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Cayin N3 Hi-Res DAP with AKM4490 DAC, apt-X Bluetooth, and Line, USB & Coax Out for $150
Mar 9, 2018 at 7:24 AM Post #5,416 of 6,262
You specifically mentioned - amp, balanced output and F9Pro

So you don't need high power, I'm guessing you are cost conscious, and to me, the pairing makes sense (if you want balanced).

You can't use USB out of the N3 to the Q1ii (I just tried - won't work)

You'd go line-out from N3 to line-in on Q1ii.

Alternative would be something like the Q5 - then you'd have Bluetooth, and perhaps USB to coax options. I'd need to try first though. Q5 is really overkill for F9 Pro though. And why do you want to use and amp and go balanced? The F9 Pro is easy to drive, and the N3 handles it fine single ended.
 
Mar 9, 2018 at 7:35 AM Post #5,417 of 6,262
Brooko said:
the N3 handles it fine single ended.
Click to expand...

I find the N3 easily drives most things well. I just would not expect it to drive something like my planar headphone or my HD 580s.
 
Mar 9, 2018 at 7:39 AM Post #5,418 of 6,262
Brooko said:
You specifically mentioned - amp, balanced output and F9Pro

So you don't need high power, I'm guessing you are cost conscious, and to me, the pairing makes sense (if you want balanced).

You can't use USB out of the N3 to the Q1ii (I just tried - won't work)

You'd go line-out from N3 to line-in on Q1ii.

Alternative would be something like the Q5 - then you'd have Bluetooth, and perhaps USB to coax options. I'd need to try first though. Q5 is really overkill for F9 Pro though. And why do you want to use and amp and go balanced? The F9 Pro is easy to drive, and the N3 handles it fine single ended.
Click to expand...

Wow, thank you very much for the detailed feedback :)

I'm still deciding bettween iBasso it01 and F9pro and have been reading how in balanced the IEMs usually sound better, so I am very curious about it... but you know what you are talking about, so maybe the difference between unbalanced and balanced in the case of the it01 and F9pro, isn't that much that worth spending another 100$. I could get both items with those 100$
 
Mar 9, 2018 at 8:08 AM Post #5,419 of 6,262
There are no audible benefits using balanced with those earphones. I’ll try and find some posts tomorrow to help your understanding further (late here and I should be in bed)
 
Mar 9, 2018 at 9:50 AM Post #5,420 of 6,262
Brooko said:
There are no audible benefits using balanced with those earphones. I’ll try and find some posts tomorrow to help your understanding further (late here and I should be in bed)
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your help!
Yeah, also they were optimized for a unbalanced use, so the difference between unbalanced and balanced, must be minimal.
Wish I could try both with the N3 before jumping to buy one of them, love my tinaudio T2, but was looking for a great upgrade that would pair up nicely with the N3.

Good night!
 
Mar 9, 2018 at 2:10 PM Post #5,421 of 6,262
[QUOTE = "Brooko, poste: 14093560, membre: 170914"]
You specifically mentioned - amp, balanced output and F9Pro
So you don't need high power, I'm guessing you are cost conscious, and to me, the pairing makes sense (if you want balanced).

You can't use USB out of the N3 to the Q1ii (I just tried - won't work)

You'd go line-out from N3 to line-in on Q1ii.

Alternative would be something like the Q5 - then you'd have Bluetooth, and perhaps USB to coax options. I'd need to try first though. Q5 is really overkill for F9 Pro though. And why do you want to use and amp and go balanced? The F9 Pro is easy to drive, and the N3 handles it fine single ended.
[/ QUOTE]
i've Q5 pro with usb entry is perfect ! my wire is : https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-0-65ft-Galaxy-Android-Devices/dp/B01M72GS0H/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1520622559&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+c+to+micro+usb&refinements=p_89:CableCreation juste a little short
 
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Mar 10, 2018 at 2:14 AM Post #5,423 of 6,262
Not too long ago, I purchased a Cayin N3 from a guy who changed his mind and decided to get a Fiio X3 instead.
I know very little about the device, besides it's exceptional features for their price point (and the bonus of paying a cheaper amount for a near-mint condition device).

