Since I have my own copy of the N7, I will write my review which will be based mostly on my listening experience so far.
Cayin Audio launched a new DAP at CanJam New York in 2023. the N7 is a unique, one-of-its-kind Digital Audio Player because this is Cayin’s first attempt to use a discrete full-balanced circuit for DAC, LPF, and Headphone Amplifier in a DAP. It is also the first and only DAP that incorporates a 1-Bit “DSD” DAC in portable applications.
- Discrete fully-balanced 1-Bit Resistor Network “DSD” DAC
- Discrete fully-balanced Low Pass Filter with BJT driver
- Discrete fully-balanced Headphone Amplifier with JFET input stage and BJT amplification.
- FPGA/Audio Bridge to re-shape, de-jitter and transcode/oversample PCM to DSD512
- Dual Amplification Mode (Choice of Class A/Class AB)
- High Quality “unamplified” single-ended and balanced Line Out
- Unique variable-voltage single-ended and balanced Pre Out
- Android 12 with Google Play preinstalled, streaming ready
Please read the tour instruction carefully. By signing up for the tour, you are agreeing to follow the tour arrangement and will publish a detailed review of Cayin N7 Showcase on Head Gear or any magazine/review website you are affiliated with. For more information regarding Cayin N7, please check out the Cayin website and the official Cayin N7 thread in Head-Fi forum.
Tour Schedule:
- 7 March 2023: Tour Application Starts
- 18 March 2023: Tour Application Ended
- 22 March 2023: Tour Reviewers announced and start to collect mailing addresses.
- 27 March 2023: Tour Sample will be sent to reviewers
How to Apply:
If you are interested to review Cayin N7 in this tour, please reply to this thread and provide the following information:
- The CITY and COUNTRY in which you are located.
- Reviews on Personal Audio products you have published in Head Gear/Head-fi forum or elsewhere.
- IEM/Headphones that you will use in your Cayin DAP audition.
- DAP, Dongle DAC, or portable DAC/Amp that you currently own.
Logistic Arrangement:
- Only three tour units are available in this tour, so
- We shall group reviewers according to geographical locations.
- To minimize tax and logistic costs, we shall avoid international shipping within the group unless the shipment is tax-free and low-risk/low-cost in logistics and customs handling.
- We shall send Cayin N7 review package to the first reviewer in each group.
- Each tour reviewer is responsible for paying the shipping costs to the next tour reviewer.
- The last reviewer on the list will be responsible to ship the combo to a designated address to conclude the tour. If the return address requires international shipping, Cayin will cover the mailing cost incurred.
- Cayin will cover all import tax but please help us to control our tax expenditure whenever possible.
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- If we have more than one Head-Fiers from the same metropolitan area/city joining the tour, we encourage them to pass the equipment in person to reduce shipping cost and mailing time and share the final logistic cost if needed.
Terms and Instruction
- The tour reviewer can keep the Cayin N7 Tour sample for no more than 14 calendar days, please plan your audition and be prepared to ship/pass the package on the 14th of your audition period.
- The first reviewer of each group will have extra 5 days to run in the discrete audio circuit.
- By signing up for the tour, you are agreeing to post a formal review within 14 days after your audition period, and Cayin Audio can use your review of the N7 DAP for sales and marketing purposes.
- We are particularly interested in the associated IEM/headphones you used during the review, and is most appreciate it if you can include a photo of N7 DAP with associated IEMs and headphones in your writing.
- Cauom Audio reserves the right to the selection, grouping, and scheduling of reviewers in this tour.
Publication guideline
You are free to write up your sharing or impression as long as it represents your true feeling and opinions toward the product. Please state in your review/impression that the Cayin N7 is a free loan unit from Cayin Audio, and you have/shall return the unit to Cayin at the end of the review period.
Please do not post your impression in this thread because no one will read this thread after we finalized our tour reviewers. We want your reviews to be read by as many current or potential users of Cayin N7 as possible, so please share your review to the official Cayin N7 thread, the Cayin N7 Showcase at Head Gear, or any related general discussion thread in the Head-Fi forum if you happen to be an active member. On top of the Head-Fi forum, you are welcome to post your review/impression/photo to any social media or local Personal Audio forum/blog/magazine, etc., Please tag your review/impression/photo with #CayinN7 so that we can keep track of your contribution, which is an important factor when we shortlist tour reviews in subsequent products.
I will now write my review here.
just accurate and natural, not dripping because of coloration..no, just right. I believe when a device has a natural frequency response that is naturally even and very extended it is able to reproduce fundamental frequencies and proper odd and even harmonic content of each instrumental notes that give them character even as the performers themselves based on how they play can alter the relative quantity of these odd and even harmonics relative to the fundamental to create their own individual sounds. This is what I enjoy most in the Cayin N7 and these qualities are allowed to come through very clearly by the Arctic Cable palladium to the HIFIMAN Shangri-la Jr electrostat to my ears.
