[ToneDeafMonk]

I hear some comments that this N3ultra is not suitable for EDM, Hip-Hop music lover. What do u think?

The Player plays the music the rest of your chain is going to sculpt the sound more towards your preferences for sound signature and genre's. So pick your gear and enjoy.

 

[fish1050]

Here is my thoughts and experiences with this DAP. Like I said I have a love hate relationship with this player.

Love the sound even though its not what I was expecting, but the user interface really does fall way behind in comparison to every other player I own or have tested.

Overall experience leaves you wondering what Cayin was thinking on pushing out this release half baked.

Based on your yangy rant lets call it about the software I suspect one of two possibilities. 1. Cayin was so focused on the hardware and getting everything right they left the software to the end and rushed it. 2. Hiby gave them the software and Cayin had to do their own customization which they clearly are not good at or have much experience at. Especially since they went with an Android OS vs Hiby's simpler Linux OS. Not sure if either scenario bodes well for getting the software bugs fixed in a timely fashion if at all.

While an N3 Ultra purchase was not at the top of my list of DAP's your review has convinced me to cross the N3 Ultra off my list. Your review of the R4 among others has me more convinced than ever it is the best bang for the buck choice for me, so thanks for that.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Based on your yangy rant lets call it about the software I suspect one of two possibilities. 1. Cayin was so focused on the hardware and getting everything right they left the software to the end and rushed it. 2. Hiby gave them the software and Cayin had to do their own customization which they clearly are not good at or have much experience at. Especially since they went with an Android OS vs Hiby's simpler Linux OS. Not sure if either scenario bodes well for getting the software bugs fixed in a timely fashion if at all.

While an N3 Ultra purchase was not at the top of my list of DAP's your review has convinced me to cross the N3 Ultra off my list. Your review of the R4 among others has me more convinced than ever it is the best bang for the buck choice for me, so thanks for that.

I think if the software gets figured out in a timely fashion, this player will be on top of the list for people looking for a no frills purist player.

As it is now if you can oversee some glaring flaws and onboard streaming is not a priority for you.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this DAP for its sound quality alone.

That bieng said I picked up the Shanling M5 Ultra at the same time. Some it's strong suits that would swing me over to the M5U over the N3U
- Outstanding Power Output
- Much larger Battery I get 10+ hours Plus vs 6 on the N3U on 4.4
- Bigger display
- The latest Bidirectional BT with all the latest codecs
- WiFi
- Tidal Built In - WiFi
- Shanling Control & Support App
- NON Android purist customizable software and one of the very best user experience on a DAP
- Same price and Includes a really nice full coverage leather case.
- Outstanding SQ
- The latest AKM4499EX & AK4191 Delta Sigma Modulator.

Lots to consider.

 

[jotaerre]

I think if the software gets figured out in a timely fashion, this player will be on top of the list for people looking for a no frills purist player.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this DAP for its sound quality alone.

Perfect, because according to your criteria I was right when purchasing my N3U. I really don't need more. As the hours of listening go by, it acquires a more analogue, subtle tone, but with a clear improvement in its favor, and this makes me very happy, really.

 

[Zambu]

Love the sound even though its not what I was expecting, but the user interface really does fall way behind in comparison to every other player I own or have tested.

I watched your video and I don't necessarily disagree with any particular point, it's just that you emphasize things that I wouldn't emphasize myself. I suppose it largely comes down to how you want to use this DAP. In my case, my listening is like 90 % albums and 10 % DJ sets. I cherish the album as an art form and artistic statement, which was from approximately Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and thereafter taken to great heights especially from the late 60s to the 90s or so. I don't really care much about playlists, and actually I prefer that there is no wifi, no BT, no streaming in this device. I was reading some (all 5 star) reviews from the German Cayin retailer and they were all pretty much like "this one is great, and I use my other DAP for streaming". If you want to do "a bit of this and a bit of that" then this is not the all-rounder for that.

