My Cayin N3 "on-the-go" endgame.
Just thought I'd let people know... as I've had trouble pairing the N3 with a set of headphones for under $200 that I like... Nothing sounded quite right till now. To my ears the ~$70 Sennheiser 4.20s are a nearly perfect match for my taste. (And I am religiously against the idea of taking $400-$600 headphones where they can get stolen.)
Previously the closest I'd been to being happy with the sound was the Zero Audio Carbo Tenore IEM's. I found the high end on the Cayin shrill and nearly untamable and/or "boxy" on many things I tried such as the Audio Technica M50X (detailed but harsh), SR5BT (shrill), MSR7BT (boxy AND shrill), JBL E45 and E55 (detailed and tight but dull), V-Moda XS (Overbassy AND shrill simultaneously on the N3.) The Carbo Tenore IEM's were mostly ok on many well recorded albums but were not nearly as "forgiving" of sibilance as these Sennheisers.
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-4-20s-Around-Headphones/dp/B01K4N1PZ6
I didn't realize it at first but they fold. They have a phone button (push once to answer/hangup, push twice to track forward and 3 times to track backwards.) It's damn near weightless for a (supposedly) over-ear headphone but... it does not feel like one. It feels amazingly near weightless and pressure-less on my head and actually stays there. I'd seriously need to be TRYING to knock them off my head. I think I could do light jogging with these without issue. The pads are so soft I could sleep sideways with my head resting on a side. It doesn't pivot flat (which I was really looking for) however because its so light and airy either on your head or around your neck it's actually more comfortable than many headphones that do swivel flat. I think that's partially due to the impossibly light (feels like ABS plastic I think) headband and soft pads that just sort of spread naturally around my chin. My V-moda XS's are so very small but have a tendency to feel like a boat anchor due to the heavier metal materials (and when on the neck it drags the fat leather band against your neck.) Most of this isn't noticeable under normal listening conditions but here's the thing... I take walks and weightlift for exercise and I tend to sweat profusely. I have diabetes and I get hot easily. These sit over my ears and make a seal but did not make me hot on a 2.5 mile walk in 75% humidity at 87 degrees. They also did not become "gummy" from sweat. When I went to inspect them afterwards there were a couple of drops. The kind of thing I would expect to happen to something that wasn't actually even touching me in the general vicinity. The most important thing about them though to me is the sound. I actually went through all my custom EQ's on my Cayin as well as on my iPhone (customized for entirely different sets of headphones including my Soundpeats Q16 "True Wireless" <BT 4.2 upgraded version with Comply tips>) It was damn near impossible to make them sound bad with any of those settings. The soundstage is a bit narrow both in terms of depth and width as to be expected with closed backs but for closed backs they were pretty damn good. I'd say the soundstage felt about 10 inches outside but the depth was around 6 inches. However despite that they still let you hear every layer and more particularly important to me... the texture and individual reverb and decay (ambience) of every layer. I don't think I've ever heard headphones this cheap (and especially mobile focused) that can do that. I've also tried them on my PC with a few different external usb sound cards. Straight out of the machine. Even straight out of the front of my computer sounded "surprisingly decent" (but not spectacular either mostly due to lack of volume.) One thing I liked was that even the absolute worst recorded albums I had in FLAC sounded good. (PJ Harvey's "Dry" comes to mind as it is in DIRE need of a remaster.) Up until now I could NOT listen to that album AT ALL on the N3.
Now the bad news.
They have a non-removable cable. However... it's not the WORST cable... and the one in the store that had some wear to it looked pretty straightened from being used. It's about the length of a phone charging cable. This would normally be a deal breaker for me if I hadn't literally just compared it side by side in-store with practically every Sennheiser available up to about $300 (The $400 model beat it... but just barely) That and many of the Sennheisers with removable cables had those insufferable 2.5-to-3.5 proprietary POS's...
But there's a surprise...
Because it's Sennheiser and they make good mics it has a pretty damn good condenser mic considering everything else on the table.
Final words:
If I had to sum up the sound it would be U-shaped but in the most relaxed way possible where the bass sounds huge without having to "slam" and the "copious-but-still-reserved" sparkle doesn't EVER hurt. This isn't something you listen to for accuracy. It's perfumed and dolled up and turned out proper. Gritty detail it is not but I couldn't perceive any particular details lacking on albums I am intimately familiar with over the years. I would though caution anyone who likes horns that this is a very modern sounding headphone so expect them to sound present and detailed ENOUGH but smoothed. You aren't going to be anywhere close to having your head rattled from "all that brass." If I had to sum their general sound in a word it would be "lush."
But I realize that reviewing headphones is such a sordid affair due to people having different ears and opinions and such so... The cool thing however is that these are so cheap and common you can just walk into a store and try them. (Microcenter has them) As I'm sure do many retailers. So I'm just throwing out my personal thoughts. At $70 (sometimes cheaper) they are almost cheap enough just to "buy-to-try" even. Don't consider this a review or a recommendation as much as a heads up. If you've been looking for some cheap light phones that punch above their weight and sound noticeably different from their price bracket competitors check em out. Emphasis on the word "difference" rather than "superiority."
And keep in mind that this is all relevant mainly to people who may have found other headphones too harsh with the Cayin specifically as I have. So far they are the only headphones I've tried with the Cayin N3 that I like on everything. I am sure there are others out there. But I went through many much more expensive ones to arrive here. All I know is I was considering returning (or trading in) the Cayin and trying a Shanling before I found these. If you feel that way at all about the N3 I'd suggest trying these.
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