[gr8soundz]

From the pics @Mimouille posted, the brushed silver finish appears more reflective than I imagined and the gold knobs no longer look out of place.

 

[Mimouille]

Thank you for your detail impression. This is the first N8 impression in English and I am glad that we have a fairly good start.

The moment you picked up N8 at our booth, my colleagues alerted me right away.

Everybody knows I am not an easy guy, and while it was not perfect for me, I have to give it to you guys, you are bringing something new and interesting to the game and it sounds like music. Good job.

@Mimouille , and all this time you thought that cosplayer Eros girl was checking you out at the show? Looks like she was Cayin double agent, spying on you

She can spy all she want, I will tell her everything..

So does it mean the N8 will be even warmer on the SE? if so wouldn't it be slightly too warm? as from what I read here previously the WM1Z is already on the warm side of neutral, then the N8 Balanced even warmer, and the SE? any impression on that one?

Bear in mind that the WM1Z with 2.0 firmware is much less warm. And that Nutubes are not necessarily warm.

Apparently the Nutubes sound more like an extremely clean solid state amp (someone posted it here a while ago). Still a pity @Mimouille didn't get to try it.

@Andykong surely you can give us your impressions right? Not as an employee of Cayin but as a fellow audiophile.

My heart is poisoned by jealousy, @Mimouille !

Well now I will wait for Cayin to send me a review unit to try both outputs.

 

[Rozeqloud]

Since the tube is only on SE Does that mean on SE headphones i can only use the tube ?

What i have right now on my CIEMs is a SE mini plug

Am i good to go with only the tube since the tube is on the SE?

Do i need mini xlr male to N8 , to female mini jack now to use my CIEMs for non tube use?

My concern is with my CIEMs being mini jack on one end , am i good to go for balanced and tube on N8? Or do i need to buy something else ?

Also can someone explain what are those 3 adapter cables i see in the N8 box?

My eyes arent good enough to suss them

I think i see a mini SE jack to full size XLR ?

If so are the male or female , and 3 or 4 pin ?

Andy (as always ) has already been very helpful advising me what cables/adapters i wil need to set my HD 800s up (Thanks Andy)

Can someone be kind enough to explain to me what the other 3 cables in box are (4 if i am wrong about what appears to be a mini male jack to dual xlr)

Bottom right cable ,top left and top right cables

 

[Rozeqloud]

Sorry if im flooding but i have another question that I cannot get an answer from Future sonics

I have Future sonics MG 6 pro CIEMs

I want to have all cables etc ready to go the day my N8 arrives

Plussounds (Thanks Andy) has confirmed they can build the other cables i need

I need to upgrade the stock cable , but i dont know the dimensions of the connections

Does someone here know the exact size ? or can you please advise me on how to measure them precisely myself?

Please see attached pic

 

[kubig123]

Sorry if im flooding but i have another question that I cannot get an answer from Future sonics

I have Future sonics MG 6 pro CIEMs

I want to have all cables etc ready to go the day my N8 arrives

Plussounds (Thanks Andy) has confirmed they can build the other cables i need

I need to upgrade the stock cable , but i dont know the dimensions of the connections

Does someone here know the exact size ? or can you please advise me on how to measure them precisely myself?

Please see attached pic

these looks like the usual 2pin 0.78mm connectors, one of the most popular (if not the most) connector for ciems.

 

[audionewbi]

Im sold, now the scary question is the price.

 

[twister6]

Since the tube is only on SE Does that mean on SE headphones i can only use the tube ?

What i have right now on my CIEMs is a SE mini plug

Am i good to go with only the tube since the tube is on the SE?

Do i need mini xlr male to N8 , to female mini jack now to use my CIEMs for non tube use?

My concern is with my CIEMs being mini jack on one end , am i good to go for balanced and tube on N8? Or do i need to buy something else ?

Also can someone explain what are those 3 adapter cables i see in the N8 box?

