Sound Analysis.
The sound analysis of N6iii w/R202 was done using various IEMs and headphones, Jewel, VE10, MacBeth, RN6, and ATH-R70x, while playing a selection of test tracks, such as Agnes Obel’s “The Curse”, Sandro Cavazza’s “So much Better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool’s “Never go Away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Ariana Grande “Break up with your girlfriend”, Galantis “Hunter”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Dua Lipa “Love Again”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, David Elias “Vision of her”, Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”, and SaberZ “Without your love”. I had at least 100 hours of burn-in time on R202 before I began my analysis.
I prefer to describe the DAP/source sound based on the comparison to other DAPs and pair-ups with different IEMs/headphones, since the DAP by itself doesn’t have a “sound”. What we hear is how it sounds through connected IEMs/headphones or the difference in sound relative to source comparison using the same pair of IEMs/headphones. This is my subjective opinion, describing how I perceive the sound while analyzing the N6iii with the R202 card in R-2R and 1Bit DAC modes.
R-2R DAC – I hear the soundstage here to be more focused, still wide, but not spreading as wide as with the 1Bit DAC, and having more depth and height in comparison to width, while imaging has sounds placed a bit closer to the center, being less holographic in contrast to the 1Bit DAC. Furthermore, I hear a fuller body in the mids, with a more natural, textured coloring. The sub-bass sounds a little deeper, with a velvety rumble, and the sound, in general, has a more laid-back presentation. The overall tuning of the R-2R DAC of R202 is more musical, organic, textured, and natural without compromising on the resolution or the retrieval of details.
1Bit DAC – I hear a spherically shaped soundstage expansion, wider soundstage in comparison to R-2R, and more holographic imaging relative to how the sounds are placed in space. Furthermore, I hear more transparency in the mids, with a cleaner and less colored midrange and vocals, as well as more sparkle and air in the treble, along with a tighter bass and faster, punchier sound presentation. The overall tuning of the 1Bit DAC of R202 is airier, more resolving, less colored, and with improved layering and separation of sounds.
Switching to Auto mode automatically selects the DAC, where I confirmed that it switches to R-2R for PCM files and 1Bit for DSD files. However, due to the distinct and complementary tuning of these DACs, I would doubt that anyone would leave it in Auto Mode and instead manually select which DAC to use based on its tuning and the synergy with their IEMs/headphones.
Switching between 4.4mm BAL and 3.5mm SE outputs didn’t yield changes in tonality or technical performance except for the 4.4mm BAL output’s slightly wider soundstage expansion. Additionally, since the BAL output has higher power, when I switched to SE, I had to increase the volume by about 4-5 clicks to match it.
In my review of N6iii with C201 and E203 cards, I mentioned that it was not always an easy decision, as it ultimately comes down to choosing which card will deliver the best pairing synergy with my IEMs/headphones. With R202, it still comes down to pair-up synergy, where I found that more neutral or brighter-tuned IEMs paired better with the R-2R DAC, and warmer, bassier IEMs paired better with the 1Bit DAC. Still, it made my selection a bit easier because it was a matter of selecting a DAC from a notification shortcut menu instead of physically switching between the cards.
Also, regardless of the selected DAC, since amplifier design is common, I found that in either mode, I had a black background and no perceivable waterfall hiss with my sensitive IEMs, such as the VE10. And while some people go by numbers and might think that 550mW from 4.4mm BAL output is not enough, you have to keep in mind that Cayin implemented high current opamps to drive even demanding open back cans like 470ohm/98dB R70x very efficiently with plenty of volume headroom at 65/100.
Comparison.
In every comparison, I used Aroma Jewel, volume matched while listening to the same test tracks between DAPs/sources/cards. Also, here, I’m mainly focusing on the difference in sound as I hear it, using Cayin sources as well as a few other sources. These are just quick analysis notes.
N6ii with R202 vs C201 vs E203 – With C201 having a bigger soundstage expansion and more holographic imaging and having a more neutrally revealing tonality, it sounds closer to 1Bit/R202. However, R202 has more transparency, even less mid-range coloring, and some improvement in layering and sound separation. Then, with E203 having more depth than width in soundstage expansion, it was closer to R-2R/R202, though E203 imaging was slightly more holographic. E203 and R-2R/R202 also have a smoother, more natural, textured tonality, which they share in common; however, E203 is a bit warmer and more textured, especially when switching to Class A, while R-2R/R202 sounds more natural and with more laidback sound presentation.
N6iii (R-2R, R202) vs N6ii (R01) – This was a fun comparison where I had to go back and forth a dozen times to capture subtle differences. I think Cayin intentionally tried to recreate the sound tuning of the original R01 and did a great job recapturing it in R202 (R-2R mode). The soundstage expansion is nearly identical; however, the imaging is more expanded in R202. Neither of them has holographic expansion of the sound, but R01 had sounds placed even closer to the center, making it sound more intimate. In terms of the tonality, it is very similar as well, perhaps with R202 having just a bit more sparkle and airiness in the treble, which slightly improved the resolution of the sound. But overall, I think R-2R/R202 captured really well the essence of the original R01 tuning.