My use cases are actually pretty simple. I'm thinking like "hey I want to listen to The Doors now" and then I select it from the artist menu and pick one of the albums and start listening. Or maybe I'm not sure what I want to listen, then I just randomly go to some letter in the album menu and scroll a bit and then I find something that interests me right now (because I love my FLAC collection and I've curated it well, especially since the release of N3Pro which kind of pushed me that way). Then I listen to an album (or maybe a 1-2 hour DJ set) and look at the album cover art and probably press pause at some point and adjust the volume but that's all there is to it really. Of course, this needs to be reliable and consistent and I haven't encountered any system crashes or other such errors in my use (only since monday this week).

Of course there's things in the UI that could be nicer. Like the lack of search function, that one is kind of funny but I guess it's not really funny if you actually want to use one regularly. My googling seems to indicate that it was added in firmware 1.2 to the N3Pro, probably/hopefully something similar here. Also I'd want some way to personalize the UI a bit to add color/background image.

 

[jotaerre]

@Zambu, very realistic, what you hear prevails and even more so how you hear it. That is the meaning of this wonderful DAP and it fulfills it without complexes: you choose, you listen, you relax...and in the end you feel very proud of the experience you haf.

Thanks!

 

[ChangTan]

I remember @Andykong said that double tap to wake the device is not possible because of hardware limitation.

But I just found out that when I’m listen to music and have the screen turned off, I can wake the screen up by double tapping either the ring button or the screen. But double tapping to wake does not work 100%, sometimes it does not register and the screen stays off.
However triple tapping works 100% to wake up the screen.

Is this a new feature in the v1.1 firmware or is this a bug?

 

[eriktous]

I remember @Andykong said that double tap to wake the device is not possible because of hardware limitation.

But I just found out that when I’m listen to music and have the screen turned off, I can wake the screen up by double tapping either the ring button or the screen. But double tapping to wake does not work 100%, sometimes it does not register and the screen stays off.
However triple tapping works 100% to wake up the screen.

Is this a new feature in the v1.1 firmware or is this a bug?

I noticed this too, yesterday. Hadn't seen it before, so I presume it came with firmware 1.1, but if it's a feature it should be optional and I can't find it in the settings, so looks more like unintentional behavior, aka a bug.

 

[eriktous]

I watched your video

Respect. I opened it because I was curious as to his issues with the software, but I couldn't actually be bothered to watch a 50 minute "video" showing mainly some guy talking. I prefer to listen to music on my N3Ultra in that time. Now, if there was a transcript I could gloss over that and get his point in just a couple of minutes.

and I don't necessarily disagree with any particular point, it's just that you emphasize things that I wouldn't emphasize myself. I suppose it largely comes down to how you want to use this DAP. In my case, my listening is like 90 % albums and 10 % DJ sets. I cherish the album as an art form and artistic statement, which was from approximately Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and thereafter taken to great heights especially from the late 60s to the 90s or so. I don't really care much about playlists, and actually I prefer that there is no wifi, no BT, no streaming in this device. I was reading some (all 5 star) reviews from the German Cayin retailer and they were all pretty much like "this one is great, and I use my other DAP for streaming". If you want to do "a bit of this and a bit of that" then this is not the all-rounder for that.

My use cases are actually pretty simple. I'm thinking like "hey I want to listen to The Doors now" and then I select it from the artist menu and pick one of the albums and start listening. Or maybe I'm not sure what I want to listen, then I just randomly go to some letter in the album menu and scroll a bit and then I find something that interests me right now (because I love my FLAC collection and I've curated it well, especially since the release of N3Pro which kind of pushed me that way). Then I listen to an album (or maybe a 1-2 hour DJ set) and look at the album cover art and probably press pause at some point and adjust the volume but that's all there is to it really. Of course, this needs to be reliable and consistent and I haven't encountered any system crashes or other such errors in my use (only since monday this week).

Of course there's things in the UI that could be nicer. Like the lack of search function, that one is kind of funny but I guess it's not really funny if you actually want to use one regularly. My googling seems to indicate that it was added in firmware 1.2 to the N3Pro, probably/hopefully something similar here. Also I'd want some way to personalize the UI a bit to add color/background image.

