[Andykong]

tubes, atomic nuclear power options but NO one talked about the GUI / database & sorting options
Pls show more of the database. File limitation; sorting options (for example genre -> artist -> album -> title, FiiO M7-> M11 is very, very simple in sorting and cannot sort as shown). I hope the database of Cayin is better....? show me more, tubes and other gimmicks are just gimmicks but a REALLY GOOD player offers a perfect OS / GUI / database!

I don't think so. Nearby all players are (very) good in sound, BUT mostly players are crappy in software! Without Android, the OS only app is important, overall (OS) performance, GUI, scan / scrolling / cover art (caching) performance, database sortings / tagging, simple devices settings etc. pp.
I own +30.000 files, mostly CD encoded FLAC files.... database performance is much important than "Hires" 10000000 MBit tube sounds".... you never will hear a difference in a blind test....!

@Sven2015 N3Pro is probably not your cup of tea. If you value user experience, Android-based DAP probably will fit your needs better, and there are quite a lot of choice available at this price range. The N3Pro is way behind most Android DAP in terms of CPU power and OS sophistication. For the record, we didn't choose a low cost CPU, there just isn't a lot of choice of non-Android based system that offer music player solution.

Also, while it's a great way to expand the storage, adding SSD will defeat the purpose of "portable" use, but everybody have their own preference of how they use audio players.

One thing I'm curious about, and maybe @Andykong can chime in. This is non-Android DAP, and typically Hiby has limitation of how many songs it can index on DAPs running their non-android OS. So, adding high capacity SSD drive might be counterproductive for those how are hoping to access gazillion songs Btw, typically there is no limitation when browsing by folder.

That's correct, N3Pro has a file number limit on music scan. We set it to 20,0000 titles right now. We have stimulated the music library with 30,000 songs, and the database after music scan amounted to over 30MB, that is a huge database for N3Pro CPU and will slow down the responsiveness of some operation. That's why we decided to keep the music scan library limit at 20,000 title. The limit applies to music scan and all features based on music scan, music library with over 20,000 titles will have full access to all songs through File Folder options.

 

[Andykong]

If I buy Cayin N3 Pro,I will use SSD with portable case like my iBasso DX160.　Never will I use microSD. In data reading speed,
SSD is far faster than microSD, especially in random reading of small data. Optane memory is faster tha SSD, though the memory
capacity is very small (mine is 32gByte) . I have never thought about sorting speed of music files. With SSD, it's so fast.
Though the biggest demerit is shortening of listening time. SSD eats battery's electric power.
But now I can listen to music for about 4.5 hours with iBasso DX160+SSD.
I think Cayin N3 Pro +SSD combo's listening time will be a little longer with bigger than DX160 battery .

Please be reminded the N3Pro OTG support limited the output current to 300mA, M.2 SSD should be OK, but any storage that required more than 300mA is not compatible with N3Pro.

 

[Jeffyue]

Please be reminded the N3Pro OTG support limited the output current to 300mA, M.2 SSD should be OK, but any storage that required more than 300mA is not compatible with N3Pro.

Any data on the battery life if a 300mA SSD is used as the source pls?

 

[Sven2015]

In year 2020 a file limitation by 20.000? Really? This is the BIGGEST showstopper! In Year 2000 this limitation would be okay, but not today!

Cayin device -> checked -> non buying!

What kind of development are you doing? tubes and other gimmicks but a HW / OS / SW limitation....

 

[eaglesgift]

In year 2020 a file limitation by 20.000? Really? This is the BIGGEST showstopper! In Year 2000 this limitation would be okay, but not today!

Cayin device -> checked -> non buying!

What kind of development are you doing? tubes and other gimmicks but a HW / OS / SW limitation....

I survived very well in the days of vinyl without having to carry more than 2,000 albums around with me. I’m glad I’m not as demanding as the average consumer today.

 

[eaglesgift]

Please be reminded the N3Pro OTG support limited the output current to 300mA, M.2 SSD should be OK, but any storage that required more than 300mA is not compatible with N3Pro.

Could you tell me is the USB connection USB 3.x now?

