Cayin N3 audio player review: high spark for a reasonable price

I wonder who first came up with this marketing ploy? The brand releases another flagship, and then fans out to the market its cut-down copies, but at lower prices. And all walks of life are happy. And Cayin brand, whose products we regularly review, has recently released a budget audio player N3, which combines a nice design, compact size and nice sound. It remains to listen to everything myself and paint in detail..

Thanks to XChesser Audio for providing a sample for listening.

Cayin N3 audio player

Specifications

DAC chip: AK4490EN

Amplifier: OPA1652 + OPA1622

Screen: TFT 2.4′, 400 × 360

Output power: 2 × 130 mW @ 32&Omega

MicroSD card support: up to 256GB

Audio formats: WAV, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, APE, WMA, OGG, MP3, DSD256, DSF, DFF, SACD-ISO

Outputs: 3.5mm headphone

Interfaces: S/PDIF via USB type C

Bluetooth: 4.0 APT-X

Battery: 2500mAh run time on a single charge: up to 12 hours, 2-3 hours charging.

Dimensions: 100 mm × 54 mm × 13 mm

Weight: 100 g

Appearance and kit

How similar to the iPhone, only it’s not an iPhone after all. That’s me talking about the white packaging of the new Cayin player – if you squint at it from a distance. But the cyan signature logo on the cover still gives away the “switch”. Moreover the cyan circle unambiguously closes the name of the model in two languages – here you can finally see the specifications of the sound source on the back of the box…

And what’s inside this time? The sun bunny on the red case immediately lights up the morning – it is soft, silicone, the player itself was burgundy red, but can be both cyan and black – as you say. I wrapped my new player in a silicone case and the result was a “ginger toddler” – nice, affectionate and cheerful. On the screen, as it should be, attached a protective film, there is also a “bundle-butterfly” of cable USB type-C: it perfectly works to synchronize the device with your PC and lead to the power adapter. I won’t even talk about all sorts of small paper instructions…

The design of the player is without special frills, but all so clean and concise. The “red kiddo” is very nice to the eye and to the touch. Red aluminum body, TFT 2 screen.The 4′ has a resolution of 400 × 360, the buttons on the sides are plastic, the back panel is covered with grooved leatherette. In general, you hold it in your hands like a talisman…

Control buttons and connectors are scattered across the player quite traditionally – everything is familiar, you can press without looking. But there are little surprises: on the right side – where the pause and forward-back buttons are located, just below there is something black. It’s a plastic cap, covering the memory card slot. I was thinking that the micro SD will also shake out of the kit, but in vain dreamed… It’s OK, the main thing is that there is a place to insert it…

On the left side there’s an on/off button and a long “rocker” plus/minus button – for volume control.

The main navigation is situated on the front panel under the screen: in the center the mechanical button Ok is looking at me, and on the left and right side there are four touch-sensitive icons – for menu navigation. In my opinion, sometimes the touch buttons didn’t pay any attention to my fingers. Glitches? Not often, not critical, but I did not make this up! I hope my fingers are satisfied with the new player firmware… Nevertheless, the menu is quite logical and clear, like driving on a regulated crossroads: everything is clear and understandable, as always in Cayin players.

On the bottom face two jacks are located: for headphones 3.5 mm combined with the line output, switch – in the menu and a modern USB type-C connector for all occasions – it also serves to output the digital signal to an external DAC, so that Cayin N3 is very convenient to use as a transport for more detailed sound processing in another device. By the way, on the site of the producer there are cables, which convert the USB-connector into a coaxial SPDIF output. Useful option, it’s just a pity that such a “lanyard” is not included.

Sound

I listened to the following headphones: Etymotic ER-4SR, Ambient Acoustics am5-lam, Audio-Technica ATHSX1a, Meze 99 neo, Beyerdynamic DT1350, Beyerdynamic DT250/250, and Phonon SMB-02.

With all headphones the device played very decently, the volume was enough for all listed models. Even Beyerdynamic DT250 with their 250 ohms at High Gain sound quite loud and massive. So we didn’t see any lack of capacity.

In the sound of Cayin N3 we can guess the handwriting of the chip from Asahi Kasei Microdevices with its musicality, warmth and “spark” in the upper register, all this makes the sound of the sabage melodic and sweet-sounding.

Player 3 plays with vivacity and positivity. Of course, he is able to convey serious intonations, but the basic concept of his presentation, although the background is somewhat darkened, remains life-affirming. That’s what it means to give a little accent in the form of “Bengal spark” in the tweeter area!

Let’s take for example Bryan Ferry “All Tomorrow’s Parties”

The composition sounds full and mysterious. The device together with Beyerdynamic DT250/250 perfectly conveys the depth and atmosphere of the musical picture. The virtual scene is medium-sized, building as it does with rounded space, almost spherical, enveloping the listener with its warmth. The presentation is solid, but all the details are in place, nothing is faded, the whole picture is not scattered, comes as a whole.

The low frequencies with their reverb and big softened beats darken the background and give a mysterious sound. The midrange shimmers smoothly on this background, like dancers in a night carnival. Brian’s vocal glides and charms with its velvet baritone: high frequencies, hi-hat, cymbals – everything “sparkles” on this background in a New Year’s Eve way, lighting up the carnival mystery and bringing a note of positivity to the whole picture.

It is beautiful, you can say nothing about it. And yet something is a little lacking here, if you have listened to the sources of a higher category beforehand. Dipped into one composition after another to clearly realize the emerging “hunger”. What is lacking, perhaps, is some distinctness in the main “drawing” accents of the song. There is a slight softening in the lower register and not quite a clear “spark” in the treble, which can be mistaken for a small delta of distortion. But it is this slight fuzziness that gives the sound of the younger model its own charm, warmth and charm.

Though, for such an inexpensive novelty on frosting one need not whine in public, all the more so because my picks are rather tentative as it is. I confess it is “not my” sound, but it is very musical, I think its pitch will hook many with its beautiful and charming voice. After only one week of living with the player N3 even I wanted to listen to it again and again, shaking my head to the beat of the drums… And what else is needed on the road, especially for such a price tag for the music in your pocket?

Bottom line

The bass is massive, with a small, very accurate accent in the midbass area, a little softened, the bass is well textured, I would even call it “intoxicating”. It lacks speed and concentration a little, but it does not have too much of weakness: beautiful, flouncy – this is exactly its beauty.

The midrange is very musical, velvet and charming midrange, without any clear ups and downs.

What it lacks a little bit is resolution, detail. But what musicality! You can’t take it away from the Cayin N3.

Tweeter – a little accented, crumbly, but not obtrusive either. They give the song a “sweetness” and that rousing “bouncy” sound. Yes, it is achieved because of small distortions in the upper register, but as a result the overall picture is “juicy” and beautiful.

Of course, you should not expect from this device the sound picture at the level of “top segment” – there is a completely different league. But in the niche “up to 10,000 Dollars” the device has confidently lodged itself in the first row.

Conclusion

A good little player, which has a beautiful and fairly universal sound. Nice design, good build quality, can be used as a transport for digital signal transfer – all this makes it an interesting player in the portable audio market. And the low price of a novelty even a dozen points to the merits. You can buy a Cayin N3 for about 9,500 Dollars in America. I think this price tag is quite adequate compared to the competition.

Design, build quality, sound, price.

Sometimes the touch sensitive buttons malfunction not critical, may be fixed in the new firmware , not suitable for fans of dry monitor sound.