Cayin N30LE DAP: A Transformative Milestone (30th Anniv. Limited Edition)
Oct 11, 2023 at 6:37 PM Post #1,516 of 2,940
Regarding the feasibility of converting Amber Pearl from Universal to custom monitors.

We are working with UM to explore the technical feasibility of this option. We have success in the first step already and created the first Amber Pearl Cm with standard finishing.

1697021025070.jpeg

However, the biggest uncertainty is whether we can implement the CMs with the Stabilized Cholla wood chassis in the same Amber color. I'll keep the forum informed, but this will likely take 2 to 3 months before we can arrive at a conclusion. Stay tuned but please be patient.
:beerchug::beerchug:
May be there will be users that would be interested in the standard finish itself and that option can be offered to them as well.
 
Oct 11, 2023 at 7:03 PM Post #1,517 of 2,940
@Damz87

Curious if you had a chance to give the AP N30LE a listen yet and can provide feedback on the differences from the standard one.
 
Oct 11, 2023 at 8:55 PM Post #1,519 of 2,940
In the Cayin Music App, in Album view, multi-disc Albums show up as separate albums. Is there a setting I'm missing that shows that as a single album in the Album browser, with the tracks inside the album ordered by Disc/Track?

Note that the files are all correctly tagged with Disc Number, and for each disc the Track numbering starts at 1.

For example, Kate Bush' "Before the Dawn" shows up in Roon, Apple Music, various DLNA/UPnP clients etc. as One Album, with Three Discs (Act I, II and III) listed in order, with the full track list as a single list in Disc/Track order.
 
Oct 12, 2023 at 1:19 AM Post #1,520 of 2,940
I received my (replacement) re-biased N30LE this morning (serial number in the 29X range).

No sign of the hiss problem with the any of my IEMs/headphones cables, including the Sennheiser IE600 which was where the original problem lay.

Ran it for four hours straight, got the temperature up to 117F (Hyper Mode, Tube Classic, Low and Medium Gain) and no apparent thermal issues either (my first unit produced static and hiss on all outputs/modes when over 105F, my second and this one do not have any such issue).

Then I spent another four hours comparing it with my non-re-biased unit. I can hear no difference between the two units, so if there is one I can't hear it even when listening intently and looking for differences.

Thank you for your confirmation. :beerchug:

As we have explained previously, the fine-tuning of the static Class A operating current is in the range of 1.2mA to 2mA, and the impact on the sound signature, performance battery life, and heat dissipation is indifferent. However, it is very important to have an impartial user to verify our claim.
 
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http://en.cayin.cn/
Oct 12, 2023 at 1:34 AM Post #1,521 of 2,940
@Damz87

Curious if you had a chance to give the AP N30LE a listen yet and can provide feedback on the differences from the standard one.
Not yet, unfortunately :frowning2: my dealer accidentally sent me another regular N30LE instead of Amber Pearl :sweat_smile:

My AP is now on the way and should arrive early next week :fingers_crossed:
 
Oct 12, 2023 at 1:35 AM Post #1,522 of 2,940
So far, I haven't encountered that issue. N30LE has been very forgiving of poorly recorded files in MP3 format when paired with 64Audio A18t.
As I said to @bmichels I very much believe Amber Pearl is unforgiving, not N30LE :p

I didn't have enough time with Amber Pearl IME to form an opinion, but Cayin DAPs, N8ii and N7 just to name a few, are definitely on the forgiving side of the spectrum, and so are the N30LE in our opinion.

While a lot of products and media stand by the neutral reference approach, Cayin takes a different audio performance goal as our benchmark. Our products are developed to "enhance the musical experience", and to live a life with appreciation.
 
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Oct 12, 2023 at 1:46 AM Post #1,523 of 2,940
Hope this will help some here running into charging issues with any device
I work in the IT industry and have known for a long time there is a difference between USB-C cables and devices.
NOT all are created the same, and in many cases for cables and chargers there is a reason for the difference in price.

