[HiFiHawaii808]

Speaking about Vannuys, anyone who needs them should give a call to Zepp. I basically color and sound match 2 IEMs per DAP so I just pick up the combo I wanna listen to and these 4 IEMs cases work like a charm. They do carry stock for other sizes as well. Up to 8 IEMs I believe.

That's a good idea. I have 2 of the 12 IEM Van Nuys cases. I can see using a 4 IEM case to hold 2 DAPs.

 

[pkcpga]

The Cornwalls are upstairs in the two channel space. Denon PMA-110 there and Roon.

My listening room has the big boys, B&W Nautilus needing 4 two channel amps.

 

[twister6]

I'm planning to borrow N8 next week to do the actual A/B comparison and to get the answer of how close/different tube output sounds between these two, and I will be using Odin for that test. If I'm not mistaken, there hasn't been any side-by-side comparison yet, just people going by memory or speculating, right?

 

[crazyhank]

Oh boy a lot of discussion on N8ii the past 48 hours. This is awesome.

I tried it for like 2 hours at Zep when it arrived earlier last week. When I tried it it was just unboxed, and only run in for a few hours, not fully burn in. I'm not good at explaning, but N8ii doesn't sound like C9. I would also say that N8ii SS mode doesn't sound as good/detail as SP2000. And I don't think it beats SP2000+C9 sound to me, but that's my preference. But if you take into account the size, portability, the flexibility, and the variety of options (P/P+, A or A/B, Tube vs SS), I think it's an amazing DAP.

I will probably go in to Zep again soon to try it after it's been run in a bit this past week. It is an excellent DAP imo.

In regards to Tube sound, it definitely sound tubey to me. If you switch between Tube or SS mode, you hear it immediately. I don't think it can be missed. Maybe not as tubey as N8, may not even be as tubey as C9, but variety is better no? This way N8ii doesn't replace SP2000+C9 (or gets ignored by those that already have SP2000+C9) but rather becomes another option, and a strong candidate at that. I have been looking for a DAP that can match/surpass my SP2000+C9, and several has come close in term of sound, (and far surpass it in other areas like streaming, UX, connectivity, etc.), N8ii is probably the closest to beating my love for SP2000+C9 combo, although I have yet to try piping N8ii through C9 yet to see if that create different magic. (I haven't tried Lotoo or L&P stuff though.)

Excellent feedback, thank you!! What is Zep? a store? where? Sorry

 

[ssriram2791]

I'm planning to borrow N8 next week to do the actual A/B comparison and to get the answer of how close/different tube output sounds between these two, and I will be using Odin for that test. If I'm not mistaken, there hasn't been any side-by-side comparison yet, just people going by memory or speculating, right?

This is what I was expecting... Requesting following comparisons

1. N8 (Tube Class AB,3.5 mm) vs N8ii (Tube Class AB, 3.5mm)
2. N8 (4.4 mm LO)+C9 Tube Class AB (4.4 mm) vs N8ii (Tube Class AB, 4.4 mm)
3. N8 (4.4 mm LO)+ C9 Tube Class A (4.4 mm) vs N8ii (Tube Class A, 4.4 mm)

Thank you so much !

 

[DaYooper]

My listening room has the big boys, B&W Nautilus needing 4 two channel amps.

And a Warp Core driven power system. WOW

 

[twister6]

This is what I was expecting... Requesting following comparisons

1. N8 (Tube Class AB,3.5 mm) vs N8ii (Tube Class AB, 3.5mm)
2. N8 (4.4 mm LO)+C9 Tube Class AB (4.4 mm) vs N8ii (Tube Class AB, 4.4 mm)
3. N8 (4.4 mm LO)+ C9 Tube Class A (4.4 mm) vs N8ii (Tube Class A, 4.4 mm)

Thank you so much !

Just curious, what is the point of #2/#3 comparison? I already covered the difference between standalone C9 and N8ii's built-in "C9" in my first look review. N8 LO should be just the output of AK4497. #1 is what everybody wants to know regarding the implementation of NuTube sound coloring in N8 vs N8ii

 

[Doug2507]

Keen to hear your thoughts between them on SS as well if you don't mind...

 

[Natesdailies]

I'm planning to borrow N8 next week to do the actual A/B comparison and to get the answer of how close/different tube output sounds between these two, and I will be using Odin for that test. If I'm not mistaken, there hasn't been any side-by-side comparison yet, just people going by memory or speculating, right?

