[scottm18]

There seems to be a MQA decode button on/off within the audio settings tab now. Not sure how much of a difference it makes with regular files yet but thought i would point it out.

Wow...I feel like a Vulcan mind-meld happened with that option! Maybe Cayin read my prior posts.. or just realized that no self-respecting audiophile would ever listen to a lossy MQA file. Especially on a superbly resolute device like this.

Sorry Meridian...big fan of your awesome MLP (DVD-Audio) format...but you swung and missed with the MQA followup.

 

[NJoyzAudio]

Announcement of N8ii Firmware V1.6EN



New Functions and System Optimisation

1. Enhance USB DAC to support USB 3.0 connection
2. Enable users to exit volume control interface screen by short click at any unmarked area outside the “+” and “-“ control button.
3. Enable N8ii to adjust output volume after connecting to Bluetooth device that has its own volume control
4. Other bugs fixed and system optimization.

Users can update to the latest firmware through OTA updating or manually local updating. For more information and detail instruction, please check out v1.6EN Announcement in Cayin website.

We have to rely on Qualcomm's OTA service to deliver the firmware update to N8ii users, therefore OTA are not necessarily available to all users simultaneously. If you are familiar with the N8ii manual update procedure, you can down the full version of v1.6EN from our Google Drive (HERE).

Thank You Andy
OTA Update went flawlessly!
I don't always leave the WI-FI on. As soon as I turned on Wi-Fi, it connected presented me with the OTA upgrade screen and the update was quick and very smooth.

So far so good and agree on the volume update working nicely

Thanks for keeping us all in the know!

 

[111MilesToGo]

There seems to be a MQA decode button on/off within the audio settings tab now. Not sure how much of a difference it makes with regular files yet but thought i would point it out.

Wow...I feel like a Vulcan mind-meld happened with that option! Maybe Cayin read my prior posts.. or just realized that no self-respecting audiophile would ever listen to a lossy MQA file. Especially on a superbly resolute device like this.

Sorry Meridian...big fan of your awesome MLP (DVD-Audio) format...but you swung and missed with the MQA followup.

”MQA decoder“ switch! Wow!!! Respect and thanks.

But the word ”decoder“ triggers me to ask for an official explanation of the new switch, @Andykong and @CayinSupport please. Can we switch off all MQA now? Or switch off only the decoder (1st unfold), leaving the renderer (2nd to 16x unfolds) on?

 

[maceto]

”MQA decoder“ switch! Wow!!! Respect and thanks.

But the word ”decoder“ triggers me to ask for an official explanation of the new switch, @Andykong and @CayinSupport please. Can we switch off all MQA now? Or switch off only the decoder (1st unfold), leaving the renderer (2nd to 16x unfolds) on?

You’re asking questions that keeps us awake at night… the whole MQA is so obscure it’s crazy. Not one definition is simple, but obtuse. Render, decode or fully decode. Software or hardware render and or decode… for most users is beyond complicated.

 

[111MilesToGo]

You’re asking questions that keeps us awake at night… the whole MQA is so obscure it’s crazy. Not one definition is simple, but obtuse. Render, decode or fully decode. Software or hardware render and or decode… for most users is beyond complicated.

Early morning here (8 a.m.), which doesn‘t help against that obscure scam called MQA either …

 

[maceto]

Early morning here (8 a.m.), which doesn‘t help against that obscure scam called MQA either …

I get they tried something in terms of bandwidth, but it’s so secretive…

 

[scottm18]

But the word ”decoder“ triggers me to ask for an official explanation of the new switch

I'd love to know this too. Does that mean it frees up CPU power to handle "real" files-- like processor-intensive DSD for instance?

No matter how they spin it:

MQA = LOSSY

That's pretty much all you need to know.

 

[ECKHUAAA]

Thank You Andy
OTA Update went flawlessly!
I don't always leave the WI-FI on. As soon as I turned on Wi-Fi, it connected presented me with the OTA upgrade screen and the update was quick and very smooth.

So far so good and agree on the volume update working nicely

Thanks for keeping us all in the know!

Hi @Andykong I still cannot install the update successfully, download is successful over OTA but once I click update it goes to upgrading up to 17% then fails see the attached screen capture.
I have reset to factory several times but same result, I have cleared my cache many times.

 

[ciscokid96]

I just purchased this DAP from another headfier and it is expected to arrive in about a week.

Anyone know some IEMs that best synergize with the n8ii?

Also, what other TOTL DAPs would be a good complement to own along side the n8ii for a contrasting flavor. Just ordered the WM1Z M2 for my Z1R.

