Cayin N3 Hi-Res DAP with AKM4490 DAC, apt-X Bluetooth, and Line, USB & Coax Out for $150

[Mr Trev]

Ah, that is not good indeed. Sounds like a PCM decoding error somewhere along the chain. Has to be in the communication between the device and the PC, as internal playback is perfect. Who knew USB interfaces could be so fickle!? Luckily I don't need to use the N3 as a dac, else I'd be fuming.

Indeed, I wasn't too thrilled. Even less so when I found out the M2s does the exact same thing

 

[Wiljen]

I think the Cayin and the M2s use the same chip for USB functions, I'll try and confirm that but if true, it probably points to an issue either in the chip or the drivers for it.

 

[chellity]

It's a pity that even with the latest FW and USB drivers the N3 still can't work properly as a DAC for me (Win7)...I still get the annoying "vinyl pops" effect after a few minutes playing.
Has any work been done on this issue, mentionned a good while back to support?

Disabling HPET ended my audio sync issues...and windows or firmware update also had ended my popping issues I had for the longest time. my cayin n3 DAC now works perfectly, even with my modern laptop that had the same popping issues before.

Since you are windows 7 still, I would not be surprised if that was part of the issue. I had major popping forever...but one day, it was fixed on both of my computers as things were updated. You should try disabling HPET and seeing if it changes anything.

 

[Andykong]

@Andykong @CayinSupport
Are you aware of something new since firmware 2.2 to prevent custom firmware, a new way to sign the firmware or something ?

I was trying to repack gLer's modifications, I have a method (using Linux) that worked perfectly with firmware 2.1 and previous, but that fails with 2.2 and the new 3.0 (the flashing starts but stops immediately with "No update file" message) even without any change to the files (so it's not something we introduced with the modifications). For now I don't understand what could have change (there's of course a MD5 checksum as before, that I have updated but I don't see anything else).
Thanks.

@all
I don't have a Windows box available, could someone try to unpack and repack firmware 2.1 (that should work) and 2.2 or 3.0 (if it's the same result as me, that won't work) and test with the tools given by Shanling : https://www.head-fi.org/threads/shanling-daps-user-theme.866314/ please ?
There's no risk, at worse the flashing stops and you're back to your previous firmware.

Thanks @Olorin17 I've also emailed Cayin directly and asked them. Guys, as Olorin17 says, we need some help trying to figure it out. An all-new custom firmware 2.2/3.0 is ready and awaits your N3's, but we need some love from Cayin or another Linux/Windows guru to help. PM me or Olorin17 if you'd prefer to keep it private.

I did not aware of any new coding that we have implemented to prevent custom firmware, we have no intention to stop customers from doing what they preferred on their device, including customization of any form, officially we just request the customer to restore their device back to factory firmware before submit the device for after-sales support.

I'll notify our team and look into the problem after our Chinese New Year break. We are just a few day before the biggest national holiday in China and we are still working on the N5ii firmware right now, making sure everyone has a New Year treat before we take a break. Will keep the forum informed when I have update on this issue.

 

[Andykong]

It's a pity that even with the latest FW and USB drivers the N3 still can't work properly as a DAC for me (Win7)...I still get the annoying "vinyl pops" effect after a few minutes playing.
Has any work been done on this issue, mentionned a good while back to support?

I had the same problem with the N3 I had. Ended up getting a M2s in exchange and it does the exact same thing. Shanling has been able to reproduce the problem, but it only occurs on certain computers and they still haven't been able to figure out what the issue is. I did find out that if I upsample everything to DSD then the M2s will play without issue (using DAPhile as my source). Never had a chance to try this when I had the N3, but maybe you can give it a go and see if that helps you too

Disabling HPET ended my audio sync issues...and windows or firmware update also had ended my popping issues I had for the longest time. my cayin n3 DAC now works perfectly, even with my modern laptop that had the same popping issues before.

Since you are windows 7 still, I would not be surprised if that was part of the issue. I had major popping forever...but one day, it was fixed on both of my computers as things were updated. You should try disabling HPET and seeing if it changes anything.

We have tested N3 with Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 for USB DAC and it work alright, We have had some problem with certain Windows 10 systems, so I don't believe it is related to Windows 7 specially.

