HiBy R6 Pro Portable Music Player Review

[amirm]

@amirm, I really admire your willingness to test high quality analog and digital devices (and that's why I love your website) but I wonder .... why bother test Low-Fi devices such as cellphones and other low fidelity devices? It seems a waste of time and money, imho. What do we hope to learn from these mass market devices, shipped in the tens if million per year?

We use multiple devices depending on the situation. When commuting and on the road, you can't take your home system. So it is good to know what is optimal in every situation. There has been fair amount of requests to test more DAPs and hence reviews like this.

That said, yes, I am spread very thin across so many classes of devices and brands/models of audio products. The sooner you make me super rich with your donations, the sooner I can hire more people to help with testing.

 

[headwhacker]

The hiby r6 and hiby r6 pro are 2 different devices. Since you tested the pro, best to reference it in the review so people don't get confused. Especially since you quoted the price of the unit you didn't test.
The r6 pro is $550 in aluminum, $700(launched at $800) in stainless steel on Amazon, and is $800"in lilac purple, from the last time I looked.

Just a heads up so there is less confusion.

Wish we had seen the tests for the balanced output more although this still is bad testing....

As that other user said... They were literally designed for this... What the hell.... You're better off just attaching the E1DA (because your phone won't output bit perfect to all applications like this device will) so you actually get good performance...
Edit: @amirm how does the E1DA do when you test it connected to a phone or this device? Since really it seems the E1DA as dac/amp and another device as transport seems to be our best bet.

I have tried many boutique DAPs. They all have UI issues which just makes me pull my hair one way or another. Pairing e1da dac/amp to a compatible phone imo is the better alternative for mobility.

 

[Cahudson42]

@amirm, I really admire your willingness to test high quality analog and digital devices (and that's why I love your website) but I wonder .... why bother test Low-Fi devices such as cellphones and other low fidelity devices? It seems a waste of time and money, imho. What do we hope to learn from these mass market devices, shipped in the tens if million per year?

IMO it is well worth it to test cell phones/tablets. Some, like the LG G7 and older V20/30 (used about $100) have excellent DACs. https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...o-measurement-of-lg-g7-thinq-smartphone.4468/
Others that support OTG - like the Fire 7 (reported to being on-sale again at $30 around 11/22) can make excellent 'DAPs' with external DACs, from the D10 to certain dongles/thumbdrives/dac-amps.

I use the Fire 7 with a D10, Liquid Spark, and HE400i, and think that combo works very well on the high dynamic range Classical I usually listen to.

But it would be nice to have Amirm test the Fire 7 DAC to see how it compares with the D10.. For example, when used via it's 3.5mm with an NX3s. How much worse is this portable arrangement vs. D10/LS desktop?

Maybe Amirm can get one when they are back at $30...

 

[BillG]

why bother test Low-Fi devices such as cellphones and other low fidelity devices? It seems a waste of time and money, imho. What do we hope to learn from these mass market devices, shipped in the tens if million per year?

A lot these devices aren't as low fidelity as one might think; the majority of cell phones today are near/at what would be considered audible transparency, and one can find this even with devices as inexpensive as $150 USD. It just goes to show that cost is not, and will never be, a reliable indicator of quality and fidelity, despite what the boutique brands and audiophile press would have us to believe.

What we're learning here is that it's a waste of time and money giving someone like PS Audio and TotalDAC $6,000 - $13,000 USD of your money for sub-par performance. And, this is just DACs I'm referring to! When we get into amplifiers costing $50,000+ USD I'd imagine the situation is even worse...

 

[Thomas savage]

This is rubbish , the performance of this device make the concept obsolete.

I'm not surprised but am disappointed .

 

[Wombat]

@amirm, I really admire your willingness to test high quality analog and digital devices (and that's why I love your website) but I wonder .... why bother test Low-Fi devices such as cellphones and other low fidelity devices? It seems a waste of time and money, imho. What do we hope to learn from these mass market devices, shipped in the tens if million per year?

