The boring stuff:
Price: $249 (Based off HiBy website)
SOC: Snapdragon 665
DAC: ES9018C2M *4
Dimensions: 129.6*68.3*18.5 mm
Weight: 231g
Operating System: Android 12
Connectivity: Wifi 2.4/5ghz, BT 5.0
Display: 4.7in IPS Display 720x1280
RAM: 3gb I
nternal Storage: 32gb, Supports SD Card up to 2tb
Battery: 4,500mAh
Disclaimer:
I’m more of a Tech head than audiophile and I use Youtube Music for 99% of my listening. Take everything I say with this in mind and please don’t come after me for not having refined taste. This is purely from my silly little point of view, of which you might be interested in. This unit was also lent to me to test and check and I did not purchase this device with my own money.
Gear Used:
Streaming Platform: Youtube Music Premium (Bitrate: 256kbps AAC & OPUS)
SD Card: 128gb Sandisk with FLAC files
IEM: Moondrop Starfield II, Celest Wyvern Abyss, Dita Audio Project M, and Binary Audio Dynaquattro
Box:
Packaging wise, the HiBy R4 is actually pretty reasonable. A box with a nice looking sleeve that opens up to the device itself then underneath that is the included TPU case and screen protector. Inside a little box is the included C to C charging cable which is about a foot long which is probably fine for most use cases but realistically you most likely won’t use it Aside from that there’s also a little bit of documentation and a warranty card which you probably want to keep as with everything device.
Build:
The majority of the body seems to be made of Aluminum and bits of plastic which gives it a nice industrial look. From an aesthetics standpoint it may be a little divisive especially if you’re more on the minimalist side but for me personally I actually like the way it looks. Unfortunately however, how it looks seems to undermine its practicality in my day to day usage.
The device’s Hard edges and thick chassis make it cumbersome to use on a day to day basis. When holding the device in most ways the corners tend to dig into your hand and make it uncomfortable even in just the short instances wherein you're scrolling through your music library and deciding what you want to listen to. This is somewhat remedied with the included TPU case but not really by much. Shoving it in your pocket is also inconvenient because those sharp corners and window bump(?) will just catch on everything on the way down or up making it just a chore if you have to do anything with the screen..
It also has this translucent window at the back with a little plastic bump that spans across the back of the device which honestly confuses me. Best guess would be for Antenna placements for WiFi and Bluetooth but did it honestly need to have a bump? There also seems to be an LED inside which might indicate something but definitely not something obvious from what I can tell.
Thankfully in the endurance department it definitely did not disappoint. I took the HiBy R4 with me for a trip over the weekend listening to it while waiting for and during my flight and a little bit on and off throughout the weekend and I didn’t have to charge it once at all. By the time I got home it was at sub 10% but that’s definitely more than impressive. If you took the time to drain it with non stop music playing I’d wager probably a full day’s worth of playback time based on what I experienced. Your mileage may vary of course if you have things like WiFi or Bluetooth on but generally I’d say you’ll have no complaints over battery life. The unit itself does tend to get a touch warm after an hour-ish but nothing you should pull the fire alarm over.
Software:
The HiBy R4 comes with their own skin of android 12 which seems to be mostly barebones aside from the HiBy music player and other related apps which is fine because those are probably the music centric apps you're going to be downloading and using anyways. You can switch between the different modes such as Music only, Android, and DAC mode right in the notification shade which is convenient and I generally left it on Music only mode since most of my music was on the SD card but from time to time would fire up YT music when i was within wifi range.
While the device only has 3gb of RAM it wasn’t sluggish in any meaningful way and is definitely responsive enough to use without much frustration. You’re also most likely going to need a SD card on this because the device only comes with an anemic 32gb of internal storage and you have to remember a portion of that is already taken up by the operating system.
That being said, once you do have all your files on an SD card it’s pretty simple to just plug in and the HiBy music player app will easily recognize most of your files and show up instantly and organize them for you to an extent. This made it so that I almost didn’t have to do anything once I put in my files and made me instantly switch the device to music only mode and just enjoy the music experience from there.
