[Hanesu]

I am using the N5ii for almost a week now, and have mixed feelings, to be honest. Just some quick impressions:

POSITIVE:

- Sound: So far really good!
I don`t feel it sounds significantly better than other DAPs in this price range that I have used, so I would not call it "particularly spectacular" (but which one is? Recently they all sound good) ... For sure the sound is very articulated, precise and clear .... a little bit more on the analytical than musical side (depending on your liking)....
Very nice in total and well worth the money and title "high quality audio player"!

- Design & feel: I feel the i5-Design (which I still found a bit cheesy with it`s strange engraved lines) finally got mature! The N5ii looks and feels simply outstanding!! I love the industrial look, the simplicity (even the high res sticker is "optional"!) , the small footprint, the individual back side with it`s zen like graphics...this is close to perfect in my opinion and exactly the kind of design and physical dimensions I was looking for a long time (at least at this price point)!

- I like the idea that the third party apps are somehow hidden and that there are no default Google Apps etc. You can really concentrate on the function as music player and only download the stuff that you really need!


NEGATIVE:

- The quick start guide is - sorry for saying it like that - terrible!! Cayin, please rethink and rewrite it! When I first switched the device on, it took me almost an hour and some postings in this forum to find out how to switch on Wifi! Why? Because the "Audio Priority Mode" is switched on by defaut and it IS NOT EVEN MENTIONED in the quick start guide (nor can be found in a VISIBLE menue)! How should you know that it exists? Since the OS does not even look close to android - I think I am not the only one that did not have the idea straight away to swipe down the HIDDEN top bar, to find the only way to switch it off and switch on Wifi! Just to name one problem....

- My device had the first version of the firmware installed and it did not come with the Google Play Store!! It took me quite a while until I found out I HAVE to update to a newer version of the firmware first and then finally had the Playstore installed! Nothing mentioned in the quick start guide, too!

- This device does not work well at all with streaming apps! I am hearing some weird beeping noises when I stream, the download performance is sooo slow and sometimes completely stops, streaming generally stotters and it takes ages to change the title....especially with Apple Music it`s almost unusable....I cannot even use the physical buttons with it when the screen is switched off!

- The Android EQ that was implemented in Spotify and Apple Music can not be used and seems to be somehow taken out!

- The device freezes and restarts on a regular base...not nice.

- Screen: As mentioned by others: It`s definitely on the darker side and the viewing angles are bad for current standards. Would be fine for me though, since this is a music player .... but what I find a bit more problematic is that the touch screen sometimes reacts with quite a delay!


So as I said...my feelings are mixed. I was hoping to have finally found a DAP in a perfect size for me that I can also use for streaming....but it does not seem to be the right one....hmmmm?

 

[Audalu]

I had a decent run with the N5ii but I have to return it.

The new FW introduced constant audio stops
I had several issues with the display (color inversion, an explosion of pixels displaying all the colors of the universe and a permanent dead pixel)
The interface isn't very responsive
Cover art randomly gets blurry (files are fine, a restart fixes the issue "immediately")
Random freezes and resets to the status at boot up (song, menu, audio level, etc.)
Jumpy volume wheel (though it really got a lot better with the new FW)

That said, when the player works, it works great. I will miss the big volume wheel the most. I hope in half a year or a year all the issues will be ironed out and then I might give it another spin. For now, I have switched to the Pioneer XDP-300r.

Well, that's quite a few hphones already! If I may offer a small suggestion, and as I see you like Philips, take your N5ii, find a store that carries the Fidelio X2, which shouldn't be too difficult, depending on where you live, and try it out. It's a fantastic open-back hphone, it is now very affordable (under eur200) and delivers a fantastic sound quality, regardless of the price. I have a pair, and every time I put them on I'm amazed. And if you wish to try an excellent iem, again very affordable (under 50), maybe you could give a shot at the Hifiman re400. Just my (very) personal take.

Thanks for the suggestion. I was eyeballing the X2 for a while now and went went for it just two weeks ago. I love it

 

[seanwee]

I had a decent run with the N5ii but I have to return it.