The next moment I know, I see a Head-fi thread that's 362 pages long o_O
I do know from some websites that this is a great player, but I didn't know it was this popular.

If anyone knows, what did I miss out in the 300 and so pages in this thread?
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 2:24 AM Post #5,424 of 6,262
DatGameh said:
Not too long ago, I purchased a Cayin N3 from a guy who changed his mind and decided to get a Fiio X3 instead.
I know very little about the device, besides it's exceptional features for their price point (and the bonus of paying a cheaper amount for a near-mint condition device).

The next moment I know, I see a Head-fi thread that's 362 pages long o_O
I do know from some websites that this is a great player, but I didn't know it was this popular.

If anyone knows, what did I miss out in the 300 and so pages in this thread?
Click to expand...
Welcome to N3 land :)

All you need to know is that:

1. It’s a great player, with SQ well above its price bracket.
2. It’s a great DAC too, but has some limitations and occasional popping issues with some drivers, so don’t rely on it as your main DAC.
3. It has a song limit of 20,000 in library mode, so if you load it up with an insane number of files, just use folder mode and you’ll be fine.
4. It has a compromised line out level of around 1v, so don’t expect desktop performance from line out.
5. Aptx Bluetooth works only one way (in transmit mode) so you can pair it with Aptx headphones, but don’t expect Aptx to work in receive mode (with Tidal from your phone, for example).
6. Bluetooth doesn’t work with DSD files.
7. HiBy Link lets you control the N3 from your phone, but music still plays from your N3, not your phone. And you can’t use HiBy Link and Bluetooth out at the same time.
8. HiBy Link is not the bee’s knees. It’s a nice app but has many other issues. After the long wait for it to support iOS, turns out it’s not that useful (for me anyway).
9. Don’t expect to power your LCDs with this dap. It’s a great dap with plenty of power, but be realistic.
10. The default Chinese English UI and graphics is riddled with questionable grammar and meh graphics. Download the latest custom firmware (v3.0) and enjoy a better experience.

As always, YMMV.

Have I missed anything guys?

Enjoy your N3!
 
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Mar 10, 2018 at 4:21 AM Post #5,425 of 6,262
gLer said:
Welcome to N3 lan:)

All you need to know is that:

1. It’s a great player, with SQ well above its price bracket.
2. It’s a great DAC too, but has some limitations and occasional popping issues with some drivers, so don’t rely on it as your main DAC.
3. It has a song limit of 20,000 in library mode, so if you load it up with an insane number of files, just use folder mode and you’ll be fine.
4. It has a compromised line out level of around 1v, so don’t expect desktop performance from line out.
5. Aptx Bluetooth works only one way (in transmit mode) so you can pair it with Aptx headphones, but don’t expect Aptx to work in receive mode (with Tidal from your phone, for example).
6. Bluetooth doesn’t work with DSD files.
7. HiBy Link lets you control the N3 from your phone, but music still plays from your N3, not your phone. And you can’t use HiBy Link and Bluetooth out at the same time.
8. HiBy Link is not the bee’s knees. It’s a nice app but has many other issues. After the long wait for it to support iOS, turns out it’s not that useful (for me anyway).
9. Don’t expect to power your LCDs with this dap. It’s a great dap with plenty of power, but be realistic.
10. The default Chinese English UI and graphics is riddled with questionable grammar and meh graphics. Download the latest custom firmware (v3.0) and enjoy a better experience.

As always, YMMV.

Have I missed anything guys?

Enjoy your N3!
Click to expand...
Huh. Seems to answer quite a lot of questions that I haven't even thought of yet, haha
Thanks a bunch for your answers!

