Cayin N6ii, Unlimited Possibilities: a fully modularized smart DAP

[Nostoi]

My stock just arrived through the door. Will hope to get the units out tomorrow. This batch is completely sold out sadly.

Any update on shipping, if I may ask, @PhilW ?

 

[MarkParity]

Any update on shipping, if I may ask, @PhilW ?

Phil said the fulfilled orders were shipped out on Wednesday so if you don't have a tracking number yet you were unlucky and will have to wait for the next batch.

 

[Nostoi]

Phil said the fulfilled orders were shipped out on Wednesday so if you don't have a tracking number yet you were unlucky and will have to wait for the next batch.

Hm, ok. I pre-ordered, so hope/assume I made the first batch. I'll check.

 

[Nostoi]

Phil said the fulfilled orders were shipped out on Wednesday so if you don't have a tracking number yet you were unlucky and will have to wait for the next batch.

All good. Mine was also sent on Wednesday, tracking received. Look forward to receiving!

 

[fzman]

Just slid my R01 module into the black N6ii that I had planned on selling--good thing I am slow to get thigs done! I am sure it needs lots of break-in, but it is making my Odins sing. My P6Pro is sitting there green with envy-- oh, wait, that's the case.... lol

 

[innofantasy]

So happy that just get my N6ii ti and burning in process.

 

[fzman]

Just got a Sandisk Extreme 1 TB card to fill up, so now I am going thru my library and checking all of my tags -- I am a party-boy from way back. lol anyone remember if i should do exfat or fat32 on the Cayin?

 

[davidmolliere]

I spent quite a bit of time with R01 last night and it's definitely a highly transparent card, so far LPGT was my transparency king - unfortunately I don't have it anymore to actually A/B - but R01 probably is just as good and from memory (take that with a grain of salt) and I'd say R01 is more resolving. I was puzzled at how differently R01 portrays different recordings and I am not used to such disparity (midrange sounding full on one album, almost thin on another, powerful bass and then much less so...). Of course there usually are differences but with R01 everything has more magnitude and jumps at you. I was almost doubting what I heard but I switched over from album to another quickly and it was pretty obvious that R01 was not inconsistent, recordings were. It's much much less apparent with my M8, DX300 and R6 2020. I remember this about LPGT, but honestly not to that extent.

Also, there is something very special about R01 IMHO, notes pop and fade so fast from bass to treble where transients are something special (especially true of every EST powered treble in my collection from Volt to Spark to Elysium)... speed is overall something to behold... actually reminiscent of my time with the KSE1500 when I owned it. R01 is so clean and articulate, it brings every IEM I own to a higher level there. On a side note, I was dubious it could drive the notoriously hard to drive Elysium properly with 430mW@32ohms but it does quite a good job actually.

Last but not least I find R01 to be quite accurate tonally, instruments sound spot on to my ears, there is no coloration and instruments timbre is really lifelike.
I must say, R01 is more resolving and reference than I expected it's a highly detailed, very transparent and open sounding card. It does all this with great musicality... enjoying the burn in and expecting things to nicely change over time. Already midrange is a bit fuller overall were bass and treble were a bit emphasized initially.

 

[shadow1121]

any UM Mest mk2 owners here who have tried pairing it with the R01? just curious how it pairs out.. would love to hear ur feedbacks as well. thanks

 

[aaf evo]

I spent quite a bit of time with R01 last night and it's definitely a highly transparent card, so far LPGT was my transparency king - unfortunately I don't have it anymore to actually A/B - but R01 probably is just as good and from memory (take that with a grain of salt) and I'd say R01 is more resolving. I was puzzled at how differently R01 portrays different recordings and I am not used to such disparity (midrange sounding full on one album, almost thin on another, powerful bass and then much less so...). Of course there usually are differences but with R01 everything has more magnitude and jumps at you. I was almost doubting what I heard but I switched over from album to another quickly and it was pretty obvious that R01 was not inconsistent, recordings were. It's much much less apparent with my M8, DX300 and R6 2020. I remember this about LPGT, but honestly not to that extent.

Also, there is something very special about R01 IMHO, notes pop and fade so fast from bass to treble where transients are something special (especially true of every EST powered treble in my collection from Volt to Spark to Elysium)... speed is overall something to behold... actually reminiscent of my time with the KSE1500 when I owned it. R01 is so clean and articulate, it brings every IEM I own to a higher level there. On a side note, I was dubious it could drive the notoriously hard to drive Elysium properly with 430mW@32ohms but it does quite a good job actually.

Last but not least I find R01 to be quite accurate tonally, instruments sound spot on to my ears, there is no coloration and instruments timbre is really lifelike.
I must say, R01 is more resolving and reference than I expected it's a highly detailed, very transparent and open sounding card. It does all this with great musicality... enjoying the burn in and expecting things to nicely change over time. Already midrange is a bit fuller overall were bass and treble were a bit emphasized initially.

Its funny right, I was doubting myself upon first listen because of how good I heard the Ti to be, but it is literally just that good. It’s amazing what Cayin have managed to squeeze out of the N6ii here… 2 year old DAP that has been “revived” and can compete with the best.

 

[davidmolliere]

Its funny right, I was doubting myself upon first listen because of how good I heard the Ti to be, but it is literally just that good. It’s amazing what Cayin have managed to squeeze out of the N6ii here… 2 year old DAP that has been “revived” and can compete with the best.

Never doubt yourself, it's like love you just know

Definitely, still wished the card was housed by a more modern SoC and bigger screen but who am I to complain it's blissful listening hours

I think more manufacturers should take the hard road and stray out of usual design patterns... not every one can pull off R2R or innovative designs but it sure pays off IMHO wit something that sounds quite different from anything I have heard. Granted, I need to have an audition of P6 Pro although no streaming is a dealbreaker for me these days...

 

[aaf evo]

Never doubt yourself, it's like love you just know

Definitely, still wished the card was housed by a more modern SoC and bigger screen but who am I to complain it's blissful listening hours

I think more manufacturers should take the hard road and stray out of usual design patterns... not every one can pull off R2R or innovative designs but it sure pays off IMHO wit something that sounds quite different from anything I have heard. Granted, I need to have an audition of P6 Pro although no streaming is a dealbreaker for me these days...

P6 Pro is a bit more analogue and organic but I personally believe it achieves this by smoothening out the treble a bit too much. Just my 2c.

 

[fzman]

Mine R01 has only got an hour or two on it, and I am letting it shuffle. If I had to make a quick assessment, I would say that it is a bit more textured in the upper mids and lower treble than the P6Pro - it gives you more of a sense that you could count the number of strands in the dummer's wire brush as they are rubbed on the snare drum's head - and that you can tell whether the head is smooth, or a bit more pebble-grained. That sourt of thing.

I have found that R2R (so-called 'ladder dacs') can confuse people, as they assume 'natural' and 'resolving' are opposites. R2R is NOT forgiving, smeared, or rolled-off. It's more a matter of being more real sounding, and doing a better job of 'passing the Turning Test'. That is, there are fewer artifacts in the sound- so your brain has an easier time of accepting the illusion. I thin k some people are more sensitive to this than others - and it might be related to kind of music as well

Different recordings are supposed to sound different-

 

[gonzfi]

Anyone noticing the case to be incredibly snug? Not sure I'll ever get the player back out of it!

 

[aaf evo]

Yeah I think I’m going to order a TPU case from Amazon to be honest. Plus, it’s too beautiful to hide the color.