My eyes arent good enough to suss them

I think i see a mini SE jack to full size XLR ?

If so are the male or female , and 3 or 4 pin ?

Andy (as always ) has already been very helpful advising me what cables/adapters i wil need to set my HD 800s up (Thanks Andy)

Can someone be kind enough to explain to me what the other 3 cables in box are (4 if i am wrong about what appears to be a mini male jack to dual xlr)

Bottom right cable ,top left and top right cables

We are just talking about a regular 3.5mm headphone jack (the usual TRS type of jack) referred to as Single Ended (SE). Nothing fancy

 

[fuhransahis]

Im sold, now the scary question is the price.

I can't be sold until I know the answer to the scary question

 

[Rozeqloud]

these looks like the usual 2pin 0.78mm connectors, one of the most popular (if not the most) connector for ciems.

Indeed they are mate

Good eye on ye there

Plussound , how awesome are they ? Not only a reply , but an instant reply on a saturday evening

Cheers

 

[Rozeqloud]

Im sold, now the scary question is the price.

Oh yes the (breath held for) scary price

I doubt ill be so lucky

But 2500.00 may give me enough time to purchase this ,and possibly afford the cables i will also need

Fingers crossed

Much over 2500.00 would likely put me out of the game and in tears

 

[Rozeqloud]

We are just talking about a regular 3.5mm headphone jack (the usual TRS type of jack) referred to as Single Ended (SE). Nothing fancy

Thanks mate

Does that mean with my SE jack now on my CIEMs i can only use the tube section?

Is that middle cable a regular mini jack to dual xlrs (Femele? 3 prong?)

And what are the other cables in box?

Cheers

 

[twister6]

Thanks mate

Does that mean with my SE jack now on my CIEMs i can only use the tube section?

Is that middle cable a regular mini jack to dual xlrs (Femele? 3 prong?)

And what are the other cables in box?

Cheers

Yes, NuTube (single module only, since per Andy's acknowledgement two won't be able to fit inside) will be driving Single Ended (3.5mm) headphone output of the DAP. You can connect your CIEM directly to that port with a cable you currently have on hand (the cheap stock ofc cable you had in a picture before). Since you are talking to @PLUSSOUND (assuming, Christian?), I would recommend to get 2.5mm TRRS Balanced terminated cable and 2.5mm TRRS (BAL) to 3.5mm TRS (SE) adapter. This way you can use your new cable with an adapter to plug into 3.5mm SE port, or use the included Cayin 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter (in the lower right corner of the picture) to connect to their 4.4mm TRRRS Balanced headphone output. And if down the road you get another DAP with 2.5mm Balanced output - you can use your cable as well without a need of retermination. Right now, there are two popular balanced cable terminations, 2.5mm TRRS and 4.4mm TRRRS, where 2.5mm is a common denominator where you can use an adapter to switch to 4.4mm or 3.5mm outputs.

The adapter in the middle of that picture is 4.4mm TRRRS balanced to dual xlrs. Other two adapters in upper corners are for usb-c port digital out when you want to use N8 as a transport to drive external DAC/amp.

 

[twister6]

Oh yes the (breath held for) scary price

I doubt ill be so lucky

But 2500.00 may give me enough time to purchase this ,and possibly afford the cables i will also need

Fingers crossed

Much over 2500.00 would likely put me out of the game and in tears

I honestly have no idea about the final price, but wouldn't be surprised if it's somewhere around $3k, in the middle between your expected price and SP1000 price. Don't quote me on this, I'm only speculating.

