[HiFiHawaii808]

Technicalities are better than the original. Less roll-off in both ends. Wider stage that opens EE Odin up. Details improved for sure. Still a fun sounding one with a little of the warmth left. I spent all my time with iems and tubes on, so I'm not sure about the solid state and power improvement.

I think some people may still prefer the more tube flavor in n8, but mk2 is capable for more genres. C9 on the other hand sounds more like linear OTL. Overall N8ii reminds me of wa8.

With all due respect, you must be talking about a different product. I own a C9, a Bottlehead crack OTL tube amp and a WA8. I listened to the N8ii for over an hour in tube mode. The C9 does not in any way sound like the BHC. And, it is certainly nothing close to being like the WA8. The WA8 sounds very tubey. The N8ii doesn't. At best the timbre mode takes the edge off of music with certain IEMs.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

That's really interesting, indeed. Since @HiFiHawaii808 brought his WA8, would be keen to know if he also thinks N8ii leans this way.

He must be talking about another product. They aren't even in the same universe.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Very interested in how the N8ii drives the Utopia directly (and if you put a C9 in the chain, and compare with a C9 that would also be awesome - if only to see if the N8ii might negate the requirement for a C9).

I was hoping someone didn't ask that. Okay, I'll bring it with me for a listen. The Utopia pairs well with everything. But, it is only truly great with a few things. The Ferrum Orr, for instance, is a perfect amp for the Utopia. So is the WA8 and the RS6 + C9. I am not sure if we are going to be able to tell much of a difference with the N8ii. I think a better test would have been my HE1000v2 or HD800S or ZMF VC. But, I don't have any of those headphones with me.

 

[TomKorn]

I was hoping someone didn't ask that. Okay, I'll bring it with me for a listen. The Utopia pairs well with everything. But, it is only truly great with a few things. The Ferrum Orr, for instance, is a perfect amp for the Utopia. So is the WA8 and the RS6 + C9. I am not sure if we are going to be able to tell much of a difference with the N8ii. I think a better test would have been my HE1000v2 or HD800S or ZMF VC. But, I don't have any of those headphones with me.

Considering how much gear you pack, you must be using something like this for CanJam:

Thanks for all your impressions btw.

Any take on overall sound quality/technical capabilities of N8ii yet?

 

[armstrj2]

Yes, the guy with the grey sweater and blue mask is Andrew.

Always funny to put a face to a name after knowing someone for so long only digitally.

 

[Andykong]

I believe when it comes to DAP flagships, there is no winner. It basically boils down to what tonality do you prefer and how it pairs with your inventory.

Agree wholeheartedly.

DAP is a very versatile device, everyone has their mix of priorities. Even when we narrow down the discussion to audio performance only, personal preference will kick in. Those who have read my post long enough will know my position: everyone is entitle to his/her opinion, you opinion might be relevant to some, but it might be irrelevant to others.

So I don't think there is such thing as the best DAP in the market. The more useful question is "which is the most appropriate DAP for me", IMHO.

 

[Andykong]

If I remember correctly, the Hibylink function would only work for Android phones and not iPhones. By the way when is the release date for Hong Kong?

It was, back in 2018. HiBy has released iphone version of HiByLink years ago. Android version still works better, iphone version is slighlty slower at time, but if all he need is to control volume only, then both Android and iphone version of HiByLink should works fine.

 

[twister6]

I believe when it comes to DAP flagships, there is no winner. It basically boils down to what tonality do you prefer and how it pairs with your inventory.

and of course, the functionality/features. For some people streaming is optional, for others it's a must have. Some don't mind minimalistic interface, while others are very picky about it.

 

[Whitigir]

and of course, the functionality/features. For some people streaming is optional, for others it's a must have. Some don't mind minimalistic interface, while others are very picky about it.

I am with the minimalistic mindset folks

 

[TomKorn]

I am with the minimalistic mindset folks

Me too.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I went back down to listen for another 1.5 hours and summarize this post in the Watercooler. There is a lot of answers to questions asked in this thread about the N8ii and how it compares to other stuff here. Let me know if you have any other questions. Remember, this is how I hear things according my ear anatomy, musical preferences, etc. But, it should give you some insights into the N8ii with various TOTL IEMs and as compared to other DAPs.

==============================

Okay. I got there early when nobody was there and got a lot of listening done to answer many of your questions. I did a lot of A/B testing across different sources and IEMs. The biggest takeaway is that source synergy is really a huge factor with these particular IEMs. We aren't talking about a Traillii which sounds great on every source. So, let me go through this as systematically as I can.

The sources I tested are N8ii, M9, RS6, DX300, C9 and WA8. Quite a diverse set of portable amps and DAPs.