 

[Andykong]

Hi @Andykong I still cannot install the update successfully, download is successful over OTA but once I click update it goes to upgrading up to 17% then fails see the attached screen capture.
I have reset to factory several times but same result, I have cleared my cache many times.

Can you perform a Wipe Data/Factory Reset? You can follow the instruction HERE.

I cannot figure out the problem of your case, but it looks like a software problem instead of a hardware problem. If you can't complete the OTA update after Wipe Data/Factory Reset, I'd suggest you perform a manual update as described on the firmware announcement page of the Cayin website, the new firmware should reset your software environment complete and solve whatever software problem you are dealing with. If this is too inconvenient for you, please contact your dealer and send your N8ii back to them, asking them to upgrade the firmware for you. Most likely they'll perform a manual update to solve the problem.

 

[Andykong]

”MQA decoder“ switch! Wow!!! Respect and thanks.

But the word ”decoder“ triggers me to ask for an official explanation of the new switch, @Andykong and @CayinSupport please. Can we switch off all MQA now? Or switch off only the decoder (1st unfold), leaving the renderer (2nd to 16x unfolds) on?

Let me explain the function of this button. When you playback an MQA music file from TIDAL, the "normal" output is either 88.2kHz or 96kHz because the Android system will perform the 2x unfold. If you have set the MQA decoder switch to ON, the system will detect the MQA file format and perform 16x unfold, the MQA file will then playback at 705.6kHz or 768kHz. If you set the MQA decoder switch to OFF, the system will NOT detect MQA file format from third-party applications, and the MQA encoded music file from TIDAL will playback at 88.2kHz or 96kHz.

We add this switch as a fix to solve the occasionally unstable playback from Tidal MQA. The problem occurs when a user playback MQA files in different sampling frequencies. Turning off the decoder capability will solve the problem immediately. The button will stop the system to detect the MQA file format of third-party applications. It won't affect local playback at all. So if you playback a downloaded MQA file on your SD card, the button won't do anything against that and you'll still achieve 16x unfold even when you turn on the button.

Can we add a function to turn off MQA completely? No, from what I understand, you can't. The Android system will always perform 2x unfold even when N8ii is not MQA certified (v1.3 firmware or before), there is no such thing as playback MQA files in their original "unmodified" format through Tidal App on an Android device. There might be a low-level system fix, something like the DTA feature in N8ii that bypass the system SRC, but nobody is doing that so far, and we are not planning anything along that line. I am not even sure if MQA will certify our devices if we offer that kind of function.

 

[111MilesToGo]

Hi @Andykong I still cannot install the update successfully, download is successful over OTA but once I click update it goes to upgrading up to 17% then fails see the attached screen capture.
I have reset to factory several times but same result, I have cleared my cache many times.

Can you perform a Wipe Data/Factory Reset? You can follow the instruction HERE.

I cannot figure out the problem of your case, but it looks like a software problem instead of a hardware problem. If you can't complete the OTA update after Wipe Data/Factory Reset, I'd suggest you perform a manual update as described on the firmware announcement page of the Cayin website, the new firmware should reset your software environment complete and solve whatever software problem you are dealing with. If this is too inconvenient for you, please contact your dealer and send your N8ii back to them, asking them to upgrade the firmware for you. Most likely they'll perform a manual update to solve the problem.

@ECKHUAAA, sorry to hear about your problem. Myself, I have not decided yet on when and how to update to fw 1.6, OTA or locally.

As I did all previous fw updates to my N6ii and N8ii via OTA, I am new to local fw updates and would like to ask:

What gets reset under a local update, when doing this without a manual Wipe Data/Factory Reset? Would I lose some personal Android preferences settings (not too bad)? Would I lose all my installed apps and their settings (really bad)? Is a Factory Reset advisable in case of doing a local update?

PS: I understand that an OTA update is sort of an incremental update, exchanging a few components. A local update from the downloaded zip file is a full update, exchanging ”everything“.

Thanks in advance for some ”teaching“.

PPS: The most interesting question regarding an fw update would be: Could such update perform flashing new code to the FPGA? (You know, like flashing the BIOS of computers.) Asking this out of curiosity only; I know I probably will not get an answer, but I am happy without one. So forgive me, please.

 

[111MilesToGo]

It is this time of the year … Amidst and despite all the perfect storms of various kinds that rage through various parts of this world … Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, wherever you are, whatever you do, whatever you have to endure. Stay safe and healthy.

