[PinkyPowers]

With high output (P+) mode? In some pair ups going to P+ was like turbocharging the sound I'll be lying if I say I don't miss N8 tube output.

I haven't figured out how to turn that on. I just set it to High Gain.

 

[twister6]

I haven't figured out how to turn that on. I just set it to High Gain.

3rd one at the top (toggle P/P+) in notification bar of shortcut settings:

 

[Rozeqloud]

I thought HibyLink is only Android based. Hmm, wonder if you can load it on Chromebook. Might have to borrow one from my kids to test it out.

I thought that as well

I guess ill be looking for the cheapest and largest android based screen/tablet that can do that

Let us know how the chrome book goes please

 

[PinkyPowers]

3rd one at the top (toggle P/P+) in notification bar of shortcut settings:

Very nice. Thanks. Can't wait to try out my LCD-3 on that.

 

[Chip B]

I never would have thought that I would be writing this post several weeks ago; But this Wednesday I received my N8. In my past I have owned the Hugo, Mojo and a variety of top tier DAC / Amp combo's over the last 15 years. Often carried the "brick" to enjoy great sound and great headphones. I carefully read this thread before my purchase; and in general, the detailed reviews, Andy Kong's input, and general user experience and comments re: Cayin as a company; allowed me to make the decision for the N8 over the Sony WM1z. Biggest key points in my decision were the tube sound & the ability to have a desktop grade LO and integrate the N8 into my home system. While not a lot of listening hours yet, my impressions are that the build is solid, the interface mature and able to work well with the Hiby app and make Playlists instantly. The sound is on par with anything I have heard, and better to me, because so far in tube mode, songs have incredible soundstage, depth, black background, deep base, sparkle in the mids and highs, detail and tonality pristine, Rare for me to purchase a new product that works out of the box, and not spend endless hours on head-fi trying to iron out the bugs. Instead I can enjoy the music, and a really new mobile experience. Have some fun for change! Cayin N8 in short, Rocks! One question for Andy Kong, reading the threads it appears Gorilla glass 3 is used on the back, what is used on the front? i know I usually put a tempered glass cover on my smartphone, and I know that it has "saved" an accident from being catastrophic more than once. And while a user decision, and Cayin provides the screen protector, how necessary is it, as a matter of preference?
Thank you Andy and thank you for your great posts!

 

[21qz]

How much ram does this have and is it pretty laggy?

 

[Chip B]

With 128GB of native storage I think it must have decent ram, to run a non-android optimized system; that being said the only thing i find a bit laggy is pulling up the album art on my 14K of songs, other than that the functionality seems as smooth as my iPhone XsMax.

 

[Andykong]

I have completely rewritten the opening post of the N8 thread with lots of explanation, photo, links, and detail specification. I have also consolidate our discussion into post #3 by categorised them into the following headings:

• Media Reviews
• HeadFi reviews and Impressions
• Firmware Announcement
• FAQ and resources
• International Dealers

I tried to be as transparent and unbiased as possible but please be reminded that I am an employee of Cayin, so please read carefully to decide whether you want to trust my explanation and administration of thread. For the record, "Media Reviews" are facilitated by Cayin with a load review unit and most user impressions are labelled as prototype (pre-production), sample (at shops or or audio shows) or owner for your reference.

N8 is a very ambitious product. We didn't play safe, there is no looking back when we insist the "Audio Priority" objective. We went all-in instead of pacing our technical achievement bit by bit to maxima our profit. We build the N8 to become the center piece of your music system, portable or home-based, and provided most, if not all, the accessories required in system integration. If Hobbyist Personal Audio is a niche market, N8 is aiming at a small portion of the niche market only.

 

[21qz]

What iem or over ears you guys test?

 

[Chip B]

I have a few more than these; BUT I use these regularly, so i know how they sound. Their quality is high-enough to give a good representation, and since I am used to their sound, then they serve as a good test for me; Shure 846, Beyerdynamic xelento, Mr Speakers Ether C Flow 1.0, Sony 1000X M3 BT LDAC. There are several Headphones for much less, that are highly rated; so it's not the price as much as their ability to reproduce. Hope this helps.

 

[21qz]

How do you think the mdr-zr1 would sound?

