Cayin N7 vs iBasso DX340

Short answer

  • More power: the iBasso DX340, with 550 mW into 32 Ω; the Cayin N7 has 250 mW (balanced: 2.15 W against 500 mW). The iBasso DX340 drives 1 headphone to 100 dB that the Cayin N7 cannot (Moondrop PARA).
  • Hiss with sensitive IEMs: cannot be compared — neither maker publishes a noise figure.
  • Price: the iBasso DX340 costs $300 less, and wherever both makers publish a figure the Cayin N7 shows no advantage for the extra money.

Both are portable players, $1999 against $1699.

The iBasso DX340 reaches 100 dB on 566 of the 567 models here, the Cayin N7 on 565.

Side by side

Every published figure, next to each other

SpecificationCayin N7iBasso DX340
Power into 32Ω250 mW550 mW
Power into 150Ω53 mW117 mW
Power into 300Ω27 mW59 mW
Power into 600Ω13 mW29 mW
Output impedance0.6 Ωnot published
Output noisenot publishednot published
Price$1999$1699
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567		565566

Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.

Balanced output

The 4.4 mm or XLR socket, rated on its own

BalancedCayin N7iBasso DX340
Socket4.4mm4.4mm
Power into 32Ω500 mW2.1 W
Power into 300Ω53 mW derived229 mW derived
Output impedance1.2 Ωnot published
Output noisenot publishednot published
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567		566567

Through the balanced sockets the iBasso DX340 reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here and the Cayin N7 on 566. Derived figures are worked out from the loads the maker did publish.

How solid these numbers are

Where each power figure comes from

LoadCayin N7iBasso DX340
32 ΩPublishedPublished
150 ΩDerivedDerived
300 ΩDerivedDerived
600 ΩDerivedDerived

Both makers publish a power rating. Cayin N7 publishes at 32 Ω; iBasso DX340 at 32 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.

The two publish at the same loads, which is the one case where the rows of this table can be read straight across.

What the labels mean.

What separates them

The headphones that tell them apart

1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the iBasso DX340 but not on the Cayin N7 — Moondrop PARA.

565 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.

On real headphones

Headroom and hiss on 8 models, both sources

Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.

The widest gap on the list is the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X: iBasso DX340 has +14 dB of headroom there against +10 dB. 3 dB is about 2.2 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.

The hiss columns are empty for Cayin N7 and iBasso DX340 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.

HeadphoneImpedanceNeedsCayin N7 headroomiBasso DX340 headroomCayin N7 hissiBasso DX340 hiss
Shure SE8469 Ω0.04 mW+32 dB+36 dBnot publishednot published
Campfire Audio Andromeda 20209 Ω4.0 mW+12 dB+16 dBnot publishednot published
Audeze LCD-2 Classic70 Ω0.79 mW+22 dB+25 dBnot publishednot published
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)250 Ω0.63 mW+17 dB+20 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN HE400se25 Ω7.9 mW+14 dB+17 dBnot publishednot published
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X470 Ω1.6 mW+10 dB+14 dBnot publishednot published
Sennheiser HD 600300 Ω6.6 mW+6 dB+9 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN Susvara60 Ω50 mW+4 dB+8 dBnot publishednot published
What the price difference buys

The gap in dollars, against the gap in numbers

The Cayin N7 costs $300 more than the iBasso DX340, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the Cayin N7 handles and the iBasso DX340 does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper iBasso DX340 drives one model to 100 dB that the Cayin N7 does not.

Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.

Next

Both pages in full

Each in full: Cayin N7 and iBasso DX340.

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