[alphanumerix1]

No official info out yet afaik but this was snapped at the latest show in hk.

 

[Verloren]

Had some time with it, although the one on display was an engineering sample.

Well tuned system. Very resolving with Empire Ears Supra IIs (tested with Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World). Bass felt impactful. I didn't try any songs with strong treble.

The GUI does take some getting used to (coming from an AK120ii). It is running a custom Android 5 operating system.

Forward, Play/Pause, Back buttons are on the right hand side (when looking at the screen). 2 slots for microSD on the right hand side as well. According to one of the staff members, they are going to increase the resistance of the volume dial (I'm not a big fan of how stiff it is at the moment). However, you can roll the dial once or twice, then slide a finger up and down the monitor to increase or decrease the volume.

I'm not a fan of having software and hardware buttons. However, as this is an engineering sample, this might change. When I tried it, I was mostly using the software buttons to go back/menu/change app.

One key thing is that you can install any Android app on the system. Spotify, Tidal etc. It's not locked down.

Word from the staff is that it's coming out sometime in the next 2 months, around 3000 HKD.

 

[tienbasse]

N5 with a modern UI and still a powerful amp section: promising!
Kudos for keeping both microsd slots + 32Gb.
Design is a bit bland, and I would definitely not keep the golden wheel color, it's useless bling-bling.
Also, would prefer a closed microsd slot design with trays, for dust protection.

But hey, it's still a nice array of features, and Cayin support with firmwares and bug solving is usually very good (unlike most other Chinese brands).

 

[davidcotton]

So forgive me for being thick but what's the difference between this and the i5? Is it the internal amp section?

 

[bluedolphin]

This is good news, i have been thinking of getting cayin i5 soon, and then maybe the classic N5 (scroll wheel) just for the fun of it.
But now when i see N5 II come out i might buy i5 now, and then N5 when is released.
I wish there was a black version of N5 too.

 

[tienbasse]

So forgive me for being thick but what's the difference between this and the i5? Is it the internal amp section?

No amp details available, but this has 2 memory slots where i5 only has one, which is already a MAJOR plus.

 

[JaeYoon]

This is something I will keep my eyes on, I really like i5

 

[superuser1]

Gulp!!!
hey hottie @JaeYoon When and where does this end

 

[JaeYoon]

Gulp!!!
hey hottie @JaeYoon When and where does this end

probably not! if it has everything I could want in a DAP like that!!!
I could just pour money into Andromeda, By the time of 2 months I could buy this dap!

 

[technobear]

Interesting.

So, for comparison, what do Onkyo Rubato, Pioneer Private and FiiO X5iii cost in HKD?

If this has decent battery life, gapless playback and USB Transport ability then it could be a big winner (depending on the price of course).

 

[superuser1]

Interesting.

So, for comparison, what do Onkyo Rubato, Pioneer Private and FiiO X5iii cost in HKD?

If this has decent battery life, gapless playback and USB Transport ability then it could be a big winner (depending on the price of course).

Completely agree with you. Could be the ideal transport with a decent battery life without the niggles of other similarly placed DAPs.

 

[Verloren]

Interesting.

So, for comparison, what do Onkyo Rubato, Pioneer Private and FiiO X5iii cost in HKD?

If this has decent battery life, gapless playback and USB Transport ability then it could be a big winner (depending on the price of course).

Gen3 Fiio X5 ranges from 3-3.2k HKD.

Possibly the biggest issue for the AV show is that the team received the ES the day of, so not much marketing stuff like pamphlets/flyers were available.

Something I forgot to mention above as well. Charging is via a USB-C port.

 

[LikeaG6]

Nice, I'm using Valoq and the battery life is the major down side of this hardcore gear which costs about 7k hkd. I also changed its opamp to 627au, makes it a juice monster. So I'm wondering if the sound of the N5ii is as warm as my valoq, and also a comparable UI as well.

 

[benchan2]

I think another improvement here is the size. It is much more compact which is nice. Finally Chinese DAP brand realize size and portability is important as well. Also the Global version will have Google play included as well.

 

[bluedolphin]

Got 2 Photos of Cayin N5 II from Japan