[Podster]

I don't really care how much it weighs as long as it sounds like I'm listening to their KT-88 integrated in my pocket Dreaming of sweet decay of strings

 

[Andykong]

Just tried the N8 and really liked it. Sound stage seemed a bit wider, highs seemed more extended when compared with wm1z out of 4.4 balanced. They even have a mobile app for controlling the device via Bluetooth which was pretty cool. Really tempted especially with the promotional price they have here at the show.

I had a 5-7 mins listening to the N8 and I must say I am more impressed with the 3.5 output (tube end?) than the 4.4 output.

First impression , it’s heavy , equally or even more heavy than SPK.

Thank you very much for sharing your impression with us. So happened that Decreate talked about 4.4 Balanced and jasonho talked about 3.5mm Tube (we set all display unit to tube on 3.5mm phone out), so these are good compliment.

The mobile app for controlling the DAP via Bluetooth is called HiByLink, it is embedded inside HiBy Music Player. It is a proprietary Bluetooth control implementation. Regular Bluetooth control app allow you to issue commands such as Play/Pause, Previous/Next from mobile to DAP, at this point the connection is simplex: from mobile to DAP. The HiByLink is far more sophisticated. Once connected, your music resources on N8 will be shared with the HiByMusic App by allowing the App to read the file headers and metadata of the N8 local storage. The App on your mobile phone will manipulated the content, and control the N8 operation including creating a playlist. It can even offer user operations that are not originally available on the N8 DAP.

So this is far more a simple phone-based remote control, the HiByLink is a lossless resource sharing platform based on duplex BT communication. HiBy introduced this features about 1 year ago and our N3 was one of the early birds in adopting HiByLink, If you are interested to find out more about the HiByLink, you can check here.

The N8 dimension is 128mm x 70mm x 21mm, weighted at around 380g. I have checked the specification of SPK-SS, dimension is 132mm x 75.8mm x 16.2mm, weight at 386.6g. So their weight are on the same par.

 

[Andykong]

It was HKD2000 off the suggested retail price

Fyi, I gave in and preordered it. Hopefully I will receive it before the end of September.

When my CEO informed me that they have one customer paid for the N8 in full amount, I was surprised and whether this is a friend from HeadFi Forum.

The discount is only available at the show, if you are interested in N8 DAP and is planned to visit the Hon Kong High-End Audio Visual show, don't miss the chance to check out the N8 DAP at Hall 3, C02 booth.

Congrats! Hopefully your N8 serial number is 001

Decreate is the first oversee customers, but N8 has exhibited in several major cities in China, and we have received quite a few N8 pre-orders already.

 

[denis1976]

When it will be available in Spain, Zococity dealer?

 

[Decreate]

When my CEO informed me that they have one customer paid for the N8 in full amount, I was surprised and whether this is a friend from HeadFi Forum.

The discount is only available at the show, if you are interested in N8 DAP and is planned to visit the Hon Kong High-End Audio Visual show, don't miss the chance to check out the N8 DAP at Hall 3, C02 booth.



Decreate is the first oversee customers, but N8 has exhibited in several major cities in China, and we have received quite a few N8 pre-orders already.

I'm actually a local HK and it was nice having a brief chat with you at the show. I was the guy in a black T-shirt and black jeans. Not sure if you would remember me though haha.

 

[riffrafff]

I'm actually a local HK and it was nice having a brief chat with you at the show. I was the guy in a black T-shirt and black jeans. Not sure if you would remember me though haha.

I think I saw you last week at Sturgis!

 

[Decreate]

I think I saw you last week at Sturgis!

Definitely not me, been slaving away at work here in Hong Kong.

 

[Andykong]

I'm actually a local HK and it was nice having a brief chat with you at the show. I was the guy in a black T-shirt and black jeans. Not sure if you would remember me though haha.

Oh I remember that, I was walking by outside the booth and then one of my colleagues waved at me because you have asked for me. So I did shake the hand of the first N8 owner in Hong Kong, how exciting.

 

[Andykong]

A quick update from the Hong Kong AV show, its a very crowded event, and N8 is the star or Cayin's booth. We even used it as the source in our flagship system, connecting to our HA-300 tube headphone amplifier through our 4.4mm to dual XLR adapter.

https://www.facebook.com/CayinAudio/posts/468409283570303

Here are some of the show coverage photo from local media on Cayin N8 DAP:

Source: Lyra Media

Source: Spill HK

Source: WEM Media

We have revised the dial for playback control, this will reduced the potential of accidental manipulation.

