While there is still a lingering stereotype of Chinese electronics and HiFi products being built to a lower standard than those made in the USA, Europe, or Japan, brands like Cayin have been proving that stereotype wrong for years now, and every time they release a product on the level of N7+ they take another step towards shattering that stereotype. N7+ is Cayin’s latest premium digital audio player, coming in with a $1599 price tag, and while there’s nothing on the spec sheet or feature list that immediately demands your attention, we’re going to take a deeper dive into the player to show you why this is something special.
Build and Design
At first glance, N7+ is just the original N7 with a silver chassis instead of a black one, but everything from the materials, to the battery, to the power output has been upgraded from the original. The exterior of the device is now titanium, with an aerospace-grade aluminum chassis. The power transistors and op-amps have been upgraded to offer better heat management and create a lower noise floor, and you can expect 3 hours more playback time on a single charge.
N7+ is using the Snapdragon 665 SoC with Android 12, backed by 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage (expandable via microSD). The 5″ 1080p display looks sharp, battery life is rated up to 13 hours, and it supports PD 2.0 fast charging. Outputs include both 3.5mm SE (330 mW @ 32 ohm) and 4.4mm balanced (690 mW @ 32 ohm) with separate headphone and line out options for 3.5mm and 4.mm. There’s also a S/PDIF output option, and an I2S output for integration into your 2-channel system.
Audiophiles familiar with the general DAP and portable DAC game will probably find N7+ to be reasonably pocketable, but it’s not pocket-friendly in the “slim smartphone” sense. The unit is slightly larger than two standard iPhone 15s stacked on top of each other, but they kept the weight down, leaving N7+ at only 13 ounces.
Using the Cayin N7+
There may have been some light corner cutting on the screen (which doesn’t provide the same richness and vibrancy of some of the competition), but everything else about the device feels slick and high end. N7+’s Android 12 interface is fast and responsive, and Cayin’s proprietary tools are well-designed and easy to use. The physical controls on the unit, like the playback control button and volume wheel, are firm, and respond with a nice tactile click.
There aren’t really many tricks to using N7+. You can use Google Play store to download your streaming service or player app of choice, and the preinstalled player app isn’t quite as good as PowerAmp, but it’s well-designed and easy to navigate your collection with it. The audio specific configuration on the unit includes the DSD Upsampling Rate, Class A/AB amp selection, Gain Level, and Digital Output mode.
The Class A/AB setting and DSD Upsampling will probably have the largest impact on your listening experience and the battery life. Class A/AB controls the amp mode, with Class A offering a punchier, more dynamic sound, but also generating more heat and draining the battery a bit faster. DSD Upsampling decreases the potential for errors or distortion in the audio processing by increasing the total number of samples taken as part of the conversion. With lower resolution audio tracks, this simply means repeating the same samples to fill in the blanks, but by repeating the samples you can eliminate artifacts created by minor errors in the conversion by averaging them out.
Do the upgraded specs and well designed interface combine for sound quality to match?
Sound and Performance
Cayin N7+ has a very natural, somewhat relaxed sound that preserves clarity and detail in spite of some amount of softness to the sound. The original N7 had a warmer character to the sound, which led to some small losses in detail and a feeling that could be too relaxed at times. N7+ still leans towards the relaxed end of the spectrum, but with better detail, dynamics, and a more accurate overall sound than the original.
The imaging and soundstage are where N7+ really hits like a flagship DAP. It presents a wide, three-dimensional stage, with a great sense of depth and the space in between voices and instruments. The imaging is holographic, with song separation and a decent sense of body and weight. Even with that hint of warmth and the sense of body, N7+ sounds remarkably clean and detailed. There’s a softness to the highs, but it doesn’t compromise the crisp, airy feeling. The combination of an overall nonfatiguing presentation and strong detail, extension, and resolution is another way that N7+ competes with the top end of DAP market.
In terms of power output, N7 is a modest upgrade from the original N7, and provides solid performance with even the hardest to drive IEMs. For over-ear headphones, N7+ drives a good range of headphones, from higher impedance dynamic headphones to moderately hard to drive planar magnets. N7+ is a good fit for the Meze Empyrean II or HIFIMAN Arya Unveiled, but not a great solution for higher tier hard-to-drive headphones like Modhouse Tungsten or HIFIMAN Susvara.
Comparison: iBasso DX340, Astell&Kern SP3000M
There are two main points of comparison for the N7+: DAPs in the same rice range like the iBasso DX340, and the lower tier of ultra-flagship DAPs like the Astell&Kern SP3000M. DX340 presents a package with a larger number of features and customization option, but without quite matching N7+’s sound quality, and seems like a close match in sound to the SP3000M, without quite reaching the same level of sonic refinement.
In terms of build and design SP3000M has the most pocketable design and the sturdiest build, while DX340 and N7+ are both larger, and, despite feeling very premium, don’t quite match up to the to SP3000M in terms of the overall feel. Visually, DX340 is actually my favorite of the three, and it is slightly smaller than the N7+, but the choice there will largely be a matter of preference.
DX340 has the biggest selection of features though, with swappable amp cards, a number of sound customization options, and a great take on the open Android system with Android 13. N7+ is right behind DX340, with a similar feature set, except that it doesn’t have the same level of customization options. SP3000M is the most straightforward, with the least options, but also the best basic player UI.
In terms of sound quality, the SP3000M has the best overall sound, but N7+ is very close, and certain elements of the sound will be more a matter of preference: some might prefer N7+’s airier sound to the SP3000M’s stronger weight and body. DX340 isn’t quite as a strong in terms of pure detail and resolution, but its swappable amp cards give you a larger range of sound options, which will be a plus for many users.
The Bottom Line
If you’re an N7 owner looking purely for an upgrade to the original, N7+ provides enough upgrades over the original to be worth the step up. If you’re just looking for a DAP under $2000, and want to prioritize sound quality over other features, N7+ is a near perfect pick, with sound quality that punches above its price and a solid feature set to go with it.