By the way, I do have a few questions about the device (it's still being delivered to me):
a. Is it possible to connect this to my computer then pair a bluetooth speaker with it? Basically like having a bluetooth-enabled PC.
b. Is it possible to operate the device while it's plugged in? Some devices are notorious for being unusable while being plugged into a PC, even if its only for charging.
c. 20,000 songs are quite a lot for me... But being a new-comer to mid-high end audio, I'd like to know: For many audiophiles (such as you), is that number small?
d. Is the battery user replacable? I plan to use this for as long as I can; I'm sure the first battery will die before the device does.
e. You mention that there are some DAC problems with some drivers. I've never used a DAC, so I'd like to ask: Do I have to use a non-Cayin software to use this device as an external DAC?
f. Will applying the Hi-Res sticker make this DAP automatically 10x better? (haha)

That's about all the important questions I have over this device.
Can't wait to get it soon!
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 12:06 PM Post #5,426 of 6,262
Andykong said:
Cayin previous DAP (N5 and N6) prefers FAT32, the N3 is based on a newer CPU and it supports FAT/FAT32/exFAT/NTFS format natively, it can work with any of these format even at firmware upgrade, so I wouldn't too worry about the file format on regular usage.

N3's Type C OTG can work with external HDD for file management, but the little DAP won't have enough power (current to be exact) to keep the HDD spinning, so if you plan to add massive storage to N3 through OTG, you can have the following option:
  1. Go for low-powered M.2 SSD with power requirement at or below 300mA
  2. 3.5" HDD with external power supply
  3. 2.5" HDD with external battery pack, connected to DAP through a Y-splitted USB cable

9038652.jpg

Photo with courtesy from earfonia
https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/c...4-pcm-64-128-dsd.802382/page-64#post-12780514
9038652.jpg
Click to expand...

Hi Andy

I´m very intrigued by the N3 in this capability to read from external HDDs. Can you confirm that this method works with all HDDs? Theres no limitation on HDD manufacturers or certain controllers?
Whats the most N3 friendly format (read speed etc)? FAT/FAT32/exFAT/NTFS - Asking because my HDD is blank right now and I´m going to be dedicating it for music so I can give it the adequate format before copying the music on there
Is there an upper limit to HDD size that it can read (2TB maximum for example)
And lastly, as far as directory structure goes is there a limitation to how many levels down it can go while reading? Does it show the directory structure as one loads in Windows Explorer or just loads all the music unsorted?

Cheers
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 12:26 PM Post #5,427 of 6,262
DatGameh said:
Not too long ago, I purchased a Cayin N3 from a guy who changed his mind and decided to get a Fiio X3 instead.
I know very little about the device, besides it's exceptional features for their price point (and the bonus of paying a cheaper amount for a near-mint condition device).

The next moment I know, I see a Head-fi thread that's 362 pages long o_O
I do know from some websites that this is a great player, but I didn't know it was this popular.

If anyone knows, what did I miss out in the 300 and so pages in this thread?
Click to expand...

Everything.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 4:19 PM Post #5,428 of 6,262
On the Cayin N3:
Does anybody know which are the physical buttons at the side?
I never use tochscreen because I use the player while biking.
I also like to be able to delete a file that I am listening, but it seems the N3 cannot do that.
 
Last edited:
Mar 11, 2018 at 3:40 AM Post #5,430 of 6,262
gLer said:
Welcome to N3 land :)

All you need to know is that:

1. It’s a great player, with SQ well above its price bracket.
2. It’s a great DAC too, but has some limitations and occasional popping issues with some drivers, so don’t rely on it as your main DAC.
3. It has a song limit of 20,000 in library mode, so if you load it up with an insane number of files, just use folder mode and you’ll be fine.
4. It has a compromised line out level of around 1v, so don’t expect desktop performance from line out.
5. Aptx Bluetooth works only one way (in transmit mode) so you can pair it with Aptx headphones, but don’t expect Aptx to work in receive mode (with Tidal from your phone, for example).
6. Bluetooth doesn’t work with DSD files.
7. HiBy Link lets you control the N3 from your phone, but music still plays from your N3, not your phone. And you can’t use HiBy Link and Bluetooth out at the same time.
8. HiBy Link is not the bee’s knees. It’s a nice app but has many other issues. After the long wait for it to support iOS, turns out it’s not that useful (for me anyway).
9. Don’t expect to power your LCDs with this dap. It’s a great dap with plenty of power, but be realistic.
10. The default Chinese English UI and graphics is riddled with questionable grammar and meh graphics. Download the latest custom firmware (v3.0) and enjoy a better experience.

As always, YMMV.

Have I missed anything guys?

Enjoy your N3!
Click to expand...

...unless you're running Linux. LOL. :beyersmile:
 
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