The IEMs I listened to are EXT, EVO, Odin, KR5, XE6.

1) I A/B tested EXT with M9 and N8ii. These are both great DAPs. I can see people preferring one over the other depending on their preferences.. It's not like one will completely blow away the other. I love the M9 sound. It is so warm rich and punchy in its bass response. It has really good depth and texture. This is a sound I really like. I will probably buy and M9 to supplement the N8ii because it is a complementary sound to the N8ii. The N8ii in contrast is the more transparent and revealing DAP. It has greater clarity and as I said I can see the contours of the music as I listen. And, I switched between tube and solid state modes and there is a distinct difference between the two timbres, more so than the C9 actually. So, the tube sound gives a nice warmth to the music with the solid state being more transparent. The M9 is in between the two timbres of the N8ii. The N8ii has the superior resolution.

2) Then, listening with the EXT, I tested the RS6 + C9 and DX312 + C9 vs. the N8ii. The N8ii is better than any of the pairings with the C9. It has better clarity and resolution and better depth in bass. This is what I thought from my listening session yesterday. I confirmed it today.

3) Then, I tried the N8ii standalone and added the C9 to it. So, N8ii vs N8ii + C9 vs N8ii + WA8. The sound quality is similar with slightly different signature. The C9 is a bit warmer around the edges. The N8ii is a bit more clean and transparent. It is certainly not worth adding the C9 into the chain. It didn't add much at all. Just slightly different timbre. The WA8 really gave it a tubey sound, but I didn't like it because it took away from the clarity and transparency which is a strength of the N8ii.

4) Then, I tested the M9 standalone vs the RS6 + C9 and DX312 + C9. I actually prefer the M9. It is a tremendously good DAP. To @Rockwell75, I would audition both the M9 and N8ii side by side before deciding. It's not as much of a slam dunk choice as I originally thought. I like them both so much, I will probably buy them both.

The bottom line is that as a TOTL DAP, the N8ii sounds best as a standalone device. If you are going to level up the sound, you need to consider pairing it with a higher end Desktop or speaker amp. I decided that I am going to buy the Ferrum Orr +Hypsos because it sounded so fantastic with my Susvara and Utopias yesterday. I mentioned that the EXT + N8ii + FT cable is the first portable system that competes with my desktop system. After hearing it in the afternoon, I was wrong. The Susvara and Utopia are better with the Ferrum Orr +Hypsos.

The other question is whether or not the C9 is obsolete. It might be if you are looking for TOTL sound. Both the M9 and N8ii sounded better than the RS6 + C9 or the DX312 + C9. The C9 is not going to get you all the way to TOTL sound. You are better off buying a WA8 since it will give full tube sound to any signature even though it might not sound great with all IEMs.

5) Next I listened to the EXT and KR5 to see how they compare. With the M9, I much preferred the EXT and found the KR5 to be not that good. The upper mids were indeed relatively veiled as @aaf evo mentioned. However, when I paired the KR5 with the RS6, it has perfect balance. This is the same source I used yesterday when I loved the KR5. Then, I listened to KR5 with RS6 + C9 and RS6 + WA8 and the sound was even better. I am definitely going to buy a KR5 because I own the DAP and Amps that it has great synergy with and I love the sound. Not today, but sometime in the future. It is very source dependent and I would highly recommend it with the RS6 plus C9 and WA8.

6) Next, I gave the XE6 a second chance. This time with the M9. It only took me about 2 tracks to adjust to the signature and it started sounded very good on most tracks. I think the synergy of the XE6 and the M9 is high. It is much better than with the RS6 which I heard them with yesterday. I did not get a chance to hear it again with the N8ii as I was really hogging the N8ii and felt guilty about it.

7) Then, I got Odin, EVO, EXT and source rolled them across M9, N8ii and RS6. EVO and Odin sounded best with RS6. The main difference is that there was only a minimal amount of upper mids glare. With both the N8ii and M9, there was varying amounts of glare to my ear which means that there would be a lot for other listeners who are more sensitive to elevated upper mids. The Odin did sound excellent with the N8ii and there was at times, but not always some glare. The bass on the W9+ subwoofers are unbelievable to listened to. The N8ii really released that deep and texture bass in a very satisfying way. Only the Odin and the KR5 sounded great with the WA8. So, before picking one up, make sure you test it with the IEMs or headphones you want to listen to them with.

The bottom line is that yesterday I bought the N8ii, EXT and FT cable. I am likely to add a KR5 and M9 to my collection in the future. The XE6 is growing on me and I would listen to it with the M9, so I will wait until I pick one up before considering an XE6 purchase. Also, the UM Red Halo is am IEM that I would like to add to my collection some day, but definitely not now. It's out of the price range I am considering at the moment. It is a direct upgrade to the Indigo which I love and is in my top 6 IEMs.