How is audio 'quality' determined if not by measuring important specs.?

 

[raif71]

Wow...almost all (if not all) of "subjective" reviews of this unit was stellar. Every reviewer was raving on its sound quality, power etc. If not for the price, I might have gotten one myself. Was expecting a happier pink panther posture but the measurements says it all. I wonder how its nearest competitor Fiio M11 will fare if reviewed and measured here.

 

[JJB70]

I still think that there is a place for a dedicated audio device free of other distractions and which can be used purely to enjoy music. That could be a smartphone with no SIM card but a cheap-ish DAP can still make a lot of sense. I paid £170 for a Shanling DAP and am very happy with it, battery life isn't great but it is nice to not have my laptop or company smartphone spitting e-mails etc at me when listening to music.

 

[headwhacker]

I still think that there is a place for a dedicated audio device free of other distractions and which can be used purely to enjoy music. That could be a smartphone with no SIM card but a cheap-ish DAP can still make a lot of sense. I paid £170 for a Shanling DAP and am very happy with it, battery life isn't great but it is nice to not have my laptop or company smartphone spitting e-mails etc at me when listening to music.

playback app like Neutron/UAPP just like that. At least for me, I can still receive messages but does not interrupt from listening to music.

 

[Jean-Francois]

I own a LG V30 and it sounds better that Cowon Plenu D, AK70, I previously own, and many more portable devices I tested. But 3 month ago I bought the Hiby R6 Pro (a second-hand one). And it sound better than the LG V30. Much more soundstage, more details and far more power.

I own a Topping DX3 Pro too, and find it to be somewhere between V30 and R6 Pro, but closer from the V30 than from the R6 Pro.

 

[raif71]

I own a LG V30 and it sounds better that Cowon Plenu D, AK70, I previously own, and many more portable devices I tested. But 3 month ago I bought the Hiby R6 Pro 3 (a second-hand one). And it sound better than the LG V30. Much more soundstage, more details and far more power.

I own a Topping DX3 Pro too, and find it to be somewhere between V30 and R6 Pro, but closer from the V30 than from the R6 Pro.

Did you just say Hiby Pro 3? There is a "3" ?

 

[bobbooo]

@amirm.... why bother test Low-Fi devices such as cellphones and other low fidelity devices? It seems a waste of time and money, imho. What do we hope to learn from these mass market devices, shipped in the tens if million per year?

What we hope to learn, and what we have already learnt with the likes of the LG G7 measurements, is that mass market devices like smartphones are not necessarily "low fidelity devices" at all, but can in fact be likely transparent within the limits of audibility.

This site is about exposing truth through measurements, regardless of the prevailing intuitions or 'wisdom' of the audiophile community. If it can be shown that most modern smartphones (or at least flagship devices) are audibly transparent, this will be of huge benefit to us, the consumers, as we would no longer need to bother wasting our time and money on dedicated DAPs/DACs that provide no audible improvement over the devices most of us already have sitting in our pockets. For this reason, this hypothesis should really be the first thing that is either confirmed or denied, before moving onto more niche devices, by this site gathering proper measurements of more (flagship) smartphones' audio output.

The only additional audio equipment we might then need may be an amp for hard to drive headphones, which with the likes of the JDS Labs Atom, Amir has already shown are transparent and can be had relatively inexpensively.

 

[JJB70]

The only complaint I have with either my old Xperia XZ or work issue Galaxy S10 is the headphone output is a bit weak, largely because of hearing protection concerns. If feeding my JDS Atom I have no concerns at all. I have a DAP and do like decoupling music from everything else but I also think that the on-board DACs of smartphones tend to be fine (at least in audible terms). I think a lot of the material out there seeking to convince people that they need a separate DAC is pretty much the same as snake oil cable sellers.

 

[Hemi-Demon]

Given the oddball 4.4mm output, I have to make yet another cable to measure that. The only setup I have right now is with the 50 ohm load.

