[Makiah S]

  I am hoping, Mshenay that at the Coronado show, 1st of November I can get a listen to the 801 or 901... or both, then I can decide if I really do need to have the album art/id3tags. Maybe the quality of music I've been hearing about with the Hifiman players will over-ride my vanity. As of right now though, I've never been to a show, haven't met a Headfier or anybody that's into good quality headgear.  Hope to lose my audio virginity, lol.

I'm in the same boat as you man, I was going to go to a Show but I decided to get an hm901, to that end I sold my hm 801 to fund it xD 

 

[Retrias]

I am the reverse I think ,I NEED the IDTag browsing , thats the second make or break category of the feature list , the first being sound quality

while hi res files is like number ten million below the list

 

[twister6]

  I'm in the same boat as you man, I was going to go to a Show but I decided to get an hm901, to that end I sold my hm 801 to fund it xD 

Just a basic HM901 is $1k and looks rather outdated, not to mention a gigantic ac/dc charger (the kind which comes with laptops)

  But as we said, it's all about a sound quality.  From some of the DAPs that I have and others I read about, seems that amp section can make it or break it.  That is a reason why HifiMan introduced a modular system with their HM901 so you can swap between different amps or FiiO E12 DIY where you can exchange amp ICs.  Considering how much I was impressed with Cayin C5 amp which I use with my X5, I'm looking forward to an integrated one piece DAP solution that will be modern in design (direct micro-usb for charging and transfer, not ac/dc charging bricks and other proprietary cables), easy to navigate controls (not clicking through a list of songs - so thumb wheel is a plus, the same as X1/X5 navigation wheel), and a wide bright sound signature similar to C5.  That's why N6 peaked my interest as a possible step up from my my X5/C5 combo.

 

[Makiah S]

 
Just a basic HM901 is $1k and looks rather outdated, not to mention a gigantic ac/dc charger (the kind which comes with laptops)

  But as we said, it's all about a sound quality.  From some of the DAPs that I have and others I read about, seems that amp section can make it or break it.  That is a reason why HifiMan introduced a modular system with their HM901 so you can swap between different amps or FiiO E12 DIY where you can exchange amp ICs.  Considering how much I was impressed with Cayin C5 amp which I use with my X5, I'm looking forward to an integrated one piece DAP solution that will be modern in design (direct micro-usb for charging and transfer, not ac/dc charging bricks and other proprietary cables), easy to navigate controls (not clicking through a list of songs - so thumb wheel is a plus, the same as X1/X5 navigation wheel), and a wide bright sound signature similar to C5.  That's why N6 peaked my interest as a possible step up from my my X5/C5 combo.

Yea... I'm paying $1000 for a Dac Pretty much :/, I never ever used the Amp in my hm801 and I don't intened to use the amp in the 901. I just want it for the dac, which is going to be a touch better than the HM801s was 

 

[kova4a]

I added a few new pics

 

[Shluupag]

Well well, doesn't look so bad in the new pics, eye-catching at least... looking forward to price reveal, hopefully they surprise with low-ish price.

 

[Audiophile1811]

  As an owner of the HM801 I can say 100% it does what it is made to do... play music... doesn't do much else. An imo it doesn't need to. I don't care about EQ [dont use it] dont care about play lists [I listen one album at a time] Random is nice if I want to mix it up an that's it
 
Don't care for Album art or any of that other BS. Just want it to play music guud, dont really care for ID3 Data or anything as I have Folder Structure set up to organize stuff, again just play music gud plz lol 

I completely agree that a player with practical functions is all you really need. However, I do think that most people will desire a few (basic) UI functions and features in a player costing over $500. And that's especially when you consider the fact that we're in 2014 heading into 2015 and that the $99 Fiio X1 has features even the HM801 lacked. High-end portable products like these should at least be expected to display album art, have a decent EQ, and a functional/logical UI, along with high-quality playback. So while I don't completely disagree with your preferences I don't think Cayin would be competing against big names like Fiio & iBasso (dare I say Astel & Kern) if their products were not up to date. Just my thoughts  

 

[Makiah S]

  I completely agree that a player with practical functions is all you really need. However, I do think that most people will desire a few (basic) UI functions and features in a player costing over $500. And that's especially when you consider the fact that we're in 2014 heading into 2015 and that the $99 Fiio X1 has features even the HM801 lacked. High-end portable products like these should at least be expected to display album art, have a decent EQ, and a functional/logical UI, along with high-quality playback. So while I don't completely disagree with your preferences I don't think Cayin would be competing against big names like Fiio & iBasso (dare I say Astel & Kern) if their products were not up to date. Just my thoughts  

Oh I forgot to mention the HM801 had an eq xD
 
though from what I hear the new HM901s [which current 901 owners can upgrade to for free] has a new chassis and apprently a slight revision to the UI and Firm ware, so nice of Hifiman to update the player!
 
Posting my wanted for it now xD 

 

[kova4a]

Apparently they've finalized the sound tuning, so hopefully there will be an announcement of the pricing soon.

 

[Luvdac]

Can't wait. been waiting on a dap that does dsd. Does anyone know if it can be used as a drive to an outboard dac? I'd like to use it in my main rig thru the ami musik ds5 dac.

 

[kova4a]

  Can't wait. been waiting on a dap that does dsd. Does anyone know if it can be used as a drive to an outboard dac? I'd like to use it in my main rig thru the ami musik ds5 dac.

Well, the N6 does have a coaxial output, so you should be able to use it if your DAC has coax input

 

[Luvdac]

Thats good news. Cant seem to fault the player at the moment. Seems they got all their bases covered. can't wait for the launch!

 

[mochill]

http://www.aurender.com/product_v1000.php

^^^this or the cayin n6 is what I'm after

 

[twister6]

http://www.aurender.com/product_v1000.php

^^^this or the cayin n6 is what I'm after

 
V1000 for $1300?!?  I have a good feeling N6 shouldn't be more than a half of that...  Hopefully it's a matter of days or weeks before they announce a final price and availability date!

 

[Luvdac]

Aurender- looks like another apple lifestyle product with a price to match. Also from the specs looks like dsd is limited to DoP whereas cayin should give us native dsd. If the price of the Aurender includes the 1tb sata drive then it would be a great deal- but I'm doubting that.