 

[111MilesToGo]

To @maceto and @scottm18 asking about MQA: I did find the official explanation HERE to be quite sufficient - read this as:

Get to know what ”core decoder“, ”renderer“ and ”full decoder“ mean:

• An MQA track comes in to your listening device as 24/44.1 or 24/48 PCM (or 16bit), usually losslessly (!!!) encoded as FLAC
• It has MQA signaling, identifying the track as being one of several sorts of MQA. I don‘t know where the signaling is - as metadata it could be too easily falsified, I keep envisioning it as having the least significant bit contain certain sequences
• The Core Decoder does the first unfold of this PCM to 24/88.2 or 24/96 (or 16bit)
• The Renderer does the unfolds thereafter, whatever times. On the N8ii, this is 16x to 705.6 or 768 kHz, resp.
• Full Decoder = Core Decoder + Renderer

That‘s about all you need to know - just get that vocabulary. And: Know that MQA is LOSSY !!!

As MQA is proprietary, we don‘t know anything about how that works. Plus, MQA in some instances does some further correction, depending e.g. on the recording equipment, in particular the ADC. The a.m. steps can be performed within one device or chained across several devices, and they can be distributed across software and/or hardware.

You are correct, @maceto, MQA is nothing more than a ”trick“ to circumvent bandwidth limitations in streaming. It somehow reduces a higher-rate recording (e.g. 24/176.4 or 24/192, 16bit) to the lowest acceptable sample rates of 44.1 or 48 kHz, which is then handed over to the internet for streaming to you. Another aspect for MQA is streaming service availability, since MQA translates as Tidal.

These are the questions I propose asking yourself:

1. Do you live in an environment where bandwidth (colloquially termed internet speed) is limited, at any stage from the streaming service‘s server to the ISP to your device (either in your house via router or mobile)?
2. Do you have an internet data plan where high data volumes empty your wallet (might hold particularly for mobile)?
3. Do you live in a country where Qobuz is not available, but Tidal is?

If you answer any one or more of these questions with ”yes“, you might want to consider Tidal = MQA as your streaming service. I‘m not talking about music repertoire preferences and the like …

Hope that helps, mostly by reducing MQA to some essentials. Everybody please chime in - I don‘t claim to be correct or complete!

 

[maceto]

To @maceto and @scottm18 asking about MQA: I did find the official explanation HERE to be quite sufficient - read this as:

Get to know what ”core decoder“, ”renderer“ and ”full decoder“ mean:

• An MQA track comes in to your listening device as 24/44.1 or 24/48 PCM (or 16bit), usually losslessly (!!!) encoded as FLAC
• It has MQA signaling, identifying the track as being one of several sorts of MQA. I don‘t know where the signaling is - as metadata it could be too easily falsified, I keep envisioning it as having the least significant bit contain certain sequences
• The Core Decoder does the first unfold of this PCM to 24/88.2 or 24/96 (or 16bit)
• The Renderer does the unfolds thereafter, whatever times. On the N8ii, this is 16x to 705.6 or 768 kHz, resp.
• Full Decoder = Core Decoder + Renderer

That‘s about all you need to know - just get that vocabulary. And: Know that MQA is LOSSY !!!

As MQA is proprietary, we don‘t know anything about how that works. Plus, MQA in some instances does some further correction, depending e.g. on the recording equipment, in particular the ADC. The a.m. steps can be performed within one device or chained across several devices, and they can be distributed across software and/or hardware.

You are correct, @maceto, MQA is nothing more than a ”trick“ to circumvent bandwidth limitations in streaming. It somehow reduces a higher-rate recording (e.g. 24/176.4 or 24/192, 16bit) to the lowest acceptable sample rates of 44.1 or 48 kHz, which is then handed over to the internet for streaming to you. Another aspect for MQA is streaming service availability, since MQA translates as Tidal.

These are the questions I propose asking yourself:

1. Do you live in an environment where bandwidth (colloquially termed internet speed) is limited, at any stage from the streaming service‘s server to the ISP to your device (either in your house via router or mobile)?
2. Do you have an internet data plan where high data volumes empty your wallet (might hold particularly for mobile)?
3. Do you live in a country where Qobuz is not available, but Tidal is?

If you answer any one or more of these questions with ”yes“, you might want to consider Tidal = MQA as your streaming service. I‘m not talking about music repertoire preferences and the like …

Hope that helps, mostly by reducing MQA to some essentials. Everybody please chime in - I don‘t claim to be correct or complete!

You know that your explanation is way more comprehensive than most manufacturers put on their DAC/DAP info, most don’t make it clear if it’s a core or full decoder.