Hidizs AP80 Pro Max DAP Review

[Michal]

@amirm What does crosstalk look like? I saw somewhere on another forum that HibyOS had a problem with this.

 

[Herbert Shooler]

Gives the Chord Dave a run for its money,lol,lol,cant wait for the Updated chord Dave 2,crushed again by DACS 1/20th of the price!

 

[JeremyFife]

Thanks for yet another review Amirm, they are flooding out - it's great.

I don't need a DAP and I don't want a DAP: I see them as largely redundant these days (phones etc).
If I did want a DAP I'd want it to be small (like this), have good storage (like this) and to measure well (like this) .. it's really very good, with a slight power issue. Good value too, nice.

 

[AudioSceptic]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Hidizs AP80 Pro Max stereo Digital Audio Player & DAC. It was sent to me by the company and is on sale for US $189.
View attachment 504046
The pictures from company and elsewhere makes you think this is the size of a mobile phone but it is much smaller and lighter. It literally fits in the palm of your hand with its 2.9 inch display. It has extensive functionality including wifi, parametric EQ and such. User interface is a bit sluggish compared to modern mobile phone but not enough to be annoying or anything. One thing I did not like much was the slow rotary control to adjust volume. You have to turn it dozens of times to go from max to zero. You can use the touchscreen level indicator but it is small and hard to grab vs menu items below it.

There are both 3.5mm and 4.4mm analog headphone outputs. I focused my testing on the latter.

Back to PEQ, seems like it supports a number of applications programming it. I did not try it.

Finally, do note that this has a battery in it and can play local content with up to 2 TByte SD card, compared to using a dongle which draws power from your phone.

Hidizs AP80 Pro Max Measurements
I connected the device using 4.4 mm and got this into 300 ohm load:
View attachment 504048

Distortion is below -120 dB which is below threshold of hearing and in the same league as some of the best desktop DACs. Noise then limits SINAD to a very respectable 111 dB:
View attachment 504049

I was however dismayed to see just 2 volt output rather 4. This will limit power when driving high impedance headphones. The 3.5mm is lower still and hence the reason I did not measure it.

Back to noise, it is quite respectable for a DAP:
View attachment 504050

Residual noise is higher than average though when driving ultra-sensitive IEMs:
View attachment 504055
This may be better with 3.5mm.

Multitone test shows the incredibly low distortion levels regardless of device category:
View attachment 504051

Jitter is almost non-existent:
View attachment 504052

Choice of filter and frequency response is what we typically see:
View attachment 504053
View attachment 504054

The good filter implementation results in very nice wideband noise and distortion vs frequency graph:
View attachment 504056

As predicted, there is not a lot of power for high impedance headphones so best to stay with efficient ones:
View attachment 504057

Better stay with a lower impedance one:
View attachment 504058

Conclusions
It is so impressive to see so much functionality in such a tiny player yet with performance that is clearly optimized. Across almost all tests, you are getting desktop class performance and a good one at that! The only miss is 2 volt output vs 4 volt. And perhaps a gain setting to reduce residual noise. If you use an IEM that is not too sensitive, neither is an issue.

I am going to recommend the Hidizs AP80 Pro Max. It is the first DAP that I have really liked due to its small size, weight and low cost.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

An iPod for the 2020s?

 

[HalSF]

Useful review! But it made me glad I just spent a little more and bought the FiiO M21.

FiiO M21 Review: Flagship DAP at a Mid-Range Price - HiFi Oasis

The FiiO M21 sets a new standard for what a mid-range DAP can be, with excellent sound quality, numerous features, at an affordable price of $329 USD.

www.hifioasis.com

 

[jcarys]

You're right thanks for the info, just read this :

The major update of the MAX edition over the previous models is the support for 2.4GHz WiFi streaming for Tidal and Qobuz, as well as DLNA & AirPlay, but it is not the only one.
The AP80 PRO MAX maxes out over its predecessors by using a new Ingenic X1600E SoC for smoother performance. Additionally it now has a bigger 2.95’ touch screen, a 4.4mm balanced headphone output and a larger capacity battery (1300mAh vs 800mAh).
The DAC architecture is the same (dual ES9219C chips) but the AP80 PRO MAX has higher Dynamic Range and lower S/N ratio ratings. All the other features remain pretty much the same with some incremental improvements.
The AP80 PRO MAX supports bi-directional Bluetooth 5.1, micro SD card expansion up to 1TB, two way USB DAC function and HiBy link among other functions.

Help me understand this, it doesn't have the Tidal app on it, so this means I use Tidal on another device and wifi stream the signal to the DAP?

 

[AudioSceptic]

Useful review! But it made me glad I just spent a little more and bought the FiiO M21.

FiiO M21 Review: Flagship DAP at a Mid-Range Price - HiFi Oasis

The FiiO M21 sets a new standard for what a mid-range DAP can be, with excellent sound quality, numerous features, at an affordable price of $329 USD.

www.hifioasis.com

Yes, but it's smart phone size...

 

[daniboun]

Help me understand this, it doesn't have the Tidal app on it, so this means I use Tidal on another device and wifi stream the signal to the DAP?

I dont know... But read this :
The AP80 PRO MAX supports 2.4GHz WiFi connectivity, giving you seamless access to high-resolution streaming platforms like Tidal and Qobuz, as well as global internet radio. No downloads needed—just connect and enjoy an endless world of music wherever you are

 

[HalSF]

Yes, but it's smart phone size...

