The competition in the Digital Audio Player space is always fierce, with brands looking for new and innovative ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. While Cayin’s players are generally excellent right out of the box, the most distinct feature the N6 series is their replaceable audio motherboards, which allow you to swap out the DAC and amp in the player in just a few seconds. Priced at $1299, does the latest in the series, Cayin N6iii, need this unique feature to stand out, or can it hold its own just on the merits of the sound and functionality?
Build and Design
N6iii’s build is pretty standard as high-end DAPs go, with a sleek black metal chassis, glass back, and gold accents for the volume wheel and control buttons. Weighing in at 10 ounces with a 5” screen the general size and dimensions make the device fit easily into your hand and it’s definitely pocketable. The right side features the reverse, play/pause, and skip buttons, along with a volume wheel, while power is on the left side, USB-C and microSD are on top, and the analog outputs are on the bottom.
The bottom portion of the device is the removable audio motherboard, and applying pressure to the buttons on each side will allow it to easily slide out. The device ships with the CS201 board, which has a 8x Cirrus Logic DAC configuration and 3.5mm line out, 3.5mm headphone, and 4.4mm headphone output selection from the amp. At the time this article was written, there were no additional motherboard options available for testing.
The device package includes a USB-C to USB-C charge cable and a case. The case is similar to previous Cayin cases with a synthetic leather frame and a metal grille on the back. The case can slip on and off, but has a snug fit that keeps it in place while in use. The design on the right side of the case also tends to get caught on the buttons and volume wheel when you try to take it off, so I wouldn’t be worried about the case accidentally falling off.
Using Cayin N6iii
N6iii features a standard Android 12 installation, with the Google Play Store included out of the box. Other than some added configuration options and the Cayin Music Player app, the device operates like any Android phone or tablet. N6iii uses a Snapdragon 665 SoC and has 6GB RAM, making the UI quite snappy and responsive. If you simply need a fast, easy-to-use premium portable player, N6iii fits the bill nicely.
For additional audio configuration, N6iii has Low, Medium, and High Gain modes, along with configurable DAC filter settings and a system-wide parametric EQ. I’ve had mixed experiences with EQ built into DAPs, and this one is reasonably easy to use and changes to the PEQ are applied across the whole system. In addition you get Cayin’s player app as a solid option for management and playback of your music collection. It provides a graphic EQ (the graphic EQ settings are unique to the player and don’t affect other apps) as well as the ability to bypass Android’s USB audio out limitations for genuine high resolution audio output.
Sound
Cayin N6iii’s default audio motherboard uses the 8xCS43198 DAC configuration which results in a very clean, refined sound that combines strong resolution and excellent air and extension with natural timbre and a very linear feeling presentation. The imaging and soundstage presentation is wide, three-dimensional, and well separated.
If there were one thing I could pick as being particularly strong with N6iii it’s vocals. Spacious sounding recordings with the vocals front and center, like “Samson” by Regina Spektor or “Awards Season” by Bon Iver are simply exquisite on N6iii. There’s just a little extra something to the vocal realism over other DAPs in the range, and the vocal presentation captures the breath and air without sounding sibilant.
While there’s some subtle warmth to N6iii’s mids, the bass isn’t particularly strong. The tuning and strong technical performance does really help clean-up bloated sounding IEMs, but with more neutral headphones, or music more on the electronic end of the spectrum, the low-end lacked the power and physical dynamics I was looking for. Thankfully that was pretty easily fixed by adding a small bass shelf using the PEQ, but out of the box N6ii leans slightly mid-forward with less emphasis in the bass.
In terms of power and performance with different headphones and IEMs, N6iii is perfect for your whole IEM collection and remains dead silent in the background with sensitive IEMs. However, the power is a little lower than average for this class of DAPs, with 4V from the balanced output, while 6V from the balanced channel seems to be the industry standard at this point. The result is 700mW at 32 ohms (where 6V gives you about 1000mW at 32 ohms), which can leave it feeling flat with over-ear headphones. While the most sensitive of headphones are still good, headphones like HIFIMAN Arya or Dan Clark Noire X come up a little bit short.
Comparison: iBasso DX260
One of the closest comparisons to Cayin N6iii is the iBasso DX260, which comes in a couple hundred dollars cheaper, but uses the same DAC configuration and has a similar Android design. Just from a quick physical examination of the two, DX260 is a little smaller and lighter, but N6iii feels a little more premium. Are the differences more than skin deep?
In terms of just using the device, both have a fast, responsive user experience, but N6iii has a slight edge in the app load time speed. DX260 gives you more control over the DAC filters and provides the FIR option as well, which N6iii lacks. However, N6iii’s full system EQ may be a bigger draw for a lot of people.
Probably the biggest advantage that N6iii has over DX260 is the ability to change out the DAC and amp, but since there aren’t any audio motherboard cards available yet, we need to compare based on the default configuration. In terms of the sound, the two are very similar, but N6iii seems slightly more natural, while DX260 has a bit of a digital edge at points, but also stronger separation and resolution. DX260 is more powerful as well, offering 1015mW at 32 ohms vs 700mW for N6iii.
While DX260 has better performance with over-ear headphones, N6iii outperforms DX260 in most other categories – though it’s definitely a close race across the board. Along with that, the promise of future customizability with swappable audio motherboards means that N6iii earns its higher price point.
The Bottom Line
WIth N6iii, Cayin delivers an excellent midrange DAP, with strong UI performance and usability, along with a detailed, reference sound. Along with that, N6iii was designed with customization in mind, and the promise of new DAC and Amp options makes it even better. While it lacks the power for many over-ear headphones, N6iii is an amazing, feature-packed pick for sensitive headphones and IEMs.
