[SabreToothBunny]

Please note, this is my own opinion and generally I don't hear nor value the same things as others when it comes to audio so you may disagree with what I'm going to say but;
Irrispective of the subjective opinion Andy has provided (though I do have some sympathy here as I suspect he felt he had to respond with something given what was being requested) my take is that even if I were to assume that his 98-99% performance actually means 95-99% differences, Andy does say that is with the Pearl IEM. At the end of the day the Pearl version of the N30LE is not going to sound very different to the standard model and I highly doubt most people would be able to tell the differences unless they have the two units side by side.

I remember the same debate about the L&P P6Ti vs P6 Ti 7th Anniversary and to my ears the difference is noticeable but also negligible. Even if you did find differences significant, your brain is going to adjust and compensate for a lot of what you might feel is missing within 10mins. I may be proved wrong but I'd be willing to bet vital parts of my anatomy this is the case with the Pearl & standard N30EL. I mean heck; even if there are differences, most DAP threads then have pages dedicated to what EQ/DSP settings to use to optimise sound or even dedicated custom firmwares to make your WM1A sound like a WM1Z or a DMP-Z1 etc etc.

Point out to me one person who is into headphones and claims to have found their endgame and I'll show you someone who is either wrong or just hasn't found their next better thing. Honestly; if most head-fiers relationship with their headphones were marriages, the divorce rate within the first 5 years would be 99%. Why? Because the value proposition is based on what you like... And there is nothing to feel bad about if you fancy something more musical or more analytical after a few years as opposed to suddenly feeling you should go blonde after being bored with a brunette. We're human and variety is the spice of life.

For one thing with headphones, I consider anything +£1k/$1k to be bad value for money and you can generally find a system which is a quarter the price of the flagship stuff but giving 90% of the performance so the value proposition is going to be pretty poor for anything at this level in my opinion.

For another thing Andy has also stated that a significant portion of the costs reflect the R&D which has gone into the Pearl bundle and it's worth noting that involved a collaboration with Unique Melody in creating an IEM which is considerably different to what they have made previously, so the Pearl Bundle is always going to be far worse value for money if we just look at the tech alone.

Putting all that to one side;
I currently pair the Mentor Multiverse with an IBasso DX320Max Ti, which is an excellent system. I feel the Max is the closest competitor to the N30LE in terms of size, features and market proposition. Ibasso is also working on a dual KORG nutube amp called the PB5 Osprey (though I note they never released the PB4 after the prototype exhibit) and the PB5 shares a lot of similarities with the N30LE in terms of amp design.

For me personally, I'm more interested in the DX320MAX Ti vs either version of the N30LE rather than the N30LE standard vs Pearl and the bigger question, for me, is how the Amber Pearl IEM performs vs everything else.

At the time the UM Multiverse replaced my UM Fabled Sound. I own and have owned a few IEMs at this level and these tend to be a 10/10 in one area and maybe a 7.5/10 in others. You take the compromises and you learn to value what they do well. There are a good few IEMs which do certain things better than the Multiverse but it is, nevertheless, rather special to me because it brings 3-4 different qualities which I value, at a top tier level in one coherent and easy listening package though I'll add the majority of my friends who tried both preferred the Fabled Sound due to it being warmer and softer sounding so all of this is subjective. It's special because I use different IEMs for different genres or recording types and the Multiverse is able to perform strongly with a great range of music.

Reading the blurb about the Amber Pearl it reads like a Multiverse plus; that really piqued my interest. I reached out to Unique Melody and asked which line of presentation the tuning was aiming for Mentor (Multiverse) or Mason (Fabled Sound) and their response was that Amber represents a new line which is not tuned to sound like either Mentor or Mason lines and they can only suggest I listen to it to find out for myself.

I've put myself down for the pre-order of the Pearl Bundle and will also be trying to audition it at Canjam London (though I have a feeling it may be difficult to get an audition or the necessary time for a proper evaluation) and comparing it to the Multiverse+DX320MAX Ti. If I can't find the right listening environment, I'll do this when my pre-order arrives.

When I continued speaking to Unique Melody and explained my reasons for asking about the tuning (if it sounds more like the Fabled Sound and less like the Multiverse I won't be keeping the bundle) they added that they would very much like to hear feedback of the Multiverse vs Pearl because no Pearl has been sold directly to a consumer on its own (though I'd speculate they'll likely release a more 'universal' version of it in a new Amber line eventually).

For the LP6TI vs LP6TI 7th Anniversary; the resale value of the 7AE is sometimes double the standard Ti version because of the usual factors; select/a few better component choices, very limited numbers and near mythical (but not always deserved) status etc. However the justification for this is that the 7AE is meant to sound better.
It's different for the N30LE Pearl as that doesn't seem to be designed to sound better, it is designed to be tweaked for synergy specifically for the Amber Pearl. Without the Amber Pearl, the value proposition is much lower, especially on the used market where the appeal of a DAP tuned for an IEM is negated by the fact the IEM isn't available. Unless someone has an IEM with the same specific sonic properties the Amber Pearl has, there is going to be no sonic benefit in buying a used Pearl N30LE over the standard version.

The Amber Pearl IEM will likely hold more value because it's a unique IEM (at the moment) but I personally would still consider them as a bundle from a value perspective.

Among other things, I own a 'version' of the original Sennheiser Orpheus HE90/HEV90 but I paid about a quarter of what the used market value because I purchased the headphones and the amplifier 10 years apart on the used market. Even as a combo, that mismatch means as a complete system is still worth proportions less than an original paired system and for the same reason, for me personally, I would not separate the Pearl DAP from the IEM if I were not interested in the IEM. Sell the bundle and purchase the N30LE standard separately.

TL;DR :- if you're not interested in the Pearl IEM, don't worry about the differences between the presentation of the N30LE versions. It's meaningless.
Unless the Pearl Bundle has been sprinkled with magic pixie dust, with the current crop of top tier IEMs available and the sheer diversity of sonic presentations, I'd be amazed if you couldn't get 95% of what the Pearl bundle does by just pairing the standard N30LE with some other IEM and given this is all subjective, I can guarantee you that there will be a great many out there who will prefer their own IEM with the standard N30LE over the Pearl bundle, purely because the whole problem with this hobby is, despite specs and measurements, a system's value proposition to each of us will ultimately, always be subjective.

