As we speak, Marcus critiques the Cayin N6iii, a Third-generation modular Android 12 DAP with a inventory 8x CS43198 motherboard and as much as 700mW output energy. It’s priced at $1299.
Disclaimer: This pattern was despatched to me for my trustworthy opinion. Headfonics is an unbiased web site with no affiliate hyperlinks. I thank Cayin for his or her help.
You’ll be able to click on right here to be taught extra about Cayin merchandise that we now have beforehand featured on Headfonics.
This text follows our present scoring pointers, which you’ll learn right here.
Cayin N6iii Overview
Abstract
The N6iii is a competitively priced Android 12 DAP with two glorious, new and easy-to-swap, motherboards that provide very interesting sound signatures to swimsuit a variety of IEMs and headphones.
Professionals
Glorious debut lineup of motherboards
Vastly improved software program expertise
Screwdriver-free motherboard swapping expertise
Cons
Lack of I2S from N6ii
Motherboard can typically detach when taking unit out of case.
Not backward suitable with the older N6ii playing cards.
The DAP, with maybe the longest lifespan in latest reminiscence, lastly received its improve.
It’s testimony to the creativity behind the Cayin N6ii‘s modular strategy to its DAC and amplification that it has seen 6 years’ price of competitors (and 5 British Prime Ministers) come and go earlier than the corporate determined to launch the brand new N6iii.
And sure, the timing feels proper. The N6iii brings every little thing as much as par with the competitors, together with an even bigger display, a a lot sooner working platform, and a brand-new line of motherboards with the most recent DAC and amplification engineering rules.
All that is for an SRP of $1299 with a brand new inventory C201 motherboard or solely $100 greater than the launch worth of the N6ii six years in the past. That ought to be seen as aggressive in at the moment’s audiophile market.
True to its phrase, Cayin has additionally rapidly expanded its new motherboard lineup with another choice referred to as the E203 at $359, a pattern of which we now have right here.
We’ll evaluate each playing cards with the older N6ii modules and see how all of them stack up with equally priced competitors such because the iBasso DX260 and HiBy’s RS6 in my full assessment under.
Options
Important Participant
At a excessive degree, the Cayin N6iii is the Third technology of the corporate’s mid-tier modular digital audio participant going manner again to the then-flagship N6 10 years in the past.
Whereas the N6iii is seen primarily as a private audio gadget for headphone or earphone customers, it has sufficient digital and analog connections to combine simply into desktop audio or HiFi setups, relying on the chosen modular motherboard.
In case your sole focus is native playback, then N6iii’s enhanced inner reminiscence capability of 128GB (over the N6ii’s 64GB), mixed with an exterior reminiscence card slot for an extra 2TB of storage, ought to present loads of space for storing in your music recordsdata.
The N6iii can be outfitted to deal with a contemporary streaming setting with dual-band Wi-Fi and an upgraded Bluetooth 5.0 expertise with LDAC and AAC out-of-the-box
It additionally runs a extra fashionable Android 12 working system with DTA Android lossless output, backed by a snappier Snapdragon 665 CPU and 6GB of RAM.
That’s 2GB greater than the older 425 CPU-powered N6ii Oreo platform, making it higher outfitted for contemporary app compatibility and moveable/streaming audio consumer wants.
Extra energy means extra battery calls for, however with a a lot greater PD2.0-compatible 9000mAh battery inside than the N6ii’s 5800mAh rated unit, it will probably nonetheless churn out a formidable 14-hour score with its inventory motherboard.
C201 Motherboard
A brand new participant additionally means new motherboards, however sadly, there is no such thing as a backward compatibility with the N6ii motherboard choices. The excellent news is that there aren’t any extra screwdrivers. These are lock and cargo with a brand new self-locking latch on the base, making it a pleasure to swap at a second’s discover.
The brand new C201 inventory card appears like a ‘banger’ with at least 8 of the favored CS43198 DAC chipset in a parallel full-differential implementation mixed with a quad OPA1622 balanced amplification design providing 4.4mm and three.5mm balanced and single-ended PO and LO choices.
Decoding is aggressive at as much as 32BIT/768kHz and native DSD512 through USB right down to the utmost of 24BIT/192kHz from the participant’s embedded SPDIF coaxial output.
Nonetheless, keep in mind that these charges are pitched because the participant’s most decoding functionality with the present motherboard lineup, so the parameters are the identical for the C201 and E203.
What’s completely different is their amplification capabilities with the mounted operational mode inventory C201 able to between 260mW SE as much as a most of 700mW balanced. It additionally has a 3-stage lineout system starting from 1-1.5-2Vrms for SE and 1.5, 3, and 4Vrms for its balanced LO.
All output impedance values are 1Ω and decrease, making it a stable alternative for low impedance IEM use.
E203 Motherboard
The ES9039SPRO-equipped E203 appears to be the cardboard of alternative for hardcore IEM customers with sufficient energy to drive a variety of headphones.
It fully ditches any lineout functionality and as an alternative focuses on a pure PO or headphone output expertise, with each ports properly under 1Ω for output impedance.
Additionally it is the primary of the brand new N6iii playing cards to supply Cayin’s signature twin amplification operation from its hybrid opamp/discrete BJT topology.
Which means two operational modes, Class A and Class AB, and an extra Hyper Mode, an “audio-first” choice that switches the operation to Class A and maximizes the present output efficiency of the participant.
Output energy will fluctuate relying on whether or not you may have Hyper Mode turned on or not. With it turned off, you get 700mW right into a 32Ω balanced right down to 300mW single-ended, and whether it is turned on, it jumps to 900mW balanced and 400mW SE on the identical load.