The new FW introduced constant audio stops
I had several issues with the display (color inversion, an explosion of pixels displaying all the colors of the universe and a permanent dead pixel)
The interface isn't very responsive
Cover art randomly gets blurry (files are fine, a restart fixes the issue "immediately")
Random freezes and resets to the status at boot up (song, menu, audio level, etc.)
Jumpy volume wheel (though it really got a lot better with the new FW)

That said, when the player works, it works great. I will miss the big volume wheel the most. I hope in half a year or a year all the issues will be ironed out and then I might give it another spin. For now, I have switched to the Pioneer XDP-300r.

I have had occasional freezes that resume on their own but constant audio stops? Damn.

Imo the interface is much more responsive than the Hidizs AP200 and the FiiO X5iii. It is on par with the Opus 1 but the Opus 1 has this annoying issue that doesn't allow you to play music until it has loaded the media library even in folder browser.

I have not had any issues so far with the display. I have seen the blurry album art issue before but its only for half a second when it first loads the song.

No annoying restarts so far. And the jumpy volume has been completely resolved with 3.1en

 

[Brownman_80]

anybody tried N5ii with either Nano/Micro iDSD using this Anker usb-c to usb adapter? I got a few questions about it after the review since I only paired up Micro using Cayin's coax cable, while used usb-c to micro-usb in another pair up. I probably going to order this adapter anyway, but curious if anybody tried it or

Please see post 794. I have posted these observations before

I am guessing the one which you are about to purchase is a USB 3.1 due to its blue color. I used the same cable but with a different brand to hook it up with my Nano BL. Signal is not stable. Lots of pops/cracks/pauses especially when you're playing DSD file.

 

[twister6]

Please see post 794. I have posted these observations before

I am guessing the one which you are about to purchase is a USB 3.1 due to its blue color. I used the same cable but with a different brand to hook it up with my Nano BL. Signal is not stable. Lots of pops/cracks/pauses especially when you're playing DSD file.

I ordered another cable from eBay. Should have it in a few days and will share my findings. I'm especially curious how the sound quality compares to using Cayin coax cable.

 

[Audalu]

I have had occasional freezes that resume on their own but constant audio stops? Damn.

Imo the interface is much more responsive than the Hidizs AP200 and the FiiO X5iii. It is on par with the Opus 1 but the Opus 1 has this annoying issue that doesn't allow you to play music until it has loaded the media library even in folder browser.

I have not had any issues so far with the display. I have seen the blurry album art issue before but its only for half a second when it first loads the song.

No annoying restarts so far. And the jumpy volume has been completely resolved with 3.1en

Oh, I guess my choice of words was a bit off. We mean the same thing. Though the freezes didn't just happen occasionally but at least once every 20 minutes.

I don't know, I guess I had a faulty display from the start? I just did a factory reset before sending it back tomorrow and when it rebooted it laughed straight in my face with inverted colors (btw. the blueish inverted color scheme looks actually pretty good).
Yeah the blurry album art happened frequently. I could go through an album and the first two tracks display just fine, the third one is all blurry but everything after that is fine again. It's really strange.

Oh well, once the kinks are out this will be an amazing player for sure!

 

[seanwee]

Oh, I guess my choice of words was a bit off. We mean the same thing. Though the freezes didn't just happen occasionally but at least once every 20 minutes.

I don't know, I guess I had a faulty display from the start? I just did a factory reset before sending it back tomorrow and when it rebooted it laughed straight in my face with inverted colors (btw. the blueish inverted color scheme looks actually pretty good).
Yeah the blurry album art happened frequently. I could go through an album and the first two tracks display just fine, the third one is all blurry but everything after that is fine again. It's really strange.

Oh well, once the kinks are out this will be an amazing player for sure!

Once every 20 mins is pretty bad. Btw, did the songs that froze have album art?

 

[PopZeus]

So, I broke down and bought the iBasso IT01 after reading in this thread about how well it paired with the N5ii. And yeah, after having listened to Cayin's new DAP though those IEMs, I can attest to how well the two pieces of kit sound together. First of all, no need to correct the sound profile with the EQ, allowing me to run the DAP in audio priority mode all the time. Because of that, the IT01 is super efficient, keeping the gain on low and the volume between 40-60, saving on battery life. Also, I love how they sound through the SE output, which is another boon to battery life. The balanced implementation is fantastic but it's nice to have a pair of phones that don't NEED balanced outs to get a satisfying listen.