 

[deep2285]

Please note, this is my own opinion and generally I don't hear nor value the same things as others when it comes to audio so you may disagree with what I'm going to say but;
Irrispective of the subjective opinion Andy has provided (though I do have some sympathy here as I suspect he felt he had to respond with something given what was being requested) my take is that even if I were to assume that his 98-99% performance actually means 95-99% differences, Andy does say that is with the Pearl IEM. At the end of the day the Pearl version of the N30LE is not going to sound very different to the standard model and I highly doubt most people would be able to tell the differences unless they have the two units side by side.

I remember the same debate about the L&P P6Ti vs P6 Ti 7th Anniversary and to my ears the difference is noticeable but also negligible. Even if you did find differences significant, your brain is going to adjust and compensate for a lot of what you might feel is missing within 10mins. I may be proved wrong but I'd be willing to bet vital parts of my anatomy this is the case with the Pearl & standard N30EL. I mean heck; even if there are differences, most DAP threads then have pages dedicated to what EQ/DSP settings to use to optimise sound or even dedicated custom firmwares to make your WM1A sound like a WM1Z or a DMP-Z1 etc etc.

Point out to me one person who is into headphones and claims to have found their endgame and I'll show you someone who is either wrong or just hasn't found their next better thing. Honestly; if most head-fiers relationship with their headphones were marriages, the divorce rate within the first 5 years would be 99%. Why? Because the value proposition is based on what you like... And there is nothing to feel bad about if you fancy something more musical or more analytical after a few years as opposed to suddenly feeling you should go blonde after being bored with a brunette. We're human and variety is the spice of life.

For one thing with headphones, I consider anything +£1k/$1k to be bad value for money and you can generally find a system which is a quarter the price of the flagship stuff but giving 90% of the performance so the value proposition is going to be pretty poor for anything at this level in my opinion.

For another thing Andy has also stated that a significant portion of the costs reflect the R&D which has gone into the Pearl bundle and it's worth noting that involved a collaboration with Unique Melody in creating an IEM which is considerably different to what they have made previously, so the Pearl Bundle is always going to be far worse value for money if we just look at the tech alone.

Putting all that to one side;
I currently pair the Mentor Multiverse with an IBasso DX320Max Ti, which is an excellent system. I feel the Max is the closest competitor to the N30LE in terms of size, features and market proposition. Ibasso is also working on a dual KORG nutube amp called the PB5 Osprey (though I note they never released the PB4 after the prototype exhibit) and the PB5 shares a lot of similarities with the N30LE in terms of amp design.

For me personally, I'm more interested in the DX320MAX Ti vs either version of the N30LE rather than the N30LE standard vs Pearl and the bigger question, for me, is how the Amber Pearl IEM performs vs everything else.

At the time the UM Multiverse replaced my UM Fabled Sound. I own and have owned a few IEMs at this level and these tend to be a 10/10 in one area and maybe a 7.5/10 in others. You take the compromises and you learn to value what they do well. There are a good few IEMs which do certain things better than the Multiverse but it is, nevertheless, rather special to me because it brings 3-4 different qualities which I value, at a top tier level in one coherent and easy listening package though I'll add the majority of my friends who tried both preferred the Fabled Sound due to it being warmer and softer sounding so all of this is subjective. It's special because I use different IEMs for different genres or recording types and the Multiverse is able to perform strongly with a great range of music.

Reading the blurb about the Amber Pearl it reads like a Multiverse plus; that really piqued my interest. I reached out to Unique Melody and asked which line of presentation the tuning was aiming for Mentor (Multiverse) or Mason (Fabled Sound) and their response was that Amber represents a new line which is not tuned to sound like either Mentor or Mason lines and they can only suggest I listen to it to find out for myself.

I've put myself down for the pre-order of the Pearl Bundle and will also be trying to audition it at Canjam London (though I have a feeling it may be difficult to get an audition or the necessary time for a proper evaluation) and comparing it to the Multiverse+DX320MAX Ti. If I can't find the right listening environment, I'll do this when my pre-order arrives.

When I continued speaking to Unique Melody and explained my reasons for asking about the tuning (if it sounds more like the Fabled Sound and less like the Multiverse I won't be keeping the bundle) they added that they would very much like to hear feedback of the Multiverse vs Pearl because no Pearl has been sold directly to a consumer on its own (though I'd speculate they'll likely release a more 'universal' version of it in a new Amber line eventually).

For the LP6TI vs LP6TI 7th Anniversary; the resale value of the 7AE is sometimes double the standard Ti version because of the usual factors; select/a few better component choices, very limited numbers and near mythical (but not always deserved) status etc. However the justification for this is that the 7AE is meant to sound better.
It's different for the N30LE Pearl as that doesn't seem to be designed to sound better, it is designed to be tweaked for synergy specifically for the Amber Pearl. Without the Amber Pearl, the value proposition is much lower, especially on the used market where the appeal of a DAP tuned for an IEM is negated by the fact the IEM isn't available. Unless someone has an IEM with the same specific sonic properties the Amber Pearl has, there is going to be no sonic benefit in buying a used Pearl N30LE over the standard version.

The Amber Pearl IEM will likely hold more value because it's a unique IEM (at the moment) but I personally would still consider them as a bundle from a value perspective.

Among other things, I own a 'version' of the original Sennheiser Orpheus HE90/HEV90 but I paid about a quarter of what the used market value because I purchased the headphones and the amplifier 10 years apart from on the used market. Even as a combo, that mismatch means as a complete system is still worth proportions less than an original paired system and for the same reason, for me personally, I would not separate the Pearl DAP from the IEM if I were not interested in the IEM. Sell the bundle and purchase the N30LE standard separately.