I don't mean go out and buy a $100 USB Cable (unless you honestly find a difference in sound/speed/quality) but more so, there is a reason some cables that are $2 or less expensive than another cable fails to work properly, and its not the device makers fault.
USB-C spec falls under a IEEE engineering spec, but it is a guideline, and the IEEE is not an enforcement body
For USB-C there is supposed to be a small microchip (in the PC industry referred to as the E-Marker) in the connector body that has the information of what that cable can pass for both data speed and power charging, that is the difference of USB-C certified or USB-C compliant, and why the difference in price.
This information chip is there so the device can use the fast charging feature and not damage itself or the battery, as well as reliably pass data at the highest speed.
If this emarker is not there, than the device will default to the slowest charging and data transfer speeds, which is why some are seeing issues with charging, or USB-C dongles not work with higher quality sound settings or "clip" with higher power usage.
If this information exists on your cable or charger, it can be read from a reader like the one below (in the included link below) that will show you IF that cable can pass power according to the Power Delivery (PD) or Quick Charge (QC) standards of the USB-C spec. Without this chip your device (PC, Android or IOS phone and yes all of our Audio devices) will default to a "trickle charge" profile and charge EXTREEMELY slow at best, and at worse will get damaged as the cable will allow surges and unclean power charging which will take its toll on battery life and electrical "shock" to components.

I personally have seen laptops charge from a battery with 1% of charge left to 90%+ in 30-40min, via a charger and cable that can comply with the PD/QC standards (FYI: These specs also call for the device to swtich to trickle charge from about 90% to 100% to complete the full charge cycle, and not overly stress the battery which is part of those standards)
I've seen the EXACT same laptop take 4-6 hours to charge to 80% because the cable or charger did NOT comply with the USB-C standards.
As Twister6 mentioned this is 100% because the cable or charger is the bottleneck

As mentioned here is a screen shot of the little device I use to check and reads the "e-marker" file on the cable connector or charger to show what it can support. (data and charge speed) in this screen shot below the test screen is showing the cable and charger meets the "active" (vs passive) Thunderbolt 4 spec (a subset of the USB-C standard) can pass 40gb/s speed on the cable AND the charger connected meets the Apple fast charging standard)

Do you all need to run out by this expensive little checker? No you don't (Especially if you know someone that has one)
I own it as it has settled discussions with customers who thought the PC sold to them had a problem, when the issue was the bargain basement cable or charger they purchsaed (and they are usually name brand chargers or cable, but they are clearly labeled as "compliant" and not "certified", which is a HUGE difference)
for me it was well worth the price of admission
This checker is available on Amazon, and other sites and price can vary from about $80-100, so shop around. There are other "small" USB-C checkers out there but they/most DO NOT have the "emarker" check feature, this so far is the lowest price one I've found that is small and does this check.
Here is a link to the manufacturer of this charger and they still refer people to go buy from Amazon, but I've seen on other etailer sites.
https://www.chargerlab.com/power-z-km002c-is-now-available-on-amazon/

I'm not supporting the sometimes OBSCENE prices some cable and charger companies place on these "certified" devices.
But I can also pass on and say there are MANY name brand companies who offer their products, meet the "certified" spec and are only a few bucks more in cost (like single digit cost increase)

I only mention this as early in both this forum and on the N8ii forum I've seen Andy mention using a quality charger and cable.
I've seen Twister6 also mention this on several of his DAP reviews, and in one of his reviews he mentions good results using a specific model from Anker as an example
Other reviewers I trust have mentioned similar findings using good quality chargers, even not form a name brand source

I put this info out hoping it can help those who running into issues and did not know the differences, and are worried their investment into a new DAP or similar was not a good one because of charging issues that might not be the fault of the DAP maker or even their own, it was just that no one told them there was a difference between cables and chargers.

