[RonaldS86]

Sorry, but as an engineer who actually develops electronics for a living this is total horseshit. There’s absolutely no excuse for such an expensive device to not behave properly with virtually any load attached to it. We’ve had circuits for decades to prevent the exact situation we see here, it’s a known quantity. This isn’t magic.

Well, people make mistakes sometime. And about the price, even if it's a $500 dollar device, we have every right to complain as a buyer if the QC is bad. But yeah this is rather silly because they have been around in this industry for 30 years. For me what matters is they admit this is their mistake and being responsible with it. As long as it is repairable then I guess I'm good. The only thing that annoys me more is the difference between AP bundle and the regular one

 

[zoidbb]

Well, people make mistakes sometime. And about the price, even if it's a $500 dollar device, we have every right to complain as a buyer if the QC is bad. But yeah this is rather silly because they have been around in this industry for 30 years. For me what matters is they admit this is their mistake and being responsible with it. As long as it is repairable then I guess I'm good. The only thing that annoys me more is the difference between AP bundle and the regular one

Exactly. They’re fixing the problem, and will hopefully learn a valuable lesson in the process. Their rapid, hands-on response is why I’m still willing to be a Cayin customer.

But let’s not pretend that for some reason high end gear should have bad QC, serious design flaws, and only work with a subset of common equipment. That’s /ridiculous/.

 

[MaxwellDemon]

I am sort of shocked by the different responses I am reading here. Just to highlight I have no stake in this just yet because I am only looking at this as a potential buyer.

Big applaud to Cayin for trying to get ahead of this situation but also it really shouldn't happen in the first place.

Regardless I am also glad some people are enjoying this DAP and hopefully a solution will be found by Cayin so they can continue to enjoy their new toy.

 

[DarginMahkum]

The more high end the DAP the more sensitive it is to differences and changes. It’s like driving a Ferrari and tweaking it. Every little things counts at such a sensitive level. Hence the reason why i understand the AP set Cayin has bought out since it is already tuned and will save you a lot of time to mix and match.

This is the way of thinking that pollutes this hobby. A manufacturer sells a DAC unit for €10K+ and we see people "it is great but you need a power supply upgrade, as the power supply in the unit induces noise". "DAC itself is great but you need to add a $10K clock to get the best performance". "It is the hobby, you just need to keep buying and tweaking".

If we were in the 1960's, I could have said "maybe", but these issues are all solved long long time ago and any design that lacks such basic things is a lot of horse crap, and deserves to be in museums, not on the shelves. The more this type of thinking continues, the more the manufacturers will keep repackaging the same stuff with small tweaks every year and keep pushing them to us with no major updates but a lot of marketing hype, without solving their mistakes.

When it comes to N30LE, I think Cayin honestly tried to bring out a device that packs everything with the best HW, though it is still for me just a repackage of everything they have done in one device - but still lacking anything revolutionary. Software is the same thing we had since the first Android DAP with some additional switches. It could have had the biggest influence on the sound, as the DAP has a very powerful SoC with a powerful DSP unit. Even a simple thing like a system level cross-feed isn't there. Except A&K, there is not a single DAP manufacturer that has it. An still, A&K's most recent TOTL DAPs have bugs that I reported during SP1000 - simple text rendering bugs. They have a system level PEQ but it is ancient! You can't even set s shelf, everything is peak. Interface is horrible.

Yet, these companies ask for €4-5K prices (here in the EU) and we, as buyers, think it is just the nature of the things. We just need to keep buying and keep tweaking - the reality is we just keep tweaking our minds. Something is wrong here.

 

[Cayin]

Dear Valued N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl Customers,

Since the release of N30LE, there has been user feedback regarding the "hissing" issue with the 4.4mm balanced output in Class A amplification mode (or Hyper mode) when paired with certain IEM/headphones/cables. After careful research by our engineers and testing with headphone samples provided by our enthusiastic users, we have developed a solution by adjusting the static working current of our discrete amplification circuit in N30LE. We explained our solution last week and have confirmed the solution is working effectively. At the same time, we have completed the related rectification and testing of the N30LE in our inventory.

We, Cayin will offer 5 years extended warranty to N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl combo on hissing problem at Class A amplification and then the warranty period for this phenomenon will expire on September 30, 2028. Please kindly note in advance the extended coverage will only apply to hissing problem when N30LE operates in Class A amplification mode and Modified or unauthorized repaired N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl will not be entitle to this extended warranty.

As we are approaching a long National Holiday, we will prepare a batch of brand new N30LE to be sent to our Dealers for replacement before the Holiday. Users who are experiencing this phenomenon can get contact with our agents where you bought the unit and they will collect information such as the serial number of your DAP and other related information and will work out the logistics with you in person.

Please remove your TF card from the N30LE when returning it to the dealer, and protect the DAP with proper care.

Finally, Cayin will continue to adhere to product innovation and development, as well as continuously improve the product experience. The occurrence of this specific probabilistic issue with N30LE reflects our shortcomings. This is a valuable experience as well as the driving force behind our continuous progress.

Cayin Team

Cayin, Never be the Same Again.

 

[aaf evo]

We, Cayin will offer 5 years extended warranty to N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl combo on hissing problem at Class A amplification and then the warranty period for this phenomenon will expire on September 30, 2028. Please kindly note in advance the extended coverage will only apply to hissing problem when N30LE operates in Class A amplification mode and Modified or unauthorized repaired N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl will not be entitle to this extended warranty.

Finally, Cayin will continue to adhere to product innovation and development, as well as continuously improve the product experience. The occurrence of this specific probabilistic issue with N30LE reflects our shortcomings. This is a valuable experience as well as the driving force behind our continuous progress.

Cayin Team

Cayin, Never be the Same Again.

