[Andykong]

hi, how can I connect the Cayin N7 to my Harman Kardon PM 645 Vxi analog amplifier? Is a 3.5mm RCA splitter cable or USB C RCA splitter ok?

3.5mm to dual RCA cable. Something like this:

 

[Andykong]

Hey Andy, i am sorting my music on Mac’s native app. I will try finding this information and forward it to you. In the meantime however, i changed the folder location on th SDcard and problem solved on its own

Great, if it works, then there is no rush for that, enjoy your music.

 

[Andykong]

Spotted on Cayin Facebook this morning and subsequently ordered…

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256805086418185.html

Thanks for sharing our new 3.5mm and 4.4mm Headphone jack cover. You can find this on our website too.

TBH, we are doing this as a service to our users. The engraved pattern is borrowed from the volume control knob on N8ii and N7. They are a bit expensive when compare to other plastic dust covers, but we aren't making any money either because of the tedious process to get this right and in a relatively small production quantity.

While these dust covers can be used in any 3.5mm and 4.4mm phone port, they will help to solve one small design problem with N7. When you put N7 into the leather case, the laser marking of the 3.5mm and 4.4mm connectors will be covered by the edge of the leather case, making it very difficult to differentiate between phone output vs line/pre output, so there is a small risk that you'll plug your IEM/headphone into the line/pre ports, or vice versa. Adding these headphone jack cover to N7 will cover up one pair of outputs, so you can differentiate the phone out from the line/pre out immediately.

 

[Andykong]

My N7 is getting really warm. Is this also the case with others? Gain M.
Thanks

I would say yes, it can get warm, but that depends on how you store your N7 during playback. If you are in a well-ventilation area, it will be significantly cooler than putting it into your backpack or the inner pocket of your jacket, ..., etc. Besides, "warm" is a relative description that can mean very different temperatures to different users. I am sure N8ii users will come back and tell you that N8ii is a lot warmer than N7.

In our test, the chassis of N7 will measure at ~40-45 degree C when playback continuously. Not a very high temperature for audiophile DAPs and certainly within the working condition of internal components in N7.

 

[TomKorn]

This is a set right - so the order includes both 3.5mm and 4.4mm dust caps?

Yes, it's a set with both.

 

[nioh]

TBH, we are doing this as a service to our users. The engraved pattern is borrowed from the volume control knob on N8ii and N7. They are a bit expensive when compare to other plastic dust covers, but we aren't making any money either because of the tedious process to get this right and in a relatively small production quantity.

Wouldn’t it have been cheaper and a better “service” for your users if you had included this with the N7 rather than try and sell this separately ? Even the Zx707 which costs 1/3rd the cost includes dust covers in the box package !

 

[Alexzander]

My N7 is getting really warm. Is this also the case with others? Gain M.
Thanks

Be happy and boil an egg
On a serious note I believe that this can be due to class A amplification which is always on the warmer side of things.

 

[Andykong]

I love the way the N7 is optimized for sound , even the connection point placement seems to be arranged for shortest signal path (I know someone complained about that earlier) even the location of the MicroSD card , was higher up and I guess to reduce signal path. And it all pays off in that extreme detail, great inner detail, extension at both ends, not to talk about the soundstage and 3D analog presentation especially on DSD512F recordings omg!!

Thanks for your support. The circuit optimization of N7 is indeed very demanding when compared to other DAPs because it is a discrete full-balanced circuit. As discussed previously, building a discrete circuit will take up more PCB space and consume more power, and then we need to match the components in pairs (or quad sets) which is time and resource-consuming, In addition, we need to install these discrete components manually and this is tedious and low efficient when compared to typical PCB-A process using SMT components. A fully balanced design discrete circuit will double the number of components to handle L- and R- channels properly, we also doubled all the problems regarding discrete design.

To solve part of the problems, Cayin adopts a symmetrical double-side PCB layout for N7. By putting the left (L+ and L-) and right (R+ and R-) channels on a different side of the main PCB, we can minimize cross-talk and interference, and keep the layout and length of the signal path as uniform as possible, meaning all the connection wire of L+, L-, R+, R- channels are the same length. To illustrate the nature of the problem, R01 Audio Motherboard used one piece of OPA op-amp as LPF, so there is no need to optimize the circuit design in this regard. N8ii is a fully balanced design and we used two pieces of OPA op-amp as LPF, so we need to make sure the length of the connection wire to and from the two LPF op-amps are the same. Still manageable, right? When N7 goes for a fully balanced discrete LPF design, we used 16 pieces (4 tracks x 4 pieces) of BJTs in total, so you can imagine the optimization of circuit layout in N7 is a nightmare.

 

[Andykong]

Wouldn’t it have been cheaper and a better “service” for your users if you had included this with the N7 rather than try and sell this separately ? Even the Zx707 which costs 1/3rd the cost includes dust covers in the box package !

Zx707 comes with a set of gold-plated brass dust cover? I didn't know that.

If we increase the retail price of N7 by $100 in order to include the two gold-plated brass dust cover as standard accessories of N7, I am sure we'll receive thousands of complaints that they don't need that and they prefer to have the choice to not paying for that.

 

[searchingtom]

Thanks for sharing our new 3.5mm and 4.4mm Headphone jack cover. You can find this on our website too.

TBH, we are doing this as a service to our users. The engraved pattern is borrowed from the volume control knob on N8ii and N7. They are a bit expensive when compare to other plastic dust covers, but we aren't making any money either because of the tedious process to get this right and in a relatively small production quantity.

While these dust covers can be used in any 3.5mm and 4.4mm phone port, they will help to solve one small design problem with N7. When you put N7 into the leather case, the laser marking of the 3.5mm and 4.4mm connectors will be covered by the edge of the leather case, making it very difficult to differentiate between phone output vs line/pre output, so there is a small risk that you'll plug your IEM/headphone into the line/pre ports, or vice versa. Adding these headphone jack cover to N7 will cover up one pair of outputs, so you can differentiate the phone out from the line/pre out immediately.

Great idea. Especially the design aspect (emualting the knob design). I just purchased 2 sets. Cayin keeps improving things. I am starting to really like how they think.

 

[Tom75]

Be happy and boil an egg
On a serious note I believe that this can be due to class A amplification which is always on the warmer side of things.

LOL.
I owned the N8ii and it was quite similar.
Seems to need more ventilation on the sofa.

 

[nioh]

Zx707 comes with a set of gold-plated brass dust cover? I didn't know that.

No but Zx707 costs 700, not 2100.

 

[reuben3]

Well. It’s all about synergies. And I own the C9 and a Aroma 100tb. I use the C9 mainly with my RS6.
But then I started to match both with the N7 and it’s fantastic.
Comparing the N8ii and N7 alone, the N8ii is more precise to my ears while the N7 is more 3D but lacks a little bit of dynamics (it’s still new). But with the C9, it sounds so natural and the dynamics are there.
With the 100tb, the N7 sounds more precise, notes have more space (and may be it’s only louder. ). But I really like it.

Could you compare the differences between N7 and RS6 as transport to C9? What is do you like better on each?

 

[Tom75]

Sure. Will try to find some time tomorrow

 

[Currawong]

No but Zx707 costs 700, not 2100.

And, according to Sony, only has 1.1mW output (not a typo).