4.7 inch display (M21) vs. 2.9 inch display (AP80). I’m sure there are users for whom this size difference is crucial but both are modern DAPs, not wildly divergent apples and oranges?

 

[Roland301]

What does the PEQ interface look like? It's hard to find good screenshots of the operating system.
Interested in number of filters available, how many presets can be stored, how easy is it to change on the fly...

Does Bluetooth streaming with AAC codec work well? I've encountered some devices in the past where AAC encoder was unusably bad.

Looking at a DAP to replace my phone+Qudelix5k combo when I inevitably have to get a new phone without SD card slot, but the Qudelix app has spoiled me

 

[monkeyboy]

had one, button broke within 3 months, they told me to either ship it to china or pop it open and try and move the main circuit board back into place (I guess this is the typical issue)...but the issue was the button mount had broken free...in tying to remedy that I broke the ribbon cable connecting the board too the button...so I just junked it...good customer service would have been to provide a replacement and take the broken one back for diagnostics....

 

[AudioSceptic]

4.7 inch display (M21) vs. 2.9 inch display (AP80). I’m sure there are users for whom this size difference is crucial but both are modern DAPs, not wildly divergent apples and oranges?

I just think that a portable DAP should be more iPod-size. ;-)

 

[Robbo99999]

Quite a nice little niche product that's been well engineered, and the fact that it's so small makes it more attractive than carrying a phone for people who don't want to carry a phone all the time, but it's still hard to get around the common combination of a mobile phone and a good dongle, so it's for sure a niche product in my mind so the market may be small. It does it well though!

 

[daniboun]

What does the PEQ interface look like? It's hard to find good screenshots of the operating system.
Interested in number of filters available, how many presets can be stored, how easy is it to change on the fly...

Does Bluetooth streaming with AAC codec work well? I've encountered some devices in the past where AAC encoder was unusably bad.

Looking at a DAP to replace my phone+Qudelix5k combo when I inevitably have to get a new phone without SD card slot, but the Qudelix app has spoiled me

Seems that PEQ management is the same one from Hiby Music App. Checkout here :

Hiby Music App PEQ support

Hi, last update of Hiby Music app for Android just added PEQ functionality. Just seen that it doesn't support standard .txt files for eq apo but want .PEQ files that i don't know if it's some other standard (it exports too in this format). Not going to use it since I'm good with Wavelet...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Why do you want to use AAC over LDAC ?
LDAC is by far the best codec.(Amir and other already demonstrated it)

Bluetooth codec comparison

I can't believe there is only ONE article on the internet (https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/blogs/how-things-work/let-s-measure-the-bluetooth-codecs-which-performs-the-best) comparing all the widely available Bluetooth codec options to see which one performs the best. So, I decided to do my own...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[PristineSound]

This brand is known to make top performing products.

Given smartphones, is a product like this still appealing to the masses?

 

[Somafunk]

Help me understand this, it doesn't have the Tidal app on it, so this means I use Tidal on another device and wifi stream the signal to the DAP?

It runs the Hiby software/gui so you enter your Tidal login details and you can browse/access playlists and do pretty much anything except for downloading.

I had one backed on kickstarter but cancelled it end of November, i already have a Hiby R6 Gen iii and a Tempotec V1 which has the exact same functionality and Hiby software/gui but is half the size of the Hidiz AP80pro max, the V1 is a similar size to a 2finger kitkat and comes with a clip/plastic case - no issues whatsoever powering my HD490 using the 3.5mm, using the 4.4mm it can easily drive HD600 to ear damage levels

V1-Details

TempoTec Corp. is established by a group of audiophiles. The final format of music is always analog. So besides of the advanced digital audio processing technology, we also listen to the feedback of users, create new product with user-oriented, and share fine listening experience with music lovers.

www.tempotec.net

 

[Fahzz]

Nice Review Amir.
I look at this as a nice alternative to using a phone for music/podcasts etc. at the gym or elsewhere. Smaller and much lighter than a phone. Probably will be an edit to my response to my "What did you buy because of A$R" response. There's a couple of other items to add too.

 

[EJ3]

Quite a nice little niche product that's been well engineered, and the fact that it's so small makes it more attractive than carrying a phone for people who don't want to carry a phone all the time, but it's still hard to get around the common combination of a mobile phone and a good dongle, so it's for sure a niche product in my mind so the market may be small. It does it well though!

Don't carry a phone around all the time (in fact, don't carry a phone around most of the time [although it's usually within {a long} spitting distance])
So, the application is right up my alley.

 

[Rosenbloom]

Thanks for the review.

What does the PEQ interface look like? It's hard to find good screenshots of the operating system.
Interested in number of filters available, how many presets can be stored, how easy is it to change on the fly...

Does Bluetooth streaming with AAC codec work well? I've encountered some devices in the past where AAC encoder was unusably bad.

Looking at a DAP to replace my phone+Qudelix5k combo when I inevitably have to get a new phone without SD card slot, but the Qudelix app has spoiled me

I am interested in knowing how PEQ works on it too. Hopefully someone who owns it will show us screenshots and share the user-experiences.
I am using Hiby R4. No complaints except its bulkiness. This Hidizs is very tempting.
Many years ago I owned a Hidizs player (forget the model number, probably their first DAP). I have confidence in this brand.

 

[amirm]

Given smartphones, is a product like this still appealing to the masses?

The top reason is that this thing has its own battery so you are not draining your mobile phone. You also don't have to multitask to get to your music. With a phone, you need a dongle which this replaces.