 

[Max Choiral]

To be honest, we are grateful to A&K for they have "created" the high-end DAP market. You can have different opinion to their sound signature or pricing strategy, but we have to give them a round of applause for their achievement. I don't think A&K or Sony will be history.

Spoiler

Hahaha, thanks, that made my day Yep, they were bold enough to put on the line something that should be around 1,5k$ at best for much, much higher price. However people accepted it so win-win for both sides I guess.
Don't get me wrong, no offence to anybody here. I respect what you're doing and know how this industry works. Without selling snake oil you will not last long on a market. After all, what's the harm if both sides have their fun in this game excluding some very minor exceptions, eh?

 

[Quadfather]

I had the pleasure of listening to the N8 at Canjam earlier today and what can I say? I thought it was sublime. I listen through the 3.5mm jack and it was exceptional. I listen with my Pinnacle P1's and they sounded the best I had ever heard them. I can only begin to imagine How it must sound with better iems . I listened straight after listening to the Hugo 2 for a rough reference point (I had also listened to a WM1Z yesterday). The UI still needed a little work, but the sound was oh so smooth yet detailed. Great work Cayin.

The N8 is the first price-no-objective high-end flagship portable digital audio player from Cayin. This is our attempt to deliver best possible high resolution audio performance to portable users. It features two AKM AK4497EQ DAC chipsets and can native decode up to DSD256 and 32 Bit/ 384kHz with stellar resolution and dynamic range and yet as musical as it can be.

The N8 is unique and innovative, these are some of the highlights and specification details:

• First time ever, a Direct Heated Triode (DHT) vacuum tube in a portable player
• Offers THREE choice of amplification (4.4mm Bal, 3.5mm SE-SS, 3.5mm SE-Tube)
• Dual AK4497EQ, the new generation premium 32-bit DAC based DAC chipset
• PCM up to 32bit/384kHz
• Native decode DSD up to 11.2MHz (DSD256), direct handling of SACD-ISO
• Storage capacity: 128 GB internal memory, one TF card up to 512 GB
• Dual Output Mode: High Impedance High Output Mode (HIGH2) delivers 200mWpc@300Ω
• Balanced 4.4mm phone out delivers 480mWpc at STD mode, 750mWpc at HIGH2 mode (@32Ω)
• Single-ended 3.5mm phone out delivers 230mWpc at STD mode, 400mWpc at HIGH2 mode (@32Ω)
• Extremely low output impedance: Single-ended @0.6Ω, balanced at 1.2Ω
• Desktop grade line output: 2.1V (dedicated 3.3mm) and 4.3V (shared 4.4mm)
• Comprehensive digital output option: I2S (mini HDMI), USB Audio, and S/PDIF
• Multifunction Type-C port: charging, OTG, USB DAC, digital outputs
• New generation proprietary OS and touch screen based UI design
• Stainless steel chassis with PVD coating, 24K gold plated solid brass control dials
• Custom fit Corning Gorilla 3 (AF and DLC coating) curved glass back panel
• Multi-color smart glowing LED, indicates sampling rate, breathing when charging
• 3.2” 480x360 Multi-touch IPS screen
• 7000mAH battery, support Quick Charge technology (QC2.0)
• 128mm x 70mm x 21mm, ~380g

The suggested retail price of N8 is US$2,999.99 and will be available by September 2018.

Cayin website
Where to Buy
Technical Support

Music Credit: Every Step - Silent Partner (No Copyright Music)

And I thought my Paw Gold Diana was an aggressive lady! This player is 50% more powerful. I would be willing to bet that it would drive my hd650 headphones pretty well out of balanced.

 

[Quadfather]

The flagship exercise will benefit our future product as well, research and innovation will eventually pass down to more affordable products, it just take time for these to work out. Cayin is always a cost-caution brand, this is rooted deep in our DNA, history and future products will be the witness of this claim. So if you are interested in the skill and technology of N8, please stay tune, the N8 is our take on end-game, but this is not end of the game.

