Cayin N3PRO

amazon Cayin N3PRO reviews

The Cayin N3PRO is a cool music player. It delivers the incredible sonic power of a vacuum bulb for just $500. The Cayin N3PRO is also a pure music player that focuses and decodes music without the unnecessary features of watching videos or playing games. Whether combining all the features and sound quality that this player offers, is it worth owning or not. We will find the answer through this article together.

DESIGN AND FINISHING OF CAYIN N3PRO

In terms of design, the Cayin N3PRO is not as flashy as the design of Astell & Kern is often done. It is simply a solid black aluminum block, rounded, and adds the details needed for a music player. The feeling of holding the Cayin N3PRO is very firm and fits well. The width is slim, but the Cayin N3PRO is quite thick because it has to contain 2 electronic bulbs and a decoder circuit.

The front of the Cayin N3PRO features a 3.2 ”touch screen with 480×360 resolution. It’s not the sharpest display in its price range, but the Cayin N3PRO just needs it since it doesn’t have other functions like watching videos or playing games.

The entire buttons and volume knob are meticulously machined, painted in outstanding copper while providing a very smooth touch and response.

The connection ports located on the bottom edge of the device are added with concentric circles that look extremely luxurious and seductive.

Both the front and back sides of the Cayin N3PRO are covered with thick tempered glass, which almost perfectly fits into the metal face. No gaps or glue stains appeared.

The most special highlight of the Cayin N3PRO that only when we turn on the device can we see that the heart of the lamp is lit in orange. It feels like when you start up real light amplifiers. At the present time, you will not be able to find in any of the same price range players in this interesting market.

The left edge of the machine is the location of the micro SD card slot. The top part of the device is left blank.

As can be seen, the Cayin N3PRO is a music player with a sophisticated, simple yet very luxurious design. The finish is on par with high-end products. There is no point to blame for this design of Cayin.

EQUIPMENT AND FEATURES

The first is the screen, it has a fairly low resolution compared to the general level of the player in the same price range.

To understand this reason, you should remember that Cayin N3PRO runs on a customized Linux platform called Cayin OS similar to the flagship Cayin N8. The Cayin N3PRO cannot install any software or add-on features other than playing music, so equipping a high-resolution screen is both wasteful and drains the battery when using it.

Hidden under the thick aluminum layer is the incredibly well equipped audio hardware. Cayin N3PRO uses 2 AK4493 chips for the DAC layer, plays DSD256 and PCM files well 32bit / 384kHz. However, that is still not the most prominent part.

On the output floor, the Cayin N3PRO is equipped with two output lines: through 2 Raytheon JAN61418s or via the identical semiconductor OP-AMP on the flagship Cayin N8.

Raytheon JAN61418s bulbs are antique lamps used in old US military telegrams and former hi-end microphones. The characteristic of these lamps is the classic warmth.

When operating on the light floor, the Cayin N3PRO has two operating modes: Triode and Ultralinear.

Triode mode narrows the soundstage but sharpens the image, increasing the experience with studio tracks, focusing on vocals and simple instruments. The Ultra-Linear mode, in contrast, expands the soundstage, making the stage space airy, suitable for live recordings.

On a side note, the light mode will only be enabled when you listen with the Single-End 3.5mm port and the 3.5mm line-out port. With the Balanced 4.4 port, you can only listen through the semiconductor OP-AMP.

The Cayin N3PRO will have no internal memory. The entire music library will be updated via the micro SD card slot. You can also connect an external hard drive via an OTG-Type-C adapter that plugs into the machine.

This machine is also equipped with 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi connection, but it is not capable of streaming music like other music players of the same range. Wifi above only works Cayin N3PRO update firmware and copy music over Wifi only.

The Cayin N3PRO features Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity for wireless music playback while simultaneously receiving and decoding Bluetooth signals like a Bluetooth DAC / AMP. It supports high-end codecs such as LDAC, UAT, so the ability to play music wirelessly is also very strong.

The Cayin N3PRO contains a 4100mAh battery for more than 10 hours of continuous music playback.

Besides, the Cayin N3PRO can output DAC or SPDIF signals via the Type-C port. Ability to make USB DAC / AMP for phone or computer. Remote control via Hiby Link. All focus for the ultimate purpose of playing high-quality music. That is why it is said that the Cayin N3PRO is a pure music player, different from smart music players running Android in the same price range.

SOUND

We have just walked through the features and equipment of the Cayin N3PRO and finally comes the most important part is the sound. As mentioned above, the Cayin N3PRO has up to 3 different modes for the amplifier stage: Solid-State (Semiconductor), Triode Lamp and Ultra-linear Light.

When the amp operates in Solid State mode, the sound is smooth, rich in energy, the reference bias is quite similar to the iBasso DX160 but the sound is slightly more detailed and soundstage.

In the Tube Triode mode, the sound becomes warmer, smoother and more relaxing. The stage space is narrow but the singer’s voice becomes very soulful.

Finally, when switching to the Tube Ultralinear mode, the sound still retains the smoothness and warmth of the Tube Triode, but the soundstage is wide, the singer voice comes forward.

The warmth because the color of the lamp is very flexible and well controlled. Most IEM models and headphones will add depth, bounce, and a bit of tweaking for plump, yet coherent bass.

The HIFIMAN Sundara is a perfect example when paired with the Cayin N3PRO. The quality of the lights improves the bass range, adding to the sub-bass vibration that Sundara is lacking. Campfire Andromeda also pairs well when added to the body for the bass range. Almost all IEM hybrid headphone models will add a bounce to the bass range.

Overall, most tracks in the Pop and Rock genres will benefit from the improvements that the Cayin N3PRO’s lighting brings. With other genres such as symphony, concert, Solid-State will be more suitable. The sound of the light bulb sometimes makes stringed instruments such as a guitar or a violin dishonest and dynamic, suppressed. Switching to Solid State mode will return these instruments to the right place where it shines.

CONCLUDE

In terms of pure sound, it can be said that the Cayin N3PRO has no rival in this price range. Its downsides come from software limitations and a lack of ability to stream online music. If you are looking for a music player with maximum focus on the sound, love the sound of the light bulb and do not care about other additional features, this is a better option.

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