[JaRGoNzZ]

Not sure what happen here but my N5 got this error message while skipping song connected to mojo via coaxial. Forced restart and everything is back to normal

 

[myemaildw]

had that error too

now cayin n5 works on iPhone, just need extra USB power and lightning attached

cayin n5 and neutron player balanced lol

 

[tibrocks]

Hi All,
 
I've been using the N5 for a week now and have some questions if anyone could help?
 
A. Battery life / operating temp - I'm using 2 pair of headphones most of the time, one 16 ohms and the other 64. The player gets hot regardless.. also battery life is not great (less than 9h stated) - is there something I can do to improve this? Does the file type matter? I play only FLAC and DSD files. 
 
B. DAC operation - Is this supposed to decode DSD as well? connected it to PC (software obtained from Chinese version of Cayin) but went up to 24/192?
 
C. Tagging - cannot figure this out. I've been using MusicBee to manage tags and file names, file naming works flawless and everything is properly tagged in MusicBee however when I load the files on N5 only Some of them are tagged correctly, others are just reading Unknown or have weird tags? 
 
Thanks all in advance! 

 

[edb]

  Hi All,
 
I've been using the N5 for a week now and have some questions if anyone could help?
 
A. Battery life / operating temp - I'm using 2 pair of headphones most of the time, one 16 ohms and the other 64. The player gets hot regardless.. also battery life is not great (less than 9h stated) - is there something I can do to improve this? Does the file type matter? I play only FLAC and DSD files. 
 
B. DAC operation - Is this supposed to decode DSD as well? connected it to PC (software obtained from Chinese version of Cayin) but went up to 24/192?
 
C. Tagging - cannot figure this out. I've been using MusicBee to manage tags and file names, file naming works flawless and everything is properly tagged in MusicBee however when I load the files on N5 only Some of them are tagged correctly, others are just reading Unknown or have weird tags? 
 
Thanks all in advance! 

I only played APE file so far. APE format is supposed to require more processing power than FLAC to decode. Understandably, it will make battery life short. I did not do an accurate of battery life measurement, but I feel it is less than 9 hours, but no much.
 
I use Mp3tag for tagging. Though the software name says MP3, it actually handles most music file format without any problem. Its tags work well with N5 for all my files (mp3 and APE) with minor issues.

 

[Andykong]

My N5 arrived......

Can anyone tell me what the Digital Filter is all about and what the settings actually do?
At this point I can't hear the difference, or maybe I just don't know what to listen for.

The Filter option of N5 is a direct implementation of the digital filters from AK4490, AKM describe them as Sound Color Digital Filter (SCDF)

Focusing on the waveform in the time domain, the built-in 32-bit 8x digital filter controls the transient response of the signal. The 5 types of digital filters allow the music playback in a variety of sound quality settings by switching the filter type.

The diagram suggested the biggest different among the filters are Super Slow Roll-off vs Sharp roll-off, so if you want to experiment on the digital filter, start with this two filter settings, you should be able to tell which is the preferred setting and then you can further explore from there on. For example, if you prefer Super Slow Roll-off, you can compare it with Short delay Slow roll-off, the different should be relatively subtle by now.

In my experience with N5, the different between filters are really subtle and can only be heard when you compare them critically .... unless you have ultra sharp ears and is using a pair of extremely resolving IEM. If you won't bother the subtle different or prefer shuffle/random play regularly, I suggest you set the filter to Slow roll-off which is the middle of everything, this should give you peace of mind without significant different from other filter options.

 

[Andykong]

Hi All,

I've been using the N5 for a week now and have some questions if anyone could help?

A. Battery life / operating temp - I'm using 2 pair of headphones most of the time, one 16 ohms and the other 64. The player gets hot regardless.. also battery life is not great (less than 9h stated) - is there something I can do to improve this? Does the file type matter? I play only FLAC and DSD files. 

B. DAC operation - Is this supposed to decode DSD as well? connected it to PC (software obtained from Chinese version of Cayin) but went up to 24/192?

C. Tagging - cannot figure this out. I've been using MusicBee to manage tags and file names, file naming works flawless and everything is properly tagged in MusicBee however when I load the files on N5 only Some of them are tagged correctly, others are just reading Unknown or have weird tags? 

Thanks all in advance! 

What is the firmware version you are using in your N5? v3.1 firmware has improved the metadata handling, you should get most, if not all the tag right if you are using the latest firmware.

Three operational issues will affect the battery duration:
(1) DAC workload (relate to file format and resolution)
(2) Current drain from headphone amplifier (relate to headphone loading)
(3) Usage of screen

I have tested my N5 in the early stage (roughly 2 months after I receive my sample) and the player can meet the 9 hours claim when playing 16bit/44.1kHz WAV file at moderate volume (around low gain 20), screen off all the way only checking the battery reading once per hour, from 100% to auto power off.