Excellent post. I have added this post to the FAQ on Post #2, this will help a lot of users when they encounter similar problems, so I want to make this post more accessible. :beerchug:
 
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Oct 12, 2023 at 10:33 AM Post #1,525 of 2,940
Excellent post. I have added this post to the FAQ on Post #2, this will help a lot of users when they encounter similar problems, so I want to make this post more accessible. :beerchug:

It may be worth adding these to the FAQ. Three cables I verified as USB 3.2 and charges quickly

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L84QSX5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CB5MG453?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRQ1CSPZ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
 
Oct 12, 2023 at 11:22 AM Post #1,526 of 2,940
If you're purchasing a well known brand cable, eg. Anker, Caldigit, UGreen, Cable Matters, etc, a table of verified USB 3.2 Type-C cable table isn't necessary and don't use Apple USB-C cables to charge your DAPs.

Just do your diligence in purchasing cables as provided by @NJoyzAudio.
 
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Oct 12, 2023 at 12:26 PM Post #1,527 of 2,940
Excellent post. I have added this post to the FAQ on Post #2, this will help a lot of users when they encounter similar problems, so I want to make this post more accessible. :beerchug:
Thank you Andy, honored information I provided will be included in the FAQ section!

I was also going to post this decoder diagram as have had several PM me with questions on the difference of the reference markings on USB-C cables
As a reminder the IEEE spec for USB-C calls for a certified cable and port to be able to pass at min 45w and where noted up to 100w of power (soon to change to a higher output)
So in the attached chart, even the certified std USB-C 2.0 cable should pass at min 45w of power, and for USB-C 3.x to 4.x up to 100w of power today, but again with so many "knock-off" and not certified cables out there I've personally seen cables that can't even pass 5w of power.
But for this chart, when it calls out the Power Delivery (PD) spec with a check mark, it can support fast charging up to 100w, and where listed up to 240w of power. But again all will support trickle charging at min IF certified.

Hope my original post and this additional information helps anyone here seeing charging issues
1697127855107.png
 
Oct 12, 2023 at 1:03 PM Post #1,528 of 2,940
@NJoyzAudio Could you maybe link to some good USB-C cables that are quality?

I've been through a few and they all end up sucking
Benno1988

Sorry for the delay in responding but see Auricon gave you some leads for good cables, that if you don't end up with a counterfeit version of those cables (Anker's cables have been victim of counterfeiting so if the price is too good to be true, it probably is) they do work
I'll add that I've seen Amazon run pricing specials on the cables he mentioned plus ones from KableDirect (out of Europe) and another company called UseBean (odd name, pretty good cables) for as little as $20 US for a pair of 3 foot (0.9 meters) cables in those company's boxes, that I've put up against that little tester i previously showed and the emarker showed what it can do, and it always meets or exceeds those specs.

I work with international companies for my day job, and find each country has a local manufacturer of certified cables that can be sourced inexpensively, and only in those countries, and ones I can source in the US are not always sold there, so a little hesitant of giving you some manufacturer suggestions.
So my suggestion is:
Buy one cable from a reputable manufacturer from a source you can trust, and you can then use that single cable as a baseline, and then shop around (with a place you can return if you find your purchase does not match your baseline) and through that process find a cable maker you can source locally (see your in Australia) and trust for lower price/longer length/faster speed, etc.

I hope this information helps, and as I always like remind people this is IMO and YMMV.
 
Oct 12, 2023 at 5:08 PM Post #1,529 of 2,940
UI Feedback

  1. The color used for text on battery should not be that shade of green. It is very hard to read with the white background.
  2. The wheel to select the position in the track is a pain to use and be precise. Why not use a line that allows you to drag left or right to adjust?
  3. With the stock case on, it is hard to push the arrow in the top left to go back a page.
  4. Why is the album art missing but it shows up correctly on other units like Sony DAP's?
 
Oct 12, 2023 at 5:12 PM Post #1,530 of 2,940
UI Feedback

The wheel to select the position in the track is a pain to use and be precise. Why not use a line that allows you to drag left or right to adjust?

You can switch the UI for Cayin Music app playback controls. Tap the "t-shirt" icon on the lower left overlaying the album cover art to cycle through the 3 UI playback controls. The 2nd UI set is the one you want – its the linear playback track allowing you to scrub left or right.
 
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