[MarkParity]

If N6ii is considered a reasonably priced audiophile DAP, why not consider N7 as equivalent to R01+A02? From a functional point of view, these two options are very close to each other. R01 was the only Audio Motherboard that you can't buy it with an N6ii directly, you have to own an N6ii with at least one motherboard before you can jump on board the R01 wagon. The N6ii+A01 or T01 was retailed at $1199, N6ii+E01, E02 or A02 was $1299, R01 was never sold in the package, and you can only buy the module at $619. So the packaged price of N6ii with A02 and R01 (if you can find one) is $1918. Isn't that close enough to the retail price of N7? Yes, we ask for an extra premium of around $100 in comparison, but with that, we threw in a fully balanced design (R01 is a single-ended DAC), fully discrete circuit like E01/E02, plus an updated Android 12 system.

Users and manufacturers see things differently. From Cayin's perspective, we didn't develop N7 as an upgrade to N6ii users. We develop a new DAP for the continuous marketplace. We want to enlarge our customer base as we believe making a bigger cake is more beneficial to the company than draining the existing "cake". That's why you won't see me selling N7 in the N6ii thread, or encouraging N6ii users to upgrade their DAP to N7. To illustrate my point, when Honda introduced their 11th generation Accord for 2023 release, they don't expect their 2022 or 2021 Accord users to rush into the market and buy the new Accord. Instead, they should focus on consumers who are in the market for a new car in 2023. That's a more cost-effective approach IMHO.

To a certain extent, I don't agree with the claim of getting out of the "hobby". Did you aware of the famous "5 Customer Segments of Technology Adoption"? Maybe your concept of "in the hobby" means you must be an innovator or early adopter, but in reality, early majority and late majority formed the bigger and more "meaningful" hobbyist group because they are the main target (and driving force) of new products, especially when we are referring to a hobby of a very niche market such as $1000+ DAP. There are brands that are focused on the innovators and early adopters markets, you can differentiate this from the duration of the product life cycle. If you are with us for a longer period, you probably notice that Cayin adopts a fairly long product cycle in our DAP lineup. N6ii was announced way back in 2019 and N3pro was in 2020, and their direct successors are still nowhere in sight. N8ii was launched in 2022, almost 4 years after the original N8. So the message is loud and clear, we are targeting the early majority and late majority market segment primarily.

If you feel uncomfortable being an innovator, step back and enjoy yourself as an early adopter or early majority. If you feel uncomfortable being an early adopter, step back and enjoy yourself as an early majority or late majority. Enjoy your music, enjoy your current hardware and software, and be happy.

That is a great and very balanced reply Andy, thank you for taking the time to write it and explain the Cayin approach to us.

I may well purchase future offerings from Cayin, I do still believe its true that as a company you offer great value for money and where you lead others follow.

For now though I'm sticking with my N6ii and my collection of four audio modules.

 

[emdeevee]

That is a great and very balanced reply Andy, thank you for taking the time to write it and explain the Cayin approach to us.

I may well purchase future offerings from Cayin, I do still believe its true that as a company you offer great value for money and where you lead others follow.

For now though I'm sticking with my N6ii and my collection of four audio modules.

And you should enjoy those for awhile! If it's not broken, don't fix it! I love my n6ii and as real as ugraditis is, it's not broken so why change.

 

[KaiserTK]

For what it’s worth, I preferred my Cayin T01 over the N7 for instrumentals and ambient music with sustained sub-bass tracks. Every DAP even the flagships have strengths and weaknesses, and depending on what IEM you like, what elements of the music you like, and what genre of music you like, there will be subjective preferences on which DAP is the best fit, and doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the most newest and/or expensive one.

 

[Andykong]

For what it’s worth, I preferred my Cayin T01 over the N7 for instrumentals and ambient music with sustained sub-bass tracks. Every DAP even the flagships have strengths and weaknesses, and depending on what IEM you like, what elements of the music you like, and what genre of music you like, there will be subjective preferences on which DAP is the best fit, and doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the most newest and/or expensive one.

We treat this as a compliment, we did our best with each and every Audio Motherboard and your long-term support supported our claim. When someone asked us what will be the next upgrade Audio Motherboard, I said every Audio Motherboard is the best we can, at the time we develop it. They didn't buy my explanation because that was a very new "modular" concept back in 2019.

The T01 is underrated, this is our final tribute to the unique PCM1792A. We can only wish Burr Brown can wake up one day and offer a new DAC chipset that carries on its good work.

 

[Zaroff]

The T01 is underrated

You can say that twice. I love this board and, count me as an abnormal around here, but I actually favor it over the R01, which I also have. The T01 on most things is just majestic.

 

[immortalsoul]

The same for me, the T01 is the board I like the most

 

[emdeevee]

The same for me, the T01 is the board I like the most

I don't have one but have considered picking one up. Hard to believe I'll like it as much as R01. What's the clincher here for you?

 

[plisssken]

I recently bought the N6ii Ti with R01 and T01 from @Xinlisupreme, the R01 is what I expected in combination with the AE Mundaka and my beloved Nighthawk Carbon, totally delicious and addictive.

