Just wait a year and see, there will be a new flagship DAP along the way from other manufacturer, N30LE is too broken to get and it's cost arms and legs.
Cayin N30LE DAP: A Transformative Milestone (30th Anniv. Limited Edition)
Stouthart
100+ Head-Fier
I do like the 10x slower playback feature though, also know as the exorcist toggle
If you are reading trough my posts, my post are quite critically. I dont like to hype things up. I am not a fanboy by any means. I hate cults!
Back in the days i switched from Windows Phone (Sony Experia XP1) to iPhone 3GS, although i hated Apple as brand and i did not want to be a part of the Apple cult, but i switched because Windows Phone was a mess and iPhone was more thought out and more convenient. I hate Apple even by this day. (Typing from a iPhone Pro Max)
Once in a while i find myself jumping on the hype train even noticing it.
It happened so when i was in search for a new DAC, and surely i stumbled upon a reviewer that praised the MAY KTE into the heaven. After three weeks of listening i found out that the DAC was nice to look at it but did nothing to impress me at all and surely i returned the DAC back to the distributor. After a while i found out that the MAY relies heavy on upsampling and since i am not a fan of HQPlayer sorcery it was the right decision to return the DAC back then.
As a N30 owner i dont hesitate to criticize Cayin because they used a better clock in the N30AP then in the N30LE (+$20 parts), JFets put asside. I dont give two screw* about Cayin or other brands.
I ow them nothing!
But on the hiss issue, Cayin reacted very professional which i want to give them credit for. They done all the things possible to locate the issue and to make the RMA process as smooth as possible for the N30 owners.
I am also affected by the hiss issue. It happened to be with the Fiio FH9 IEMs. Since i dont intend to use thes IEM with N30 but only with RN6, it does not bother me that much.
Unlike the MAY KTE, the N30 delivers, therefore i keep it even with the hiss issue on certain IEMs.
If i stumble upon an IEM in the future that i want in my collection that has an hiss issue with N30, then i will send the N30 to Cayin for bias readjustment. But for now i am good served with N30+RN6.
ThanatosVI
Headphoneus Supremus
Imo Cayin handled these issues great so far.
Unfortunately I can't say similar positive things about their german distributor.
I still didn't hear back from them, in 6 weeks.
They often price things with insane markup, I just wish they'd change distributors for my country...
Unfortunately I can't say similar positive things about their german distributor.
I still didn't hear back from them, in 6 weeks.
They often price things with insane markup, I just wish they'd change distributors for my country...
I have to agree, I’ve had every problem that has been mentioned on this forum over the last few weeks with my Cayin N30LE Amber Pearl I’ve now returned the DAP to the factory. They have made a new unit and I’m awaiting despatch. But I have to say I have total confidence in my distributor HIFONIX and Cayin together sorting these problems out, I’m prepared to give them the time they need. The problems we are getting should have been sorted before they released the DAP. But at the end of the day it’s about the sound and honestly I have never heard anything as good as the N30LE.
I don't remember a DAP launch, going all the way back to the A&K AK100, that didn't have (often significant) software issues. Some of which were either very slow to resolve, or never did get properly addressed (we're talking across all the major DAP vendors, not just one), and many of which had a major impact on usability (and some were just deal killers for me, from which those products have never recovered ... again, for me ... the SP3000 is the most recent example). And a good number of the things that got fixed, got reverted in later updates and had to be fixed again.
Hardware has generally faired much better.
Off hand, I can't remember a unit that shipped with hardware issues that required RTB to address; this doesn't mean there isn't one (or more).
...
With the N30LE there's a dual-whammy factor at work.
You've got the typical and, at an industry level, expected faults/failures (like the failed tube above, or my first N30LE which had intermittent hissing/static above 100F). And then you've got a "design, calibration or tolerances" issue - which is the intrusively loud waterfall/white noise hiss in Class A/Hyper modes on the 4.4mm output with some transducers/cables (the main hardware problem being encountered). To make matters worse, both require RTB/repair as the limited edition nature of the launch means there aren't lots of units sitting around to be used as quick replacements.
I've been hit by both issues in successive units.
I think Andy/Cayin (and Andrew at MusicTeck) have, so far, done all that could reasonably be done. Yes, timing and logistics remain questions for many, as well as how units not currently exhibiting the hiss/calibration issue will be handled. Though I have no doubt they will be handled. And while it doesn't excuse/negate the common issue, that ship has sailed and will have whatever impacts it is going to on Cayin's future releases.
Surely not how Cayin wanted this to go, though - especially not for such a limited release and all the associated anniversary fanfare.
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newworld666
Headphoneus Supremus
Is there anyone here on Head fi who remembers another launch of a new DAP with all these Hardware/Software problems?
A&K Kann Alpha !!!! it took more than one year before a firmware fix concerning wifi cuts every 10 minutes while listening to Qobuz and Tidal... I think it was same story with some other model from A&K
I would say such facts concerns most of the DAPs with obsolete Hardware and obsolete android version when they are put on the market !!!!