Thank you for the announcement. Back to listening

 

[Torq]

We, Cayin will offer 5 years extended warranty to N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl combo on hissing problem at Class A amplification and then the warranty period for this phenomenon will expire on September 30, 2028. Please kindly note in advance the extended coverage will only apply to hissing problem when N30LE operates in Class A amplification mode and Modified or unauthorized repaired N30LE and N30LE Amber Pearl will not be entitle to this extended warranty.

And there we go.

That should take the concerns about "What happens if I run into this issue in the future, when I buy a new IEM, headphone or cable?" for existing or prospective users. So, those not experiencing the problem with their current collection, can relax and enjoy their existing unit.

So thank you @Cayin and @Andykong for that!

The next question that'll arise is:

"Does this extended warranty, for this specific issue, apply just to the original purchaser, or does it apply to the unit itself?"

The scenario I am thinking about is one where a current N30LE owner never encounters the hiss issue, sells their unit, and then the new owner does get the hissing problem with one or more of their IEM/headphone/cable combinations.

 

[Andykong]

And there we go.

That should take the concerns about "What happens if I run into this issue in the future, when I buy a new IEM, headphone or cable?" for existing or prospective users. So, those not experiencing the problem with their current collection, can relax and enjoy their existing unit.

So thank you @Cayin and @Andykong for that!

The next question that'll arise is:

"Does this extended warranty, for this specific issue, apply just to the original purchaser, or does it apply to the unit itself?"

The scenario I am thinking about is one where a current N30LE owner never encounters the hiss issue, sells their unit, and then the new owner does get the hissing problem with one or more of their IEM/headphone/cable combinations.

The extended warranty covers the hissing problem of the unit, so it will apply to the N30LE unit.

 

[Torq]

The extended warranty covers the hissing problem of the unit, so it will apply to the N30LE unit.

Excellent!

So that's current owners, prospective buyers (if there are any units left to be had at this point) and the secondary market taken care of.

Very good, and thank you!

 

[Andykong]

To make sure the extended warranty is documented and easily referenced, I have created a subtopic "Extended Warranty" in Post #2 of this thread.

 

[Steranko]

This is the way of thinking that pollutes this hobby. A manufacturer sells a DAC unit for €10K+ and we see people "it is great but you need a power supply upgrade, as the power supply in the unit induces noise". "DAC itself is great but you need to add a $10K clock to get the best performance". "It is the hobby, you just need to keep buying and tweaking".

If we were in the 1960's, I could have said "maybe", but these issues are all solved long long time ago and any design that lacks such basic things is a lot of horse crap, and deserves to be in museums, not on the shelves. The more this type of thinking continues, the more the manufacturers will keep repackaging the same stuff with small tweaks every year and keep pushing them to us with no major updates but a lot of marketing hype, without solving their mistakes.

When it comes to N30LE, I think Cayin honestly tried to bring out a device that packs everything with the best HW, though it is still for me just a repackage of everything they have done in one device - but still lacking anything revolutionary. Software is the same thing we had since the first Android DAP with some additional switches. It could have had the biggest influence on the sound, as the DAP has a very powerful SoC with a powerful DSP unit. Even a simple thing like a system level cross-feed isn't there. Except A&K, there is not a single DAP manufacturer that has it. An still, A&K's most recent TOTL DAPs have bugs that I reported during SP1000 - simple text rendering bugs. They have a system level PEQ but it is ancient! You can't even set s shelf, everything is peak. Interface is horrible.

Yet, these companies ask for €4-5K prices (here in the EU) and we, as buyers, think it is just the nature of the things. We just need to keep buying and keep tweaking - the reality is we just keep tweaking our minds. Something is wrong here.

Lol, it's called reality. So what do you consider to be revolutionary? Iphone 15? You seem to be describing Apple to a Tee

 

[Steranko]

That may be true but with my Amber Pearl DAP it sounded amazing but 1. It wouldn’t turn on. 2. With the Utopia I had hissing on every setting. 3. The DAP played 10 x slower than it should. Surely you’re not suggesting that because it’s tuned for the Amber Pearl IEMs it should only be used with the Amber Pearl IEMs.

If you have all these problems it seems like you have a problem there with your unit. If we are saying every unit is like this which I guess is not the case? Otherwise everyone will be returning their units if it cannot switch on. As someone said it might be the software and an update is required to work with the Utopia Which is understandable since even Windows needs updating every few months, that’s just the nature of software development. Yes Cayin could do better. That is the reason why I don’t like Android and prefer the good old fashion DAP without any fancy stuff just the basic player like the LP6 TI .

 

[ClubQ]

If you have all these problems it seems like you have a problem there with your unit. If we are saying every unit is like this which I guess is not the case? Otherwise everyone will be returning their units if it cannot switch on. As someone said it might be the software and an update is required to work with the Utopia Which is understandable since even Windows needs updating every few months, that’s just the nature of software development. Yes Cayin could do better. That is the reason why I don’t like Android and prefer the good old fashion DAP without any fancy stuff just the basic player like the LP6 TI .

My unit was sent back to Cayin a week ago. As I said in an earlier post I have every confidence in Hifonix & Cayin sorting the problems out and I’d give them the time they needed. The replacement unit should leave the factory tomorrow. hopefully my problems & everyone’s problems Will now be sorted in the next few days. I personally think if the problems are solved it would have been worth the wait because it’s all about the Sound the N30LE produces. It’s in a different class.

 

[RonaldS86]

Thank you so much @Andykong for your fast response and @Cayin for the extended warranty
Now I can rest easy and enjoy N30 with no worries

 

[Sioux67]

It is curious to see how the people who most criticize the CAYIN N30LE do not own it. Don't feel obligated to give your opinion on everything, it's not necessary.
Have a fantastic day!