Cayin has released a new digital player, the N7
By ForGeeks The new Cayin N7 portable digital player will go on sale at the end of July. It is a first for Cayin and the first ever discrete fully balanced 1-bit DSD player. It has been designed with a number of completely discrete circuits including a DAC, LF filter, headphone amplifier and more. And it all fits into a promising new handheld device. It supports advanced features like Class-A/AB amplifier operation, overdrive mode, true 1-bit DSD DAC, 3.5mm/4.4mm headphone/line outputs, Android 12, etc.
It’s a great device to have in your pocket.
The move away from off-the-shelf operational amplifiers has made finer circuit customization possible. The fully discrete 1-bit Pure DSD DAC utilizes a matrix of 128 high-precision thin-film resistors. An FPGA between the processor and the DAC converts incoming PCM data into DSD format. All downstream circuits, such as the filter and amplifier, remain completely discrete. This is what has allowed the Cayin player to achieve such a natural and lively sound character, taking the listening experience to a new level.
Cayin N7 features a fully balanced headphone amplifier with 4 channels of discrete circuitry operating in two modes – Class A and AB – to achieve ultra-clear sound on any load, from sensitive plug-in IEM headphones to high-pedance, low-sensitivity full-size models. Engineers used low-noise field-effect transistors in the input stage and bipolar transistors in the voltage amplifier and output stage. The complimentary pairs were hand matched and installed on the board prior to final soldering.
The pairs were hand matched and installed on the board prior to final soldering.
Cayin N7 has separate line outputs for connecting stationary equipment and separate headphone jacks. Both use 3.5mm jacks for conventional unbalanced and 4.4mm jacks for balanced connections. Volume control is accomplished using an electronically controlled resistive matrix from JRC. There are 4 channels in one chip. This gives the highest precision and lowest distortion when adjusting the volume.
The Cayin N7 has a milled aluminum body with a gold plated volume control. The player features a 5″ Full HD screen and comes with Android 12 operating system, where SRC frequency recalculation is disabled for any music apps to ensure bit-perfect playback. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 main processor is paired with 4GB of RAM for fast graphics responsiveness. The 64GB of internal storage is expandable via a memory card slot for up to 1TB of storage. All possible file formats are supported, up to 32-bit 768kHz PCM, DSD512 and full 16x MQA decoding.
Wired connectors are supplemented by an I2S mini HDMI output for external DACs, as well as SPDIF output inside the standard USB-C connector. Of the wireless interfaces, there’s 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 for signal reception/transmission. The impressive 9000mAh battery provides a long runtime of up to 10 hours of continuous playback, with PD2.0 fast charging support that can recharge the player up to 80% in 2 hours. To protect the player from scratches, it comes with a branded case made of high-quality leather.
