Cayin N5 DAP - Product Info (Post #2), Resources (Post #3) and Discussion

[H20Fidelity]

Barely have time to check out my new toy in past few days, there were 999 items that I need to finish before the Munich Hi-end show.

On the short moments I have with the Shozy Zero, I am amazing by its transparent, beat a lot of IEM at double or triple its price in this domain. On the other hand, If there is a wish list for this IEM, I would say density is something that I want to see some improvements down the road.

But hey, at that price, lets be fair, it is a very good deal already, I really should look at the price tag and be realistic when I ask for more.

Glad you got to try them Andy!

 

[lesp4ul]

I just realized this shaky battery bar, is this also happened to you guys? haha
 
 

 

[samk1234]

i'd like to ask for a general consensus on preferred IEM's with the N5. I've seen some very nice looking pictures in this thread of some sweet looking IEM's, and it's convinced me to upgrade.
 
at the moment i've been using shure se215, which i think is a great match at the price point. these headphones sound warm, aren't overly detailed/analytical, and the highs seem slightly rolled off, which is exactly what i'm looking for. If theres an upgrade of similar sound signature anyone can suggest, I'd love to hear it.
 
price isn't too concerning, though i wouldnt go over 1000 usd.
 
i should mention, i also have an option to swap my bookshelves with an hd800. i use my bookshelves in a desktop system, would this be worth it?

 

[nmatheis]

HD800 is so bright to my ears that I can't imagine using it without modding it first.

For IEM, FLC8S and MEE P1 have been getting ear time from me lately. Both around $300 and good examples of mid-tier hybrid and dynamic IEM.

 

[RollsRoys]

  I just realized this shaky battery bar, is this also happened to you guys? haha
 

It's just an animation of charging. 1% left, all fine

 

[VintageFlanker]

Andykong

Anything about a future firmware update? Works bug-free for me but I'm looking for more themes (a dark one would get my preference).

 

[kevinkar]

Wow, 125 pages of posts took quite some time to get through.  Now that I've done so, I can finally comment on the N5.
 
Got mine from Amazon a few days ago (US$318) and had only one major issue (unfortunately non-DAP related) and that's something I did not see anyone here mention - the little triangle of plastic on the edge just under the scroll wheel was not attached to the N5 but loose in the box.  It's not broken rather it simply came unglued.  I'd show a picture but I'm new and can't post pics yet.
 
When I tried to place it back on the N5 it wouldn't fit right and I struggled with it until I realized the wheel has a white plastic hub that is solid except for a square hole into which a little tab on the plastic triangle should go.  Rotating the wheel will bring that hole into and out of view.  When it's aligned and centered in the gap, the tab will fit in.  But without glue, it falls out.
 
I can put it in place or leave it out and cover it up with the silicone case but taking the N5 out to show my friends means the plastic tab will fall out and expose this flaw and have my buddies laugh at the "high quality" of the N5!
 
This is a lame reason to return it and go through the hassle of a replacement so I was hoping Andy could provide input.  What kind of plastic is this and what kind of glue will hold this in place?  Super Glue?  Model cement?  Other?  The wrong glue could ruin the plastic.  Or is this something only a return will handle?  Should I send it back or what?
 
Given no one else has mentioned this, I'm guessing this is a usually resilient piece of plastic but it's clearly only held on with two very small glue drops and likely to fall off after a good jolt for more users.  I'm not sure why this design decision was made as it seems like the front cover could have covered this area without a glue-on piece.
 
Thoughts?
 
Sorry this is not a technical post about the N5.  I have listened to it and it's pretty good so far.
 
Kevin

 

[kevinkar]

Well, my second post here might be my last depending on what I decide due to my personal experience with my new N5 which has prompted my decision to return it for a refund.
 
While the loose plastic piece was an annoyance, I could live with it as I noted since the player would be in the silicone case anyway so that area under the scroll wheel would at least be protected.  But the deciding factor to return it was the failure of the power button only 6 days into my ownership.  I have only been listening to the N5 while going to bed so it was on my nightstand just playing music for about an hour and I'd reach over and stop the playback and it would then go into hibernation.  Next night I'd wake it from hibernation with the power button and repeat.
 
Well, last night I got in bed, pressed the power button and nothing happened.  I thought maybe it went off instead of into hibernation so I held the button down but again nothing happened.  I then figured maybe it kept playing the night before and ran out of juice so went to my office and plugged into my charger and it went on immediately with the battery level at 78%.  Hmmmmm.
 
