[DBaldock9]

  Just make the jump and bought the N3 to use with my Mojo. It will replace my beloved Shanling M1 which I really like when combine with Mojo but would like to try the N3 specially with the ''special'' USB C to Coaxial cable. The cable looks really good on picture, just hope now that it is well build and sounds good......actually I'm wondering if it sounds better than the 5$ usb c to micro b otg cable that I use on  my M1 with Mojo!!
 
Anyone test USB vs Coax input on Mojo when feed with DAP? Thanks!

 
There's probably info about using that cable, over on the Cayin i5 thread - http://www.head-fi.org/t/802382/cayin-i5-lossless-android-dap-with-akm4490-dac-supporting-32-384-pcm-64-128-dsd

 

[MPNow]

I was wondering @Andykong, what are the officially supported micro sd cards that work with the N3?

 

[fumanshu]

   
There's probably info about using that cable, over on the Cayin i5 thread - http://www.head-fi.org/t/802382/cayin-i5-lossless-android-dap-with-akm4490-dac-supporting-32-384-pcm-64-128-dsd

thanks a lot for the link for the other thread!! I don't even know that there is another thread where I can get infos!

 

[riffrafff]

  Another thing I noticed is that when in line out, the EQ does NOT work...on the X1, it did. It does make the LO more "pure", but doesn't help when you need the EQ as a notch filter. 

Wow.  That is truly disappointing. While I listen "flat" with cans, when using a DAP as a source in a car stereo, an equalizer is a must for taming the notoriously bad acoustics in a vehicle.  Bummer. 

 

 

[docholliday]

 

Wow.  That is truly disappointing. While I listen "flat" with cans, when using a DAP as a source in a car stereo, an equalizer is a must for taming the notoriously bad acoustics in a vehicle.  Bummer. 

 

 
Yeah, I'm used to using an EQ to level a room, not to enhance music. So my solution with hit-or-miss portable EQs was to quit using them in the car and get a head unit that had a built in EQ and (rear) USB so that I could just put a 256GB USB key permanently attached in the glove box.

 

[MPNow]

   
Yeah, I'm used to using an EQ to level a room, not to enhance music. So my solution with hit-or-miss portable EQs was to quit using them in the car and get a head unit that had a built in EQ and (rear) USB so that I could just put a 256GB USB key permanently attached in the glove box.

I've never found the EQ features in any of the mp3 players i've owned to enhance music. It might just be the music I have on my players but each setting that I tried always tends to sound similar or worse.

 

[docholliday]

 
I've never found the EQ features in any of the mp3 players i've owned to enhance music. It might just be the music I have on my players but each setting that I tried always tends to sound similar or worse.

I don't have anything that isn't at least 16/44 FLAC, so when I'd push 8/10/12K +1db or so, it works fine without enhancing the artifacting of high frequencies from lossy audio. But, sometimes, a bad mix can cause the highs to become oppresive to mid/mid-highs. In cases like that, a -1db or -2db on the highs makes a huge difference in what that mix sounds like.
 
Mostly, I'm EQ'ing because the room I'm in has a lot of reverb, so I'd cut the lows to remove echo and some mids to clear up vocals. At the same time, I sometimes have to add some highs if the room is too dampening and soaks up all the upper end. That's the point of EQ before final amplification - to neutralize the environment.
 
Same with phones, there's some masters that are not the best and the highs sit really close to intolerably tinny. So if using an amp with the N3 in LO mode, it makes it much harder to listen to poorly mastered (or remastered) tracks. Luckily, the N3 does really well without the need for an external amp. Especially at the N3's price, it's nice to have good audio without needing to pack a big kit.
 
Now if we could just ReplayGain (or some sort of volume leveling) on the N3, it'd be perfect. 

 

[rad7]

Now that many users have received their N3s, what are the first impressions like? Looking at just the SQ and not other features, is N3 the best sub-$150 DAP? I am thinking about getting the N3 & since I am on a budget, this would be my primary music player for the next couple of years. So, I have to think twice before ordering it and rule out other DAPs that offer same/similar SQ for less money.
 
If it matters, I will be only using my DAP with IEMs and I like a sound signature that has fast and deep bass, warm & detailed mids and less bright, gentle & non-fatiguing treble/highs. I mainly listen to chillout-trance, liquid DNB, ambient/electronic music, etc. I will be pairing my DAP with KZ ZS3, KZ ZST & MEMT X5. Also, all my music files are 320/256 kbps mp3s. I don't have lossless audio files.

 

[docholliday]

  Now that many users have received their N3s, what are the first impressions like? Looking at just the SQ and not other features, is N3 the best sub-$150 DAP? I am thinking about getting the N3 & since I am on a budget, this would be my primary music player for the next couple of years. So, I have to think twice before ordering it and rule out other DAPs that offer same/similar SQ for less money.
 
