Cayin N6ii, Unlimited Possibilities: a fully modularized smart DAP

[davidmolliere]

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-

My friend you nailed exactly what I am feeling about R01... that why I had to reconcile natural with resolving, it's not opposites but it's rarely combined and that's the magic of it...fewer artifacts and easier time accepting the illusion, that's a great way to sum it up it just feels real and intense too I am suprised to get this intense a listen without the usual ear fatigue that comes along with more information being pumped into your brain. Yeah it definitely is not forgiving...

 

[davidmolliere]

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

Yeah it is, not a bad thing in my book but I just ripped off the corner of the protective film from the screen when I pulled it out of the case to replace the sd card :-\
Definitely requires some caution

 

[Imusicman]

Received my R01 from Phil yesterday.

All I can say is I'm really pleased with what I am hearing.

Words like natural and resolving spring to mind.

Neat trick Cayin

 

[davidmolliere]

Looks like we have a consensus... so far... I suspect burn in will bring even better experience...

 

[fzman]

I really like TPU cases.... but the black leather with the red stitching looks good on the black N6ii

 

[dhc0329]

By no means Ti is well worth the cost but it doesn't quite reach the Pro's level of R2R excellence. I feel like I am missing out on the hairline details. tonal realism and emotion.
It falls a little short in bringing out the realistic bass thump of Traillii. It performs exceptionally well on EDMs but not so on live performance where Pro excels in retaining the vivid stage atmosphere and mood. I still feel like I am hearing through recording with Ti altho it sounds great. Well, that's just me...after less than -24 burin. I've had N8 for long time and I can attest Ti sounds much more enjoyable despite its price tag. I really want to love Ti having the state of art user interface as compared to Pro but what I am really after is the sound so it's inch behind dethroning the Pro I'd dare say. Nevertheless, Ti is the best valued dap. I've had tried E02 and R01 completely transformed the N6ii into different level IMHO.

 

[marklivia]

Can anyone tell me where I can get a Ti in the USA ? Seem to be sold out or haven't arrived .

 

[bluestorm1992]

Can anyone tell me where I can get a Ti in the USA ? Seem to be sold out or haven't arrived .

This batch is sold out and there may not be a new batch due to limited supply. R01 will have new units in the future though.

 

[jmills8]

Can anyone tell me where I can get a Ti in the USA ? Seem to be sold out or haven't arrived .

Buy the Ti from the guy above.

 

[noblewolf]

Yeah it is, not a bad thing in my book but I just ripped off the corner of the protective film from the screen when I pulled it out of the case to replace the sd card :-\
Definitely requires some caution

same here.. but the set comes with tempered glass screen protector, that's why i replaced the plastic film and put the case back in the box. I would prefer to use it naked and raw.

 

[Andykong]

Can anyone tell me where I can get a Ti in the USA ? Seem to be sold out or haven't arrived .

For your information, we only make one batch of 600 units of N6ii-Ti, we'll continue to make R01 when our supplier can provide the custom high precision low TCR resistors, but we are not going to make any N6ii-Ti again. If you can't find N6ii-Ti, your best bet will be getting a N6ii now and wait for second batch of R01.

 

[Jeffyue]

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

I have tried both Odin and M5 CIEM, and both get "upgraded" with the R01.
But seems LX SE fits better with N8 than R01 (but only burn-in for couple of days, hopefully will get better after that)...

 

[Andykong]

I know that andy said there are differences in materials and shielding that could affect the sound. But Im going to go out on a limb and say chances are incredibly slim that there is any real actual audible difference. I think the real choice at that point is likely just which materials or color scheme anyone may like more.

Honestly I don't think there should be real life differences sound wise, heat dissipation and weight for sure (and limited edition appeal) but otherwise I am quite doubtful...

I believe that @Andykong has said either on this thread or elsewhere that sound differences are minimal if not non-existent.

I think the early impressions by Zeppelin & Co of the differences between TI R01 and non-TI R01 are likely a sales pitch more than anything else... (to wit., "An intense, direct listen of liquid texture, presented with zeal and energy.") Sounds more like the results of a beer tasting evening to me.

I think Cayin is fairly conservative when come to sonic different of the same DAP with different chassis material. Unlike other brands, we didn't use sonic improvement as selling point to promote our new product release, we focus on variation of color, finishing, and look n feel to meet different preference. We treat it as a facelift version, which is fairly common in automobile industry.

Technically speaking, the biggest advantage of titanium chassis over regular aluminium version is better anti-interference, this should translate into darker background and slightly better low level detail, and smoother HF presentation. The different might or might not be audible, depends on your earphone/headphone, choice of music and background environment. I don't have the N6ii-Ti with me, so I couldn't try it in person, but I highly doubt this will be obvious enough to detect if you are not performing ABA comparison. These actually are in sync. with Zeppelin's description in general, didn't all sale campaigns are supposed to highlight the different?

This is the first chassis variation of N6ii, given the volume and duration of N6ii, we not very hard working. From marketing point of view, we should have offer more variations at different period of time, even fast fool chains do that with their seasonal menu, why shouldn't we?

 

[TomKorn]

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

Yeah. I had to pry it out several times. You must be very careful.

 

[TomKorn]

I have tried both Odin and M5 CIEM, and both get "upgraded" with the R01.
But seems LX SE fits better with N8 than R01 (but only burn-in for couple of days, hopefully will get better after that)...

You got the Odin and LXSE(2021)?
Can you compare to the output of E02 or other boards?