Disclaimer: Cayin Japan kindly loaned me the unit in this article. I had hoped to release these results in early November last year, but problems with X11 and OSX Catalina forestalled that. It is now 2020 and this article is late. Apologies, Cayin, and eagle-eyed ohm readers who noticed that the publish date had slipped too far. The N6ii is a high-end DAP with many cores, a modular body, balanced and single ended output, and an I2S interface. Want to know more? Hit up the Cayin N6ii page
NOTE I: balanced measures are coming.
NOTE II: I have decided to reference the N6ii’s output at medium rather than high gain. The reason for this is that in stereo tests, it sheers its peaks in high gain, and overall performs worse in THD and IMD. The differences are small, but I hope forgivable, considering I always try to find the peak performance for any source/player before publishing results.
My first Cayin was the C5 amp. It did its job well, debuting unique branding, and sound. As far as performance goes, it was good, but not great and is a far cry from Cayin’s latest and greatest. The N6ii looks much better than the N6. And, while more difficult to use, its operating system is handsomer to the same degree.
Branding aside, the N6ii sports audiophile street cred in EQ, DAC filters, channel settings, etcetera- plus a powerful amplifier and quality DAC elements.
Micro SD cards slide right in thanks to a countersunk maw, and the OS is malleable. The N6ii is heavy in the pocket, and gets a bit warm. But it has way more power than every single of my most-used desktop amps. In fact, few desktop audio units I’ve used are as powerful. Burson’s Fun is one. Goldmund’s TELOS HDA is another. My Lynx HILO doesn’t come close.
Neither does my HILO come close in noise performance. Single-ended, the N6ii doesn’t return absolute top-flight benchmarks, but it is more powerful than the few players I’ve tested that actually best it in a by-the-numbers game. And let’s be honest here, 24-bit is nothing but a numbers game anyway. I don’t listen to music that averages much more than 90dB at loudest, and I doubt you do either. So, while the N6ii is capable of hitting more than 116dB (DR/noise/etc) by my measurements, no one really listens to quality music above 95dB anyway. If you disagree, let’s moot. This brings me to the final point. I have elected to only publish loaded benchmarks at medium gain. High gain induced a few more errors than is optimal. Yes, DR and SNR go up slightly, but at the rather large expense of THD and IMD.
That said, several players I’ve tested run above 120dB, and whether or not I listen to music at that volume level, the numbers alone mesmerise.
Whatever. The N6ii is a fine performer- single-ended, it simply isn’t tip top.
Relevant links:
RMAA: Fujifilm X-T3 microphone pre-amp and headphone output 24-bit
RMAA and review: Aiwa AM-F70 Minidisc Recorder 16-bit
RMAA AND REVIEW: SHARP MD-DR7 1-BIT AUVI MINIDISC RECORDER 16-BIT
RMAA and review: Sony MZ-EH1 24-bit
Minidisc VLOG - 07: Sony MZ-RH1 Review
Minidisc VLOG - 05: Sony MZ-NH3D
RMAA and review: Sony MZ-DH10P 16-bit
RMAA: Sony MZ-RH1 16-bit
RMAA: Sony MZ-NH3D 16-bit
RMAA: Sony MZ-B100 16-bit
RMAA: Panasonic SJ-MJ500 16-bit
RMAA: Kenwood DMC-S55 16-bit
RMAA: Sony MZ-E55 16-bit
RMAA: Sharp MD-DS8/9 16-bit
Source: Cayin N6ii
ADC: Lynx Studio HILO LT-TB
Computer: 2017 27" iMac Pro
Cables: 1,5m Hosa Pro 3,5mm stereo to dual 3-pin XLR (around 8$); bespoke y-split 2,5 TRRS to dual 3-pin XLR made by Musashi Sound Technology.
Loads:
NL - no load
SM2 - Earsonics SM2
ES7 - Audio Technica ES7
DT880 - Beyerdynamic DT880/600
24-bit VOL (Full) @+6dB - all targets (single-ended)
24-bit VOL (Full) @+6dB - no load (single-ended)
24-bit VOL (Full) @+18dB - all targets (single-ended)
End words
Honestly, I expected better measurements for the price, especially after testing Shanling’s Q1 (coming), but again, it’s all theoretical. I don’t listen to music louder than the best 16-bit can do. I doubt you, or anyone else does, either. The N6ii has come a long way from the MKI. Its OS is robust if confusing, and powerful. The connection array is amazing and the body feels like a thousand bucks (which it should). If I were to change anything, it would be the N6’s confusing OS. Shanling, whose modus operandi appears to be simplicity, have it right. Cowon and Onkyo are a bit better, but a common theme among modern DAP makers is complication over utility.