Thankfully I didn't pull the trigger on The gold Sony. If you do a North American tour, I'm in! LOL

 

[Quadfather]

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

CAYIN DEBUTS N8 FLAGSHIP DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER WITH FULL BALANCED SOLID STATE AND TRIODE VACUUM TUBE OUTPUT

May 10, 2018, High End, Munich – Cayin N8, the new flagship portable Master Quality Digital Audio Player from the leading audio manufacturer, will makes its worldwide debut at High End 2018 (H12, Hall).




The N8 is the first price-no-objective portable digital audio player from Cayin. This is our attempt to deliver best possible high fidelity audio performance to portable users. The N8 has consolidated their 25 years of extensive experience in high-end audio industry and offers impeccable digital and analogue audio capabilities. It features two AKM AK4497EQ DAC chipsets and can native decode up to DSD256 and 32 Bit/ 384kHz with stellar dynamic range and channel separation,

Bin Liang, CEO of Zhuhai Spark Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd., parent company of Cayin, said “While the N8 offers state-of-the-art digital decoding for portable player, it’s the analogue that makes it stand our as our statement to the head-fi market. For the first time ever, we have created a DAP with choice of Direct Heated Triode vacuum tube and full balanced solid state in one portable package. N8 users can select the audio signature that fit their headphones or music genre conveniently”.



On top of being a brilliant standalone player, Cayin N8 offers six input and output options so that you can integrate the DAP into your home audio system flexibly. The I2S Digital output (via micro HDMI) is by far the most sophisticated digital interface from N8, it can connect to I2S input of our CS-100DAC and N8 will become a high performance digital transport. We have also embedded the S/PDIF Coaxial signal into the Type-C secondary bus pins. This is our proprietary design and N8 users will be provided the necessary adapters to connect the player to portable and desktop DAC. N8 also supports USB Audio, it can function as USB DAC (input) or USB Transport (output) through its Type-C USB interface. Last but not least, N8 comes with dual line out design. On top of the commonly used single-ended line out through the dedicated 3.5mm port, Cayin has added a ground connection to the "Pentaconn" connector so that N8 can facilitate full balanced line out through the shared 4.4mm TRRRS port.



There is no reason to settle for less on the final appeal and finishing when N8 excels in almost every aspect. The main N8 chassis is CNC out of a single piece of stainless steel and the rea panel is a specially molded 3D toughened Gorilla glass with AF and DLC coating. This combination not only offers attractive visual impact, it is also a functional design that feels good when you grasp it.






World Debut at Munich High End 2018

Cayin N8 is scheduled to launch at August 2018. The suggested retail price will be announced soon.

Cayin will demonstrate a N8 Engineering Sample at Munich High End, Hall 2 (H12), MOC, Munich, Germany from 10th to 13th May 2018. The showcase will include complete line of Personal Audio products (including the recently announced HA-300 flagship DHT tube headphone amplifier and the completed i-Series three-piece desktop suit), and selected CD player, DAC and tube amplifier from Cayin latest lineup. Please visit us at Hall 2 of MOC or contact us to reserve a special press audition session.

About Cayin

Cayin was founded in 1993. While our products carry a distinctive cultural connotation and span over a very wide price range, we are devoted to developing the best sounding audio equipment at competitive prices.

We have developed over 400 products to date, ranging from CD players to speakers, all of which provide the same high-quality benchmark and attractive price to performance capabilities. Our tube amplifiers have been particularly well-received within the audio community because of this commitment. With a spectacular track record of over 70 local and international awards, Cayin has grown into one of the largest audio tube amplifier development and manufacturing facilities in the world.

Cayin pays attention to detail because we believe this is what it takes to reproduce music naturally. We might have a different agenda or employ different technologies for different products, but ultimately, we serve only one purpose: to move our audience with hi-fidelity.

We deliver music diligently, and we are prepared to go a long way for that.

With Cayin, your music will never be the same again.

For more information, please visit www.cayin.cn

Could you please put the output specifications on page one? I thought it was 750mw/32ohms, but I can't remember.

 

[Quadfather]

FREAKING AWESOME!

I've been so impressed by what Cayin does in the mid-tier realm, I've often fantasized about what great heights a summit-fi offering might reach.

Pinky is losing his $h*t!

Pinky Floyd? Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?

 

[Andykong]

When it will be available in Spain, Zococity dealer?

Check again by end of September, that is the earliest possible date for oversee dealer in or current schedule. Not sure if Spain will be the first to place an order though.