Cayin i5 Android Digital Audio Player Discussions | Drop

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Cayin i5 Android Digital Audio Player

Mar 8, 2018

If this DAP is in your budget and you cannot go higher than the price, I'd say get it even with Android 4.4. I've got one myself and it just sounds fantastic (musical, warm), has BT and wifi. Although development has kind of halted it does work well as is. My only qualm is the UI for an Android DAP is a little funky but overall it's very enjoyable and can hold a ton of music files. And there's also Neutron support as well.
I'm more interested to hear the N5ii or the recently released Hiby R6 which is most likely why development for the i5 has stopped since Hiby built their own DAP.. I'm still wishing I'd backed it on IGG.

Mar 8, 2018

shorkorde

127

Keyboard Club Member

Mar 8, 2018

mayorblurpsI'm curious what your experience is with the i5 and streaming services - specifically downloading for offline listening. I have an X5iii which I do like a great deal, but it has an aggravating flaw in that you can't seem to point services like Tidal or Google Play to the SD card - so you're trapped on the internal OS storage only (note: not the 32GB flash, but the actual ~2GB OS storage).
The versatility of jumping between personal library and streaming apps was half the reason I sought out an Android DAP, so I'd like to know how the Cayin fares if you've given it a try. Thanks.

Mar 8, 2018

mayorblurps

499

Mar 8, 2018

shorkordeGood question- that's one thing I really dislike about the DAP. Play Music tries to download my playlists for offline and it sends the files to the OS storage instead of internal. So if you depend on offline playback from Tidal/Spotify/Play this one isn't the best choice. I brought the issue up on head Fi with AndyKong of Cayin but there is yet to be a fix. So I just deal with it and use as a DAP w personal files or stream on WiFi. I got mine used, so I didn't pay full price. $349 I think is still a good deal for the whole package (streaming, BT, 3rd party app ability + 200gigs of storage for lossless or lossy). I'd hoped it would be more well rounded (think LG V20 or V30 without the phone aspect) but it's not quite there. I think/hope the N5ii addresses those issues?
And I probably missed out on the best bang for the buck DAP released in recent months w the Hiby R6 - check the reviews as well as the specs. Sadly for i5 owners, Hiby likely won't develop anymore updates with Cayin for it due to their own R6. It was $579 I believe, which in DAP land is definitely reasonable considering what all they stuffed into the R6, IMO. the $5-600 mark is apparently the popular price-point for a current Android-based DAP that streams, stores offline tracks, plenty of storage, current audio tech, great amp and DAC section, good touchscreen and resolution, and allows 3rd party apps from G Play. I still want to hear the LG phones though, which I'd use as a DAP if I could find a used one cheap enough. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hiby-r6-worlds-most-advanced-android-hi-fi-player-music

Mar 8, 2018

shorkorde

127

Keyboard Club Member

Mar 8, 2018

mayorblurpsAh, shame that the i5 doesn't handle this very well either, but thanks a lot for the info. I'll take a look at the R6 - might just be that I need to save and look a little higher up than I have been.

Mar 8, 2018

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Steb0ne

Mar 8, 2018

mayorblurpsI have that same issue with Play Music as well on my Fiio X5 3rd Gen... Spotify and Apple Music allows you to download to external storage strangely enough so not really sure if it's an app issue or what but wish someone fixes it, lol!

Mar 8, 2018

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mayorblurps

499

Mar 9, 2018

Steb0neI've actually messed around with the settings on the i5 and Play Music to see if could force the download to external but, no luck so far. If it was a vanilla Android version, I could probably root and figure a workaround but the Hiby custom Android won't allow it. I think it's the way the hardware is setup, and their android build. On my other devices Play music files have no problem finding internal storage vs the OS section

Mar 9, 2018

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Steb0ne

Mar 9, 2018

mayorblurpsYea it's crazy that Apple Music and Spotify will let you but not Play Music. Luckily I have an Apple Music subscription too but it's so slow on a device like this that's under powered that I don't like using it often, lol! I'll download different playlist offline with it that I can just start and let play but albums I've just been downloading and putting on the SD card to use the default music player

Mar 9, 2018

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Evshrug

3772

Community

Mar 9, 2018

mayorblurpsMy FiiO X7 (first gen) also has offline problems. Spotify and Tidal let me select my SD card or internal storage instead of the OS partition, but I get “low storage” error messages and can’t download music anyway.
If I had known offline doesn’t work, I would’ve just used my old deactivated iPhone 6S. If anyone finds a fix for any of these Hiby-based players (Cayin, FiiO, HiBy, maybe Shanling if they ever release an android player), please reply in this comments thread. As it stands... maybe I should just sell everything and buy a used Android smartphone with a MicroSD slot?

Mar 9, 2018

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