2.1

 

[gearofwar]

I'm curious, what is the best firmware with the best sound? i'm looking for balance , no harsh or splashy treble. Thanks

 

[fourrobert13]

I haven't noticed any changes in sound with any of the firmware updates I've been a part of. The N3 is pretty smooth and not harsh at all IMO.

 

[fourrobert13]

guys what OTG cable do you recommend for amp connection...Also i am on version 1.2 do you guys recommend i upgrade the firmware separately ? the latest is 2.1

I'd go ahead and upgrade to 2.1. No reason not to. As far as cables are concerned, it depends on how you are connecting your amp. Do you plan to use the line out or digital out of the N3?

 

[goody]

I'd go ahead and upgrade to 2.1. No reason not to. As far as cables are concerned, it depends on how you are connecting your amp. Do you plan to use the line out or digital out of the N3?

digital out