I will never buy again in my life such type of DAP !! Maybe all these very limited end of series hardware components are mostly based on obsolete hardware (no more produced and sold by manufacturers), so I won't go such way as it seems so risky for a long term use out of initial guarantee (5 years or more)..
I have never read in any forum about DAPs produced by A&K that produce hiss or audio distortion.
Software bugs are not comparable to the problems has this N30LE.
Allears79
100+ Head-Fier
This is not funny at all…Even N8ii has a better QC than this
Today's quick updates:
Received another Meze PCUHD copper premium upgrade cable – mono 3.5mm to balanced 4.4mm.
Unfortunately, no joy
Received Audiophile Ninja cable mono 3.5mm to balanced 4.4mm.
Joy, no waterfall hiss / static in P/P+ H/M/L gain Class A and Hyper mode
Received another Meze PCUHD copper premium upgrade cable – mono 3.5mm to balanced 4.4mm.
Unfortunately, no joy
Received Audiophile Ninja cable mono 3.5mm to balanced 4.4mm.
Joy, no waterfall hiss / static in P/P+ H/M/L gain Class A and Hyper mode
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For those that are thinking about connecting their N30LE as a USB DAC/amp to one of the new iPhone 15 series, I got mine this morning and gave it a try (15 Pro Max, in case it makes any difference):
The short version is that, with some USB-C cable-dependency - which only seems to affect iPhone and iPad, it works fine. ALL of the below cables, when used with an M2 MacBook Air, M2 MacBook Pro, M2 Mac Studio or M1 Mac Studio will put the N30LE into USB DAC mode, and behave as expected.
The story is different with iPhone 15 Pro Max and M2 iPad Pro 11":
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For reference, ALL of those cables work with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and M2 iPad Pro and the L&P W4. Which makes me think the N30LE or iPhone is looking for some pin/setting that the W4 doesn't care about.
The short version is that, with some USB-C cable-dependency - which only seems to affect iPhone and iPad, it works fine. ALL of the below cables, when used with an M2 MacBook Air, M2 MacBook Pro, M2 Mac Studio or M1 Mac Studio will put the N30LE into USB DAC mode, and behave as expected.
The story is different with iPhone 15 Pro Max and M2 iPad Pro 11":
- Cayin Supplied USB-C Cable: Yes
- Apple Thunderbolt Cable: Yes
- Apple USB-C Charging Cable (2M): Yes
- Apple Braided USB-C Cable (1M) (as inc. w/ iPhone, AirPods Pro 2, etc.): No
- L&P W4 USB-C Cable: No
---
For reference, ALL of those cables work with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and M2 iPad Pro and the L&P W4. Which makes me think the N30LE or iPhone is looking for some pin/setting that the W4 doesn't care about.
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This was expected with some apple usbc cables since some of them are only for charging and not for data transmission.
Those listed above ALL work for N30LE USB DAC mode with laptop/desktop Macs, so while it's a cable thing, and could be due to the way the iPhone/iPad OR N30LE are reading the configurations, we're not talking about funky charge-only cables in those examples (and the one that IS labelled "Charging Cable" works fine for USB DAC mode).
If I had to guess (which I will, since I don't have my USB Analyzer to hand) ... the N30LE/iPhone or iPad combination probably wants to see USB 3.0 data availability, and the non-working cables may only support USB-2 data. Or vice versa.
BUT ... more cables work than don't, and no special messing about was needed. Didn't even seem to care if the N30LE had USB charging disabled.
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I tend to believe it’s more of an iPhone/cable thing than N30 thing. I had issues with Cayin ru6 all the time. And w4 loves the LP cables for connection with the iphone
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Don't want to add fuel to the fire, especially since I'm not a consumer but rather a reviewer who borrowed N30LE for a very short period of time from Musicteck (don't have it with me anymore but miss it like crazy already). The demo unit I auditioned had no issues, or maybe all the iems/headphones/cable combos I tried were not susceptible to the problem some others are having. But based on what I'm reading in this thread and the updates posted by Andy, I'm not so sure if this is really an overall QC issue or the issue related to a unique design/setting of the bias current which triggers a problem in combination with a specific phone/cable? A few people mentioned failures which could be related to QC where it fails with everything, but others seem to bring up a specific combo.
Either way, it is not an excuse for manufacturer but rather a good lesson to expand their test equipment with a better variety of earphones, headphones, and cables so they can catch any similar problem in the future during the development stage.
Btw, I did collect notes during my short time with N30LE and would like to share it soon, though, I'm also afraid of being jabbed with pitchforks since I have only a positive experience with the unit I auditioned... Plus, I noticed that even those who are having issues are not screaming for a refund because they love the sound and the pair up synergy too much. And that also speaks highly of the product despite their negative experience.
Either way, it is not an excuse for manufacturer but rather a good lesson to expand their test equipment with a better variety of earphones, headphones, and cables so they can catch any similar problem in the future during the development stage.
Btw, I did collect notes during my short time with N30LE and would like to share it soon, though, I'm also afraid of being jabbed with pitchforks since I have only a positive experience with the unit I auditioned... Plus, I noticed that even those who are having issues are not screaming for a refund because they love the sound and the pair up synergy too much. And that also speaks highly of the product despite their negative experience.
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