 

[Andykong]

I never used a case for any of my daps or amps ever, so I didnt think it will slide out so easily. On the sidewalks the N8 sort of landed flat on its back and slide a few feet. No dents. When it fell in the train it landed on the left top corner no dent but a chip off the glass screen. Lucky its working perfectly and aint using the case. Also been using the Tube amp 3 hours a day on the go, alot of the time the N8 in my pants pocket. No issues just a little warm when in pocket.

Had time to sit at a park so a good time to listen to some music.


Listening while sitting in the train, you can see the chip at top left corner of the screen.

Oh dear. The dent only cracked the temper glass screen protector? Did you take off the screen protector to check it out?

I station in Hong Kong, drop me a PM and I can pass a replacement screen protector to you. You can also buy a third party replacement from Taobao.

 

[jmills8]

Oh dear. The dent only cracked the temper glass screen protector? Did you take off the screen protector to check it out?

I station in Hong Kong, drop me a PM and I can pass a replacement screen protector to you. You can also buy a third party replacement from Taobao.

Thanks for the offer, and all is ok. I like my unique N8 and its working well. I do have a question, I have no updated the FW , should I up date it ? Why ?

 

[justrest]

N8 looks like bulletproof, so I'm not surprised there was no damage.

 

[Andykong]

As much as I love my Calyx M, it wows you from start, but after a few hours fatigues kicks in. I can't believe it, but it is too dynamic. But N8 magic wins you over slowly. I would say if you have the money, and don't mind N8 UI/relatively poorer screen resolution compared to other flagship product, which I find very important for larger databases, N8 is the winner.
-------
On somewhat an unrelated note:
Lately I've been looking at chord poly. At stat I just simply couldn't get it, but ever since I have gotten a larger tablet, going back to DAP is just weird, navigation on such a small screen isn't fun, dynamic. AK also knows this, and they are working on a new AK controller AP which a better GUI, (so I'm told), I see future only a place where all flagship daps are basically a poly with a screen. Dap makers shouldn't discount the importance of having a powerful device like apple/samsung tablet as a control point when one is home and stationary.

I've been using HibyLink, the UI isn't quiet there yet. Coverart browsing is simply isn't there.

you perhaps misunderstood my point, what makes poly powerful is the fact that I can use it with numerous dlna friendly apps on apple/andriod, all from the comfort of my 12 inch retina screen ipad, at speed that no other dap can match.

I am glad that you like the magic of N8. The strength of N8 probably is not as prominent as other TOTL DAPs, it takes time to fully appreciate the technical and musical edge. A friend of mine comment that N8 is over-engineered. With 3 choice of amplifications, 2 power output modes and 3 levels gain stage, he has a hard time just to determine the optimum setting for each of his IEMs and portable headphones. He didn't feel the WOW effect when he listen to N8 for the first time, but after he owned it and find the best setting for different mix and match, he said that's a very different story already.

To certain extend, the WOW effect will multiply if you have a bunch of headphones and IEMs in your collections, and that's applicable even to decent mid-tier IEM/headphones such as FAD E5000 or the good old Sony EX1000. When driven satisfactory, these $500 IEMs can deliver a musical nirvana experience.

Regarding the choice of technologies for wireless control, I think that is related to situation preference. HiByLink is Bluetooth based and DLNA is Wi-Fi based. From portable application point of view, Bluetooth is more flexible because it consumes less power and introduce less internal interference (when packed into confined space like a DAP). It will also cause less interrupt to the mobile phone operation because it only occupied the Bluetooth channel instead of the WiFi channel. Imagine you need to use the mobile phone to wireless control your N8 while you are daily commuting on train or metro, or when you are using free WiFi hotspot at office or hotel, bluetooth, IMHO, is a more suitable choice in view of its point-to-point nature.

While HiByLink is one of the best bluetooth based wireless control systems available, its bandwidth is still rather limited when compare to DLAN, which is a purposively developed multi-media sharing protocol. Procedures such as, as you have pointed out, browsing through library in Album Art thumbnail is not feasible. Imagine the data involved to read from 100 to 3,000 album art (a lot more if you consider the option of embedded album art at per music file level) through the bluetooth connection, it will hang up the N8 and the mobile phone completely. That's why the album art will not be displayable until you start to play an album or a file.