But the big surprise comes from the T01, I was frankly taken by the quality and versatility of this board, the tones are beautiful, extremely musical. I'm in love with it.

The Cayin N6ii is an absolutely incredible DAP, having all the motherboards is the insurance to have a versatile device for many years. I never run after anything new (knowing how to be patient is good for your wallet). I make the most of the potential of the hardware I own (The last step for me will be A02+C9).

The N6ii is a masterpiece to own and keep absolutely. Remember: Cayin N6ii, Unlimited Possibilities...

And finally the most important, to live, to feel the music we like, it's an endless source of emotions.

 

[Andykong]

I recently bought the N6ii Ti with R01 and T01 from @Xinlisupreme, the R01 is what I expected in combination with the AE Mundaka and my beloved Nighthawk Carbon, totally delicious and addictive.

But the big surprise comes from the T01, I was frankly taken by the quality and versatility of this board, the tones are beautiful, extremely musical. I'm in love with it.

The Cayin N6ii is an absolutely incredible DAP, having all the motherboards is the insurance to have a versatile device for many years. I never run after anything new (knowing how to be patient is good for your wallet). I make the most of the potential of the hardware I own (The last step for me will be A02+C9).

The N6ii is a masterpiece to own and keep absolutely. Remember: Cayin N6ii, Unlimited Possibilities...

And finally the most important, to live, to feel the music we like, it's an endless source of emotions.

"Unlimited Possibility" is a bold statement, I am glad that you endorse our claim after years of solid usage, these are the kind of support that drives us to work hard.

Yes, you make my day.

 

[plisssken]

"Unlimited Possibility" is a bold statement, I am glad that you endorse our claim after years of solid usage, these are the kind of support that drives us to work hard.

Yes, you make my day.

Cayin N6ii make my day, all day every day, that's right

Keep it up

 

[jlemaster1957]

I recently bought the N6ii Ti with R01 and T01 from @Xinlisupreme, the R01 is what I expected in combination with the AE Mundaka and my beloved Nighthawk Carbon, totally delicious and addictive.

But the big surprise comes from the T01, I was frankly taken by the quality and versatility of this board, the tones are beautiful, extremely musical. I'm in love with it.

The Cayin N6ii is an absolutely incredible DAP, having all the motherboards is the insurance to have a versatile device for many years. I never run after anything new (knowing how to be patient is good for your wallet). I make the most of the potential of the hardware I own (The last step for me will be A02+C9).

The N6ii is a masterpiece to own and keep absolutely. Remember: Cayin N6ii, Unlimited Possibilities...

And finally the most important, to live, to feel the music we like, it's an endless source of emotions.

Totally agree I did much the same as you, N6ii remains a gem in the portable audio world. R01 is my favorite, that smooth R2R sound. Good luck finding a used A02 Board, they rarely come on to Classifieds.

 

[shir2]

I recently bought the N6ii Ti with R01 and T01 from @Xinlisupreme, the R01 is what I expected in combination with the AE Mundaka and my beloved Nighthawk Carbon, totally delicious and addictive.

But the big surprise comes from the T01, I was frankly taken by the quality and versatility of this board, the tones are beautiful, extremely musical. I'm in love with it.

The Cayin N6ii is an absolutely incredible DAP, having all the motherboards is the insurance to have a versatile device for many years. I never run after anything new (knowing how to be patient is good for your wallet). I make the most of the potential of the hardware I own (The last step for me will be A02+C9).

The N6ii is a masterpiece to own and keep absolutely. Remember: Cayin N6ii, Unlimited Possibilities...

And finally the most important, to live, to feel the music we like, it's an endless source of emotions.

I real love my A02+C9. A02 can work well with every amp I have. I really hope Cayin can produce N6iii allow me to use all my N6ii motherboods.

 

[jlemaster1957]

Hi I am having a malfunction and cannot figure out how to resolve. First some back story- about a week ago the unit was having difficulty restarting. I was able to solve the problem by deleting the UAPP program and re-installing. Last night, I was playing back music and listening to it in bed when the unit shut off spontaneously during playback. This time, (as before) I plugged into the charger (Anker Powerport +1 with QC 3.0) and attempted to restart but nothing worked. I tried a factory reset (which I understood to be holding down the 'previous track' and the volume/on-off button simulataneosly) but the unit just does the same thing over and over again. The Cayin logo flashes on the screen for about 10 secs, then blinks off again. The unit does not restart and is not responsive to anything I do at this point.

I purchased the Unit from another user from classifieds and it is not on warranty. I am also emailing the service email. @Andykong or other users any suggestions?

 

[somnarium]

Have you tried:
1. Leaving plugged in to power for a good 30 minutes before reset
2. Connecting via usb to pc

May be worth a try

 

[jlemaster1957]

Have you tried:
1. Leaving plugged in to power for a good 30 minutes before reset
2. Connecting via usb to pc

May be worth a try

#1 worked- thanks. Something that looked like a trashcan with a face on its side and an open panel saying "no command" appeared, after which the unit started normally. I have uninstalled UAPP and will leave it uninstalled. Not sure what to do next (as it appears my password to login and all the other apps are still intact- this was not a factory reset. Unit appears to be charging OK. Not sure what else to do to avoid this happening again (I'm spooked now).