 

[Terthna]

So I'm coming up on the limit for returning my Cayin N5ii, and I'm seriously considering whether or not I should. The GUI on this thing is not what I had hoped it would be, and I'm worried that many of the things I don't like about this device will never improve.

I actually just stumbled across Bad Guy Good Audio's review of the Cayin N5ii, which basically just boils down to him recommending not to bother with it and instead get the HiBy R6. While it hasen't released yet, his review of the device praises it to high heaven (with the only detriment to it that I can see being the lack of a second micro sd slot). So should I return this thing and wait until I can get hold of the HiBy R6, or just wait and hope this thing gets better over time?

 

[Dobrescu George]

So I'm coming up on the limit for returning my Cayin N5ii, and I'm seriously considering whether or not I should. The GUI on this thing is not what I had hoped it would be, and I'm worried that many of the things I don't like about this device will never improve.

You're talking about a ~350$ device vs a ~650$ one here...

There's no comparison, the classes are entirely different.

N5ii compares to Opus #1s in price and in that sense, the competition would be fair and explained.

I will hear R6 sometime soon, and I have high hopesfor it, but again, it is a 650$ device AFAIK, not a 350$ one...

 

[seanwee]

So I'm coming up on the limit for returning my Cayin N5ii, and I'm seriously considering whether or not I should. The GUI on this thing is not what I had hoped it would be, and I'm worried that many of the things I don't like about this device will never improve.

I actually just stumbled across Bad Guy Good Audio's review of the Cayin N5ii, which basically just boils down to him recommending not to bother with it and instead get the HiBy R6. While it hasen't released yet, his review of the device praises it to high heaven (with the only detriment to it that I can see being the lack of a second micro sd slot). So should I return this thing and wait until I can get hold of the HiBy R6, or just wait and hope this thing gets better over time?

I thought the Hiby R6 was almost double the price of the N5ii?

That said the Hiby R6 IS claimed to be the fastest android DAP so far.

 

[Terthna]

You're talking about a ~350$ device vs a ~650$ one here...

There's no comparison, the classes are entirely different.

N5ii compares to Opus #1s in price and in that sense, the competition would be fair and explained.

I will hear R6 sometime soon, and I have high hopesfor it, but again, it is a 650$ device AFAIK, not a 350$ one...

Somewhat true, but it's still an option I need to consider.

I thought the Hiby R6 was almost double the price of the N5ii?

That said the Hiby R6 IS claimed to be the fastest android DAP so far.

Actually if you pre-order over on their Indigogo page, you can apparently get the Aluminium Alloy version for $509, and the Stainless Steel version for $559.

 

[jeffhawke]

Somewhat true, but it's still an option I need to consider.

Actually if you pre-order over on their Indigogo page, you can apparently get the Aluminium Alloy version for $509, and the Stainless Steel version for $559.

Don't the N5ii and the R6 share the same music software (by Hiby)? And if they have not been able to sort things out for Cayin (a major client of Hiby's), why should we think the R6 is trouble free? After all, I don't remember any N5ii beta testers complain about any bugs, nor any for the R6. Production units are different than beta units, I'd rather spend some more money and buy stuff after all problems have been ironed out. This regardless of price, performance and output impedance differences.

 

[seanwee]

Don't the N5ii and the R6 share the same music software (by Hiby)? And if they have not been able to sort things out for Cayin (a major client of Hiby's), why should we think the R6 is trouble free? After all, I don't remember any N5ii beta testers complain about any bugs, nor any for the R6. Production units are different than beta units, I'd rather spend some more money and buy stuff after all problems have been ironed out. This regardless of price, performance and output impedance differences.

Yes but there is quite a performance difference between a rockchip 3188 and a snapdragon 425 nevertheless.

 

[Terthna]

Yes but there is quite a performance difference between a rockchip 3188 and a snapdragon 425 nevertheless.

Not to mention the fact that there seems to be some difference between the stock HiBy player, and the Cayin configured one. For one, the original player dosen't seem to have those stupid generic genre categories at the top under the Genre tab.