Hifiman R2r2000 Max Black (NPAudio Mod)

Before I start, huge thanks to Nayparm for taking on this project and being patient with me and the issues that the r2r2000 presented, he did a fantastic job and was the only modder to accept changing the battery, he did an imppecable job and I cannot recommend him enough.

Introduction: Hifiman R2r2000 Black is an infamous dap known for it's imppecable SQ, tiny size, and horrendous everything else (UI, Battery).
Due to the battery mixed with my curiousity for nayparm mods, I've sent it to get modded, these are the results.

What's the mod? Well, I'll use a direct quote for this one: "There will hopefully be 3 batteries for a total of 9000mah"
"You have a total 11 film caps in use

The 4 x small rubicon film pmlcaps are 10uf each, the 4 x large vishay film are 0.1uf each for bypass. They are used in conjunction with the stock 4 x 141uf mlcc caps (141uf made of 3 x 47uf)

At power you have an additional 100uf Panasonic ultra low esr Poscap Tantalum polymer + a 100uf AudioNote Kaisei bypassed with a 0.1uf kemet smr film."


Was it worth it? Absolutely. The player lasts more than 4 hours now! hell, it lasts atleast 12 hours now, A huge jump.

Alright, now that the introduction is done lets begin with the most important part:

Sound: What's difference between the modded one and stock? to be honest, I can't tell, It's been long since I've heard the stock r2r2000, and I can't a/b or compare with memory because I simply don't have a solid reference point.

The sound of the r2r2000 Max is something that I didn't get in other players or dongles I've tried (UA Apollo Twin USB, n6ii e01, r01, e02, a01, ibasso dc01, cayin ru6, e1da 9038s v1), It's a sound that feels completely unprocessed and unfiltered, there is no "house sound", there's no unique signature, it just plays the music in the most authentic way I've personally heard, the only words I find to describe it's sound is "Vivid, Musical, Alive, Vibrant, Felt"

While the player to me has a lot of strong points, I think it's truly strongest point is the timbre, I'm not sure if it's the multibit chip, or the whole system, but the timbre on the r2r2000 max is the most realistic I've heard yet, it makes BA iems not have any BA timbre, if that makes sense.

Other strong points of the r2r2000 max are technicalities, detail retrieval, imaging, staging and texture. I was surprised when I compared it to something like the Apollo twin USB, and realizing that they're truly on the same league, just different tonalities and technologies (I'm not sure what chip the apollo twin is, but it is undoubtedly Delta Sigma), I'll go more indepth about the differences in the comparison section.

I think the only weakpoints I'd give the r2r2000 max is that it is a tad hard noticing the smaller details, while they're always there, it's very hard to focus when you get swept away by the musicality and just want to headbang to the main riff, for example.

Other than that, if you are a big fan of black backgrounds, then this may not be for you, and I'm not talking in terms of hissing.

The r2r2000 max hisses a bit with very sensitive iems, but that's not what I mean, the r2r2000 max doesn't have a black background, or a background at all, instead it makes the music feel limitless and unrestrained, maybe this is what people mean when they say transparent?

Drivability: The r2r2000 boasts 500mw@32ohms on balanced, which is plenty for iems, while I cannot comment on hard to drive headphones, the r2r2000 drives my dual planar single dd iems beautifully.

I've yet to find a pair of iems that doesn't pair well with the r2r2000.

As for hissing, I had the campfire audio solaris 2020 before the mod, and while it hissed, it wasn't anything too bad, about the same as cayin's n6ii.

A pair like the etymotic er4xr hissed the same it does with the Apollo Twin, just a tiny bit, Same goes for my plunge audio quad BA Iem.

Usability: The r2r2000 max, even though it has a very primitive UI, which can be a tad buggy at times, is all around a very comfortable player, tiny, barely weights anything, and can handle atleast 12 hours of playback with a full charge, so if you sorted your folders, don't use streaming and can handle some nostalgic UI, this fits the bill.

Build: R2r2000 max is made mainly of plastic with a glass back, compared to the stock, nayparm made a special back addition to be able to fit more components, the special back is made of plastic that's fairly similar and seems very sturdy.

Comparisons:

Universal Audio Apollo twin USB vs r2r2000 max: do note that I was using the 3.5mm from the r2r2000 max, and that the 4.4 does improve the sound.

Unlike the r2r2000 max, the apollo twin goes for the classic delta sigma sound, but unlike the daps I've tried it sounds far less processed and filtered, in a direct a/b it's still easy to tell, the apollo twin has a very black background as opposed to the r2r2000 max which doesn't have any sort of background, the sound is smoothed and gives everything a bit more space, however the staging itself remains the same.

The highs seemed to be more rolled off in the apollo twin, and the bass' presentation is more bloomy and takes a bigger sound, however it is not as felt, as dense, or as textured as the r2r2000 max.

In the beginning of massive attack's "angel", the apollo twin introduces the bass rather calmly, and gives it a more background sound, while the r2r2000 max pushes it in your face and almost forces you to feel it.

Later on in the track when the vocalist starts singing, apollo twin puts him in the back, surrounded by all the other instruments, while the r2r2000 max pushes the vocals upfront and make the singer take a much more intimate approach.

All throughout the song there are various sound effects in the background, which are more noticable on the apollo twin, this is where it's black background comes into play and helps details pop.

While the r2r2000 max doesn't have a black background, it still retains those details just as much, the difference is that they do not pop out the same way they do with the Apollo Twin.

Cayin N6ii r01 vs r2r2000 (stock): This one is interesting, as they're both r2r but one oversamples and one doesn't, I remember this comparison in particular even though it was a long while back.

I had a honeymoon phase with the n6ii r01, I very briefly a/b'd them, and decided I prefer the r01, however as time went on I stopped listening to music more and more, eventually a/b'd them again and realized how much I was missing.

The r01 never quite had the weight, sheer power and musicality the r2r2000 has, instead it goes for a much more calm and soft sound- everything is smoothed over, maybe too much, the staging is narrower too, and dymamics aren't as good.

I think what got me loving r01 at first is that I was able to notice small details more, however, as time went on I realized that this change did not come from sheer quality, but rather from the bigger details suffering and not showing their true strength, as if someone edited their opacity and put it on 60% instead of 100%.

in the end the reason I stopped listening to music when the r01 was my main player is that I simply wasn't excited enough to pick it up, while with the r2r2000 listening daily for atleast an hour Isn't uncommon.

I can't fault someone for prefering the r01, especially when the n6ii has all the other motherboards and android, versatility is much better. However if I had to pick 1 I'd pick the r2r2000 9/10 times.

In conclusion: If you don't mind the old UI, and don't use streaming, want to use a tiny device with desktop gear quality, the modded r2r2000 max may just be your favorite pick