Did you install the drivers prior to enabling DAC mode? Also did you connect to WiFi to update to the latest firmware?

I do wish you would perform the testing on the 4.4 jack for the majority of the test, as that is becoming the standard balanced jack.

The way this measures, it would appear that this device performs worse than your average Samsung or Apple smartphone. Not sure I agree subjectively, as I have owned one of these and it definitely "sounded" better than my multiple smartphones, including the LG G7 and V series phones I have also owned. One of these days there will be a test to objectively mate these measurements to real world use.

 

[amirm]

Did you install the drivers prior to enabling DAC mode?

If you mean Windows, no. It worked as a class driver. Why do you think a driver would change these results?

Also did you connect to WiFi to update to the latest firmware?

No. Same question as above.

 

[Jean-Francois]

Did you just say Hiby Pro 3? There is a "3" ?

Sorry, the "3" shouldn't be there (corrected).

 

[Berwhale]

I still think that there is a place for a dedicated audio device free of other distractions and which can be used purely to enjoy music. That could be a smartphone with no SIM card but a cheap-ish DAP can still make a lot of sense. I paid £170 for a Shanling DAP and am very happy with it, battery life isn't great but it is nice to not have my laptop or company smartphone spitting e-mails etc at me when listening to music.

That's the nice thing about 'Work Mode' on Android. All of my company apps exist within Work Mode and if I turn it off, all the apps are turned off, so no distractions.

The Hibby R6 Pro (with no storage) is £699 on Amazon UK. I bought a Galaxy Note 9 (including 512GB storage) for £599 and a Radsone ES100 for £89. You'd have to be bonkers to buy the Hibby.

 

[raif71]

That's the nice thing about 'Work Mode' on Android. All of my company apps exist within Work Mode and if I turn it off, all the apps are turned off, so no distractions.

The Hibby R6 Pro (with no storage) is £699 on Amazon UK. I bought a Galaxy Note 9 (including 512GB storage) for £599 and a Radsone ES100 for £89. You'd have to be bonkers to buy the Hibby.

So, there are people that think that dedicated DAPs are needed and those that don't. I'm sure both are right as those are personal preferences and money to burn. I prefer dedicated players myself. Of course, my outlook may change in the future.

 

[Jean-Francois]

That's the nice thing about 'Work Mode' on Android. All of my company apps exist within Work Mode and if I turn it off, all the apps are turned off, so no distractions.

The Hibby R6 Pro (with no storage) is £699 on Amazon UK. I bought a Galaxy Note 9 (including 512GB storage) for £599 and a Radsone ES100 for £89. You'd have to be bonkers to buy the Hibby.

Hiby R6 Pro is at $549 from Hiby website, for the aluminium version.

 

[tential]

I have tried many boutique DAPs. They all have UI issues which just makes me pull my hair one way or another. Pairing e1da dac/amp to a compatible phone imo is the better alternative for mobility.

There is nothing wrong with the hiby. It's stock android. If you dont like hiby app that's one thing, but this is stock android so let's not misinform people.

As for this vs your phone, we are specifically looking at the dta advantage here. You will NOT get the tested E1DA SINAD if you use an app that isn't bit perfect on your phone (Spotify, tidal etc.) you need to use apps like uapp. I can't use uapp.
If you can use uapp it's better to use your phone.

Otherwise, you need a dap to bypass android resampling. It's all about getting around android os so you can actually use the dongle.

This is why I said I want to see the e1da tested in portable mode ie connected to a smartphone. Of course amir uses uapp or another bit perfect app (which doesn't help me personally but I understand. Wish we could see comparison to other apps though).

But otherwise, my whole point is that using your phone may not give you the actual expected performance if you aren't using the right app, and well this is stock android with Google play so ui really isn't a problem..... With old daps yes... With new ones.... It's just people parroting old mantra when you need to evaluate everything as something new instead of using a mental shortcut of old experiences.