Cayin N8iii Digital Audio Player

The Cayin N8iii is Cayin’s flagship reference music player, built on the idea of “honouring the classic, beyond the classic”. It combines a sixth-generation KORG Nutube 6P1 tube circuit with a new flagship AKM DAC system of two AK4191EQ modulators and four AK4499EXEQ DACs, and a fully discrete, fully balanced four-channel amplifier giving up to 1,285mW from its 4.4mm output. Three timbres, three amplifier classes and Android 12 with Google Play make it a complete high-end source, made in a limited run of 500 numbered units.

Sixth-generation Nutube circuit

Two KORG Nutube 6P1 dual directly heated triodes are carefully selected and matched by hand. Cayin’s classic three-stage circuit uses an ultra-low-noise Toshiba 2SK209 JFET buffer, the Nutube as the voltage gain stage, and a 2SK209 JFET buffer driver for more output. The tube output is fully balanced across all four channels, from the 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs as headphone, line or pre-amp outputs.

• Tube Classic: no global negative feedback, for the sound of a classic tube amplifier: richer and lusher, with a little more thermal noise.
• Tube Modern: a large-loop feedback circuit sets the gain, giving a cleaner, more modern tube sound with much less thermal noise.
• Solid-State: precisely tuned, matched transistors for a neutral, transparent and highly detailed sound.

Cayin’s Gen6 refinements include a JFET buffer with constant-current load, a refined PCB layout and grounding, a low-noise LDO supply with LC π filtering for clean filament power, and a four-layer protection system of wave-absorbing material, a flexible circuit board, silicone damping and a suspended top structure to reduce microphonics and interference.

Class A+, Class A or Class AB

Three amplifier modes switch instantly. Cayin’s new Class A+ raises the quiescent current to reduce crossover distortion and bring out micro-detail and resolution, and is optimised for low-impedance headphones; Class A is refined and smooth; Class AB is efficient and powerful. Standard Power (P) and High Power (P+) switch the operating voltage of the discrete stages, for headphones from 16Ω to 150Ω.

Hyper Mode, for headphone listening, engages High Power and Class A+ together for up to 900mW single-ended and 1,285mW balanced into 16Ω, with a larger soundstage and more dynamic impact. In Hyper Mode the power and amplifier modes are locked, and the player runs warmer, so give it some ventilation.

Fully balanced discrete amplifier

The four-channel discrete amplifier uses Cayin’s classic three-stage design with independent paths and stronger current delivery, for firm control over different loads, tight bass and precise imaging. Its input stage uses matched InterFET IF389 JFETs for very low noise, and the output stage uses Nexperia high-linearity bipolar transistors for strong, stable current.

Flagship AKM DACs, one system per channel

Each channel has its own DAC system, one AK4191EQ and two AK4499EX, running in mono for fully parallel balanced current output, more dynamics and finer detail. An 8-channel I/V conversion stage follows.

Dedicated power for every stage

A 13,500mAh, 3.85V battery (three matched cells, 52Wh) with a high-current, low-impedance protection circuit gives up to 12 hours from the 3.5mm output and supports PD2.0 fast charging. Each section has its own supply:

• Amplifier: dual LT8334 high-current regulators with LC π filtering and Nichicon ECPU film capacitors.
• DACs: independent low-noise linear supplies for the left and right channels.
• I/V and low-pass filter: TI OPA1612 op-amps with precision thin-film resistors and Nichicon ECPU capacitors.
• FPGA and clocks: three dedicated LDO regulators and a low-noise LDO for the dual femtosecond clocks.
• Filtering: Panasonic POSCAP polymer capacitors with NP0/X7R capacitors.

Cool, stable and precisely controlled

The 6063 aluminium chassis helps shed heat, the 8-layer gold-finished amplifier board is built on high-Tg IT-180A FR-4 with resin-filled vias, and graphite and silicone heat-spreading materials work with the aluminium inner frame. Volume is set by an analogue position encoder driving two JRC MUSES72320V electronic volume chips, for fully balanced four-channel volume and gain control with excellent channel matching.

Flagship hardware

A Snapdragon 665 octa-core processor with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage (plus microSD up to 2TB) runs a customised Android 12 with Google Play. An FPGA and Cayin’s system-wide DTA (Direct Transport Audio) bypass Android’s sample-rate conversion for bit-perfect output. It plays PCM up to 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512, with full MQA decoding, on a 6-inch FHD+ touch screen with double-tap to wake and gestures.

Limited-edition craftsmanship

The N8iii is limited to 500 units worldwide, each with a unique serial number. The CNC-machined aluminium chassis is engraved and micro-blasted, then anodised, with a deep-engraved rear panel. The “Golden Sunburst” volume knob has a light that changes colour with the sample rate (yellow 44.1/48kHz, green 88.2/96kHz, blue 176.4/192kHz, purple 352.8/384kHz, cyan 705.6/768kHz, white DSD), and the laser-drilled side panel shields the tubes and glows soft green in tube mode. A handmade Cayin “Glacier Blue” protective case is included.

Connections

3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs work as headphone, line or pre-amp outputs with adjustable gain (the 3.5mm output is compatible with OMTP and CTIA plugs). Digital outputs are I²S, coaxial S/PDIF and USB audio. Dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 send and receive, with UAT (192kHz), LDAC (96kHz), AAC and SBC, and HibyCast mirrors the screen to iOS and Android for full touch control.

Good to know

• Charging takes about 6.5 hours normally, or about 4.5 hours with a PD2.0 charger (20–80% in about 3 hours).
• In the box: Glacier Blue protective case, USB-C cable, two tempered-glass screen protectors, two Hi-Res labels, 4.4mm to 2.5mm and 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapters, and quick user guide.