We have received several reports that exhibit similar problem, but the reports are not specifically targeted at Windows 7 specifically. We have not been able to replicate the problem in our Windows 7/8.1/10 setups, so we can't proceed further in our investigation. We can try to enable HPET (High Precision Event Timer) in our testing PC later to see if this will cause any problem with our USB Audio Driver, but if this is the real cause of the issue, that would suggest the problem is related to compatibility with BIOS of certain motherboard, which can explain why we can't replicate the problem at our lab.

Again, we can't do this in next few days, so please pardon us for taking a bit longer to come back with more updates.

 

[gLer]

I did not aware of any new coding that we have implemented to prevent custom firmware, we have no intention to stop customers from doing what they preferred on their device, including customization of any form, officially we just request the customer to restore their device back to factory firmware before submit the device for after-sales support.

I'll notify our team and look into the problem after our Chinese New Year break. We are just a few day before the biggest national holiday in China and we are still working on the N5ii firmware right now, making sure everyone has a New Year treat before we take a break. Will keep the forum informed when I have update on this issue.

Hi Andy - not an issue - we got it to work! Stay tuned guys, nice surprise coming up...

 

[gLer]

THE WAIT IS OVER... INTRODUCING CAYIN CUSTOM FIRMWARE 3.0!

Thanks to everyone who's been using and enjoying Custom Firmware 2.1. Having just completed the new theme and tweaks for Custom Firmware 2.2 a few days ago, Cayin surprised us all with v3.0, and so we jumped straight to the new version, with full support for HiByLink and power saving features.

If you're new to N3 Custom Firmware, fixes include:

• All-new startup and shutdown animations.
• All-new simplified, cleaner-looker themes.
• Fixes to English interface grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Slimming down of unnecessary resource files.

New to Custom Firmware 3.0:

• Further fixes and tweaks to interface text
• All-new 'Sexy' theme (WARNING: this theme is definitely NOT safe for work, or kids, or wives...).
• Full support for all the latest N3 features introduced in firmware 2.2 and 3.0.

You can download Custom Firmware 3.0 here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5rhnitoqulc0wjg/update.upt?dl=0

Big shout out to @captblaze for his patient and helpful support in unpacking and repacking the theme through dozens of versions and adjustments until it was *just right*. Also a big thank you to @Olorin17 for his offer to take over the technical stuff once Vortex left the project, and for his continued support. Without these guys, and your ongoing encouragement, none of this would have been possible.

Thanks also to @Andykong and @CayinSupport for their continued presence and help on this site. We know that custom firmware is out of your sphere of influence, but thank you for creating such a great product in the N3 that allows us to express our creativity while enjoying some of the best portable sound around.

As always, remember to flash your N3 back to official firmware should you need to send it back for repair. Also remember to delete any existing update.upt files on your TF card before updating with the new firmware.

Enjoy, and look forward to continued discussions and feedback on this forum.

gLer

 

[kendosperling]

Installed and working will test the next days...thanks for the great effort.

 

[fntms]

We have tested N3 with Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 for USB DAC and it work alright, We have had some problem with certain Windows 10 systems, so I don't believe it is related to Windows 7 specially.

We have received several reports that exhibit similar problem, but the reports are not specifically targeted at Windows 7 specifically. We have not been able to replicate the problem in our Windows 7/8.1/10 setups, so we can't proceed further in our investigation. We can try to enable HPET (High Precision Event Timer) in our testing PC later to see if this will cause any problem with our USB Audio Driver, but if this is the real cause of the issue, that would suggest the problem is related to compatibility with BIOS of certain motherboard, which can explain why we can't replicate the problem at our lab.

Again, we can't do this in next few days, so please pardon us for taking a bit longer to come back with more updates.

OK, still getting pops (not at tracks changes, which I could live with, but during playback, which I can't) after enabling / disabling HPET...all win updates have been made.
It's a standard Dell MB, nothing too fancy I suppose.

 

[Andykong]

OK, still getting pops (not at tracks changes, which I could live with, but during playback, which I can't) after enabling / disabling HPET...all win updates have been made.
It's a standard Dell MB, nothing too fancy I suppose.

Apparently this is a machine dependent situation, majority users don't have the pop problem, and some can solve the problem by disabling the HPET, but in your case, you are having the pop noise in regardless of HPET setting.

This is the difficult part of solving the problem. We can't pin-point the cause of the issue, and we can't replicate it under specific procedures, and we don't have enough cases to establish a pattern to conduct investigation.

