Hiby FC6 - another R-2R USB dongle
Mar 3, 2023 at 2:32 PM Post #31 of 416
Ya, my Gryphon handled it easily but it just died on me yesterday. The reason I’m doing it is to use the Bathys as wired ANC headphones with the SP3000’s capabilities (DAR, etc)

The balanced out handles my Audeze LCD-2s effortlessly.

Ahh, no you won't get the extra power. Your Gryphon died? That's sucks, can't be too old right.
 
Mar 3, 2023 at 7:22 PM Post #35 of 416
If it's anything like the POS the FC4 is, I'd pass. Between the ridiculous BT delay on the WU1 and the static-filled playback with the FC4, I'm done with Hiby products.

Well if it's full of static, I'll return it. But personally I've had good luck with hiby stuff, and I trust Andy from dongle madness, I've had most of his 5 star dongles to mess with and they were all really good. I'm using a little dc03 pro now and that's a nice little dongle. Especially for the price. So we shall see.
 
Mar 4, 2023 at 7:58 AM Post #36 of 416
Well until we've heard it, it's a moot point. It does have mqa which some people care about and Darwin filters and architecture. No 4.4 but I've got some 3.5 gear that wipes the floor with balanced stuff. And and adapter being cumbersome? Just let it stay plugged in, I've got a fiio one that's super low profile. Not cumbersome at all.

Honestly if you already have a cayin r2r I don't see why you'd get this unless you're curious. Just buy the ru6 if you don't have it.

I'll tell you why I'm interested in this, as much as I loved the sound on ru6 I always had weird volume pops when adjusting volume. Maybe it got improved idk, but I'm hoping this doesn't have that problem. I'd pay 50 more to be rid of that.
If you have read my earlier comment a 4.4 output for the convenience since a lot of people like myself have 4.4 headphones and iems. Never once have I said balanced being superior in SQ.
I have a mix of DAPs, dongles, 3.5 and 4.4 headphones and iems which I alternate, grab and go to commute. I don't always want to remember carrying an adaptor.
Kudos to you for having a "super low profile" fiio adaptor mine is a cable type.
How many dongles or DAPs in todays market comes only with 3.5?
It's not a technological breakthrough to ask for a 4.4 for user convenience? Cayin already done it and it's cheaper.
At $300 for a dongle, I'd say is premium and Hiby should have 4.4. Again, YMMV we all have different needs.
 
Mar 4, 2023 at 9:03 AM Post #37 of 416
This device looks like it is perfect to drive my desktop amp that only has single ended input. Just how good is the sound quality? Does it beat the infamous Questyle M15?

Currently I am using the RU6 and I am mostly happy with it.
 
Mar 4, 2023 at 10:24 AM Post #39 of 416
It's a great and informative review which I enjoyed watching but it's a pity he ignores the elephant in the room!
He did try it with the HiFiman HE400 planar fullsize headphones and declare the FC6 fit for driving those with authority.

Oh and hi guys! 👋🏻
 
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Mar 4, 2023 at 10:49 AM Post #40 of 416
If you have read my earlier comment a 4.4 output for the convenience since a lot of people like myself have 4.4 headphones and iems. Never once have I said balanced being superior in SQ.
I have a mix of DAPs, dongles, 3.5 and 4.4 headphones and iems which I alternate, grab and go to commute. I don't always want to remember carrying an adaptor.
Kudos to you for having a "super low profile" fiio adaptor mine is a cable type.
How many dongles or DAPs in todays market comes only with 3.5?
It's not a technological breakthrough to ask for a 4.4 for user convenience? Cayin already done it and it's cheaper.
At $300 for a dongle, I'd say is premium and Hiby should have 4.4. Again, YMMV we all have different needs.

Really, let it go lol. I'm just saying it's possible to get use and adapter if you don't have regular 3.5 cables. It doesn't have 4.4, and no amount of whining is going to change that. Maybe it was because of space constraints, maybe they just wanted to concentrate on 3.5 out. Idk, but there's a simple solution- don't buy it! As far as an adapter I have multiple iems and cables so I just keep it connected if I'm using a 3.5 source with that iem for a while.