TL;DR :- if you're not interested in the Pearl IEM, don't worry about the differences between the presentation of the N30LE versions. It's meaningless.
Unless the Pearl Bundle has been sprinkled with magic pixie dust, with the current crop of top tier IEMs available and the sheer diversity of sonic presentations, I'd be amazed if you couldn't get 95% of what the Pearl bundle does by just pairing the standard N30LE with some other IEM and given this is all subjective, I can guarantee you that there will be a great many out there who will prefer their own IEM with the standard N30LE than the Pearl bundle, purely because the whole problem with this hobby is, despite specs and measurements, a system's value proposition to each of us will ultimately, always be subjective.

I agree, it doesn't make a difference. It is better to buy N30LE and try it with our current IEMs.
At the same time, I can not agree with Cayin's strategy of introducing 2 slightly different DAP's on their 30th anniversary.
Tuning a DAP for a single IEM is a bit much. On top of that, there is almost no information out there about Amber Pearl IEM.

 

[Andykong]

Please note, this is my own opinion and generally I don't hear nor value the same things as others when it comes to audio so you may disagree with what I'm going to say but;
Irrispective of the subjective opinion Andy has provided (though I do have some sympathy here as I suspect he felt he had to respond with something given what was being requested) my take is that even if I were to assume that his 98-99% performance actually means 95-99% differences, Andy does say that is with the Pearl IEM. At the end of the day the Pearl version of the N30LE is not going to sound very different to the standard model and I highly doubt most people would be able to tell the differences unless they have the two units side by side.

I remember the same debate about the L&P P6Ti vs P6 Ti 7th Anniversary and to my ears the difference is noticeable but also negligible. Even if you did find differences significant, your brain is going to adjust and compensate for a lot of what you might feel is missing within 10mins. I may be proved wrong but I'd be willing to bet vital parts of my anatomy this is the case with the Pearl & standard N30EL. I mean heck; even if there are differences, most DAP threads then have pages dedicated to what EQ/DSP settings to use to optimise sound or even dedicated custom firmwares to make your WM1A sound like a WM1Z or a DMP-Z1 etc etc.

Point out to me one person who is into headphones and claims to have found their endgame and I'll show you someone who is either wrong or just hasn't found their next better thing. Honestly; if most head-fiers relationship with their headphones were marriages, the divorce rate within the first 5 years would be 99%. Why? Because the value proposition is based on what you like... And there is nothing to feel bad about if you fancy something more musical or more analytical after a few years as opposed to suddenly feeling you should go blonde after being bored with a brunette. We're human and variety is the spice of life.

For one thing with headphones, I consider anything +£1k/$1k to be bad value for money and you can generally find a system which is a quarter the price of the flagship stuff but giving 90% of the performance so the value proposition is going to be pretty poor for anything at this level in my opinion.

For another thing Andy has also stated that a significant portion of the costs reflect the R&D which has gone into the Pearl bundle and it's worth noting that involved a collaboration with Unique Melody in creating an IEM which is considerably different to what they have made previously, so the Pearl Bundle is always going to be far worse value for money if we just look at the tech alone.

Putting all that to one side;
I currently pair the Mentor Multiverse with an IBasso DX320Max Ti, which is an excellent system. I feel the Max is the closest competitor to the N30LE in terms of size, features and market proposition. Ibasso is also working on a dual KORG nutube amp called the PB5 Osprey (though I note they never released the PB4 after the prototype exhibit) and the PB5 shares a lot of similarities with the N30LE in terms of amp design.

For me personally, I'm more interested in the DX320MAX Ti vs either version of the N30LE rather than the N30LE standard vs Pearl and the bigger question, for me, is how the Amber Pearl IEM performs vs everything else.

At the time the UM Multiverse replaced my UM Fabled Sound. I own and have owned a few IEMs at this level and these tend to be a 10/10 in one area and maybe a 7.5/10 in others. You take the compromises and you learn to value what they do well. There are a good few IEMs which do certain things better than the Multiverse but it is, nevertheless, rather special to me because it brings 3-4 different qualities which I value, at a top tier level in one coherent and easy listening package though I'll add the majority of my friends who tried both preferred the Fabled Sound due to it being warmer and softer sounding so all of this is subjective. It's special because I use different IEMs for different genres or recording types and the Multiverse is able to perform strongly with a great range of music.

Reading the blurb about the Amber Pearl it reads like a Multiverse plus; that really piqued my interest. I reached out to Unique Melody and asked which line of presentation the tuning was aiming for Mentor (Multiverse) or Mason (Fabled Sound) and their response was that Amber represents a new line which is not tuned to sound like either Mentor or Mason lines and they can only suggest I listen to it to find out for myself.

I've put myself down for the pre-order of the Pearl Bundle and will also be trying to audition it at Canjam London (though I have a feeling it may be difficult to get an audition or the necessary time for a proper evaluation) and comparing it to the Multiverse+DX320MAX Ti. If I can't find the right listening environment, I'll do this when my pre-order arrives.

When I continued speaking to Unique Melody and explained my reasons for asking about the tuning (if it sounds more like the Fabled Sound and less like the Multiverse I won't be keeping the bundle) they added that they would very much like to hear feedback of the Multiverse vs Pearl because no Pearl has been sold directly to a consumer on its own (though I'd speculate they'll likely release a more 'universal' version of it in a new Amber line eventually).

For the LP6TI vs LP6TI 7th Anniversary; the resale value of the 7AE is sometimes double the standard Ti version because of the usual factors; select/a few better component choices, very limited numbers and near mythical (but not always deserved) status etc. However the justification for this is that the 7AE is meant to sound better.
It's different for the N30LE Pearl as that doesn't seem to be designed to sound better, it is designed to be tweaked for synergy specifically for the Amber Pearl. Without the Amber Pearl, the value proposition is much lower, especially on the used market where the appeal of a DAP tuned for an IEM is negated by the fact the IEM isn't available. Unless someone has an IEM with the same specific sonic properties the Amber Pearl has, there is going to be no sonic benefit in buying a used Pearl N30LE over the standard version.