. Try these recordings to see what I am talking about, Carmen Gomes "Thousand Shades of Blue" DSD512f, the realism of the drums, bass, cymbals not to mention her voice wow!!! Then go over to the Shangri-la jr to hear this and the vividness could be a shock. The clarity of her diction, the emotional expression will knock your socks off. Listening via the HIFIMAN HE1000SE you will hear some of these too but not as vivid, the HIFIMAN Edition XS does not shame itself here either, this is another superb performer for those on a budget. The piano tones, listen to the new release on BIS label 192kz/24bit "Echo" especially the 5tracks contributed by Huw Watkins, who also played the piano on this album. The piano tones all ring through in various colors like sparkling diamonds. the drums, the strange traditional horn instrument used and those tiny chimes that are Never masked inspite of the power of the other percussions instruments...a testament to how N7/Shangri-la Jr tracks every sound in your mix, may I add also that leading edges of instrumental notes are so clearly defined giving that sense of liveliness to the sound, and the deep deep bass that is very well defined and textured but will never mare other delicate instruments, just amazing! 
I will now write my review here.
This review will also cover the HIFIMAN Shangri-la Jr electrostat and Arctic Cable Opera balanced to XLR interconnect from Cayin N7 to HIFIMAN eStat. Amplifier
For the N7 amplification I used HIFIMAN HE1000SE and the HIFIMAN Edition XS (Stealth magnets version)
For N7 Wonderfully innovative DAC, I used the HIFIMAN Shangri-la Jr System (amplifier and headphone) and to be sure that the Signal going from N7 to Shangri-la Jr electrostat Amplifier is pure and complete I use the only cable I have come to trust, Arctic Cable Silver/palladium Opera Cable( there is a huge difference when used)
I have owned many Cayin DAPs over the years starting from those tiny N3, N5 to N6ii-E02, N6ii-RO1(R2R DAC) to the Wonderful N8ii and now the new N7. I have stuck with Cayin because of their focus on getting as natural a sound as possible from any hardware they had to work with, that passion I believe continues till date. When I upgraded my motherboard from the E02 to R01 an R2R DAC based DAP, the amazing natural detailed and extended range sound exuding from this device suddenly made me realize that my then beloved Fostex T60RP(a plannar) was no longer revealing all the details, it was very clear I has to upgrade. This is how I got to know HIFIMAN, noted for plannar magnetic headphones too, but they also shared a passion for natural, detailed and extended frequency response and great value for money like Cayin. Hence I find these two match perfectly (for me anyway).
The N7 from my listening experience is the best DAP from Cayin today, let me say it now, I am keeping my N8ii and N6ii-RO1 also
The N7 requires a rather extended break-in time, it sounds great immediately yes, but you just wait for about 3weeks, this may be because of the extensive use of discrete components in the build.
It is extremely resolving, a champion of inner details resolution, layering, 3D soundstage, natural rich tonality, listen to very well recorded violins or strings in general and you will smile, because of the tonal accuracy piano sounds are also ecstatic, revealing many tonal colors and depth and for vocals wow
The Shangri-la Jr has a stated frequency response of 7hz to 120khz!, it is a very revealing system(transparent) don't try to drive it with another amplifier, doing so will emphasize one aspect at the detriment of another. The bass is very deep, the mids very natural and the highs very extended and smooth. A real bargain. Any complaints you may have about the sound, check your input device and cables instead.
The N7 bit stream DAC is phenomenal, with the Arctic Cable palladium connecting it to the Shangri-la jr. You will hear immediacy, natural punch, brilliance, a lot of details, a liveliness that even HIFIMAN other plannars can't match, as good as they all are, but that eStat. Speed makes all the difference.
At this point you are all wandering how does the N7 compare with the N8ii and even maybe the Cayin’s R2R DAP N6ii-RO1, in my opinion based on listening, not because I am trying to protect my previous purchases, it betters all of them. N6ii-RO1 is great but it does not have the details nor the driving ability of the N8ii, though a bit more organic, just a bit, N8ii design is quite sophisticated especially the Tube amp. N7 and N8ii are a bit close when playing flac or Mp3 recordings N7 being a bit brighter and punchier and fuller(more extended) N8ii tube amp gives a feeling of being wider sound, the big difference comes when you play a DSD file, OMG, the N7 just knocks the socks off any competition local and foreign
For strings(violin) try the Harmonia mundi release of Isabelle Faust -violin and Anna Prohaska- Soprano of Gyorgy Kurtags "kafka-Fragmente)... spellbinding!, for large orchestra
I used the Gustav Mahler's 7th Symphony Budapest Festival Orchestra a DSD recording ..I was transported to another world where the music continued endlessly!. Another recording I need to mention here is ECM recording of Stephan Micus' "Thunder" Stunning especially on that Title track you will actually see clouds gather in the sky
Enjoy
Battery life is decent , though my heaviest use is about 3 hours straight every night and I usually need to charge like once in 4 days.
@Andykong Any chance we get a firmware update to increase the N7 addressable memory to 2TB or at least 1.5TB ? This DAP as you know is Superb with DSD files and they are huge, my 1TB SDcard is now full, and I am having to remove less frequently played pieces!. I could buy another 1TB SD card but when you switch you have to rescan and loose the previous card catalog of music files every time you switch.
Have you tried attaching larger storage via USB? I'm curious now if that would work and be accessible by the music player.
