[bibas]

Hi will you recommend the Cayin N5? Reading through the threads, seems like it is good. Im deciding between this and the Aune M1s. I can only invest in 1 so trying to make a wise decision. I listen to any songs. Thanks

 

[470221]

Up: I will recommend it, If you don't need streaming music apps like Tidal or Spotify, N5 is good choice. In other case try i5 instead. Just buy external sd card reader to copy/remove files.

 

[nmatheis]

Hi will you recommend the Cayin N5? Reading through the threads, seems like it is good. Im deciding between this and the Aune M1s. I can only invest in 1 so trying to make a wise decision. I listen to any songs. Thanks

Both have pros and cons...

N5 has 2 x mSD slots for more music, more functionality, and better sounding single-ended output to my ears vs M1s. On the other hand, the UI is more complicated and balanced out isn't as clean as M1s. Depends on what you're looking for. I can reply in more detail as needed. You can always PM me, too. I've got other DAPs I could recommend depending on your wants / needs.

 

[tienbasse]

Both have pros and cons...

N5 has 2 x mSD slots for more music, more functionality, and better sounding single-ended output to my ears vs M1s. On the other hand, the UI is more complicated and balanced out isn't as clean as M1s.

Are you refering to hiss with certain IEMs for the balanced output of the N5 ?
Because otherwise, I find it greatly superior to the SE output regarding soundstage.
 
I wouldn't call N5 UI "more complicated", it's fairly simple but takes a bit more time to go through large libraries when compared to touchscreen-based UI, due to the wheel being purely mechanical (=slow). I would call it "old-fashioned", but it is quite straightforward and efficient, because you can do most operations blind.
 
I guess it's a question of preference, I like it but being an Android addict, I'm now faster with an Android-type touchscreen UI, but most DAPs based on Android don't come with 2 slots except Opus #1 and FiiO X5iii, which is a requirement for me, unless someone would be kind enough to propose 256Gb internally without having to pay 3000$.

 

[edb]

Last night, I ran into some issues with my N5.
 
I listened to music while falling asleep, that is my routine. Last night, when I started music at about 1:00 and placed it under pillow, the player has 40% battery. When I woke up at 3:50, the player was so warm, it was barely touchable. I knew it gets warm while playing, but this was the first time it was so warm; and it gets warm usually when playing and charging at the same time. But last night, it was just playing.
 
I took it from under the pillow to let it cool down, and noticed that it says battery 80+%. I let it play for a while, and it shut down out of battery after a while. This morning, when I plugged it to charge, it says 80% battery.
 
I heard that N5 has inaccurate battery life reading, but is it that bad, will this kill my beloved N5? If I need to DIY battery replacement, what battery to buy?
 
Thanks.

 

[myemaildw]

My n5 also gets warm, accurate degree would be niceasier, the I have goes to 50, not always though, usually it's cold

 

[samuelboy]

Last night, I ran into some issues with my N5.

I listened to music while falling asleep, that is my routine. Last night, when I started music at about 1:00 and placed it under pillow, the player has 40% battery. When I woke up at 3:50, the player was so warm, it was barely touchable. I knew it gets warm while playing, but this was the first time it was so warm; and it gets warm usually when playing and charging at the same time. But last night, it was just playing.

I took it from under the pillow to let it cool down, and noticed that it says battery 80+%. I let it play for a while, and it shut down out of battery after a while. This morning, when I plugged it to charge, it says 80% battery.

I heard that N5 has inaccurate battery life reading, but is it that bad, will this kill my beloved N5? If I need to DIY battery replacement, what battery to buy?

Thanks.

I don't think putting under the pillow is advisable as all the heat generated will be trapped.

Yeah apparently i wasn't alone. My post (#2405) regarding the battery indicator being out of calibration since a year ago is still not solved.

 

[470221]

Please write directly to AndyKong here or to john@cayin.cn. At least they are responding to mails/messages.

 

[Andykong]

Last night, I ran into some issues with my N5.

I listened to music while falling asleep, that is my routine. Last night, when I started music at about 1:00 and placed it under pillow, the player has 40% battery. When I woke up at 3:50, the player was so warm, it was barely touchable. I knew it gets warm while playing, but this was the first time it was so warm; and it gets warm usually when playing and charging at the same time. But last night, it was just playing.