The Amber Pearl IEM will likely hold more value because it's a unique IEM (at the moment) but I personally would still consider them as a bundle from a value perspective.

Among other things, I own a 'version' of the original Sennheiser Orpheus HE90/HEV90 but I paid about a quarter of what the used market value because I purchased the headphones and the amplifier 10 years apart on the used market. Even as a combo, that mismatch means as a complete system is still worth proportions less than an original paired system and for the same reason, for me personally, I would not separate the Pearl DAP from the IEM if I were not interested in the IEM. Sell the bundle and purchase the N30LE standard separately.

TL;DR :- if you're not interested in the Pearl IEM, don't worry about the differences between the presentation of the N30LE versions. It's meaningless.
Unless the Pearl Bundle has been sprinkled with magic pixie dust, with the current crop of top tier IEMs available and the sheer diversity of sonic presentations, I'd be amazed if you couldn't get 95% of what the Pearl bundle does by just pairing the standard N30LE with some other IEM and given this is all subjective, I can guarantee you that there will be a great many out there who will prefer their own IEM with the standard N30LE over the Pearl bundle, purely because the whole problem with this hobby is, despite specs and measurements, a system's value proposition to each of us will ultimately, always be subjective.

Regarassume our "98-99%" performance might actually mean "95-99%" differences, we did mention in the original writing that the quantitative descriptions are meant "to express the opinion of Cayin and UM's joint subjective evaluation is purely for illustration purposes".

Thank you for your thoughts, this is actually very helpful, the opinion may be personal, but the ideas are inspiring. sincerely appreciated. I can't comment on topics that involve competitors so I can only wait for your impression of DX320MAX vs N30LE from CanJam London.

As explained in my PM, we couldn't send the Amber Pearl version to London because the show sample to CanJam London was sent BEFORE the HKAV show in order to arrive on time, and we don't have enough samples to cover two shows, so the Amber Pearl combo can only go to one show out of these two, and we have selected HKAV in this situation.

By the way, if PB5 Osprey is a portable headphone amplifier, maybe the closer comparison is not the amp. design of N30LE, maybe Cayin C9 is a more relevant comparison?

PS. I have heard the original Sennheiser Orpheus and the original Stax T2 with Omega side by side. The Orpheus is extremely natural, I know "musical" is an abused word in audio description, but this is the word I'll use to describe the Orpheus. If Orpheus is your reference point, then I am optimistic that you'll enjoy N30LE.

 

[SabreToothBunny]

Sorry. I can't add quotes where I am and I also have a very limited Internet connection. This reply is aimed at @deep2285's message above.

Ah OK. I can understand what you're saying and only Cayin and/or Unique Melody can confirm what their intentions and motivations are with these releases however for me, it is not unusual for companies to have an A Class and A+ Class release in parallel; Sony WM1A vs WM1Z, L&P LP6TI vs LP6TI 7AE etc.

I think perhaps the reason for our differences in perspective is I don't see a strategy or specifically the strategy being referred to because I don't view the releases as N30LE vs N30LE Pearl, I see it as an anniversary DAP release and an anniversary system release and as I said before, I'm (speculating) most could get close or (subjectively better) than the Pearl bundle by pairing the N30LE with an IEM which synergises better for their preferences because let's face it, there are no systems which everyone agrees on as being the best. The same will be true for the for the Amber Pearl IEM. For me, the aim of the Pearl bundle is the best Cayin & Unique Melody can achieve from two manufacturers who, whatever people's opinions on value, most would agree have providings which are in the top tier of what is available. Despite what I have said, considering the price, I'm expecting the Pearl Bundle to deliver something special because it is unlikely that two companies as savvy as Cayin and Unique Melody would release the Pearl bundle without recognising that the highest priced Cayin DAP and highest priced Unique Melody IEM are still cheaper than the Pearl bundle. Anything less than stellar will not be good enough.

The biggest 'strategy' here is the limited number releases making the FOMO strong but it's true for both the N30LE (300 units) or Pearl bundle (99 units), however taking into consideration that these are small companies and this is cutting edge tech with a huge number of limitations, tolerances, man hours etc I'm not suspicious of this either. Nevertheless if Cayin stated that there are also 5 Black Oyster versions of this bundle with some specific component choices (let's say discontinued capacitors, some experimental cleaner power implementation etc) while most would balk at a theoretical $25k price, I guarantee you all the units would be sold by the end of the day because psychology and perception is more powerful than reality; ipso facto it is more expensive therefore it must be better(!)

On a separate but related note; occasionally I feel like the interpretation of diminishing returns is sometimes misrepresented as prices should not be increasing and that flagship prices should remain steady while delivering better performance and thus value. For me, flagship prices go up but most companies (including Cayin and Unique Melody) have plenty of lower priced offerings with similar qualities at lower price points and the same money as spent 5 years ago can always buy you more now.
The existence of the N30LE does not, for example, suddenly make the N8ii sound worse than it did before... Only our perception that suddenly something has come into existence which could be better.

As for the lack of information and impressions for the Amber Pearl; I can understand the frustrations there and given what I said about which UM IEM I am hoping the Amber Pearl is tuned towards, I'd like to know as well... But you have to take into consideration that Unique Melody have said that there are only 99 units in existence and none are with consumers at the moment nor them (Unique Melody). Even they are waiting for feedback from consumers. All 99 are in the Pearl bundle and a great deal of these have already been pre-ordered, probably a few limited numbers released to retailers and maybe 5 at various shows; it is frustrating but not unexpected that impressions are currently scarce. Give it time. Impressions will appear... But I'm going to explain to you exactly how the impressions of the Pearl will go;

Most impressions will come from shows with brief comparisons to other flagships. Some will say it didn't sound as good as they expected, many will say it sounded amazing and had no weakness in any area and nearly everyone will say it is too expensive. After some time a few select owners will publicly explain why they feel it was worth the investment and they're done with the hobby (for now). Within a few weeks all 99 Pearl bundles will be gone and hardly anybody will know someone who has heard one, let alone owns one. For the next 5 years every flagship thread will have references of a mythical system which brought the listener to their knees, tears streaming down their face in the middle of a show and because nobody will know anyone who owns one, while 99 units will exist somewhere in real life, thousands more will persist for years to come as a potential endgame system that most would love to hear but most never will. Sometimes the idea of something is a lot more powerful than the reality; less because of strategy and more because of destiny. Congratulations; you are witnessing the birth of an audio unicorn.

