Cayin N6iii Digital Audio Player with Next Gen Exchangeable Motherboard

The Cayin N6iii is an Android music player with an exchangeable audio motherboard. It comes with the C201 board, eight Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs giving up to 700mW into 32Ω balanced, and a new tool-free latch lets you swap in a different board, such as the R2R-based R202, to change the sound without buying a new player. A 5-inch Full HD screen, Android 12 with Google Play, a 9,000mAh battery and a leather case complete it.

Exchangeable motherboards, no tools needed

One of the N6iii’s biggest design breakthroughs is a new quick-release mechanism for the audio motherboard. Like the C9ii, it uses a three-point locking latch with a self-locking push button, doing away with screws altogether, so changing boards takes moments. The second-generation boards are about 30.9% larger than the N6ii’s (based on the C201) and are not compatible with the first-generation N6ii boards.

The C201 motherboard

The supplied C201 board has a parallel, fully differential matrix DAC of eight CS43198 chips, with four chips working synchronously in parallel for better performance. Four NJU72315 chips form a high-precision cascade volume control, and four OPA1622 amplifiers work in parallel for the two channels. It has 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs, a dedicated 3.5mm line out, and a 4.4mm output that can also be used as a line out.

Android 12 with lossless output

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 octa-core 64-bit processor runs customised Android 12 with Google Play, for broad compatibility with popular streaming apps and no compatibility worries from software updates, and Cayin’s DTA bypasses Android’s sample-rate conversion for lossless output. Six gigabytes of RAM keep multitasking smooth, and 128GB of storage plus a microSD card up to 2TB hold a huge library. Cayin Music and HiBy Music (with HiByLink) are included.

A bigger screen without a bigger player

The 5-inch Sharp TFT screen, up from 4.2 inches on the N6ii, is 1080 × 1920 (Full HD+) with multi-touch, double-tap to wake and gesture controls, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for up to four times the scratch resistance. To keep the N6iii slim, Cayin removed any structural extension around the chassis for an all-screen front and tucked the playback buttons and volume knob beneath the screen, while curved sides improve the grip. At 126 × 77.8 × 23mm and about 350g with the C201, it stays comfortable in one hand.

Better wireless

A custom looped antenna in a semi-exposed area beneath the top panel gives a notable improvement in wireless performance over the N6ii without making the player longer, for excellent streaming with minimal interference to the analogue audio circuits. Dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 send and receive with LDAC, UAT, AAC and SBC.

Digital connections and battery

USB-C handles charging, OTG storage and USB audio in and out, so the N6iii can be a USB DAC or feed an external DAC, and a coaxial S/PDIF output is embedded in the same socket. The 9,000mAh battery, 52.5% larger than the N6ii’s, has low-loss protection circuitry and PD2.0 fast charging, and gives up to 14.2 hours with the C201.

Attention to detail

The body is made of 6063 aluminium alloy for excellent corrosion resistance and temperature stability, with precise geometric lines and graceful curves. The volume knob and buttons are brass with a genuine gold PVD finish, a striking contrast against the deep black chassis, and the knob’s light guide glows in a colour that shows the format playing: yellow for 44.1/48kHz, green for 88.2/96kHz, dark blue for 176.4/192kHz, purple for 352.8/384kHz, light blue for 705.6/768kHz and white for DSD.

A leather case included

Cayin’s custom case is made of premium textured PU leather, handcrafted with meticulous stitching for a perfect fit, with a metal heat-dissipation design on the back.

Good to know

• Measurements are with the C201 board; other boards change the sound, outputs and battery life.
• Second-generation boards do not fit the older N6ii.
• The Cayin R202 motherboard is available separately.
• In the box: N6iii with C201 motherboard, Cayin leather case, USB-C cable and user manual.