 

[riffrafff]

THE WAIT IS OVER... INTRODUCING CAYIN CUSTOM FIRMWARE 3.0!

Thanks to everyone who's been using and enjoying Custom Firmware 2.1. Having just completed the new theme and tweaks for Custom Firmware 2.2 a few days ago, Cayin surprised us all with v3.0, and so we jumped straight to the new version, with full support for HiByLink and power saving features.

If you're new to N3 Custom Firmware, fixes include:

• All-new startup and shutdown animations.
• All-new simplified, cleaner-looker themes.
• Fixes to English interface grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Slimming down of unnecessary resource files.

New to Custom Firmware 3.0:

• Further fixes and tweaks to interface text
• All-new 'Sexy' theme (WARNING: this theme is definitely NOT safe for work, or kids, or wives...).
• Full support for all the latest N3 features introduced in firmware 2.2 and 3.0.

You can download Custom Firmware 3.0 here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5rhnitoqulc0wjg/update.upt?dl=0

Big shout out to @captblaze for his patient and helpful support in unpacking and repacking the theme through dozens of versions and adjustments until it was *just right*. Also a big thank you to @Olorin17 for his offer to take over the technical stuff once Vortex left the project, and for his continued support. Without these guys, and your ongoing encouragement, none of this would have been possible.

Thanks also to @Andykong and @CayinSupport for their continued presence and help on this site. We know that custom firmware is out of your sphere of influence, but thank you for creating such a great product in the N3 that allows us to express our creativity while enjoying some of the best portable sound around.

As always, remember to flash your N3 back to official firmware should you need to send it back for repair. Also remember to delete any existing update.upt files on your TF card before updating with the new firmware.

Enjoy, and look forward to continued discussions and feedback on this forum.

gLer

Very cool. My thanks to everyone involved!

 

[DBaldock9]

OK, still getting pops (not at tracks changes, which I could live with, but during playback, which I can't) after enabling / disabling HPET...all win updates have been made.
It's a standard Dell MB, nothing too fancy I suppose.

Did you change the Windows setting, as well as the BIOS setting?

Quote from - https://www.ghacks.net/2013/04/18/try-changing-hpet-settings-to-improve-your-pcs-performance/

Try changing HPET settings to improve your PC's performance
by Martin Brinkmann on April 18, 2013 in Windows - Last Update: April 18, 2013 - 16 comments
The High Precision Event Timer (HPET) is a hardware timer that has been developed by Intel and Microsoft and used in PC chipsets for nearly a decade. Different timers may be used depending on which operating system you have installed on your PC, and tweaking the timers may improve the overall performance of your PC as a result. This is mostly useful for gaming related activities and other real-time activities that tax the system a lot.

The first thing that you need to find out is if HPET is supported by your system. You need to go into the BIOS or UEFI setup during boot to find out. Since there are that many different versions out there it is hard to say where you will find the setting on your system. I found the setting under Advanced Mode > Advanced > PCH Configuration > High Precision Timer.

Enabling or disabling the timer in BIOS is only one part of the change that you have to make though. Windows may use different timers as said earlier even if the HPET timer is enabled in the BIOS.

You need to run the following commands on the command line in Windows to enable or disable the exclusive use of the HPET timer.

• Tap on the Windows-key, enter cmd, right-click cmd.exe in the results listing and select to run the command prompt with administrative privileges.
• To enable HPET as the only timer run the command bcdedit /set useplatformclock true
• To disable HPET in Windows run the command bcdedit /deletevalue useplatformclock

 

[Ad123]

Never got them to pair, only using via 3.5mm cable.
Chatted with Cayin support and the response was that they were not supported, but if they did pair and connect that then I shouldn't have any troubles connecting after that. Sadly that never worked.

Tempted by the N5II and am hoping that the BT works on that model.

So i have 2 cayin n3.
I try update firmware to v3.0

One using official cayin @CayinSupport
One using custom by gLer @gLer

The interesting part is.
with custom v3.0 by gLer i can paired with pxc550 sennheiser after two timez connection failed (surprised me here).

After gym going home and try the other one
With official v3.0 cayin but sadly cant paired with pxc550 sennheiser.

So good news and weird news here
Because i tought the gLer version is for faster ui and custom here and there.
But Bluetooth connectivity compatibility is new, i guess.

Update:
Try with official firmware with almost same procedure.

