Cayin - N3

First of all, thank you and appreciate you guys for bringing this product to India. Because here most people are unaware of the quality n fun of listening to lossless music. Mostly listen to muddy mp3 files...
Let me tell you, Cayin has seriously put in some good effort in producing such a lovely product. It is awesome and has most of the bells n whistles. Sound quality is terrific with a good pair of headphones. I mostly listen via Sennheiser, so I get to feel every punch n every beat ... Thank you once again and hope to visit you guys again in near future ... probably for Shanling M2S or M3 or may be a Cowon Plenue

I will add my 2 cents. Forgive the long intro.

Started my audiophile journey with Fiio FH1 paired with Samsung S8+, which first sounded awesome. But with EDM, Trance, the IEM was sibilant, unbearably so even for non EDM tracks when it hit that particular frequency. So, search for a DAP began. I did consider N3 in the beginning but then shifted my focus to Hiby R3/R5 because reviews said they are warmer which the IEM needed.
I was about to buy R3(unboxed) or R3 pro, then the Black Friday deals hit, and this swayed me towards this. I got them cheap at 8K.
Delivery was fast, shipped in a day.

Initial thoughts on the N3: it is very cute; music wise, it was clear, no accents no color, just clear with good thump, I guess because FH1 does have a good bass, not over-bass.
The screen is quite legible for its size. Texts are a bit small like song names on the “Now-Playing screen”
Sibilance was still there, but it was more tolerable as it had more detail. The non-touch interface is something that will irritate you in the beginning, but after a few days it doesn’t matter.
Issues
The CTIA is very sensitive, and registers false positives when cable is moved or tugged at, this is very very very annoying. The FH1 3.5mm cable has in-line controls, the player would often pause, next and go to previous track on its own. There is no 2.5mm on N3, so I couldn’t use the other cable. So, I bought another 3.5mm cable.

The hiby link is also not perfect, its unpredictable when you use both the devise and hiby link controls together.
The buttons are protruding so you absolutely will press them accidentally when you are pocketting it and more so when you are taking them out, especially with Jeans. Shirt pockets are more forgiving.

The devise does heat up. Just mildly, even with Mp3s. I played 192Khz flac, heating is more but not a bother.

There is no aptx when used as Bluetooth receiver mode.

Even with all these I listen to it more and more and only switch to S8+ for streaming services.

Design is very good
Performance is good
Spec is also good

Yesterday I got this & almost last 6 hrs i have used it directly with my 1> V moda cross.. wireless 2 , B&W C5 & B& W P7. Found that I got best result by setting equalizer in custom mode.
Mid & high range are excellent however Bass was little bit missing (I love deep bass). Also feel that it requires more power to drive those head / earphones to get their best output.
Then I fitted with Fiio Alpen 2 DAC with all these combinations.
In that case i got the .. Yes.. the best WOW output by setting headphone mode in N3 to connect with DAC and put the equalizer in custome mode (i set it's 10 band equalizer as per my choice). Selecting of Source mode in N3 to connect with DAC is not giving the WOW .. output.
Finally i can say that with proper combination & setting I got my desire sound. Excellent.
If you use this with proper setting & combination, you will find a BOMB with you. Trust me.

Cayin n3 is a must have accessory for your portable music system. "Why" you asked?
+ Great sonic capabilities out of the box
+ Great transport dap i.e. n3 can be used as a source for other dac using usb c otg adaptor
+ USB DAC functionality
+ Storage 256gb via micro sd
+ 11 hour usage on a 2 hour charge
+ Two way Bluetooth i.e. recieving and transmitting capability
+ Music library of around 1200 FLAC files got updated within 40 seconds
+ Great value for money

Against
- Frequent mistaps on touch buttons while pressing enter key
- Navigation through UI using touch buttons is not a pleasing process
- Weird is the only word to describe it's EQ. It's a 10 band EQ ranging from +6db to -6bd and yet its different than your usual 10 band EQ's. It's not unusable, it just takes some getting used to
- BT transmission is lossy even with that aptx marketing, so tidal users, be aware
- There's a sound lag while starting music from bt. That lag doesn't occur in continuation but after reconnecting bt, that one time startup lag occurs again
- Build quality is good but it doesn't look attractive
- When connected to pc as usb storage, data transfer rates are slow

So far, every negative that is mentioned can be worked with. For example - for the mistaps on touch buttons, one need not use these buttons at all because all of n3's stored music can be accessed and played from a smartphone using hiby link.

Vs fiiio x3 iii
At first, I was planning on buying fiio x3 iii which is available at 13k on amazon after a 35% price discount but then I noticed that fiio x3 iii can not be used as a transport dap which led me to buy n3

I've taken out 40 minutes of my precious time to write this short review to make sure anyone looking into n3 doesn't miss out even on a single detail

Thanks hpz for such a fast product delivery at around 60 hours from the time of placing order :)

I never had a DAP and I find Cayin to very good and some initial difficulty in navigation as the language was Chinese. Then found the way to change the language. It does the job perfectly and happy to have bought this. It is more convenient to use the hi-by app on Android instead of operations on the Cayin.
The charge holds good as promised and output is amazing.

Thank you Headphone zone team for prompt communications and delivery was quick as promised.

The n3 offers great sound. It's very crisp, rich and detailed across genres. The only knock on this amazing product would be that even if it's not playing anything while ON, power gets zapped pretty quickly.

Really good at what it does which is to deliver hi res music. Using it with the Amiron at the moment with no real issues.
One thing which could've been better is to have the buttons with a backlight but it's not really a hurdle.