 

[osocan]

Sorry. I can't add quotes where I am and I also have a very limited Internet connection. This reply is aimed at @deep2285's message above.

Ah OK. I can understand what you're saying and only Cayin and/or Unique Melody can confirm what their intentions and motivations are with these releases however for me, it is not unusual for companies to have an A Class and A+ Class release in parallel; Sony WM1A vs WM1Z, L&P LP6TI vs LP6TI 7AE etc.

I think perhaps the reason for our differences in perspective is I don't see a strategy or specifically the strategy being referred to because I don't view the releases as N30LE vs N30LE Pearl, I see it as an anniversary DAP release and an anniversary system release and as I said before, I'm (speculating) most could get close or (subjectively better) than the Pearl bundle by pairing the N30LE with an IEM which synergises better for their preferences because let's face it, there are no systems which everyone agrees on as being the best. The same will be true for the for the Amber Pearl IEM. For me, the aim of the Pearl bundle is the best Cayin & Unique Melody can achieve from two manufacturers who, whatever people's opinions on value, most would agree have providings which are in the top tier of what is available. Despite what I have said, considering the price, I'm expecting the Pearl Bundle to deliver something special because it is unlikely that two companies as savvy as Cayin and Unique Melody would release the Pearl bundle without recognising that the highest priced Cayin DAP and highest priced Unique Melody IEM are still cheaper than the Pearl bundle. Anything less than stellar will not be good enough.

The biggest 'strategy' here is the limited number releases making the FOMO strong but it's true for both the N30LE (300 units) or Pearl bundle (99 units), however taking into consideration that these are small companies and this is cutting edge tech with a huge number of limitations, tolerances, man hours etc I'm not suspicious of this either. Nevertheless if Cayin stated that there are also 5 Black Oyster versions of this bundle with some specific component choices (let's say discontinued capacitors, some experimental cleaner power implementation etc) while most would balk at a theoretical $25k price, I guarantee you all the units would be sold by the end of the day because psychology and perception is more powerful than reality; ipso facto it is more expensive therefore it must be better(!)

On a separate but related note; occasionally I feel like the interpretation of diminishing returns is sometimes misrepresented as prices should not be increasing and that flagship prices should remain steady while delivering better performance and thus value. For me, flagship prices go up but most companies (including Cayin and Unique Melody) have plenty of lower priced offerings with similar qualities at lower price points and the same money as spent 5 years ago can always buy you more now.
The existence of the N30LE does not, for example, suddenly make the N8ii sound worse than it did before... Only our perception that suddenly something has come into existence which could be better.

As for the lack of information and impressions for the Amber Pearl; I can understand the frustrations there and given what I said about which UM IEM I am hoping the Amber Pearl is tuned towards, I'd like to know as well... But you have to take into consideration that Unique Melody have said that there are only 99 units in existence and none are with consumers at the moment nor them (Unique Melody). Even they are waiting for feedback from consumers. All 99 are in the Pearl bundle and a great deal of these have already been pre-ordered, probably a few limited numbers released to retailers and maybe 5 at various shows; it is frustrating but not unexpected that impressions are currently scarce. Give it time. Impressions will appear... But I'm going to explain to you exactly how the impressions of the Pearl will go;

Most impressions will come from shows with brief comparisons to other flagships. Some will say it didn't sound as good as they expected, many will say it sounded amazing and had no weakness in any area and nearly everyone will say it is too expensive. After some time a few select owners will publicly explain why they feel it was worth the investment and they're done with the hobby (for now). Within a few weeks all 99 Pearl bundles will be gone and hardly anybody will know someone who has heard one, let alone owns one. For the next 5 years every flagship thread will have references of a mythical system which brought the listener to their knees, tears streaming down their face in the middle of a show and because nobody will know anyone who owns one, while 99 units will exist somewhere in real life, thousands more will persist for years to come as a potential endgame system that most would love to hear but most never will. Sometimes the idea of something is a lot more powerful than the reality; less because of strategy and more because of destiny. Congratulations; you are witnessing the birth of an audio unicorn.

Your last para brought a chuckle 4.00am here When I first started in this hobby it was some discontinued Sony that very few heard of.

 

[Steranko]

I agree, it doesn't make a difference. It is better to buy N30LE and try it with our current IEMs.
At the same time, I can not agree with Cayin's strategy of introducing 2 slightly different DAP's on their 30th anniversary.
Tuning a DAP for a single IEM is a bit much. On top of that, there is almost no information out there about Amber Pearl IEM.

There is an answer to this. Buy both. You can always sell it at a slight loss or gain if at the end of the day you don’t like any one of them.

 

[Andykong]

To all N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl pre-order customers and Cayin global partners:

We apologize for this difficult decision, but it is one that Cayin had to make. The global launch of N30LE, originally scheduled for August 28th, will be delayed by one week and will now reschedule to September 4th.

The main reason for this delay is an unexpectedly low yield rate on chassis production. We have failed to manage our supply chain effectively, this is our inadequacy and we learned an important lesson.

The N30LE chassis is made of TC21 titanium alloy, and we have specified a finishing that requires six major processes: CNC machining, polishing, ceramic sandblasting, PVD surface treatment, AF coating (anti-fingerprint treatment), and dual-frequency laser engraving. Based on our previous experience with the N6ii-Ti production and the data collected during N30LE trial production, we have estimated a 28% yield loss rate in the supply chain. We believed we have to make the appropriate evaluation and considered all courses including differences in finishing processes, small production quantity, and a much higher quality standard in the 30th-anniversary model. We acquired chassis-related material based on this data and proceed to mass production. However, when we completed all six processes for the first batch of about 130 titanium chassis yesterday, the qualification rate was only close to 50%. The discrepancy has occurred because each of these five processes after CNC involves surface treatment of the chassis, and each step produces new non-conforming parts.

