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✒️ Author: Willy | 📷 Photo: Willy

Ever since the release of Astell & Kern SP2000T, I have always been looking forward to the flagship range of Tube DAP, and finally Cayin N8II is released. It supports music streaming with an android system, definitely a good news for Tidal and Spotify’s users!

What surprised me the most is the sound signature of N8II. It is not really having a typical Cayin DAP tuning such as N8 1st gen, N6II, N3 pro, which has a narrower soundstage (but very good depth), rich imaging and lush mids.

N8II has so far the largest sound stage among the current TOTL DAPs we’ve tried. It is warm and sweet but not as thick as the previous models. The tuning is very balanced and accurate with the vacuum tube warmness.

There is a solid state & tube selection which is similar to N8 1st gen, but now the “tube mode” is able to support fully balanced output! I personally prefer tube selection which I think Cayin uses as the reference in tuning the DAP. Tube selection sounds very analogue and natural. In comparison, solid state mode sounds more transparent and cleaner but could be a bit thin and less natural. 

I love listening to vocals with N8II. It brings out the airiness and transparency of Faye Wong’s vocals—the micro-details and subtle nuance of emotion that hidden in every single note were unveiled and performed perfectly.

When listening to Orchestra music, dynamic is always an important factor. Audio equipment with good transient and dynamic response should be able to show good control of the transition, gradation and coherence when the loudness increases or decreases. The Orchestral music performed by N8ii is so dramatic and explosive—I would say it is so far my personal favourite among all TOTL DAPs. The bass goes pretty deep with a strong, powerful slam, but not overly aggressive. The spacious sound stage and accurate positioning separates every instrument clearly and neatly, from left to right, front to back. Lastly, thanks to the superb clarity and details of N8ii, I could enjoy listening to the resonance and reverberation of the instruments played and soak myself into the lively atmosphere.

In conclusion, Cayin N8ii impresses me with its superb sound quality. The user interface is smooth and I didn’t find any difficulty in using music streaming. The only thing that you might need to take note of is that it may hard lock if you’re using it while charging the battery.

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⭐ SHOPIFY | bit.ly/Cayin_N8ii-S |
 □ Retail : RM14,650
 □ Pre-order Promo : pm for best price

⭐ BUNDLE DEAL
 □ Top up RM149 for Uranus RSOCC USB or Lightning cable worth RM179 (15cm)
(4 wires Neotech spiral structure rectangular OCC copper silver alloy, gold plated connectors, WBT soldering)
** Change your player into a USB DAC!

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■ Physical shop / audio specialist⁣ since 2013
■ Authorised dealer of Cayin in Malaysia⁣
■ 100% genuine / warranty covered⁣
■ Malaysia first audio theme cafe / library