 

[seanwee]

In year 2020 a file limitation by 20.000? Really? This is the BIGGEST showstopper! In Year 2000 this limitation would be okay, but not today!

Cayin device -> checked -> non buying!

What kind of development are you doing? tubes and other gimmicks but a HW / OS / SW limitation....

Just sort your files into categorised folders and it's vastly superior to any built in sorting.

I use file explorer exclusively, it's way faster, doesn't need to scan and it's guaranteed to work on any device.

 

[DavidS11]

I survived very well in the days of vinyl without having to carry more than 2,000 albums around with me. I’m glad I’m not as demanding as the average consumer today.

20,000 songs limit is way more than enough for me too.

 

[staticdynamo]

Thank you Andykong. The first DAP I tried OTGSSD is Cayin N8. And also Cayin N6ii can handle a difficult NVMeSSD well.
I didn't doubt Cayin N3 Pro would support it.
And I will check the power consumption data of SSD before I go to portable audio shops.
I am willing to listen to Cayin N3 Pro in the shop. And I

 

[Licht]

@Sven2015 N3Pro is probably not your cup of tea. If you value user experience, Android-based DAP probably will fit your needs better, and there are quite a lot of choice available at this price range. The N3Pro is way behind most Android DAP in terms of CPU power and OS sophistication. For the record, we didn't choose a low cost CPU, there just isn't a lot of choice of non-Android based system that offer music player solution.



That's correct, N3Pro has a file number limit on music scan. We set it to 20,0000 titles right now. We have stimulated the music library with 30,000 songs, and the database after music scan amounted to over 30MB, that is a huge database for N3Pro CPU and will slow down the responsiveness of some operation. That's why we decided to keep the music scan library limit at 20,000 title. The limit applies to music scan and all features based on music scan, music library with over 20,000 titles will have full access to all songs through File Folder options.

20,000 tracks, will be around 1,500 albums?
Yeah, it depends on music (baroque albums often has more than 20 tracks in one album, but only 4 or 5 in modern symphony album, many pop/rock typically 8 to 15?) but most listeners will be covered?
At least, it is enough for me at the moment, unless I borrow albums from my brother.

Looking forward to listen to the tube sound.
(I just loved the sound of N8 brass edition in nutube mode which I listened to at the shop, but couldn't afford.)

 

[nanu]

Thank you Andykong. The first DAP I tried OTGSSD is Cayin N8. And also Cayin N6ii can handle a difficult NVMeSSD well.
I didn't doubt Cayin N3 Pro would support it. I am willing to listen to Cayin N3 Pro in the shop.

To each his own, but just to give you an example, PCs run mighty fast with mSata/m.2 Sata SSDs, you do not really need NVMe drives for a DAP, m.2 SSD should do fine while saving you a ton of battery too. Do give it a try if you can.

If you already tried this then please pardon my ignorance.

 

[unifutomaki]

In year 2020 a file limitation by 20.000? Really? This is the BIGGEST showstopper! In Year 2000 this limitation would be okay, but not today!

Cayin device -> checked -> non buying!

What kind of development are you doing? tubes and other gimmicks but a HW / OS / SW limitation....

I've been building my digital music collection for a decade and am still at only around 11K files total. This is a portable DAP, not a home server. Right tool for the right job etc

 

[Cat Music]

Do you mean 20,000 songs per folder or for the entire device?

 

[unifutomaki]

The N3Pro is way behind most Android DAP in terms of CPU power and OS sophistication. For the record, we didn't choose a low cost CPU, there just isn't a lot of choice of non-Android based system that offer music player solution.

I will say for what it's worth that I really appreciate that not every DAP is striving to be a (middling at best) Android device with a DAC/amp built in, and there's still room for bespoke hardware and software combinations on the market. They make the listening experience a bit more special than just firing up an app, and that is the real value of a dedicated DAP in this day and age IMO.

 

[eaglesgift]

Do you mean 20,000 songs per folder or for the entire device?

I’m pretty sure he means for the whole device, as far as the music database is concerned. But if you’re using folder view, you can have as many files as you want.