As of today, with the exception of the chassis finishing, our production plan was very much on schedule. We have completed the testing and matched the Nutube 6P1 double triode tubes into pairs. The main PCB has completed the SMT process and is undergoing the QA procedure. Numerous pre-assembly procedures have also been carried out in batches. Today, the assembly process of the entire machine will commence, ensuring that the products will be supplied in batches for market release before 28th August. We need to ship the units in different batches, depending on the dealer’s logistics time and distance.

The low qualification rate of the chassis has disrupted our production plans. In order to make up for the shortage of non-conforming chassis production, we have informed our suppliers, adjusted the yield rate, and immediately acquire extra material and CNC machines allocation. However, this also means that the current production plan has been disrupted, and we have to reschedule our production rollout accordingly. We want to sincerely apologize to our customers who have pre-ordered the N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl, we shall try our best to provide updated information and maintain communication effective

N30LE and N30LE+Amber Pearl were officially launched on August 8th and had their first exhibition at the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show from August 11th to 13th. The orders for the N30LE standard version and N30LE Amber Pearl combo have far exceeded our expectations when most of the cooperation channels and users have not seen the physical product or auditioned for the audio performance in person. We are grateful for the trust and support from personal audio enthusiasts worldwide, the long-standing trust relationship between our global partners and Cayin, as well as Cayin's continuous dedication and reputation in the Hi-Fi field over the past 30 years, is a heavy responsibility that we cannot take it lightly. We are greatly encouraged by your support and we openly and transparently provide the above information. We appreciate criticism and recommendation from all sources, and striving to improve our management and operational capabilities in the years to come. We are committed to ensuring product quality at all costs during the production process. At the same time, we sincerely apologize again to those who have pre-ordered and are waiting for the arrival of N30LE or N30LE Amber Pearl. We apologize for the longer wait time caused by our insufficient work capacity and the lack of careful planning.

 

[Steranko]

To all N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl pre-order customers and Cayin global partners:

We apologize for this difficult decision, but it is one that Cayin had to make. The global launch of N30LE, originally scheduled for August 28th, will be delayed by one week and will now reschedule to September 4th.

The main reason for this delay is an unexpectedly low yield rate on chassis production. We have failed to manage our supply chain effectively, this is our inadequacy and we learned an important lesson.

The N30LE chassis is made of TC21 titanium alloy, and we have specified a finishing that requires six major processes: CNC machining, polishing, ceramic sandblasting, PVD surface treatment, AF coating (anti-fingerprint treatment), and dual-frequency laser engraving. Based on our previous experience with the N6ii-Ti production and the data collected during N30LE trial production, we have estimated a 28% yield loss rate in the supply chain. We believed we have to make the appropriate evaluation and considered all courses including differences in finishing processes, small production quantity, and a much higher quality standard in the 30th-anniversary model. We acquired chassis-related material based on this data and proceed to mass production. However, when we completed all six processes for the first batch of about 130 titanium chassis yesterday, the qualification rate was only close to 50%. The discrepancy has occurred because each of these five processes after CNC involves surface treatment of the chassis, and each step produces new non-conforming parts.

As of today, with the exception of the chassis finishing, our production plan was very much on schedule. We have completed the testing and matched the Nutube 6P1 double triode tubes into pairs. The main PCB has completed the SMT process and is undergoing the QA procedure. Numerous pre-assembly procedures have also been carried out in batches. Today, the assembly process of the entire machine will commence, ensuring that the products will be supplied in batches for market release before 28th August. We need to ship the units in different batches, depending on the dealer’s logistics time and distance.

The low qualification rate of the chassis has disrupted our production plans. In order to make up for the shortage of non-conforming chassis production, we have informed our suppliers, adjusted the yield rate, and immediately acquire extra material and CNC machines allocation. However, this also means that the current production plan has been disrupted, and we have to reschedule our production rollout accordingly. We want to sincerely apologize to our customers who have pre-ordered the N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl, we shall try our best to provide updated information and maintain communication effective

N30LE and N30LE+Amber Pearl were officially launched on August 8th and had their first exhibition at the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show from August 11th to 13th. The orders for the N30LE standard version and N30LE Amber Pearl combo have far exceeded our expectations when most of the cooperation channels and users have not seen the physical product or auditioned for the audio performance in person. We are grateful for the trust and support from personal audio enthusiasts worldwide, the long-standing trust relationship between our global partners and Cayin, as well as Cayin's continuous dedication and reputation in the Hi-Fi field over the past 30 years, is a heavy responsibility that we cannot take it lightly. We are greatly encouraged by your support and we openly and transparently provide the above information. We appreciate criticism and recommendation from all sources, and striving to improve our management and operational capabilities in the years to come. We are committed to ensuring product quality at all costs during the production process. At the same time, we sincerely apologize again to those who have pre-ordered and are waiting for the arrival of N30LE or N30LE Amber Pearl. We apologize for the longer wait time caused by our insufficient work capacity and the lack of careful planning.

Good luck to Cayin! I appreciate all the hard work the team has put into making this DAP. Wish you all the success! Hope to see even more great things from Cayin especially with the new R&D facilities!

 

[RonaldS86]

To all N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl pre-order customers and Cayin global partners:

We apologize for this difficult decision, but it is one that Cayin had to make. The global launch of N30LE, originally scheduled for August 28th, will be delayed by one week and will now reschedule to September 4th.

The main reason for this delay is an unexpectedly low yield rate on chassis production. We have failed to manage our supply chain effectively, this is our inadequacy and we learned an important lesson.