I listened to a lot of combinations, so I had to come up to my room to write down these notes before I forgot them.

What have I ruled out? Phonix that I heard in the Audio Tiers tour. It's great and highly resolving, but I much prefer the EXT so I bought that one instead. The Jewel was also great, but when I A/B tested it against the Odin, I preferred it for the Classical music in my collection. The Mason FS was disappointing. I liked the Indigo more. But, the Red Halo fixes the issues I had with it.

Back down to listening.

 

[Z_Showmaster]

Thank you for your efforts in sharing your extensive findings. Your pairings and comparisons are exhaustive. Almost like a @twister6 comparison list. Almost.

On another note, it's cool you keep mentioning how resolving N8II's bass is. The importance of its direct coupling at work.

While on the topic of frequency response, the N8II is direct-coupled 90 per cent of the way, with only the input section of its discrete power stage requiring the use of coupling caps. Naturally, these coupling caps are of excellent quality, and the size afforded by N8II means they are of a certain value and footprint already.

That majority DC coupling should yield great extension into the lows on N8II. As @horatiu says, not really for you to hear a 5Hz tone rendered since that's as much to do with your transducers as the source, but to provide great phase response down to the lows. What passes through at 5Hz, or the N8II's -3dB point, passes through 20Hz and has an effect there.

We should hear the benefits of N8II's DC coupling, flat audioband frequency response and -3dB bass point much more tangibly through proper low frequency phase reproduction therefore. That means faster, tighter, more articulate and impactful bass and sub-bass (again, if your IEMs and cans can produce that).

Hope you, and everyone who attended, had a great NYC show!

 

[Natesdailies]

I went back down to listen for another 1.5 hours and summarize this post in the Watercooler. There is a lot of answers to questions asked in this thread about the N8ii and how it compares to other stuff here. Let me know if you have any other questions. Remember, this is how I hear things according my ear anatomy, musical preferences, etc. But, it should give you some insights into the N8ii with various TOTL IEMs and as compared to other DAPs.

==============================

Okay. I got there early when nobody was there and got a lot of listening done to answer many of your questions. I did a lot of A/B testing across different sources and IEMs. The biggest takeaway is that source synergy is really a huge factor with these particular IEMs. We aren't talking about a Traillii which sounds great on every source. So, let me go through this as systematically as I can.

The sources I tested are N8ii, M9, RS6, DX300, C9 and WA8. Quite a diverse set of portable amps and DAPs.

The IEMs I listened to are EXT, EVO, Odin, KR5, XE6.

1) I A/B tested EXT with M9 and N8ii. These are both great DAPs. I can see people preferring one over the other depending on their preferences.. It's not like one will completely blow away the other. I love the M9 sound. It is so warm rich and punchy in its bass response. It has really good depth and texture. This is a sound I really like. I will probably buy and M9 to supplement the N8ii because it is a complementary sound to the N8ii. The N8ii in contrast is the more transparent and revealing DAP. It has greater clarity and as I said I can see the contours of the music as I listen. And, I switched between tube and solid state modes and there is a distinct difference between the two timbres, more so than the C9 actually. So, the tube sound gives a nice warmth to the music with the solid state being more transparent. The M9 is in between the two timbres of the N8ii. The N8ii has the superior resolution.

2) Then, listening with the EXT, I tested the RS6 + C9 and DX312 + C9 vs. the N8ii. The N8ii is better than any of the pairings with the C9. It has better clarity and resolution and better depth in bass. This is what I thought from my listening session yesterday. I confirmed it today.

3) Then, I tried the N8ii standalone and added the C9 to it. So, N8ii vs N8ii + C9 vs N8ii + WA8. The sound quality is similar with slightly different signature. The C9 is a bit warmer around the edges. The N8ii is a bit more clean and transparent. It is certainly not worth adding the C9 into the chain. It didn't add much at all. Just slightly different timbre. The WA8 really gave it a tubey sound, but I didn't like it because it took away from the clarity and transparency which is a strength of the N8ii.

4) Then, I tested the M9 standalone vs the RS6 + C9 and DX312 + C9. I actually prefer the M9. It is a tremendously good DAP. To @Rockwell75, I would audition both the M9 and N8ii side by side before deciding. It's not as much of a slam dunk choice as I originally thought. I like them both so much, I will probably buy them both.

