HiBy W3 II Bluetooth CS43131 Dongle

HiBy W3 II Review: CONVENIENCE WITHOUT COMPROMISE!​

WATCH REVIEW HERE:

PRICE: $49​

PROS:​

• Very practical “audiophile” device
• Compact, lightweight design
• Cool graffiti aesthetic
• Comes with a shirt clip
• Intuitive controls
• HiBy Blue compatibility
• Hi-Res Codecs (LDAC< aptX/HD, UAT)
• Can be used as a wired DAC
• Stable, low-latency Bluetooth connection
• Solid battery life
• Inline controls
• Come with a mic
• NFC Pairing
• Neutral, uncolored sound
• More than enough power for most IEMs

CONS:​

• No balanced output
• Front panel is a scratch and fingerprint magnet
• Wired is limited to 16bit/48khz decoding
• Not the most premium feeling device

WHO THIS UNIT IS FOR:​

• People who want a practical solution to their audiophile needs
• People who want a convenient device to pair with their favorite wired IEMs
• People who want an audio device that can double as a call/meeting device
• People who want a largely uncompromised listening experience for a Bluetooth device
• People who want a device that’s capable of doing Hi-Res Wireless Decoding
• People who want a sustainable Bluetooth device
• People who want a long-lasting Bluetooth DAC/AMP
• People who commute a lot/move around a lot

WHO THIS UNIT ISN’T FOR:​

• People who want a LOT of driving power
• People who want the highest fidelity sound for the price
• People who need balanced output
• People who want something more premium feeling

AT A GLANCE:​

“The HiBy W3 II changed my perspective on music listening as it is the most practical “audiophile” device I’ve ever owned. It provides the Hi-Res capabilities of outputting more than enough power for most IEMs, decoding both standard and Hi-Res codecs, and providing a largely uncompromised listening experience with the convenience of having a shirt clip, stable connection, an in-line microphone, and a solid battery life. I seriously could not think of a more perfect device for audiophiles seeking convenience without compromise.” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!




Thank you for reading my review. If you would like to order one, consider using the non-affiliated link below: https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-w3-ii

@HiByMusic

Introduction:-

Hey guys, today I have the Hiby W3 ii with me for review today. Its a budget Bluetooth dongle from hiby.

I have also shared a video version of the review at YouTube any support there in form of a view, A like or A subscribe is greatly appreciated. But if you so wish to read the written version you can read this.






This is a review unit from Hiby, all the thoughts and opinions you are about to hear are my own.


Buy it here (Unaffiliated link) :-

Hiby Website - https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-w3-ii

Hiby Aliexpress Store - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006467204561.html?



I will be as usual following my bullet style format for better readability for those who are dyslexic and in general find it hard to read long paragraphs. I follow this guide in general from the British Dyslexia Association.


So lets get started!

---

Review:-



1. The packaging is very simple it comes with the W3ii, a usb c cable and some basic papers





2. The entire build is plastic and it is very lightweight at around only 19g! It also has a clip on the back.



3. The price of the W3ii is only $49






4. The W3ii has a single CS43131 dac in it and uses the Qualcomm QCC5125 chip which has bluetooth 5.2 and a single 3.5mm output.





5. It can be used both as a bluetooth dac and as a usb dongle dac. It also has NFC for connecting the device.



6. The bluetooth range is average at around 8-10m in a line of sight



7. Codec’c it supports are LDAC, aptx, aptxHD, SBC, AAC and Hiby’s proprietary UAT wireless codec.



8. It has a mic input which uses a CVC noise cancelling technology during calls and supports the CTIA headset controls, Please click on my youtube video the Mic sample is given at 1:34

(Any support by subscribing to my YouTube channel is greatly appreciated )


9. The battery is claimed to last around 10.5 hours on aac codec, but I got around 9.5 hours on aac codec while playing the moondrop chu 2 at around 30% volume.





10. The standby time is really good! They say its around 100 hours but I have seen much better than results than that.



11. It doesn’t have any low gain or high gain.



12. It also has an app which is separate from the Hiby music app.



13. I will show a screenshot below so that you can see what basic features it has.





14. The led control button is a really nice feature, also the Find feature is quite nice too.



15. It also supports a car mode, so you can use this adapter inside your car.




16. It also has a channel imbalance button which is great for someone who might have a hearing loss on one side.



17. It also has an EQ feature where there are 8 preset eq and you can modify the eq but only upto 4 bands. For the price this is really good!



18. Also the EQ is saved in the device so you can use the same EQ everywhere, although to change it you would require the android app once again.



19. Volume fine tune lets you choose the internal volume of the W3ii which is really nice!! So that it can adapt to different volume steps on different devices and you can adjust the volume steps to be a lot finer.



20. You also have the option to select auto power off feature, which is really nice.



21. I will share a small screenshot of the button function and also the what each step of the multicolour LED means. You can see it below






21. Now talking about the sound, before talking about the sound I want to say that it is very hard to judge a dac on its own. And the judgement depends heavily on what type of iems/headphones I am using it with.



22. The sound from the Hiby W3ii is very natural




23. Although there is no colouration of the sound it does sound quite lively specially when listening to any live recordings.



24. The overall treble notes is a bit blunted, which makes it a great pair to listen it with bright sounding iems.



25. Iems like Geekwold GK20 and the Simgot EW200 paired really well with this.



26. When using it in wired mode the sound from it seemed a bit better than in the bluetooth mode.



27. Overall for the price of $49 I think this is a fantastic product for those who want a budget bluetooth dongle dac and which also has eq feature and quite a robust app. The mic support and CTIA headset controls is a great feature to have.



28. Also if you have a bright iems this makes a good pairing too.



29. That was my review of the hiby W3ii, I hope you liked, Thanks for stopping by!

---

If you have any questions please feel free to ask me and also if you have any issues regarding this format of review please do comment I will try to mend it. Also sorry to those who are used to reading long paragraphs of review in headfi. I hope my review was upto the mark, I appreciate any feedback.

Again a big thanks to Hiby for making this review possible.

Have a great day ahead, Bye