N5iiS, a facelifted Army Knife
The N5ii will evolved to N5iiS, we didn’t plan for this and certainly wouldn’t want to do this if we were given the option, but business is full of unexpected and we just have to do whatever it take to remain competitive.
One of the key components of DAP development is the display screen, Cayin is well-aware of this and we have spent considerable effort to secure the supply-chain of this key component well in advanced. We selected the 3.67” TFT screen from AU Optronics (formerly Acer Display Technology, Inc.). This is not the prettiest screen we have reviewed for N5ii, but when AUO confirmed that they have over 30K stock on hand which is more than enough to cover N5ii or even another new model down the road, we are convinced and settled with this choice.
Unfortunately when we place our new order after Chinese New Year, AOU informed us that they can’t supply the screen to Cayin anymore because a Car DVR manufacturer had acquired the complete remaining stock over the night. We were shocked but there is nothing we can do. We can either declare EOL on N5ii after we finished the AUO screens in our inventory (don’t worry, we have reserved sufficient screen for spare part), or we look for a replacement screen in due course. The decision is probably obvious: the demand for N5ii is strong and we have almost overcome all the hurdles to make N5ii fairly stable and competitive in the market, giving up N5ii complete is a big lost to the company and, in our humble opinion, to the market as well.
We sourced a new 3.5” screen as replacement after several weeks of hard research, it is LG panel and IPS certified so it is actually a better screen then the original AOU screen technically. While the color and contrast are noticeable better then then AOU screen, it is slightly smaller and will looks like the following photo after installation.
These photo were taken at 100% screen brightness setting, can you guess which is the new screen? Isn't this obvious?
So what exactly is involved when we replaced the screen of N5ii? Basically we need to:
- Redesign the chassis with new CNC parameters to fit the new screen, control buttons and socket position will also be revised.
- Revise package material
- Redesign protective case: we can’t meet the MoQ of silicon case, so custom make a new pleather case for N5iiS
- Layout new PCB to accommodate the interface and dimension of the new screen
- A series of test and internal QA procedure to document and validate all changes
- Production of new PCB, screen mounting kit
- Procurement of package material, protective case etc.
- Revise all UI from 854x480 to 800x480
- Revise firmware to accommodate (4) and (8)
The N5iiS PCB is on the left, you can note the slight changes in overall PCB dimension
So the amount of work involved in changing a screen is tedious, time consuming and way out of proportion. In addition, we need to rush against a very tight timeline because the inventory of the original 4.65” screen is running low.
Well, since we have to go through a complete product revision of N5ii, so why not we do it better? Traditionally we’ll launch a limited edition model on every five year, since 2018 is the 25th Anniversary of Cayin , we have decided to make a limited edition of N5ii for this special event, so we decided to integrate the special feature of our anniversary project and added the following features:
- RAM: from 1 GB DDR3 to 2DB DDR3, this should increase the smoothness of all system operation
- Internal Memory: from 32GB to 64GB, this is temporary solution to resolve Tidal cannot recognize the TF card of the N5ii, the complete solution can only be resolved by Tidal.
- Replace the tantalum capacitors power filter capacitor in analogue section to tantalum-polymer capacitors, this will offer a darker background and cleaner audio performance through lowered the internal resistance, enhanced conductivity and further reduction of the ripple effect from power interference.
- Upgrade the USB cable to higher quality braided Type-C to Type-A cable
- Upgrade the 3.5mm single-ended and 2.5mm balanced phone socket to CUI from US, this will offer better conductivity and lower the distortion.
- Go for Stainless steel chassis: we have received numerous inquiries form customers and dealers regarding alternative chassis like other brands, the most common request are stainless steel and copper/brass chassis. We have tested these options and decided to go for Stainless steel. This will increase the weight of the player but offer better texture, and will differentiate the N5iiS from the original N5ii immediately.
N5iiS Stainless Steel finishing on the left
N5iiS Braided USB cable on the right
The following table will summarize the different between N5ii and N5iiS
There are other minor enhancements that users probably won’t aware of, but we have tried our best to improve the original N5ii when we have the opportunity to do so. On the other hand, there are features that we can’t change because of practical limitation. For example, we know customers have asked for a better Bluetooth solution, but the Bluetooth of N5ii has been accredited worldwide, if we were change the BT chipset, we need to redo the wireless accreditation completely, that will delay N5iiS for about 3 months and cost us around US$100K, so we have no choice but to skip the BT enhancement in this round.
Last but not least, the different IO pin definition and instruction set of the screen imply that N5ii and N5iiS cannot share their firmware. Since N5ii and N5iiS are operated under the same MCU and system core, we shall make sure all firmware enhancement will be available to both N5ii and N5iiS users at the same time (well, there might be 2-3 days of delay but it won’t be significant).
Cayin would like to apology for all the delays and inconvenient because of this unexpected revision. We have tried our best to smoothen the transition and keep our customers informed as early as possible. We learned a hard lesson and will improve our Supply Chain seriously. The N5iiS exercise has, after all, make us stronger and mature to a new level.
The suggested retail price of N5iiS is
US$499.99, it should be available to oversee market by end of July.