The bottom line is that as a TOTL DAP, the N8ii sounds best as a standalone device. If you are going to level up the sound, you need to consider pairing it with a higher end Desktop or speaker amp. I decided that I am going to buy the Ferrum Orr +Hypsos because it sounded so fantastic with my Susvara and Utopias yesterday. I mentioned that the EXT + N8ii + FT cable is the first portable system that competes with my desktop system. After hearing it in the afternoon, I was wrong. The Susvara and Utopia are better with the Ferrum Orr +Hypsos.

The other question is whether or not the C9 is obsolete. It might be if you are looking for TOTL sound. Both the M9 and N8ii sounded better than the RS6 + C9 or the DX312 + C9. The C9 is not going to get you all the way to TOTL sound. You are better off buying a WA8 since it will give full tube sound to any signature even though it might not sound great with all IEMs.

5) Next I listened to the EXT and KR5 to see how they compare. With the M9, I much preferred the EXT and found the KR5 to be not that good. The upper mids were indeed relatively veiled as @aaf evo mentioned. However, when I paired the KR5 with the RS6, it has perfect balance. This is the same source I used yesterday when I loved the KR5. Then, I listened to KR5 with RS6 + C9 and RS6 + WA8 and the sound was even better. I am definitely going to buy a KR5 because I own the DAP and Amps that it has great synergy with and I love the sound. Not today, but sometime in the future. It is very source dependent and I would highly recommend it with the RS6 plus C9 and WA8.

6) Next, I gave the XE6 a second chance. This time with the M9. It only took me about 2 tracks to adjust to the signature and it started sounded very good on most tracks. I think the synergy of the XE6 and the M9 is high. It is much better than with the RS6 which I heard them with yesterday. I did not get a chance to hear it again with the N8ii as I was really hogging the N8ii and felt guilty about it.

7) Then, I got Odin, EVO, EXT and source rolled them across M9, N8ii and RS6. EVO and Odin sounded best with RS6. The main difference is that there was only a minimal amount of upper mids glare. With both the N8ii and M9, there was varying amounts of glare to my ear which means that there would be a lot for other listeners who are more sensitive to elevated upper mids. The Odin did sound excellent with the N8ii and there was at times, but not always some glare. The bass on the W9+ subwoofers are unbelievable to listened to. The N8ii really released that deep and texture bass in a very satisfying way. Only the Odin and the KR5 sounded great with the WA8. So, before picking one up, make sure you test it with the IEMs or headphones you want to listen to them with.

The bottom line is that yesterday I bought the N8ii, EXT and FT cable. I am likely to add a KR5 and M9 to my collection in the future. The XE6 is growing on me and I would listen to it with the M9, so I will wait until I pick one up before considering an XE6 purchase. Also, the UM Red Halo is am IEM that I would like to add to my collection some day, but definitely not now. It's out of the price range I am considering at the moment. It is a direct upgrade to the Indigo which I love and is in my top 6 IEMs.

I listened to a lot of combinations, so I had to come up to my room to write down these notes before I forgot them.

What have I ruled out? Phonix that I heard in the Audio Tiers tour. It's great and highly resolving, but I much prefer the EXT so I bought that one instead. The Jewel was also great, but when I A/B tested it against the Odin, I preferred it for the Classical music in my collection. The Mason FS was disappointing. I liked the Indigo more. But, the Red Halo fixes the issues I had with it.

Back down to listening.

Nice work. I like how you brought the tools with you to directly AB test it. For me personally, I dont trust my ears enough to go off of memory.

I like the part about the N8ii tube vs SS mode having a bigger difference than the C9. I had initially planned on buying the C9 to supplement the N8ii. Now it will probably make more sense to add a third device for either: Tubier sound than N8ii or something in between

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Nice work. I like how you brought the tools with you to directly AB test it. For me personally, I dont trust my ears enough to go off of memory.

I like the part about the N8ii tube vs SS mode having a bigger difference than the C9. I had initially planned on buying the C9 to supplement the N8ii. Now it will probably make more sense to add a third device for either: Tubier sound than N8ii or something in between

That would be Woo Audio WA8.

 

[quisxx]

N8ii didn't have global EQ pre-installed. It comes with two system-level music player app: Cayin Music Player and HiBy Music Player, the level is equivalent to the enterprise version of HiBy Music Player, so it is slightly different from the version available on Google Play Store. You can find MSEB in the bundled HiBy Music Player, but I don't think this is a global EQ, so when yous switch to Tidal or Qobuz, the MSEB won't kick in.

Have someone tried EQ app such as Wavelet, Poweramp Equilizer, Sonarworks and Music Equalizer EQ ? Or if you use music player that has a build-in gateway to streaming service, such as UAPP, the EQ setting should apply to all streaming service as well?

PS. looks like Wavelet is well received by headphone users, I find THIS on reddit.

Thanks for the update