Cayin N7 Review

Versatility

The N7 offers a balanced and single-ended line out, pre-outs and headphone outs. And then there are its wireless BT connectivity and multiple digital in/outputs. There’s really no complaining about the N7’s versatility, but to be honest we’re used to that from Cayin for a long time already. If you need digital drivers or want to download the latest Firmware manually, you can do so here.

Next to as standalone DAP switching between CLASS A and CLASS AB, I used the Cayin N7 as a digital source connecting it to the L&P W2 as well as the Chord Mojo and EarMen Angel. Not all connections were easy, and many dongles failed to work or couldn’t control the volume. I also used the N7 as a DAC with my laptop, running Roon (streaming from Tidal). Finally I used the N7’s wireless option streaming ASMR videos from YouTube, using my Final Audio ZE3000.

Not taking older dongles into account, everything works easily and smoothly, making the N7 a perfect unit to use in all of your systems, no matter if it are desktop or portable setups.  

Performance / Specifications

If you want to check out all of the N7’s specifications, you can read up on Cayin’s website. Just click here.

N7 Sound

To test the Cayin N7 we used a series of IEMs, custom IEMs and lighter to drive full-sized headphones. The N7 was used both as a standalone DAP as well as a digital source and DAC with my laptop.

The key characteristics for me with this DAP are the following: Musicality, Naturalness, Dynamics, Effortlessness and Vividness.

The N7,no matter what solid state mode you listen to, at all times sounds super musical and natural. The delivery is neutral but going to the warmer side. Same goes for the amount of body, it’s natural but depending on the monitor used, can go to the heavier side. There’s always a good, fun amount of body, and it never feels out of order. This N7 sounds musical no matter what you’re listening to, and you’d need a really bad ear- or headphone to suck the life out of it.

The Cayin N7 sounded very dynamic with all of the IEMs and headphones I connected to it. The energy level is also a pleasure to the ear and depending on the earphone used, the CLASS A/AB can spice up the vividness for you. The N7 is one of those DAPs that makes everything sound effortless and easy, even with the most complex music and passages. As such it’s a very pleasant DAP to listen to, one that is easy on the ears. But it’s more than that, as it has an equally good technical strength. The resolution, clarity, separation, precision, decay, speed, layering, extension and sound stage are all very good. I wouldn’t say you get the same technical level as with the big TOTL DAPs such as the N8ii and SP3000 just to name two, but it’s close.

I really do like the N7’s clean and black background combined with its spacious and airy, yet natural presentation. The stage positioning and layering are a pleasure to the ear, especially with TOTL monitors such as the UM Multiverse Mentor.

Sound – CLASS A/AB

Where we with other DAPs such as the Cayin N8ii and SP2000t saw extra tube modes or hybrid modes, this DAP “only” offers a CLASS A and AB mode. I do have to say that even though the differences are there, I don’t find them to be as obvious or present in the N7’s implementation.

CLASS A presents the best harmonics and clarity, and it has the most precision, note extension and decay. I do find the CLASS A to be overall fuller sounding with the bigger kind of bass delivery and it has the most impact from top to bottom.

CLASS AB is cleaner sounding and has a more neutral presentation. You won’t get the same level of harmonics or dynamics as with CLASS A, but it does have the best bass control (lighter in presence).

With warmer and bass heavier monitors, the CLASS AB mode probably will work best as long as they’re technically strong already. For all other type of monitors, I will probably recommend the CLASS A. That said, I do find myself switching between both modes all the time depending on the music that’s playing even with the same inears. But that’s actually one of the beautiful points of this N7: no matter what you use or what music you’re listening to, you can always and very easily switch between A and AB modes.

Sound – Classics

No matter what amplification mode you use, the Cayin N7 always will give you a good amount of body. That shouldn’t come as a surprise as most of their DAPs and amplification modules are tuned this way. Cayin never exaggerates though, so don’t worry about this, unless you’re using really heavy and full sounding ear- or headphones already.