N6iii (1Bit, R202) vs N7 (DSD512) – Right away, I had to switch N7 from Class A to AB to match the tonality closer to 1Bit mode of R202, and still, N7 mids sounded a little warmer and denser in comparison. It’s not a night’n’day sound change, but 1Bit of R202 mids are noticeably “cleaner” and more transparent in sound, including more air and sparkle in treble. Also, while they both have similar holographic levels of imaging, the soundstage width spreads more to the left/right in 1Bit of R202.
N6iii (R-2R, R202) vs RU6 (R-2R) dongle – The soundstage expansion here is similar, at least imaging is nearly identical, while RU6 might have a touch wider left/right spread. The tonality is not precisely the same since RU6 was tuned a bit brighter, still natural, but with a more revealing tonality, while R202 has a smoother, more analog sound.
N6iii (1Bit, R202) vs RU7 (1Bit) dongle – The soundstage expansion here is also very similar, both in the width/depth/height direction and imaging with sound placements. The tonality does vary, with RU7 being closer to N7, thus a similar sound observation relative to R202. I found RU7 tonality to be a little smoother, more colored, while R202 was more transparent, less coloring in mids, and had more air and sparkle in treble, which resulted in improved layering of the sounds.
N6iii (1Bit, R202) vs iBasso DX340 (AMP15) – I figured with DX340 being a 1Bit discrete DAC design, though not the same architecture as R202, this could be an interesting comparison, and I wasn’t wrong about it. They both have a natural, transparent tonality, not as much coloring as the R-2R/R202 DAC. There is a similar level of detail retrieval, resolution, and layering of sounds, with some variations depending on the pair-up synergy with different IEMs/headphones. Still, overall, it is not too far off. Both have a similar holographic imaging; however, the DX340/amp15 soundstage has more depth, which creates the perception of you being a few rows farther away from the stage, while the R202 brings you closer to the stage. Also, if listened to more closely, the R202 mids have a bit more smoothness, while the DX340/amp15 has a touch more air and crunch. Another thing to keep in mind is that the N6iii modular design includes different DACs and amps in every module. In contrast, the DX340 modular design has only different amps in each module, with the DAC remaining the same on the main board.
N6iii (R-2R, R202) vs Hiby RS6 – This R-2R DAC comparison also made sense between these Android DAPs, where I found too many similarities as well. Their tuning is very close, with a natural, textured, and smoother resolving tonality, and a punchy bass impact. Unlike the 1Bit implementation, both have more coloring in the mids. Actually, R202 sounds a bit smoother, which is due to its treble being slightly more natural compared to the more sparkly treble in RS6. Even their soundstage expansion and imaging are very close. I still receive messages from many RS6 users who cherish their DAP due to its tuning and more compact design. I think the N6iii w/R202 would be an excellent upgrade for these users, allowing them to step up to a modular design, a faster CPU, and a later Android OS, just as it would for N6ii/R01 users.
Conclusion.
As I mentioned in my N6iii review, in today’s DAP market, modular design remains rare, and keeping it compact and relatively lightweight, like in this audio player, is a bonus. It is also great to see Cayin keeping the price at a very reasonable mid-fi level while offering many improvements (over the previous N6ii release) to stay competitive with other latest higher-end DAP releases using popular SoC, ample RAM/ROM storage, an optimized fast Android OS, and a higher capacity battery. However, this DAP stands out not just based on its modular design and compact footprint, but also on the design and performance of its modules, with each audio motherboard offering a unique DAC/amp combo. This allows Cayin to be more creative with sound tuning while implementing audio technology drawn from their other releases.
But even with the new Gen2 audio motherboard design and its quick-release latches for faster exchange, you still have to switch between the physical modules, going between C201, E203, and R202. But once you get to R202, Cayin took it to a whole new level by implementing a discrete dual DAC architecture with a fully balanced differential amplifier design and a separate R-2R PCM and 1Bit DSD DACs. With R202, you don’t even need to switch between the modules, and instead select the DAC type from the settings menu to give you two distinct sound tunings, picking the one that works better in pair-up synergy with your IEMs/headphones, a more natural, fuller body textured tonality with laidback sound presentation (R-2R), or a more transparent dynamic, punchier sound (1Bit). As the icing on the cake, you will also enjoy phenomenal battery life with the R202 card and N6iii DAP.
Overall, here, with every new module, it is like getting a new DAP with all-new sound performance based on the different DAC/amp combo, which you can switch on the go using N6iii. With R202, it felt like getting two distinct modules in one. I also noticed that you can either buy a separate module as an upgrade, for existing N6iii owners, or buy N6iii by itself with either of the modules, instead of buying a default C201 and then purchasing either an extra E203 or R202. I have no idea what new module Cayin will come up with next for the N6iii, but I remember the success of their LO-only module from the N6ii days. With today’s popularity of portable amps, like C9ii, why not complement the PO-only design of R202 and E203? Who knows, only time will tell!