And there are times when the balanced out is better than the 3.5 jack on a dap, in case that's been my experience. That's why I have many balanced cables. But there are times obviously when something has a really good old fashioned 3.5 out. Then I've got my adapters if I don't want to use a normal cable. Honestly it's not any more trouble than disconnecting and connecting your USB to its source. It literally takes a second or two.

Anyways buy a cayin then, this is the second time you mentioned this. Or if you have one and are happy with it- why are you here? I mean I just don't get the point of it? You think it's overpriced? OK, you don't want to carry or remember an adapter lol, OK. Sounds like this isn't the dongle for you. Do I wish it was priced lower? Sure I do, but it's not, so I either suck it up and buy it or I don't. See easy 😀 And yes different people have different wants and needs, that's why there's different products.
There are tons of products out there that don't 'fit my needs' but I don't go on their info or web page and complain about what they lack or even about the price- why?

Because it's pointless and a waste of my time, and I know the world doesn't revolve around me. And they're are countless other items that fit my needs. Just like there's countless dongles with 4.4 outs that are less than 300 dollars.

I will say the ibasso dc03 pro is one of the best dongles I've heard and it's 3.5 only. 4.4 would be nice, but it's tiny and sounds so good. Anyways enough of this silliness, seek help.
 
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Mar 4, 2023 at 11:07 AM Post #41 of 416
He did try it with the HiFiman HE400 planar fullsize headphones and declare the FC6 fit for driving those with authority.

Oh and hi guys! 👋🏻

Honestly I don't know how anyone could of missed that in the review. He made sure he highlighted it and went into great detail about it driving the HE400 with no problems and with satisfaction. He was surprised.
 
Mar 4, 2023 at 11:39 AM Post #42 of 416
Honestly I don't know how anyone could of missed that in the review. He made sure he highlighted it and went into great detail about it driving the HE400 with no problems and with satisfaction. He was surprised.
Well, I'm not surprised about it. Happy that it's been picked up, but not surprised per se. 😄
 
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Mar 4, 2023 at 11:56 AM Post #43 of 416
Yeah he graded it similarly to the ru6 for power. Unsurprisingly it can’t keep up with the output of the DACport hd, but most dongles can’t. It’ll work better with iOS as a result. I guess Hiby was being conservative about output
 
Mar 4, 2023 at 12:15 PM Post #44 of 416
Well, the Chord Mojo 1 and 2 only have a 3.5mm SE output so it's not really the issue here.
 
Mar 4, 2023 at 1:53 PM Post #45 of 416
If you have read my earlier comment a 4.4 output for the convenience since a lot of people like myself have 4.4 headphones and iems. Never once have I said balanced being superior in SQ.
I have a mix of DAPs, dongles, 3.5 and 4.4 headphones and iems which I alternate, grab and go to commute. I don't always want to remember carrying an adaptor.
Kudos to you for having a "super low profile" fiio adaptor mine is a cable type.
How many dongles or DAPs in todays market comes only with 3.5?
It's not a technological breakthrough to ask for a 4.4 for user convenience? Cayin already done it and it's cheaper.
At $300 for a dongle, I'd say is premium and Hiby should have 4.4. Again, YMMV we all have different needs.
Whilst the following doesn't apply to me, there maybe people who are Tidal HiFi subscribers and/or own a significant digital library of MQA albums and they would inevitably benefit from the MQA rendering R2R architecture of the Hiby FC6. Otherwise an extra 90 bucks doesn't seem justified for the the tiniest marginal improvement the FC6 may make over the RU6 (as mentioned in Andy's ratings (RU6 v FC6 v Centrance Dacport HD)).

As for the 3.5 v 4.4, if Andy managed to run his HiFiMan Planars then this proves the FC6 has ample power as this headphone used to be the gold standard in terms of testing driving power. The 4.4 on the RU6 improves crossover accuracy for both L and R channels, but don't get me wrong the 3.5 gives more than enough juice to my 250Ω DT 880 Pros when set in High Gain mode, so how much juice do you actually require? Especially for on the go, which is a box that ALL dongles aspire to tick. Not to mention that the RU6 was mainly designed to power IEMs, so it's an added bonus that it can drive some power hungry headphones without clipping (and a much welcomed bonus at that).

If you're still arguing for more then it maybe more beneficial for you to shop for a decent desktop stack system.
 

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