The bass presentation is a little different depending the amplification class, but it overall is good. Bass is tight, easy to listen to and it shows up with plenty of authority when needed. Technically, bass also performs well with excellent speed, clarity, precision and depth.

The N7 really shines in the mids and you get a natural and very musical presentation with plenty of airy and excellent precision, depth, layering and separation. The mids sound dynamic, natural and spacious and with the realistic positioned vocals that are not too energetic, the mids are soft and easy on the ear.  In CLASS AB, the higher mids and treble don’t come over as refined when compared to CLASS A.

Vocals and treble are always nicely energetic and vivid, but they never refrain from being natural. In CLASS A mode the technical level of section is at its very best, but it’s never overly energetic. Au contraire, the vocals and higher frequencies are always dynamic, vivid and exciting to the ear.

Comparisons

For this section of the review I am using the Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor. I have this TOTL IEM here with me in a custom edition, and it’s one of my all-time favorite monitors. It’s one of the very best technical performers but it’s also superbly natural and musical. My next review will be of this Mentor version, so do keep an eye out for that article if you’re in the market for a high-end monitor.

The DAPs chosen for this comparison are the Cayin N8ii, the SP3000 and the N6ii with the R01/R2R card.

The Cayin N8ii flagship DAP size wise is only a tiny bit bigger than the N7, but it’s especially the thickness that matters with this player. Lay-out wise these players are fairly similar and the usability is on par. There of course are multiple difference between both players (like internal memory and Android version just to name two), but these to me are the most important ones. First – as mentioned before – the N8ii offers tube modes, second it’s a DAC-chip based DAP, third it is missing the useful P+ power mode, fourth its not as well equipped looking at LO and Pre outs and finally its tuning. The N7 and N8ii are both excellent players and they each have a lot of things going for them.

Overall the N7 is the more neutrally tuned DAP while the N8 is a technically better performer with better extension, resolution and timbre. At the same time the staging capability of the N7 does seem better and you in the newest Cayin DAP get a wider impressions with more mid space. The vocals in the N8ii are positioned slightly more to the front and they get extra focus this way. To me the sub rumble of the N8ii is stronger, but it’s better controlled on the N7. The N8ii is the most sparkling and vibrant of both players, characteristics I like.

The Astell&Kern SP3000 is a very different DAP both in design, user interface, versatility and tuning. Like the N7 it only offers a solid state mode, but there are no A/AB options here. The SP3000 is a very different DAP to work with as unlike with the Cayin you don’t get a full Android experience. That said, the AK DAPs are very easy to use and they also offer a lot of connections and streaming options, it’s just very different.

Size wise the N7 and SP3000 are close. The N7 is thicker where the SP3000 is wider, but both units are quite large. Nothing new there. Design wise the units again are very different. Where AK prefers tight lines with sharp edges, the N7 is smoother with rounded corners. Both pretty DAPs, but the AK looks more luxurious.

Tuning wise both of the DAPs have a more neutral tuning, but there are a couple of big differences. The N7 is smoother overall and more easy on the ears, where the SP3000 is hotter, more aggressive and energetic. The second difference is in the vocal presentation which is more to the front with the AK, pushing the vocals forward with a sharper tuning, drawing more attention to the vocals. Third, there’s AK’s top end tuning which is more extended, energetic, lively and sparkling. Fourth, the low end presentation of the SP3000 is bigger in delivery, with more sub rumble. It’s not as tight and controlled as on the lighter bass tuned N7. Last but not least, I do find the SP3000 to play at a higher technical level, especially looking at extension, timbre, decay and the whole top end performance.

These are very different DAPs and it will depend on how you like your sound to be presented.

The part on sound continues on the last page, simply click here.

Page 1: Cayin, Intro, N7 intro + Details

Page 2: N7 details, Sound Pt. 1, Comparisons

Page 3: Sound Pt. 2, Synergy, End words