As a facet observe, the E230/N6iii battery life will likely be decrease than the C201/N6iii with a most of 11 hours with out Hyper Mode right down to as little as 6.5 hours with Hyper Mode and utilizing a balanced output connection.
Design
Type Issue
The N6iii is bigger and heavier than the earlier N6ii at 350g in comparison with 290g, although by fashionable requirements, this isn’t an enormous DAP.
Regardless of the larger motherboard designs, the N6iii is comparatively compact and stubby, going for peak quite than size, so one-handed operation just isn’t out of the query.
It’s not arduous to overlook the motherboard slot with its 2 launch latches protruding barely on both facet on the base of the participant. It’s not fairly as seamless trying because the smaller high panel model on the N6ii, nevertheless it’s a lot simpler to work with.
The brand new screw-free mechanism makes it a pleasure to take out the modules and insert them once more. Additionally, unintentional strain is more durable to use than you would possibly suppose, so I might not fear about them flying out by chance.
Nonetheless, I might advise utilizing the provided leather-based case out of an abundance of warning.
Aesthetics
The N6iii design language additionally appears to have realized just a few classes from among the damaging suggestions from N6ii customers by separating the facility performance from the amount wheel.
You at the moment are much less prone to flip the gadget on or off by chance whereas not in use, provided that the brand new energy button on the left facet is rather more discreet.
Extra bling has crept into the aesthetics with the bodily dials and buttons all switching to brass with a gold PVD end harking back to the not too long ago discontinued N8ii quantity dial visible.
It’s not a passive dial both, with a small LED-backlit ring beneath that modifications colour relying on the pattern fee of the audio sign being performed.
Gone are the rounded bodily button and printed decal design, and as an alternative, we now have slimline button shapes with a tiny icon under etched into the N6iii’s most important housing. They don’t seem to be that straightforward to learn, however a triple playback button lineup is kind of self-explanatory today on easy methods to use them.
The chassis is crafted from a sturdy 6063 aluminum alloy, completed in black, and presents a a lot bigger, slim bezel, 5″ Sharp TF show operating at 1080p (FHD+) tucked behind some sturdy Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
It’s nonetheless not the largest display on the market for DAPs, however it’s a lot improved over the quite cramped and lower-res N6ii’s 720p 4.2″ multi-point capacitive Sharp IPS panel.
The extra 2GB of RAM and the upgraded 665 CPU additionally imply the N6iii display is way snappier and sooner to reply to my contact management instructions.
I/O
The N6iii’s enter and output choices will fluctuate from motherboard to motherboard, however the digital choices on the highest panel are mounted.
You get a single USB-C slot with the exterior reminiscence card slot transferring from the facet panel (N6ii) to the highest panel, which I a lot desire for straightforward entry when I’ve the participant inside its leather-based case.
What’s disappointing is the lack of the wonderful N6ii I²S port. That performance enabled a variety of my desktop DACs to interrupt free from a hard and fast place in addition to the noisier PC USB and AC connections for sourcing digital audio tracks.
The N6iii USB-C port can be multifunctional with SPDIF coaxial output. Nonetheless, as a consequence of Cayin’s distinctive USB pin configuration necessities, you want suitable cables such because the $35 CS-40TC35 to transform this port for SPDIF use.
The analog outputs are 100% motherboard dependent, with the C201 providing the widest vary of output choices and the E203 focusing purely on PO playback with only a 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm balanced output.
The C201 additionally has balanced 4.4mm and SE 3.5mm PO port performance but additionally provides lineout functionality with a devoted 3.5mm lineout port. You’ll be able to convert the 4.4mm balanced PO to LO duties through a software program layer swap within the N6iii OS.
Controls
The N6iii slimline buttons remind me of the HiBy design language on a few of their high-end DAPs, such because the RS6 and RS8. They’re spaced comparatively shut to one another and to the highest of the chassis, just below a ‘barely there’ quantity dial.
What’s intelligent, although, is how properly protected all of the dials and buttons are with out having to resort to the N6ii’s further aluminum wedge guard strategy.
As a substitute of extending and defending, Cayin has ‘shaved’ and accented the highest half of the N6iii’s facet panel to higher recess all of the controls, making unintentional presses and actions much less seemingly.
I believed I might have a tough time accessing the small, clicky N6iii quantity dial because of this, however in actuality, it was very straightforward to make use of, even when the participant was inside its leather-based case.
The accented facet panel end additionally enhances the participant’s aesthetics by softening any potential boxy visuals. It’s a extra fashionable design strategy in keeping with how some DAPs from HiBy and iBasso are creating today.
Packaging & Equipment
The N6iii packaging is extra compact and less complicated than the huge field presentation of the older N6ii. Nonetheless, apart from dumping the right-angle 4.4mm to 2.5mm right-angle converter, not a lot has modified when it comes to included equipment.
You continue to get a set of display protectors, a guide, a USB-C charging and knowledge switch cable, and the PU leather-based carry case.
There’s a bit to say concerning the new carry case, which appears like an improve on the older model with its extra stylistic look and improved again panel venting.
It’s a terrific match for the N6iii with a pleasant textured and grippy floor and nothing stopping you from accessing the buttons, dials, and ports throughout use.
Additionally, you will discover a refined break up within the seaming on the fitting facet of the case. That permits for a straightforward insert of the participant while avoiding by accident catching the amount dial and presumably damaging the case or the gadget.
Click on on web page 2 under for my software program impressions
Click on on web page 3 under for my sound impressions and really useful pairings.
