HiBy Zeta

The boring stuff:​

MSRP: $1,399.00 (Taken from HiBy Website as of time of writing)
Impedance: 9Ω
Sensitivity: 112dB/mW
Response Range: 20-40,000Hz
Driver configuration:
Super Tweeters: Enhanced EST x4(shared converter)
Tweeter/Mid/Woofer: High Performance BA x4
Subwoofer:10mm Liquid Silicone DD x1

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. I was also loaned this pair for free to test and play with but all opinions are of my own with no guidance given whatsoever.

Gear Used:​

Streaming Platform: Youtube Music Premium (Bitrate: 256kbps AAC & OPUS)
Dongle - Mobile use: USB to Lightning JCALLY JM08L
DAC - PC use: Letshouer DT03

Box:​

Hearing how much the HiBy Zeta was I was expecting this to come in a Pallet box as a show extravagance but to my surprise it came in an extremely reasonable box. Still premium feeling yes but nothing more than what was necessary. Always have to give props to companies who don’t go overboard on things like packaging and just wasting a bunch of space and plastic on a silly little box.

Inside the box is the included 4.4mm Balanced cable in a swanky feeling faux leather green case, 3 kinds of ear tips in 3 sizes each for a total of 9 included ear tips (I used the “balanced” one for most of my time since it was the comfiest), some documentation, and the IEMs themselves. The variety of tips is appreciated for you to be able to pick which suits your fancy. The cables are also held together by a faux leather magnetic cable organizer which is a nice little touch.

Build:​

The Zeta’s shell is made of Titanium stainless steel and has this matte, light gray, gun metal like finish with geometric etchings on the side which give it a nice little pop. They feel pretty good when worn with no sharp angles and pretty ergonomic feeling for my ear shape at least. The matte finish also doesn’t feel very oily after use unlike glossy metal or plastic finishes I’ve tried which is a nice little bonus and I like that they’re pretty muted in general but still have a nice bit of flair.

Where the set does draw attention to is the beautiful cable it comes with. The 4.4mm Balanced cable is supposedly coated with a material containing Lapis lazuli as per the marketing material and while their statements of the Lapis “transmitting” the emotion of the music maybe a little overzealous, It certainly has a stunning quality to it due to the richness of the color. The cable itself is on the thicker side making it a little heavy but it kinda adds to bring the color to life with how present it is wherever it lies.

Also If you’re concerned if the cable will bother the fitment of your glasses, then worry no more! It will.. If you’re prone to minor headaches due to shifting glasses then these are most likely a no go out the box. Every time I wore the Zetas I had to remove my glasses first then skillfully slide in () my glasses. Even after that maneuver I’d still have to adjust myself every few mins due to just my head moving around. Obviously using another cable would solve this issue but I assume when you pay $1,399 for your IEMs, you’d wanna use the gorgeous cable that comes with it.

Sound:​

Right off the rip, the Hiby Zeta sounds great! The best way I can describe it is that everything feels like they are where they should be. Each instrument is clear and precise and exactly where they should be. Listening to Billie Bossa Nova - Billie Eillish puts you in a smoky room smelling like cigars, sipping on whisky while feeling the bass line just course through you when you have these on. However, That’s not to say they’re without their flaws. The bass sounds great and really rich and deep like hot chocolate but they can sometimes feel a little too much. While everything is in its right place direction wise, their distance is a little too close at times which I feel can exaggerate what I'm hearing at times. Things can get a little heavy pressure wise as well which can make me feel a little uncomfortable when I'm listening to them for longer periods.

Nitpicks:​

The little chin strap that’s on the beautifully thiccc cable is fighting for its life. You can barely move the thing and when you do it feels like you’re squeezing everything though like a sausage. I don’t see the point of putting something like that on when it’s barely functional and can possibly be a cause of damage when improperly handled.

The case that comes with it is yet again a glorified storage container and not really practical to bring around. It’s round and bulky and the faux leather probably won’t last very long through normal wear and tear. At this price point, I honestly wouldn’t mind getting a storage case and a decent carrying case. Also another thing, While the green color is very nice and honestly my preferred color, it kinda doesn’t match with the IEMs themselves. Stunning blue cable with a silver shelled IEM all going into a curiously green box. It kinda feels like they just used whatever spare box they ordered way too much because the factory’s MOQ wouldn’t allow for anything less.