If it matters, I will be only using my DAP with IEMs and I like a sound signature that has fast and deep bass, warm & detailed mids and less bright, gentle & non-fatiguing treble/highs. I mainly listen to chillout-trance, liquid DNB, ambient/electronic music, etc. I will be pairing my DAP with KZ ZS3, KZ ZST & MEMT X5. Also, all my music files are 320/256 kbps mp3s. I don't have lossless audio files.

There are cheaper ones, but they all have their issues such as small screens, missing features (no DSD support), and most have some stupid UI bug or two that'll cause random lockups. So far, the N3 has been perfect, none of the above issues. A nice clear screen, full format support (DSD, WMA, etc), and it hasn't locked up or required a reboot yet.
 
As far as sound quality goes, it does have a full 10 band EQ, so that is much more than others with 6 band. The Fiio X1-II is $99 and pretty nice, but it does have it's quirks. The only thing that I would like to see in the N3 is Replaygain support and a nice leather case. The Fiio doesn't have RG, but it does have a really nice leather "sleeve" case that is beautiful and functional. I'm hoping that Cayin will come out with a similar (reasonably priced and functional) case for the N3. 
 
I don't have anything that's not a lossless file, but the AKM chipset is a nice chipset for any type of audio file. The sound is fairly neutral and really clean. A lot of the sound signature items that you list are more dependent on your IEMs than it is on the player, especially for a player at this price level. 

 

[NateInBelgium]

Now that many users have received their N3s, what are the first impressions like? Looking at just the SQ and not other features, is N3 the best sub-$150 DAP? I am thinking about getting the N3 & since I am on a budget, this would be my primary music player for the next couple of years. So, I have to think twice before ordering it and rule out other DAPs that offer same/similar SQ for less money.

If it matters, I will be only using my DAP with IEMs and I like a sound signature that has fast and deep bass, warm & detailed mids and less bright, gentle & non-fatiguing treble/highs. I mainly listen to chillout-trance, liquid DNB, ambient/electronic music, etc. I will be pairing my DAP with KZ ZS3, KZ ZST & MEMT X5. Also, all my music files are 320/256 kbps mp3s. I don't have lossless audio files.

I'm still running in at the moment, but first impressions are highly positive!
I can compare the sound to a Fiio M3 dap and a S.M.S.L M3 desktop DAC. The sound of the former is quite smooth but can still sound very "compressed" for want of a better word, but at the time it was a groundbreaking device at its pricepoint. The S.M.S.L is a powerful beast that takes no prisoners. Can sound clinical and hard at times.

For my ears, the N3 is sitting between the two. Musical, refined. Exciting but not harsh. I've used it to play 360kbps MP3 and Flac from 16/44.1 to 24/192 and I'm also using KZ ZST colourful edition IEMs.

Still early days but I hear improvements as time goes on. I don't think you would be disappointed.

 

[docholliday]

Another suggestion to Cayin is to have some sort of "level" for the button feedback. Since the touch buttons don't have any textures (dimples, lines, etc) to be able to tell where you are clicking, the feedback is nice. But, it is waay too strong and annoying. It'd be nice to have a slider where we can lower the buzz intensity and/or duration (an off/low/normal/high setting would be nice.
 
There's been so many times where I went to click what I thought was the right button but ended up registering the one above it.

 

[michaelgordon]

so did another test on the battery after a drain and full charge it got to 9 hours with 23% left so 123 hours is about right.  I also tried Bluetooth in the car stereo and that worked fine for me so not sure what issues Nate was having but didn't seem to affect me.
 
Had a good listen today with USB out to mojo and it was very nice.  Oh how I missed my mojo as it didn't work properly with my phone.

 

[NateInBelgium]

I also tried Bluetooth in the car stereo and that worked fine for me so not sure what issues Nate was having but didn't seem to affect me.

Pretty sure the problem lies with the Opel intellilink software and not the DAP, happy it works for you though

 

[Andykong]

Mine'll be in hand soon enough, but in the mean time... does it seem to have much UI lag and does it have artifacting at the beginning of the track when you return to the beginning while playing? That's two of the biggest gripes about the X1-II, so if it doesn't have that, it'd be about perfect.

Now we just need ReplayGain and a *leather* case for it; silicone cases suck.

Yes, a leather case would be good, and even Rockbox has ReplayGain.

OK, We hear you.

We'll try out best to bring ReplayGain to N3 as soon as possible.

We can develop leather case too, but that will take some time. It will be an optional accessories instead of a replacement to the silicon jacket, and it probably will cost about the same as i5 leather case, so my guess is around US$30 - $35, and will probably be more expensive if we want to custom make the N3 leather case in multiple color.

 

[hpnut]

OK, We hear you.

We'll try out best to bring ReplayGain to N3 as soon as possible.

That is good news!