N5 can decode DSD, both locally and through USB input, it is likely a software setting on the computer side that convert the DSD to PCM before output to USB.

 

[Andykong]

Not sure what happen here but my N5 got this error message while skipping song connected to mojo via coaxial. Forced restart and everything is back to normal

A software crashed, the system dumped all the hardware status to the screen so that Programmer can use these data to debug the problem. Please send the original photo to me at andy.kong@cayin.cn, I'll forward the error screen to our programmer and they'll follow up with the problem. If this is a potential recursive problem, we probably will rectify it in the next firmware update.

 

[Level]

The Filter option of N5 is a direct implementation of the digital filters from AK4490, AKM describe them as Sound Color Digital Filter (SCDF)


The diagram suggested the biggest different among the filters are Super Slow Roll-off vs Sharp roll-off, so if you want to experiment on the digital filter, start with this two filter settings, you should be able to tell which is the preferred setting and then you can further explore from there on. For example, if you prefer Super Slow Roll-off, you can compare it with Short delay Slow roll-off, the different should be relatively subtle by now.

In my experience with N5, the different between filters are really subtle and can only be heard when you compare them critically .... unless you have ultra sharp ears and is using a pair of extremely resolving IEM. If you won't bother the subtle different or prefer shuffle/random play regularly, I suggest you set the filter to Slow roll-off which is the middle of everything, this should give you peace of mind without significant different from other filter options.

Thank you Andy, I'll do some additional testing and see if I can hear differences between them.
My impression thus far is that burn-in is a more dramatic audio progression than the subtle change between filter settings, or it at least sufficiently alters a filter effect to render accurate comparisons more difficult, if not impossible at this early stage. Likely I'll be better able to judge the filters when burn-in is complete, I've got a ways to go yet.

 

[Andykong]

had that error too

now cayin n5 works on iPhone, just need extra USB power and lightning attached

cayin n5 and neutron player balanced lol

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I hope I understand your setup correctly, you have Neutron Music Player at your iphone, lighting to USB hub to i5, and then balanced phone output to your headphone? The cabling is a bit complicated and probably not convenient to do this on portable mode, but this sound a lot of fun, especially if there are some function in Neutron plalyer that you really like.

Wander how will this setup compare to an Cayin i5 with Neutron Player installed? But then you can't have balanced phone out from i5.

 

[Andykong]

Enjoying my first two days in California right now, I think this is the best part of the year, can run around in short sleeves without getting sweating.

Jet lag is not too bad in this flight, I can maintain roughly 70% efficient today, will travel to Denver tomorrow morning and hopefully will be in good shape by the time we start RMAF.

Just in case new comers might not be aware of, Cayin will be at the CanJam RMAF 2016 this weekend, we'll bring our complete line of portable/headfi products to the show. If you happen to be around Denver this weekend, please come at check out our demo at the CanJam tent. We'll love to meet up with customers and new friends, so bring your headphones and your TF cards along, we are waiting for you at the party.

i5 DAP
N5 DAP
N6 DAP
C5 Portable Amplifier
C5DAC Portable DAC/Amp
iDAC-6 Desktop DAC
iHA-6 Desktop Headphone Amplifier
iHA-1A mk2 Desktop Tube Headphone Amplifier

 

[Andykong]

Thank you Andy, I'll do some additional testing and see if I can hear differences between them.
My impression thus far is that burn-in is a more dramatic audio progression than the subtle change between filter settings, or it at least sufficiently alters a filter effect to render accurate comparisons more difficult, if not impossible. Likely I will be better able to judge the filters when burn-in is complete, I've got a ways to go yet.

In my experience, the first 100 hours of N5 makes a lot of different, and the second 100 hours will introduce some subtle changes only, the player will become stable after that. But this is my personal observation only, its not empirical nor scientific, just a humble personal experience.

 

[Level]

On another note......where can I purchase an additional screen protector, the one Cayin ships with the N5?

 

[edb]

When N5 displays album cover picture, what are the limits for file format, file size and picture pixel count? I have a jpg file 1200x1200 in size, less than 200kB, but it does not show up.

 

[Andykong]

When N5 displays album cover picture, what are the limits for file format, file size and picture pixel count? I have a jpg file 1200x1200 in size, less than 200kB, but it does not show up.

Resolution limit is 1000x1000, yu can resize your album art and try again

 

[edb]

  When N5 displays album cover picture, what are the limits for file format, file size and picture pixel count? I have a jpg file 1200x1200 in size, less than 200kB, but it does not show up.

OK, I just solved the problem for myself. The file name has to be cover.jpg. Previously I have "artist name".jpg