Final Thoughts:​

Clearly at this point it’s clear that you don’t get something like the HiBy Zeta for its great value proposition. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad product though, It still sounds great to me and the material choices are definitely on the swanky side but it’s definitely not for everyone with me included. If you’re like me who’s always after a good price to performance ratio then you probably aren't going to add these to cart and I suspect the people who these are for already know they want it and don’t need someone like me telling me to get it.

But remember the best audio gear is the one that makes you enjoy your music the most, regardless of what a stranger on the internet says.

Thanks for reading!

HiBy Zeta tribrid in-ear monitor review
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First, I'd like to thank HiBy for loaning me this 1,399-USD HiBy Zeta for a review.
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Introduction:
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About HiBy (copied from their site)
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"HiBy is a company with over 15 years of expertise in the field of music players, and it has two subsidiary brands: HiBy Music and HiBy Digital. HiBy Music focuses on developing high-fidelity, high-quality portable music players and headphone decoders. HiBy Digital, built on HiBy's years of expertise in the professional field, has created a stylish digital music consumer electronics brand, enabling more music enthusiasts to experience their own unique musical beauty."
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Hiby Zeta is their flagship in-ear monitor offering at the time of this writing, with a driver configuration consisting of 1 x 10mm dynamic driver for bass, 4 x balance armature driver for midrange and treble, and 4 x EST drivers for the upper treble, with 5-way crossover to assign the optimum frequencies for each driver. The shell is made of CNC-machined titanium and stainless steel. Kindly check their website for more information about the Zeta.
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Unboxing:
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The unboxing experience is good; the box contains a very nice leather hard carrying case, a thick 8-core non-modular cable, eartips, and the manual.

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Drivability, sensitivity, and power handling:
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It is very easy to drive; all my dongle DACs didn't struggle driving it to a high volume level. It can take a lot of power without distorting, even with bass-heavy music.
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Sound signature:
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The sub-bass is boosted, the midrange and lower treble are slightly recessed, but I can hear the slight upper midrange elevation, and the upper treble is slightly boosted, forming a warm W-Shaped sound signature that is clean and distortion-free.
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Soundstage and imaging:
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The sound stage is big and has a spherical shape; the imaging is good and well placed, with a good sense of holography. The intuitive separation and resolution are very good. The details are presented in a slightly laid-back and relaxed way; it never pushes the details in your face. Overall, a pleasing sound presentation.
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Bass:
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The bass is slightly sub-bass focused and has a strong presence in the music but is never overpowering. It has good amounts of texture, speed, and details. This is not a bass head level of bass loudness, but for most people, the quality of bass that you will get is excellent.


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Midrange:
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Slightly warm, recessed, and lush with excellent vocals, I can hear a slight elevation in the upper midrange, but it is never shouty and fatiguing, ideal for long and relaxing listening sessions. It has good amounts of details but is presented in a slightly laid-back way.


Treble:
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The upper treble is one of the best upper treble performances I've heard to date; it sounds so effortlessly smooth and clean that it seems like it has limitless high-frequency extension. The lower treble is slightly recessed according to my hearing, while also smooth, clean, and of as high a quality as the upper treble. I find it slightly lacking in bite and attack and sounds a little too polite for my taste, as I tend to like brighter-sounding IEMs, but if you like warm IEMs or slightly dark-sounding trebles, like many people do, you're going to love the Hiby Zeta.
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Comparison:
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I have nothing to compare this with at the moment that belongs in the same price category.

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Pros:
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Excellent upper treble quality and extension
Excellent bass extension
Warm tonality
Nice vocal rendition
Good instrument note weight
Nice thick cable


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Cons:
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Lacks pressure release for the ear canal
I feel the shell is on the hefty side.
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Conclusion:
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There is no doubt in my mind that the HiBy Zeta is a special IEM; the refinement of its sound quality can only be found in expensive IEMs. What I love about it is the very refined sounding treble and the powerful bass. My only personal reservation is the slight pressure in my ear canal, but this can be alleviated with the use of foam tips, and I can tolerate the heft easily. If you are looking for a refined-sounding tribrid IEM with 1 x DD, 4 x BA, and 4 x EST driver configuration and don't mind a slight pressure in the ear canal, then the HiBy Zeta is one of the best-sounding IEMs I've heard. Highly recommended.
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