So I fiddled with it a bit and I finally realized the power button was not responding.  Can't turn it off or on or wake from hibernation.   It actually will respond if I press it hard but that's not proper as it was working with a light press the night before.  So for no apparent reason the power button has failed. 
 
I'm in Southern California and it's been pretty mild lately so no major humidity.  It's sitting on a nightstand so not a lot of movement going on here.  And lastly I'm 52 and real careful with my electronics so it did not get any abuse at all.  The button just stopped responding.  Because I bought it off Amazon, I will be returning it for a refund.
 
While the machine played well, this failure does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.  I'm not sure I should try getting another one and maybe I should try another brand, specifically the Fiio X5.  Not sure yet.  I do know that the player worked reasonably well and sounded good with my FLAC files though the screen needed some work.  The text is extremely tiny and even my old iRiver H340 is easier to read and (gasp!) my iPod is immensely readable.  The N5 really does not use the screen properly with the tiny information line at top and the very tiny music info scroll (which scrolls too slow in my opinion) at the bottom.  I really think a multi-line arrangement of larger text is better.
 
I did not even get to plug it in to my Marantz AV7005 processor to hear it in my living room.  Just through headphones.  But what I did listen to did sound good.
 
So back it goes.  I'll see what I decide to do in the next few weeks.  I won't be buying any touchscreen models or Android based devices as I have a phone and tablet already and you can't use a touchscreen without looking at it so that's useless to me.  Mechanical buttons you can feel around for and push is what's proper for this sort of device.  So maybe another N5 later to get a newer one or I'll try the X5 and see how that goes.
 
Anyway, that's my less than stellar report.
 
Kevin

 

[nmatheis]

kevinkar: Occasionally failures occur from every product line. I suggest you just get it replaced and enjoy the fully functional replacement you get. Just my two cents...

 

[ForgottenSpy]

kevinkar
 
1) Try to keep charging more.
The charge level you've seen after power failure can be simpy wrong.
I mean the player still can play about 10 hours as it is supposed to be, but charge level information lives its own life.
For example mine piece stops working at level of 70% and something. but total playing time is all right.
I really hope Cayin's engineers can kill this bug at future firmware.
 
2) I am not sure it helps, but you can try hard reset.
 
3) best way was proposed by nmatheis above,
 
PS as for tine types there is DIY tools for making custom firmware, you can embed another type with another size which fits you more.

 

[nmatheis]

To be clear, the FW tools only let you customize the look. You cannot change the inherent functionality of the N5.

So I know this isn't exactly the right thread, but who here's excited for the new i5? Hmm?

 

[kevinkar]

@kevinkar: Occasionally failures occur from every product line. I suggest you just get it replaced and enjoy the fully functional replacement you get. Just my two cents...

I agree.  It would be easier if these players were locally available so I could be a bit more confident in buying another one.  I'll probably wait a bit and pick up another one in a month or two.
 

 
1) Try to keep charging more.
 
2) I am not sure it helps, but you can try hard reset.
 
3) best way was proposed by nmatheis above,
 
PS as for tine types there is DIY tools for making custom firmware, you can embed another type with another size which fits you more.

Thanks for the suggestions.  I did charge it up a bit more but it really was at 78% and got back up to 100% really quick so that was not the issue.  It really is an unresponsive power button.  And I sure did try a hard reset and that worked as it should but it did not bring back the power button function.  I tried a soft reset too with no real results.
 
Yeah, I'll keep reading everyone's posts and see how it goes though it sure looks like this N5 conversation has died down a lot and everyone has already moved on!
 
Thanks again for the input.
 
Kevin

 

[nmatheis]

I think there are plenty of happy N5 owners. We just don't have much new to discuss until new FW is released.

 

[ForgottenSpy]

So I know this isn't exactly the right thread, but who here's excited for the new i5? Hmm?

 
I am the one who is not.
Not big fan of DAPs with touchscreens and other stuff, which replacing DAPs with smartphones.
For me I5 doesn't look like break through. Of course it is significant release for Cayin company to take another market's share, but nothing new as audiophile device.
Looking forward to next Cayin's flagman and i really hope it won't be I7

 

[H20Fidelity]

Listening to N5 tonight from those Shozy Zero again.

The magic pairing.