Having the ability to listen to my personal music library then switching to my preferred streaming service and knowing that practically whatever I plug in from my arsenal I won’t have to worry about anything is such a nice feeling. Also, having a 3.5 and a 4.4 ready to go means that I can just grab whichever pair tickles my fancy that day which is admittedly a first world problem but this is to an extent a tertiary device so of course it would be nice to have creature comforts like those.
Sound:
And enjoy the music experience I did because this thing definitely plays the part of a HiFi audio player. While I may not be the judge when it comes to FLAC vs MP3 and whatnot I definitely enjoyed a lot of my music from a different lens than i normally do. The best way I can describe it is probably that everything feels more put in their proper place. I tried it out with a few different IEM pairs and while it’s more apparent in some than others such as more power hungry pairs it is still definitely there.
I’ll be the first one to admit that my ears are not the most refined but from a normie perspective I can still confidently say that these add another layer of enjoyment to my music and one that I definitely did not expect.
Nitpicks:
In the upper right portion of the screen there’s a little LED strip indicator for charging and what mode you’re in that can be a little distracting at times. There seems to be no obvious way to control it and it doesn’t even turn off when you lock the device. When you’re in a dark environment like a Plane or maybe you’re winding down at the end of the day listening to music it becomes a little difficult to ignore that it’s there.
The screen is dimmer than your stereotypical anime romcom main character. I’ve had the brightness turned up full tilt the entire time it was with me except when I was on the plane and even then not by much honestly. Drinking your morning coffee on the balcony will involve a little eye squinting and the classic hand shade maneuver to clearly see what’s on the screen. Putting in a 720p is fine on a DAP but screen brightness is a universal feature that any modern touch screen device should definitely take into consideration.
Another pain point for me is the buttons are incredibly uneven when it comes to tactility. Some of them click just fine while the rest will paint you a gradience of mushiness. It may have just been the unit I got and possibly something an RMA could fix but If it's a consistent problem for other units then I think they should definitely look into that. I feel like this is especially crucial for a device like a DAP because you generally want to use the physical buttons as your main interface option. It’s a music player at the end of the day and if I can’t fine tune my volume because the buttons take varying levels of pressure to press and I inevitably have to check the screen then I think that’s not an ideal user experience.
Lastly, and this might be more paranoia than practicality, I'm concerned that if you lean towards the Android side of its feature set - like using multiple streaming services or having apps for Bluetooth devices like headphones or TWS (True Wireless Stereo) - it will bog down that 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage rather quickly. Remember that you can't move all app data to an SD card, so there will be a low ceiling. I'm not saying it's a deal breaker, but I think it should be something that you should be aware of.
Final Thoughts:
If you’re after sound and versatility to maximize your probably growing collection of IEMs and possible power hungry headphones then the HiBy R4 might just be that sweet spot for you without having to take out a second mortgage. For a fledgling audio enthusiast such as myself I don’t really see myself needing any more features than the R4 already has and I wouldn’t want to be spending more either to be honest.
While I understand that the size and thickness are most likely physical limitations presented by the hardware inside, I don't think HiBy made it any easier for themselves by designing it in such a way that it seems like it's almost pocketable but not really. Expect to use the R4 when you’ve found a comfortable place to sit or maybe have a little body bag with you so it’s not as inconvenient to bring out when you want to use it on the go like at the airport.
Is it the perfect portable HiFi audio device you can get for close to $250 SRP? Obviously not but if you know what you’re getting and understand what you want to use it for then I think having the HiBy R4 in your everyday carry will prove to be one of your best go-to audio devices, whether that’s sitting down on a fine Sunday afternoon at your local spot(support local cafes!) or waiting at your boarding gate killing time and relaxing before a flight. Just don’t shove it down your pocket.
But remember that music is a personal experience and the best audio gear is the one that makes you enjoy your music the most.