Sounds exactly like the way I use it. Could you summarise what ToneDeafMonk's issues actually are, because he's been making a number of posts here and I think also in other threads, making it seem like the software is utter crap and a reason to avoid this DAP, which I just don't experience like that?

 

[Zambu]

Sounds exactly like the way I use it. Could you summarise what ToneDeafMonk's issues actually are, because he's been making a number of posts here and I think also in other threads, making it seem like the software is utter crap and a reason to avoid this DAP, which I just don't experience like that?

Yeah well, it was part of the video, I don't remember everything and generally I prefer to have reviews in written format as well.
There was things about navigating between screens, buttons that are unclear what they do, buttons that are kind of doing the same thing in couple of ways, buttons that are too small (I do note that this is one of those things were small fingers are an asset) etc. Search function missing, some other things missing but that goes to choices made in design of "purist DAP".

 

[fish1050]

Are the tubes user replaceable? JAN6418 tubes have an estimated life span best case scenario of 1 to 3 year based on a quick google search. Assuming you use the N3Ultra heavily and you only get 1 year out of a tube how hard are they to replace if at all by the end user? Looking at the diagrams on how the tubes are protected it does not look that easy. I certainly wouldn't want to have to ship it to China to get the tubes replaced. You can get the replacement tubes on ebay for are about $6.00 US so not expensive to buy but how difficult to replace is the question.

The more I read the more I am intrigued by the sound quality users are reporting but a potentially limited lifespan is not appealing. Given I have gotten 2 to 4 years out of most of my DAP's including my A55.

 

[jotaerre]

Are the tubes user replaceable? JAN6418 tubes have an estimated life span best case scenario of 1 to 3 year based on a quick google search. (...)

No friend, no... here you will read from Andy that its duration ranges between 10 thousand to 20 thousand hours. If you do the calculation the same you will change the DAP twice.

 

[HeartByte]

I noticed this too, yesterday. Hadn't seen it before, so I presume it came with firmware 1.1, but if it's a feature it should be optional and I can't find it in the settings, so looks more like unintentional behavior, aka a bug.

Mine does not wake on any sort of tap anywhere on the screen… I have to use the on/off button. Are you sure it’s not just randomly turning on the screen as I had this issue after I installed the 1.1 firmware and had to factory reset to fix it. Since the factory reset it has been working fine through multiple shutdowns as well and no issues at all but obv no screen tap wake is happening…

 

[Zambu]

Mine does not wake on any sort of tap anywhere on the screen… I have to use the on/off button. Are you sure it’s not just randomly turning on the screen as I had this issue after I installed the 1.1 firmware and had to factory reset to fix it. Since the factory reset it has been working fine through multiple shutdowns as well and no issues at all but obv no screen tap wake is happening…

I tried this a bunch of times yesterday and I would say that at least the ring button (didn't try elsewhere) responds to double-tap. It's just picky about what's considered a tap. I felt like it was almost 100% if I was being really pedantic about how I press. Not sure what I end up doing, that thing or just go with the on/off button.

 

[fish1050]

No friend, no... here you will read from Andy that its duration ranges between 10 thousand to 20 thousand hours. If you do the calculation the same you will change the DAP twice.

That is not what I found and who is to say you won't get a lemon tube in your DAP. I actually grew up with tube amps and pre-amps and my experience is not far off from 1 to 2 years. I have had tubes go after 6 months and some have lasted a year or so at best. Not to say Andy is lying but these are old tubes that aren't manufactured anymore from what I understand.

All I want to know is can I replace them myself, for piece of mind if nothing else as these are certainly not unbreakable. Is Cayin prepared to guarantee that all the tubes will last at least 10,000 hours? My guess is NO so what are the options if they die earlier than projected?

I circle back to any earlier idea I had of getting a cheaper DAP and picking up a desktop tube amp with easily replaceable tubes. When I am at home connect my DAP to the tube amp and live with the sound from the DAP alone when traveling. The N3 Ultra will cost me over $800.00 CDN so I want some protection and piece of mind that I will a recourse if I need to replace the tubes.