Cayin N7 | Digital Audio Player

Cayin N7 is a Discreet Powerhouse DAP with Impressive Layout and Features Galore

Fully-discrete, fully-balanced design for superior performance
Class A / AB dual-amplifier operation mode
Dedicated 3.5mm and 4.4mm Balanced headphone out with shared line out/pre out
USB-C, mini-HDMI, S/PDIF, and Bluetooth digital outputs
Large 3.8V 9000mAH Lithium battery with carefully tuned power management



Discreet, Portable, Competent
The Cayin N7 DAP is a master quality portable music player with the world's first fully-discrete circuit in a fully-balanced design, and it comes packed with plenty of features. With its pure single-bit resistor DSD decoder, discrete LPF circuitry, and discrete headphone amp section and dual-amp modes, the N7 is the perfect portable player promising exceptional sound clarity for your favorite music!

Fully-discrete, Fully-balanced Unexplored Frontier
Going discrete is technically more demanding, but it allows more room to fine tune sound signature and deliver superior performance over op-amp based designs.
Regular stereo circuits compose of left (L) and right (R) channels with balanced circuits involving differential inputs and outputs, hence a required L+, L-, R+, and R-. Cayin makes its first attempt to use discrete circuits for DAC, LPF and headphone amp in the N7 DAP. It adopts a symmetrical double-side PCB layout to minimize interference and keep the layout and length of the signal path as uniform as possible.
Pure 1-Bit DSD DAC
The N7 features a purposely designed, micro-miniaturized 1-bit DAC circuit from fully discrete components:
Discrete 1-Bit DACConverts digital signals to analog through a resistor network composed of 128 pcs (4x32) high precision thin film resistors.
FPGAEnhanced digital audio signal and output L+, L-, R+, R- digital bitstream for fully balanced decoding.
Audio BridgePass-through DSD unaltered, converted PCM to 1-bit bitstream before transmitting to DAC circuit.
Power SupplySophisticated low-noise, highly-isolated supply circuit to support various functions of digital and analog processing separately.
Discrete LPF
N7 features a discrete components design for closed-loop gain, negative feedback, and circuit architecture of the LPF. After numerous attempts, Cayin developed a symmetric Class A push/pull amplification circuit based on dual NPN+PNP Bipolar transistors, delivering high performance, reduced board space, and low power consumption / heat dissipation.
Discrete Headphone Amp
Uncompromised DesignThe N7 features a 4-channel discrete component-based circuit with a low-noise, audio-grade JFET (Junction-gate Field-Effect Transistor) serving the differential input stage and a BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor) providing voltage amplification and final output stage. It delivers high-power, low-noise output that's optimized for low impedance IEMs and portable headphones.
Synchronized AccuratelySophisticated resistor networks can efficiently decode when their algorithm can perfectly synchronize between varying sampling frequencies. N7 employs x2 Femtosecond Crystal Oscillators with extremely low phase noise (-100dBc) to facilitate high-precision and low-jitter playback, minimizing digital artifacting while enhancing musicality.
Dual Amp Operation ModeThe Dual Amplifier Operation Mode allows you to switch between Class A and Class AB modes instantly through the pull down menu. Choose the sound signature to fit your personal preference of sound, genres, and/or pairing with different IEM/headphones:


Class A Mode: Low distortion, optimum playback condition. Silky smooth, warm and lush. Best fit for sentimental music with lots of detail and macro dynamic.

Class AB Mode: Higher efficiency and dynamic. Clean, tight, extended, and authoritative slam. Best fit for music with high dynamic range and liveliness.

The Devil in the DetailsClass A amplification requires all channels to be aligned with near-identical gain. To achieve this, critical components must be manually matched and installed to the PCB before reflow soldering. Similarly, the static current must be controlled so that discrete components will maintain stable operation in saturation mode. Multiple adjustable resistors are installed so that the PCB can be fine-tuned manually to consistently match the reference design.

Perfect Portable Source
Shared Dual Line-Out and Pre-OutBoth 4.4mm Balanced and 3.5mm single-ended can be configured into Line-Out or Pre-Out. This allows listeners to connect the N7 to a vast array of portable, desktop, and home audio devices. Dedicated drivers handle Line-Out and Pre-Out signals independently, ensuring both outputs are optimized for their respective applications.
Clean Line OutThe N7's Line-Out is a fixed voltage line level output that bypasses volume control. this allows it to serve as a high-quality source for portable or desktop headphone amplification or as an integrated amp in your home audio system.
Unique Portable Pre-ampPre-Out on the N7 is a variable voltage line-level output with high-precision analog volume control allowing it to serve as a high quality pre-amplifier for portable or desktop power amps.
Specifications


MCU: Snapdragon 660

System: Customized Android 9.0 (Google Play preinstalled)

Memory: 6GB LPDDR4X

Storage: 128GB eMMC, TF (up to 1TB)

Display: 5" (1280 × 720) OLED multi-point touch screen

Physical Control: Volume knob, power on/off playback buttons

USB-C: USB3.0, OTG, QC3.0, Digital Audio

Chassis: Sandblasted CNC Aluminum

Vacuum Tube: KORG Nutube 6P1 (x2)

DAC: ROHM BD34301 (x2)

Bluetooth: v5.0 | LDAC, UAT, AAC, SBC

Wi-Fi: 2.4G/5G IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Headphone Out: 3.5mm SE, 4.4mm BAL

Line Out: 3.5mm SE (dedicated), 4.4mm BAL (switch in OS menu)

Digital Interface: I²S, SPDIF Coax (embedded), USB Audio (in / out)

Battery: 3.8V 10000mAh (38Wh)

Battery Charge Time: ~7 hours (5V-2A) | ~4.5 hours (QC3.0)

Playback Time: ~9.5 hours

Dimensions: 5.8" x 3.1" x 1"

Net Weight: ~15.6 oz

Cayin 1 Year Warranty
Full N7 Audio Specs

In the Box

N7 Player
N7 Leather case
4.4mm to 2.5mm (F) adapter
3.5mm to 2.5mm (F) adapter
USB-C cable
Tempered glass screen protector
User Manual