Try connect to pxc failed 3 to 4 time
Connect to other phone with failed paired on purpose
Paired again to pxc still failed

Maybe if i try again it will paired (same version 3.0 with custom) , but because i know my other one with custom firmware can paired with that scheme, i change the official to gLer custom v3.0

And after another failed and confuse why this one cant paired even with custom version ......

Try again with
Failed on purpose.
I get n3 close to BT receiver on pxc550 (right side) and little nudge with cayin (with sillicone of course)
VIOLA it paired. Thx GOD and gLer ;D
Maybe can help other user.

Just for info, n3 can play via BT aptx to other aptx receiver also controled by hiby at same time (iphone or other non aptx support or because the music library in cayin n3).

 

[groucho69]

THE WAIT IS OVER... INTRODUCING CAYIN CUSTOM FIRMWARE 3.0!

Thanks to everyone who's been using and enjoying Custom Firmware 2.1. Having just completed the new theme and tweaks for Custom Firmware 2.2 a few days ago, Cayin surprised us all with v3.0, and so we jumped straight to the new version, with full support for HiByLink and power saving features.

If you're new to N3 Custom Firmware, fixes include:

• All-new startup and shutdown animations.
• All-new simplified, cleaner-looker themes.
• Fixes to English interface grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Slimming down of unnecessary resource files.

New to Custom Firmware 3.0:

• Further fixes and tweaks to interface text
• All-new 'Sexy' theme (WARNING: this theme is definitely NOT safe for work, or kids, or wives...).
• Full support for all the latest N3 features introduced in firmware 2.2 and 3.0.

You can download Custom Firmware 3.0 here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5rhnitoqulc0wjg/update.upt?dl=0

Big shout out to @captblaze for his patient and helpful support in unpacking and repacking the theme through dozens of versions and adjustments until it was *just right*. Also a big thank you to @Olorin17 for his offer to take over the technical stuff once Vortex left the project, and for his continued support. Without these guys, and your ongoing encouragement, none of this would have been possible.

Thanks also to @Andykong and @CayinSupport for their continued presence and help on this site. We know that custom firmware is out of your sphere of influence, but thank you for creating such a great product in the N3 that allows us to express our creativity while enjoying some of the best portable sound around.

As always, remember to flash your N3 back to official firmware should you need to send it back for repair. Also remember to delete any existing update.upt files on your TF card before updating with the new firmware.

Enjoy, and look forward to continued discussions and feedback on this forum.

gLer

Once again a winner!!!

 

[Olorin17]

THE WAIT IS OVER... INTRODUCING CAYIN CUSTOM FIRMWARE 3.0!

Thanks to everyone who's been using and enjoying Custom Firmware 2.1. Having just completed the new theme and tweaks for Custom Firmware 2.2 a few days ago, Cayin surprised us all with v3.0, and so we jumped straight to the new version, with full support for HiByLink and power saving features.

If you're new to N3 Custom Firmware, fixes include:

• All-new startup and shutdown animations.
• All-new simplified, cleaner-looker themes.
• Fixes to English interface grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Slimming down of unnecessary resource files.

New to Custom Firmware 3.0:

• Further fixes and tweaks to interface text
• All-new 'Sexy' theme (WARNING: this theme is definitely NOT safe for work, or kids, or wives...).
• Full support for all the latest N3 features introduced in firmware 2.2 and 3.0.

You can download Custom Firmware 3.0 here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5rhnitoqulc0wjg/update.upt?dl=0

Big shout out to @captblaze for his patient and helpful support in unpacking and repacking the theme through dozens of versions and adjustments until it was *just right*. Also a big thank you to @Olorin17 for his offer to take over the technical stuff once Vortex left the project, and for his continued support. Without these guys, and your ongoing encouragement, none of this would have been possible.

Thanks also to @Andykong and @CayinSupport for their continued presence and help on this site. We know that custom firmware is out of your sphere of influence, but thank you for creating such a great product in the N3 that allows us to express our creativity while enjoying some of the best portable sound around.

As always, remember to flash your N3 back to official firmware should you need to send it back for repair. Also remember to delete any existing update.upt files on your TF card before updating with the new firmware.

Enjoy, and look forward to continued discussions and feedback on this forum.

gLer

Thanks for this, looks great as usual.
And thanks to @captblaze for taking over the package part.

I still don't understand why I can't do the packaging anymore on linux with the new firmware, but I'll keep looking.