Much appreciated . If you had to pick tests, my vote would go towards:

1. N8 Tube 3.5 vs N8ii Tube 3.5 - How much colouring does the N8ii have compared to other Daps? For example, where does it fall between Sony wm1z -> 3Max SS?
2. N8ii Tube 4.4 vs N8 SS 4.4 - What is the gap between the two timbre settings? Is it a bigger difference than the timbre settings on the SP2000T or the Cayin C9?

 

[ssriram2791]

Just curious, what is the point of #2/#3 comparison? I already covered the difference between standalone C9 and N8ii's built-in "C9" in my first look review. N8 LO should be just the output of AK4497. #1 is what everybody wants to know regarding the implementation of NuTube sound coloring in N8 vs N8ii

There has been some talk about N8ii technical performance being better than C9 (to the point people debating if it is any more worth it) in some of the earlier threads based on impressions.. Key question is a with a high end DAP such as N8 and combining with C9, does it technically outperform N8ii or does the reverse happens.. If the reverse is happening, that is quite a concern.

 

[justanut]

Just curious, what is the point of #2/#3 comparison? I already covered the difference between standalone C9 and N8ii's built-in "C9" in my first look review. N8 LO should be just the output of AK4497. #1 is what everybody wants to know regarding the implementation of NuTube sound coloring in N8 vs N8ii

With different impedance headphones please.

BA IEM (Trailli?), DD IEM (IE900?), Multi-BA/DD IEM (Odin?), Low-Impedance Headphones (32ohm) to 300ohm?

If it's not too much to ask

 

[Whitigir]

First batch of Cayin N8ii is ready to ship

Anyone received their N8ii yet ?

 

[Nostoi]

I'm planning to borrow N8 next week to do the actual A/B comparison and to get the answer of how close/different tube output sounds between these two, and I will be using Odin for that test. If I'm not mistaken, there hasn't been any side-by-side comparison yet, just people going by memory or speculating, right?

I think the main test some of us will want know about is A02/C9 vs N8ii. Given that A02/C9 is arguably a more refined and more powerful presentation of the N8 (same DAC etc), it might be that A02/C9 is closer to N8ii than N8. I know that you don't have access to A02, but I understand @HiFiHawaii808 will do. So we're all counting on you

 

[Andykong]

First batch of Cayin N8ii is ready to ship

Anyone received their N8ii yet ?

Hong Kong dealer received the first batch of N8ii already and you can find their announcement about an hour ago (HERE).

They have listed NINE retail shops (some of them have multiple stores) to demo N8ii, and we were told that they have sold the first unit to a walk-in customer already.

 

[Andykong]

There has been some talk about N8ii technical performance being better than C9 (to the point people debating if it is any more worth it) in some of the earlier threads based on impressions.. Key question is a with a high end DAP such as N8 and combining with C9, does it technically outperform N8ii or does the reverse happens.. If the reverse is happening, that is quite a concern.

You want to compare the amp. section of N8ii with C9 and believe N8ii should out perfrom C9 otherwise "that is quite a concern"? Even when N8+C9 give up a lot features including streaming?

This is an interesting perspective. I do encourage and looking forward to C9 vs N8ii comparision, N6ii+E02+C9 and N8ii are priced closely to each other, or you can switch N6ii with any other DAP around $1500-$2000 for a much wider choice and variety, so this is definitely a very reasonable comparison in a product review.

To put this into context, let's examing this idae from another perspective. If we compare a fully loaded ultrabook such as Dell XPS15 against a desktop replacement such as Dell Alienware 17 (the i7 options are price very close to the XPS15) , do we express "quite a concern" if Alienware17 outperformed XPS15 "technically"?

I always wanted to steer customer away from inappropriate selection. If they are purely peformance driven and don't really care about portability, I definitely recommend DAP+C9 instead of N8ii to him/her. If there is a reivew stating that a particular DAP with C9 outperformed N8ii, I'll share it here as well, because I want my customer to make the most informed choice. TBH, Cayin is very happy with this result because we are on the receiving end of both options, and if our dedicated "transportable" amplifier cannot outperform the amplifier section of a portable DAP technically, to some users at least, we make a serious mistake.

I think the main test some of us will want know about is A02/C9 vs N8ii. Given that A02/C9 is arguably a more refined and more powerful presentation of the N8 (same DAC etc), it might be that A02/C9 is closer to N8ii than N8. I know that you don't have access to A02, but I understand @HiFiHawaii808 will do. So we're all counting on you

I am with you that N6ii+A02+C9 will have some edge over N6ii+E02+C9, but we know from C9 thread that the different are not really significantly large or "game changing". Since A02 is no longer available, there you won't be able to replicate this option even when you know that is a better option, I think we can be more practical by looking at options that are currently available.