Simple is a terms which is a understatement for this device, I have been using this device for a week now and I must tell you I love the way this device has been performing, the clarity from this device is amazing, I connected my sennheiser M2 in ear and was amazed with the kind of clarity I got with this device. I would recommend this for all my friends, I have stopped listening to my music from mobile and shifted over to this player.
Thank you Headphonezone for prompt deliver and service.

Team can you tell me if the red colored one will be available sooner.
Cust service number is being busy for last couple of weeks i have been trying to reach.

thanyou headphone zone team, great performance, great value for money.Hardware and quality of accessories can be improved further.
I wish it will last long.

I think this DAP sounds best with neutral sound stage headphones. I am using this DAP with my Bose QC 35 on Bt as well as with the provided cable and while the latter sounds good Bt is quite passable. Played some Jacksonn Vinyl Rips and heard a lot of new stuff. I want to try this unit on high impedance earphones as the manual says it will drive units up to 200 ohms. I think there is where the true potential of this player will be released. Otherwise overall a good buy the BT DAC mode is also a cool addition, connected the unit to my tab and relayed the Netflix audio to the DAP with wired Skullcandy earphones which definitely sounded better than when connected directly to the tab, appreciated this feature a lot.

This is my First DAP and beginners luck was on play. An awesome DAP with more awesome price tag. Let me share my experience with it till now.
UI and Build:
At first it was difficult to get used to Non-touch device after using touch phones for a long time now. Once settled, in a day or two, the UI was very intuitive and responsive. It's worth downloading HiBy Music on Android phones (to use HiByLink), one can organize the playlist, music library easily on a touch enabled android phone. It is not available as of now on IOS. Only problem I faced was with small physical buttons on the sides, which gets pressed unintentionally every now and then due to the small size of the DAP itself. The pleather back is not that attractive as it looks in pics, but better than a surface which can gets scratch easily.
SQ:
SoundQuality is the strongest point of N3. I mostly use it with low impedance earbuds/IEMs/headphones. It sounded very powerful with my sennheiser momentum 2s. The combination was very good for getting powerful Mids. It also paired well with ATH-E40 and VE Monk earbuds. N3 is not a neutral sounding DAP, has a smooth warm sound. Sub Bass is well handled. It also presents nice Clarity.
For me, It produces a highly musical sound that is difficult to beat at this price point.

The sound is pretty impressive.. Pulled off even more resolution out of my gr07.. Thing got so realistic and intense it was almost scary. Decent power for the price and size (don't expect these to push hd650 or hd800 to good dynamics) but whatever power it has, it has really good control on it. The impulse response seems really good and the tonality is great, with a slight warm/lower mids tilt. Very clean and has no ringing in the treble region so it was smoother but at the same time even more detail was resolved. Hiby link is a game changer and now you can control all data available on your dap using phone so it removed one of the biggest annoyances of using a compact dap. Very versatile USB port and Bluetooth connectivity - it can both act as a source or as a transmitter in both of them. Highly recommended, and even if I got a hd800 these would be my transport which would be connected to an external Dac + amp. Supports replaygain and other good functionalities.

Cayin - N3

I have never used a DAP extensively, this is the first one that I have bought, so it will be impossible to draw parallels with immediate competition.
Cayin's N3 is a very versatile little thing full of features and amazing connectivity options.Difficult to find interconnect for Mojo though
It's a compact device, I had not expected it to be so small, the build quality is decent. The buttons feel a bit plastic but do their job well. User interface is simple and easy to use.
Very quiet, clear sound tends towards the warmer side of neutral, Bass is tight however doesn't extend overly deep, not bad overall.
Power is adequate for iems even at L gain setting. In fact M and H add a synthetic kind of clarity and sparkle to the upper mids and highs, that's more obvious in the H setting, I didn't like that at all, sounds too synthetic. The upper mids and the highs kind of overlap each other.
Wish the sound was wider like the Mojo, actually the width is decent not bad at all, just that the Mojo has spoilt me.
Compared to the Fiio E18, the N3 sounds definitely clear, the resolution and separation is better. However the Fiio has a better punch and has spaciousness to it.

Compared to the Mojo the N3's sonic disabilities come to the fore almost on all counts. What is most obvious is the lack of power to drive full size headphones. The N3 struggles to drive my old 50's I need to crank up the volume to 80-85 % range. I initially thought raising the gain level to M or H would help. It does boost the power but the loss of clarity in the higher frequencies is a deal breaker. It's a complete no go for direct use with the Audeze EL8, it just cannot drive them. A dedicated amp is necessary for full size headphones.

For me the main purpose of the N3 is that of a transport for my Mojo. In fact I got 2 N3's one for my wife's Fiio E18 as well. The N3 does all the things the Chord Poly does that I need at 1/4th the price. It is awesome with the Fiio, it adds to the Fiio's c...

Cayin N3

Cayin N3

Cayin N3

Buy it without a second thought...no comparison with fiio X1 2nd Gen...Tonality & Warmth is quiet similar to Fiio X3 2nd Gen...But all the other features like Apt X gives it an edge over other products in this price range...using it as DAC requires desktop software...UI is quiet easy & breezy...Sound signature is really revealing & bit on warmer side..soundstage is quiet similar to AK Jr..a little less though...but what a product in this category...fun to stream tidal through phone in to this with a little less annoying lag...build is also OK...not seems like gonna last forever like other DAPs...overall really happy with the buy...quick delivery by HZ...CAYIN did it again !!!