The N30LE chassis is made of TC21 titanium alloy, and we have specified a finishing that requires six major processes: CNC machining, polishing, ceramic sandblasting, PVD surface treatment, AF coating (anti-fingerprint treatment), and dual-frequency laser engraving. Based on our previous experience with the N6ii-Ti production and the data collected during N30LE trial production, we have estimated a 28% yield loss rate in the supply chain. We believed we have to make the appropriate evaluation and considered all courses including differences in finishing processes, small production quantity, and a much higher quality standard in the 30th-anniversary model. We acquired chassis-related material based on this data and proceed to mass production. However, when we completed all six processes for the first batch of about 130 titanium chassis yesterday, the qualification rate was only close to 50%. The discrepancy has occurred because each of these five processes after CNC involves surface treatment of the chassis, and each step produces new non-conforming parts.

As of today, with the exception of the chassis finishing, our production plan was very much on schedule. We have completed the testing and matched the Nutube 6P1 double triode tubes into pairs. The main PCB has completed the SMT process and is undergoing the QA procedure. Numerous pre-assembly procedures have also been carried out in batches. Today, the assembly process of the entire machine will commence, ensuring that the products will be supplied in batches for market release before 28th August. We need to ship the units in different batches, depending on the dealer’s logistics time and distance.

The low qualification rate of the chassis has disrupted our production plans. In order to make up for the shortage of non-conforming chassis production, we have informed our suppliers, adjusted the yield rate, and immediately acquire extra material and CNC machines allocation. However, this also means that the current production plan has been disrupted, and we have to reschedule our production rollout accordingly. We want to sincerely apologize to our customers who have pre-ordered the N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl, we shall try our best to provide updated information and maintain communication effective

N30LE and N30LE+Amber Pearl were officially launched on August 8th and had their first exhibition at the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show from August 11th to 13th. The orders for the N30LE standard version and N30LE Amber Pearl combo have far exceeded our expectations when most of the cooperation channels and users have not seen the physical product or auditioned for the audio performance in person. We are grateful for the trust and support from personal audio enthusiasts worldwide, the long-standing trust relationship between our global partners and Cayin, as well as Cayin's continuous dedication and reputation in the Hi-Fi field over the past 30 years, is a heavy responsibility that we cannot take it lightly. We are greatly encouraged by your support and we openly and transparently provide the above information. We appreciate criticism and recommendation from all sources, and striving to improve our management and operational capabilities in the years to come. We are committed to ensuring product quality at all costs during the production process. At the same time, we sincerely apologize again to those who have pre-ordered and are waiting for the arrival of N30LE or N30LE Amber Pearl. We apologize for the longer wait time caused by our insufficient work capacity and the lack of careful planning.

Any compensation maybe? That lovely mug would be nice
Just kidding

 

[Auricon]

Any compensation maybe? That lovely mug would be nice
Just kidding

+1 for the mug! though I'd be most content with 30LE070 *wink wink* @Andykong

 

[erusama]

Will it be delivered from the 28th or September 4th??

 

[ThanatosVI]

To all N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl pre-order customers and Cayin global partners:

We apologize for this difficult decision, but it is one that Cayin had to make. The global launch of N30LE, originally scheduled for August 28th, will be delayed by one week and will now reschedule to September 4th.

The main reason for this delay is an unexpectedly low yield rate on chassis production. We have failed to manage our supply chain effectively, this is our inadequacy and we learned an important lesson.

The N30LE chassis is made of TC21 titanium alloy, and we have specified a finishing that requires six major processes: CNC machining, polishing, ceramic sandblasting, PVD surface treatment, AF coating (anti-fingerprint treatment), and dual-frequency laser engraving. Based on our previous experience with the N6ii-Ti production and the data collected during N30LE trial production, we have estimated a 28% yield loss rate in the supply chain. We believed we have to make the appropriate evaluation and considered all courses including differences in finishing processes, small production quantity, and a much higher quality standard in the 30th-anniversary model. We acquired chassis-related material based on this data and proceed to mass production. However, when we completed all six processes for the first batch of about 130 titanium chassis yesterday, the qualification rate was only close to 50%. The discrepancy has occurred because each of these five processes after CNC involves surface treatment of the chassis, and each step produces new non-conforming parts.

As of today, with the exception of the chassis finishing, our production plan was very much on schedule. We have completed the testing and matched the Nutube 6P1 double triode tubes into pairs. The main PCB has completed the SMT process and is undergoing the QA procedure. Numerous pre-assembly procedures have also been carried out in batches. Today, the assembly process of the entire machine will commence, ensuring that the products will be supplied in batches for market release before 28th August. We need to ship the units in different batches, depending on the dealer’s logistics time and distance.

The low qualification rate of the chassis has disrupted our production plans. In order to make up for the shortage of non-conforming chassis production, we have informed our suppliers, adjusted the yield rate, and immediately acquire extra material and CNC machines allocation. However, this also means that the current production plan has been disrupted, and we have to reschedule our production rollout accordingly. We want to sincerely apologize to our customers who have pre-ordered the N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl, we shall try our best to provide updated information and maintain communication effective

N30LE and N30LE+Amber Pearl were officially launched on August 8th and had their first exhibition at the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show from August 11th to 13th. The orders for the N30LE standard version and N30LE Amber Pearl combo have far exceeded our expectations when most of the cooperation channels and users have not seen the physical product or auditioned for the audio performance in person. We are grateful for the trust and support from personal audio enthusiasts worldwide, the long-standing trust relationship between our global partners and Cayin, as well as Cayin's continuous dedication and reputation in the Hi-Fi field over the past 30 years, is a heavy responsibility that we cannot take it lightly. We are greatly encouraged by your support and we openly and transparently provide the above information. We appreciate criticism and recommendation from all sources, and striving to improve our management and operational capabilities in the years to come. We are committed to ensuring product quality at all costs during the production process. At the same time, we sincerely apologize again to those who have pre-ordered and are waiting for the arrival of N30LE or N30LE Amber Pearl. We apologize for the longer wait time caused by our insufficient work capacity and the lack of careful planning.

Thanks for the transparency and update.
I'm glad to hear that orders exceeded expectations, even though it reduces the chances of me being able to order in time.