I took it from under the pillow to let it cool down, and noticed that it says battery 80+%. I let it play for a while, and it shut down out of battery after a while. This morning, when I plugged it to charge, it says 80% battery.

I heard that N5 has inaccurate battery life reading, but is it that bad, will this kill my beloved N5? If I need to DIY battery replacement, what battery to buy?

Thanks.

Putting the N5 under pillow and keep it playing for 2-3 hours are indeed a dangerous act. Temperature is known to have a significant impact on the performance, safety, and cycle lifetime of lithium-ion batteries. There are studies to prove that when Lithium battery operates a thigh temperature, it will increase the cycling aging rate seriously. If this is your routine practice, I certainly will advice you to adjust your pattern. Please find a open-space to place your beloved N5 when you listen to music while you falling asleep.

Right now, the important thing is to get the battery back in good operating condition. I have posted instruction to calibrate the battery gauge previously, ignore the battery reading for the moment and follow the instruction to reset the battery gauge. Let's hope the battery has not been damaged due to over-heated operation at long hours.

 

[samuelboy]

Right now, the important thing is to get the battery back in good operating condition. I have posted instruction to calibrate the battery gauge previously, ignore the battery reading for the moment and follow the instruction to reset the battery gauge. Let's hope the battery has not been damaged due to over-heated operation at long hours.

Will there be any rectification to the battery reading in any upcoming firmware update?

 

[Andykong]

Will there be any rectification to the battery reading in any upcoming firmware update?

We tried, unfortunately can't find any possible mean to achieve that, the power management chip cannot collect updated feedback from the battery, so we can only work out the remaining capacity based on estimation from power consumption history, which will different from the battery actual remaining capacity. Changed a few algorithm, the improvement is minimal.

 

[nmatheis]

Are you refering to hiss with certain IEMs for the balanced output of the N5 ?
Because otherwise, I find it greatly superior to the SE output regarding soundstage.

I wouldn't call N5 UI "more complicated", it's fairly simple but takes a bit more time to go through large libraries when compared to touchscreen-based UI, due to the wheel being purely mechanical (=slow). I would call it "old-fashioned", but it is quite straightforward and efficient, because you can do most operations blind.

I guess it's a question of preference, I like it but being an Android addict, I'm now faster with an Android-type touchscreen UI, but most DAPs based on Android don't come with 2 slots except Opus #1 and FiiO X5iii, which is a requirement for me, unless someone would be kind enough to propose 256Gb internally without having to pay 3000$.

Hey. Don't get me wrong, I love my N5, bro!

I was trying to say that...

1. N5 single-ended output sounds better to me than M1s single-ended output.

2. M1s balanced output sounds better to me than N5 balanced output.

3. N5 is more feature-rich than M1s, making M1s simpler to use.

4. N5 plays gapless natively, whereas M1s requires a CUE file.

Personally, I require gapless. It really bugs me when a seamless album is interrupted by glitches between songs, so I'm more likely to use a DAP that has good gapless support.

And yes, 2 x mSD slots is important for me, too. I have a lot of music and prefer to use 2 x 200gb cards with FLAC files.

I hope that clarifies things

 

[samuelboy]

We tried, unfortunately can't find any possible mean to achieve that, the power management chip cannot collect updated feedback from the battery, so we can only work out the remaining capacity based on estimation of power consumption history, which will different from the battery actual remaining capacity. Changed a few algorithm, the improvement is minimal.

I see... in that case no choice gotta live with it, just that resale value may take a hit during upgrading... or keep it for good!

 

[Andykong]

I see... in that case no choice gotta live with it, just that resale value may take a hit during upgrading... or keep it for good!

This is a limitation from the MCU, because the MCU is not providing the battery information needed for accurate battery calculation, there is nothing much we can do. In fact, we believe all DAP using the same MCU will face similar problem, but you probably won't feel the issue when most of the DAP implementation will provide a 5 bar battery gauge only.

 

[470221]

Sorry to say that, but I returned my N5 back to the store. Player was unstable and shut down several times without warning, even when battery was full.
So back to LG G5 until I buy new player