 

[Rozeqloud]

Yes, NuTube (single module only, since per Andy's acknowledgement two won't be able to fit inside) will be driving Single Ended (3.5mm) headphone output of the DAP. You can connect your CIEM directly to that port with a cable you currently have on hand (the cheap stock ofc cable you had in a picture before). Since you are talking to @PLUSSOUND (assuming, Christian?), I would recommend to get 2.5mm TRRS Balanced terminated cable and 2.5mm TRRS (BAL) to 3.5mm TRS (SE) adapter. This way you can use your new cable with an adapter to plug into 3.5mm SE port, or use the included Cayin 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter (in the lower right corner of the picture) to connect to their 4.4mm TRRRS Balanced headphone output. And if down the road you get another DAP with 2.5mm Balanced output - you can use your cable as well without a need of retermination. Right now, there are two popular balanced cable terminations, 2.5mm TRRS and 4.4mm TRRRS, where 2.5mm is a common denominator where you can use an adapter to switch to 4.4mm or 3.5mm outputs.

The adapter in the middle of that picture is 4.4mm TRRRS balanced to dual xlrs. Other two adapters in upper corners are for usb-c port digital out when you want to use N8 as a transport to drive external DAC/amp.

Thank you for all that advice mate

I may have this sussed now

With what you know i have now(CIEMs with SE mini jack 3.5mm ) , and whats included in the N8 box ,am i ready to go with both SE(Tube section) ,and with the included adapter i can also go balanced ?

i dont think so , because you said "or use the included Cayin 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter"

So there doesnt seem to be a 3,5mm to balanced adapter included ? My current CIEM mini is 3.5mm (I assume , same size as ipod output jack.i ve never measure these things ,and never paid attention to the actual dimensions )

The 4.4mm TRRRS balanced to dual xlrs included is sweet , as im curious how my HD800s will sound on N8 (I assume their XLR ends are female , that makes sense?)

I seen videos of AK SP1000 (I assume the competition for this N8?) at an audio show , and no one had IEMs , the table was all full sized cans . i assume the N8 will be at least as powerful as the AK SP1000 ? Im not expecting the same performance on my HD800s as i get from my Dark star ,but it would be nice to occasionally "Go mobile" (Pun) with my HD 800s

Since we dont know a price yet , much over 2500.00 i wont be able to get the additional cables for a while ,thats why im asking so many cable and adapter questions in advance

Your continued advice is appreciated

 

[twister6]

Thank you for all that advice mate

I may have this sussed now

With what you know i have now(CIEMs with SE mini jack 3.5mm ) , and whats included in the N8 box ,am i ready to go with both SE(Tube section) ,and with the included adapter i can also go balanced ?

i dont think so , because you said "or use the included Cayin 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter"

So there doesnt seem to be a 3,5mm to balanced adapter included ? My current CIEM mini is 3.5mm (I assume , same size as ipod output jack.i ve never measure these things ,and never paid attention to the actual dimensions )

The 4.4mm TRRRS balanced to dual xlrs included is sweet , as im curious how my HD800s will sound on N8 (I assume their XLR ends are female , that makes sense?)

I seen videos of AK SP1000 (I assume the competition for this N8?) at an audio show , and no one had IEMs , the table was all full sized cans . i assume the N8 will be at least as powerful as the AK SP1000 ? Im not expecting the same performance on my HD800s as i get from my Dark star ,but it would be nice to occasionally "Go mobile" (Pun) with my HD 800s

Since we dont know a price yet , much over 2500.00 i wont be able to get the additional cables for a while ,thats why im asking so many cable and adapter questions in advance

Your continued advice is appreciated

You can't convert single ended to balanced since the ground between L/R sides in SE is shorted together, so no 3.5mm to balanced conversion. Btw, to eliminate confusion, probably a good idea not to refer to 3.5mm as mini jack otherwise we have to call 2.5mm as micro jack and 4.4mm as super sized jack

Regarding full size cans with sp1000 at the shows on A&K stands, most likely those are A&K rebranded Beyer cans they promote Also, I wouldn't worry about the power. The fact that Cayin is including 4.4mm to xlr converter cables suggests they are planning to have plenty of juice for a full size cans. And I wouldn't be surprised if NuTube driven SE output has plenty of power as well. We need to wait until the final spec is released and we get more impressions of production units, rather then engineering samples with alpha fw.