 

[deep2285]

Regarassume our "98-99%" performance might actually mean "95-99%" differences, we did mention in the original writing that the quantitative descriptions are meant "to express the opinion of Cayin and UM's joint subjective evaluation is purely for illustration purposes".

Thank you for your thoughts, this is actually very helpful, the opinion may be personal, but the ideas are inspiring. sincerely appreciated. I can't comment on topics that involve competitors so I can only wait for your impression of DX320MAX vs N30LE from CanJam London.

As explained in my PM, we couldn't send the Amber Pearl version to London because the show sample to CanJam London was sent BEFORE the HKAV show in order to arrive on time, and we don't have enough samples to cover two shows, so the Amber Pearl combo can only go to one show out of these two, and we have selected HKAV in this situation.

By the way, if PB5 Osprey is a portable headphone amplifier, maybe the closer comparison is not the amp. design of N30LE, maybe Cayin C9 is a more relevant comparison?

PS. I have heard the original Sennheiser Orpheus and the original Stax T2 with Omega side by side. The Orpheus is extremely natural, I know "musical" is an abused word in audio description, but this is the word I'll use to describe the Orpheus. If Orpheus is your reference point, then I am optimistic that you'll enjoy N30LE.

Are you planning to introduce a new portable amp anytime this year?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Are you planning to introduce a new portable amp anytime this year?

Can’t comment on this ahead of time.
They always have several projects running, so potentially yes.

I might even imagine a C9ii with double tube Circuits like the N30LE, since something like the C9 offers some more space.

 

[deep2285]

Sorry. I can't add quotes where I am and I also have a very limited Internet connection. This reply is aimed at @deep2285's message above.

Ah OK. I can understand what you're saying and only Cayin and/or Unique Melody can confirm what their intentions and motivations are with these releases however for me, it is not unusual for companies to have an A Class and A+ Class release in parallel; Sony WM1A vs WM1Z, L&P LP6TI vs LP6TI 7AE etc.

I think perhaps the reason for our differences in perspective is I don't see a strategy or specifically the strategy being referred to because I don't view the releases as N30LE vs N30LE Pearl, I see it as an anniversary DAP release and an anniversary system release and as I said before, I'm (speculating) most could get close or (subjectively better) than the Pearl bundle by pairing the N30LE with an IEM which synergises better for their preferences because let's face it, there are no systems which everyone agrees on as being the best. The same will be true for the for the Amber Pearl IEM. For me, the aim of the Pearl bundle is the best Cayin & Unique Melody can achieve from two manufacturers who, whatever people's opinions on value, most would agree have providings which are in the top tier of what is available. Despite what I have said, considering the price, I'm expecting the Pearl Bundle to deliver something special because it is unlikely that two companies as savvy as Cayin and Unique Melody would release the Pearl bundle without recognising that the highest priced Cayin DAP and highest priced Unique Melody IEM are still cheaper than the Pearl bundle. Anything less than stellar will not be good enough.

The biggest 'strategy' here is the limited number releases making the FOMO strong but it's true for both the N30LE (300 units) or Pearl bundle (99 units), however taking into consideration that these are small companies and this is cutting edge tech with a huge number of limitations, tolerances, man hours etc I'm not suspicious of this either. Nevertheless if Cayin stated that there are also 5 Black Oyster versions of this bundle with some specific component choices (let's say discontinued capacitors, some experimental cleaner power implementation etc) while most would balk at a theoretical $25k price, I guarantee you all the units would be sold by the end of the day because psychology and perception is more powerful than reality; ipso facto it is more expensive therefore it must be better(!)

On a separate but related note; occasionally I feel like the interpretation of diminishing returns is sometimes misrepresented as prices should not be increasing and that flagship prices should remain steady while delivering better performance and thus value. For me, flagship prices go up but most companies (including Cayin and Unique Melody) have plenty of lower priced offerings with similar qualities at lower price points and the same money as spent 5 years ago can always buy you more now.
The existence of the N30LE does not, for example, suddenly make the N8ii sound worse than it did before... Only our perception that suddenly something has come into existence which could be better.

As for the lack of information and impressions for the Amber Pearl; I can understand the frustrations there and given what I said about which UM IEM I am hoping the Amber Pearl is tuned towards, I'd like to know as well... But you have to take into consideration that Unique Melody have said that there are only 99 units in existence and none are with consumers at the moment nor them (Unique Melody). Even they are waiting for feedback from consumers. All 99 are in the Pearl bundle and a great deal of these have already been pre-ordered, probably a few limited numbers released to retailers and maybe 5 at various shows; it is frustrating but not unexpected that impressions are currently scarce. Give it time. Impressions will appear... But I'm going to explain to you exactly how the impressions of the Pearl will go;

Most impressions will come from shows with brief comparisons to other flagships. Some will say it didn't sound as good as they expected, many will say it sounded amazing and had no weakness in any area and nearly everyone will say it is too expensive. After some time a few select owners will publicly explain why they feel it was worth the investment and they're done with the hobby (for now). Within a few weeks all 99 Pearl bundles will be gone and hardly anybody will know someone who has heard one, let alone owns one. For the next 5 years every flagship thread will have references of a mythical system which brought the listener to their knees, tears streaming down their face in the middle of a show and because nobody will know anyone who owns one, while 99 units will exist somewhere in real life, thousands more will persist for years to come as a potential endgame system that most would love to hear but most never will. Sometimes the idea of something is a lot more powerful than the reality; less because of strategy and more because of destiny. Congratulations; you are witnessing the birth of an audio unicorn.

First of all, I cannot thank you enough for a detailed explanation. I would save to buy the N30LE but not the Amber Pearl.

Whenever Unique Melody or Cayin introduces a product in the market, N30LE or UM Mest 3, they explain everything about their product and this gives the buyer enough information to make a decision.

I understand the fact that one is a DAP and another is an integrated music system. The only issue I have is the lack of information about Amber Pearl.

Cayin should have asked UM to explain their product just as much as they have explained the N30LE to us.

Reviews can come later.