Cayin N5ii Android based Master Quality Digital Audio Player

[Andykong]

@CayinSupport , @Andykong did you see the light at the end of the tunnel for the usb-out issue?
When should we expect to see the next release? (At the beginning/end of April??)

A very good chance that we'll have a new firmware by end of March, but I am not sure sure about the USB Audio features right now. The problem involve low-level programming and Cayin is working with HiBy to resolve the problem. Since it goes out of the our in-house R&D department, I can't keep track of the technical progress,

 

[Andykong]

Anyone tried running a 3 meter (10 ft) USB cable out of the N5ii and into an external DAC?
Does it work with such length?
(My Sony WM1Z doesn't and I need it in the car)

If you use it as data cable, the maximum length is 5m (USB 2,1)

However if you use it as an digital audio cable, i'll say 3m is possible but can't be sure until you try it out. My advice is, if you have to do this, go for cable with good shielding and try to avoid passing through the long USB cable over Power cord or RF noise intensive area.

The coaxial cable should works with 3m, depends on the quality of the cable. We are not going to accept custom make order for the type-C USB cable, but we have published the pin assignment and users can following the instruction to DIY their own Type-C to coaxial cable.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cay...coax-out-for-150.833932/page-39#post-13377537

 

[samycinema]

Thank you Andy!
It was nice meeting you at CanJam NYC.
You guys are doing a great job.
So in this case (3 meters) you recommend running USB or coaxial?
Cheers!

 

[a5150g]

Im running a 1m cayin cable into 5m coax by QED and it works no problem. Also tried an USB cable with qed graphite and it worked to, although daps support for usb is weak and plug in notes on dap were annoying. so go for coax, just make sure you have a decent coax barrel to connect two cables as being digital it needs good connection

 

[Andykong]

Thank you Andy!
It was nice meeting you at CanJam NYC.
You guys are doing a great job.
So in this case (3 meters) you recommend running USB or coaxial?
Cheers!

Thanks for your kind comment.

I couldn't figure out your face based on your screen name or headphone list in your profile, maybe we can meet again in next CanJam NYC.

5m is OK with Coaxial, I suggest you use a solid core coaxial instead of stranded, and double shielding is preferred.

 

[samycinema]

Thanks for your kind comment.

I couldn't figure out your face based on your screen name or headphone list in your profile, maybe we can meet again in next CanJam NYC.

5m is OK with Coaxial, I suggest you use a solid core coaxial instead of stranded, and double shielding is preferred.

I changed my picture profile, Andy!
Thank you for your tips!

 

[samycinema]

Im running a 1m cayin cable into 5m coax by QED and it works no problem. Also tried an USB cable with qed graphite and it worked to, although daps support for usb is weak and plug in notes on dap were annoying. so go for coax, just make sure you have a decent coax barrel to connect two cables as being digital it needs good connection

Hi @a5150 , is your QED coax cable female to male?
How do you connect it to the Cayin cable?

 

[Hoax86]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if anyone could compare the N5ii against the FiioQ5 DAC. I have read the N5ii is better than the X5iii in terms of sound quality and build but I was wondering how it stacks up against the Q5.

Does the Q5 when paired with an android smartphone sound the same as the FiioX5iii if they share the same DAC?

ANy help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[seanwee]

I have a Cayin N3 which has the same op amp as the N5ii (Ti OPA 1622). While they share the same op amp, they have different DACs, one is the AK4490EQ (same as X5iii) while the other is the es9018k2m.

I just did a side by side comparison of the 2 and found that the N3 had a softer impact (less articulate), fatter and less textured mid bass(poorer control), less instrument separation overall but most noticeably in the treble area. Soundstage is also quite a bit bigger on the N5ii (could be because of the .

This may be caused by the general signature of the DACs imo. With the AK4490EQ generally sounding slightly warmer while the es9018k2m has a brighter tilt.

I am trying out the Xduoo X3 (CS4398 DAC) now and so far i can say its mighty close to the N5ii which is most surprising. Will share a brief comparison later.

 

[CayinSupport]

We have packed and will proceed to the Canjam Singapore 2018 early tomorrow morning, Cayin overseas front-line team will attend this event so we might not be answer any question till mid next week. Please pardon for the delay.

 

[carpler]

Yesterday some test with Tidal (firmware 3.1EN).
The player was extremely unstable: at the first launch of the app the system crashed and reboot itself.
The second time playing stopped after few seconds: after touch "Play" the system crashed again and reboot itself.
The third time I was able to play an album (with a very high battery consumption!).

I hope that the next firmware can fix this instability.
I also hope that Tidal will gives the support to Cayin to be able to select also an external microsd for downloading the offline tracks.

 

[seanwee]

N5ii vs Xduoo X3

Tl:dr : Sounds close because of tonality, N5ii still better technically speaking.

Upon initial listen, I was surprised that the X3 sounded as capable as the N5ii. However, after trying out more tracks the differences slowly became apparent.

I say this is mainly due to the tonality, only on dead neutral players like the X3 does the slight warmth of N5ii become apparent.

The X3 initially wowed me on its treble presentation as it was every bit as crisp and articulate as the N5ii. However when I moved to busier soundtracks it becomes noticeable that the N5ii has better instrument separation with more air around the instruments.

The soundstage of the X3 is surprisingly deeper than the N5ii. The N5ii sounds slightly wider.

Both the X3 and N5ii have similarly deep bass extension but the N5ii comes out as the victor due to its thicker and more textured bass and Sub-bass. Actually, the N5ii has a stronger punch and better texture throughout the spectrum.

The mids are where the X3 really loses out compared to the N5ii. The N5ii is more detailed, resolving, textured and sounds more powerful compared to the weaker mids of the X3.

That said, the X3 really sounds superb for its sub 100 dollar price. Then again, it has a pitch issue(fixable with rockboxed but will only recognise fat 32), mono display(black and blue), not to mention not having the Bluetooth, WiFi and 3rd party app usability that an android player brings.

 

[MyPants]

Howdy, all. A little detail to contribute on the random pausing issue. I keep my FLAC collection on SD1 and my MP3s on SD2. So far I've never had a random pause when reading from SD1, but have started to get regular random pauses at the beginning of successive tracks in an album when reading from SD2.

 

[seanwee]

Howdy, all. A little detail to contribute on the random pausing issue. I keep my FLAC collection on SD1 and my MP3s on SD2. So far I've never had a random pause when reading from SD1, but have started to get regular random pauses at the beginning of successive tracks in an album when reading from SD2.

Mine is inconsistent, it will freeze on both the first and second cards

 

[soundblast75]

freezing continues, i think im on my factory reset 15 at least by now, but id still recommend this dap, i also bought their idap-6 and it crashes constantly too, i guess itll be always drawbacks, but these are otherwise products with great sound at its heart, now just please do your best to iron those annoying issues out Cayin..