Cayin N5ii Android based Master Quality Digital Audio Player

[Joe Bloggs]

I will be removed from the FiiO organization as of the beginning of April

April 2016... That was quite a while ago Now up to my old tricks with the new company since their new release finally reached customers last month

 

[seanwee]

April 2016... That was quite a while ago Now up to my old tricks with the new company since their new release finally reached customers last month

HiBy R6?

Didn't know you were lurking here haha

 

[WhiteNightCrow]

I had no issue with N5ii, and if it does happen one day, I'm looking forward to March update and yes, I think it's worth to keep N5ii.

I've compare it with many DAPs and found it really good for its price. Almost no competition in sub $400 for me.

 

[majo123]

Well it seems to be the one ticking the boxes for me...i have considered opus1 s I'm not into streaming and just play files from card and I own the original which I love , also shanling m3s as well ...shanlings 1 card slot is a bit of a put off though and there are no opus1 s in England I can find, I have considered buying from amazon us though.
But the cayin is getting high praise for its sound and is available in England just waiting for stock to arrive then I probably will buy.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Well it seems to be the one ticking the boxes for me...i have considered opus1 s I'm not into streaming and just play files from card and I own the original which I love , also shanling m3s as well ...shanlings 1 card slot is a bit of a put off though and there are no opus1 s in England I can find, I have considered buying from amazon us though.
But the cayin is getting high praise for its sound and is available in England just waiting for stock to arrive then I probably will buy.

Both great DAPs. No question. I'm really enjoying the Opus#1S. But I still think the N5ii is a little better. Sound, build, and aesthetics, Cayin does it for me.

 

[majo123]

Both great DAPs. No question. I'm really enjoying the Opus#1S. But I still think the N5ii is a little better. Sound, build, and aesthetics, Cayin does it for me.

Hey cheers...i bought my opus1 after reading your review and a couple of questions put your way.
i have to say your review of the opus1 was honestly spot on in my opinion love that dap my hat off to you...i think I will be buying the cayin as I said it's ticking the boxes in what I have read from you and others.

 

[blue212]

Newby to this... might be silly question... why does one need multiple DAP’s? Is it to have different sound signatures? Different functionality? Different size?

 

[majo123]

Newby to this... might be silly question... why does one need multiple DAP’s? Is it to have different sound signatures? Different functionality? Different size?

Actually no need ,but yes those reasons are all apliccable , my reasons are I upgrade every so often because the tech and sound move on at quite a pace, basically they get better.
I use my older one for work and my work can be slightly physical so potential knocks and damage all though minimal

 

[HD800NL]

Newby to this... might be silly question... why does one need multiple DAP’s? Is it to have different sound signatures? Different functionality? Different size?

Different match with different headphones? OPUS#1 has a good match with Meze headphones. I like Cayin with OPPO PM-3 and MrSpeakers AEON Flow, both planars.

 

[taffy2207]

Newby to this... might be silly question... why does one need multiple DAP’s? Is it to have different sound signatures? Different functionality? Different size?

Because chicks dig DAPs. Welcome to Head-fi

 

[majo123]

Because chicks dig DAPs. Welcome to Head-fi

Mine don't lol

 

[aaf evo]

Love this DAP, unfortunately I'll have to sell it as I found one that better suits my needs. If anyone is looking to buy one shoot me a PM.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Because chicks dig DAPs. Welcome to Head-fi

There are many reasons actually, for example what you're in the mood to use, different DAPs can do different things better, like pair differently with certain IEMs / headphones

 

[seanwee]

Newby to this... might be silly question... why does one need multiple DAP’s? Is it to have different sound signatures? Different functionality? Different size?

Let's see here, my first player was a sansa fuze which I got from my mother back in 2012 as a birthday present. I rockboxed it about a year later because it couldn't play AAC files. (functionality upgrade)

2 years later, I got the FiiO X1 because the scroll wheel on the sansa fuze was dying. (necessary replacement). It was around this period where I really started getting into audio. While having the X1 I managed to try out the DX90 and got a taste of how a good player sounds like. Unfortunately I did not have enough money at the time so I couldn't get it. It did, however, give me upgraditis.

Another 2 years later, now in 2016, I used a SD card issue(some folders weren't showing up on the X1) as an excuse to get a new player. The Xduoo X3 (Sound upgrade). And just a year later, the X10 came out and I managed to pressure my father into letting me buy the X10 (Massdrop sale was ending, really good deal compared to what we could get here, gave the X3 to my younger brother)(sound upgrade). At around 6 months after my X1 had the SD card issue my sister's X1 died for real (wouldn't boot, just heat up like the sun when switched on) so I managed to convince my father to get her a Cayin N3 (I wanted to try out the N3 sound, it had the same dac as the X10, the X10 sounded superior btw)

Fast forward to 2018 I found out that my Xduoo X10 had degraded in sound after relistening to my sister's N3 and finding that the N3 sounded better. This lead to me buying the N5ii just last month (sound upgrade but as a result of not wanting a sound downgrade, UI and functionality got a huge upgrade too )

Tl:dr on why i changed player : replacement player, sound upgrade, sound upgrade, sound upgrade-ish

So mostly it's because you want better sound.

In the case of audio players I think I would prefer to go step by step instead of immediately splurging on an A&K A&ultima SP1000 for example. You get to hear each upgrade. (As always, diminishing returns will apply)

 

[CongoFather]

It freezes and needs a restart after I press power button once to activate/open the screen in order to choose another song while listening in offline mode Tidal or Spotify by using external DAC from usb output(Mojo, IFI Micro IDSD BLack)..(it is closed after a period of time to save battery).

However, it is interesting that it works as expected and does not freeze when I do the same things and listen directly from phone-Out of N5ii(Tidal/Spotify etc..).. It seems to be another bug when it is used with an external DAC/Amplifier using USB-OUT.

I think some people also have similar problems. When I listen Spotify in offline mode using external USB DAC/Amplifier)(IFI Micro Idsd Black & Chord Mojo), it suddenly stops playing when it tries to play next song as soon as the current playing song ends. I need to restart the device and play the next song manually. It happens very often and it is really annoying.

In addition to this, unexpexted crashes(it stops playing the song) occur during listening from directly balanced headphone out of N5ii, which requires a restart.

Were these bugs/issues identified before and will they be resolved on the next firmware update?

Edit: When I listen Spotify in offline mode, it frequently stopped randomly. All I can do is only rebooting the device by pressing power button for a long time.I use the latest firmware 3.1En by the way.