[purplesun]

Additionally, I am having an issue with the standby. I have standby enabled in the system settings and the player is rated to have 50 days of standby. I had the player on standby for a little over 5 hours, and the battery had gone down 4%, at that rate, it would only last about 5 days on standby which is WAY less than the 50 days it's rated. Do you think I have a defective player?

My R3Pro is always on standby and almost never powered-down. I have left it unused, on standby, for few weeks (probably around 3 weeks) and return to it with more than 25% battery left. I'd would say your standby time looks quite bad. Maybe there's a process running in the background even when it's on standby.

 

[JuanLuis91]

ok, the new toy has just arrived. We will see if it surprises.

 

[pilgrimbilly]

ok, the new toy has just arrived. We will see if it surprises.

You won't need the DF

 

[Wiljen]

I promised some thoughts on R3pro vs R3Pro Saber some pages back - Here is the sound notes from my upcoming review.

Determining a DAPs sound quality is always tough in that so many other things play a role in what you hear. Source material, headphones, and even accessories can alter results. For this reason I used tracks, headphones, earphones and tips I am intimately familiar with so as not to attribute qualities of any of those to the DAP. The Saber has good linearity throughout with very little coloration added. The low end has good texture and weight when paired with headphones within its abilities but did struggle with the He6. Conversely, it worked well with the 600Ω Beyers so it struggled more with delivering enough power for He6 than with fighting high impedance ratings. The bass is not emphasized, but has good rumble and slam when called upon.

Mids are slightly dry compared to the R3pro (CL) but have a bit more detail and are a bit more realistic in timbre which is particularly evident when listening to strings. I listen to a lot of string quartet and orchestral works so this was a plus for the Saber. Vocals have good presence and are well articulated as well. Most headphones are voiced to push vocals slightly forward so it was nice to see a dap that didn't double down on this by adding an additional push. Guitar growl is well reproduced as well so this dap was equally at home with Yngwie and Mozart.

The top end shows off the full resolving power of the ESS chipset and is where to my ear the biggest departure is from the CL version. The R3pro CL was a bit smoothed over where as the Saber is more aggressive and a bit more realistic. The CL version tended to smooth over tracks that were by nature a bit rough and strident where as the Saber reproduces them in all their glory. For those who want something that always sounds good, the CL version may be a better choice, for those that want an accurate representation of the track, the Saber does a better job of it. Cymbals are sharp wtihout becoming metallic, snare rattle is realistic, and roll-off is somewhere above the headphones and earphones I was using so didn't limit air or sparkle.

The soundstage on the saber feels a bit deeper than that of the original CL with good dimensionality and some 3d feel. Instrument separation is improved over the CL version due to the slightly more aggressive nature of the ESS. Imaging is good on both and honestly not notably different between versions in my listening.

 

[JuanLuis91]

Does anyone know why the r3 pro does not respect álbum covers? In the folders that i have created on my micro sd, randomly all the songs in each folder appear with the same cover. Only the correct covers appear the songs that i hace outside the folders.

 

[4nradio]

I have the same set up and am getting the isine 10's Tuesday. Wondering if you have had any time to test this?

I tried to find settings of MSEB that I like with the R3 Pro and iSine 20, but never found any combination that approached the quality of settings in the Tonebooster Morphit plugin (for USB Audio Player Pro). I used Joe Bloggs suggested settings for MSEB but wasn't fully pleased.

However, I tried plugging in some published iSine 20 values from this page into the HiBy 10-band fixed equalizer and they work very well:

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_in-ear_2019v2/Audeze%20iSINE%2020

Over the last few days I've made only very minor adjustments to a couple of the sliders to suit my ears, but the settings at the link above work for me. It is an attempt to fit the iSine 20 to the Harmon Curve with a fixed equalizer. A parametric equalizer would be more accurate, but I'm happy with the result of the HiBy EQ tool.

Here's the link for a similar approach with the iSine 10: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_in-ear_2019v2/Audeze%20iSINE%2010

 

[hdoctous]

Does anyone know why the r3 pro does not respect álbum covers? In the folders that i have created on my micro sd, randomly all the songs in each folder appear with the same cover. Only the correct covers appear the songs that i hace outside the folders.

I actually found out that the r3pro has a hard time determining between embedded album covers versus cover files in a folder. I found the player is fastest with embedded covers and no cover pictures in folders.

 

[WNBC]

Appreciate your comparisons. I appreciate this little R3Pro a lot and what you describe in the Saber version is that icing on the cake that would put it over the top for me esp. the resolution vs smoothing differences.

Would you say for your preferences, overall the CL is 90-95% of the Saber?

I'm thinking I'll just add the Saber at some point rather than sell off the CL. CL is such a good source to feed equipment that having 2 of them isn't a bad thing.

Since you have both are holding onto each one?

Spoiler: Wiljen Review

I promised some thoughts on R3pro vs R3Pro Saber some pages back - Here is the sound notes from my upcoming review.

Determining a DAPs sound quality is always tough in that so many other things play a role in what you hear. Source material, headphones, and even accessories can alter results. For this reason I used tracks, headphones, earphones and tips I am intimately familiar with so as not to attribute qualities of any of those to the DAP. The Saber has good linearity throughout with very little coloration added. The low end has good texture and weight when paired with headphones within its abilities but did struggle with the He6. Conversely, it worked well with the 600Ω Beyers so it struggled more with delivering enough power for He6 than with fighting high impedance ratings. The bass is not emphasized, but has good rumble and slam when called upon.

Mids are slightly dry compared to the R3pro (CL) but have a bit more detail and are a bit more realistic in timbre which is particularly evident when listening to strings. I listen to a lot of string quartet and orchestral works so this was a plus for the Saber. Vocals have good presence and are well articulated as well. Most headphones are voiced to push vocals slightly forward so it was nice to see a dap that didn't double down on this by adding an additional push. Guitar growl is well reproduced as well so this dap was equally at home with Yngwie and Mozart.

The top end shows off the full resolving power of the ESS chipset and is where to my ear the biggest departure is from the CL version. The R3pro CL was a bit smoothed over where as the Saber is more aggressive and a bit more realistic. The CL version tended to smooth over tracks that were by nature a bit rough and strident where as the Saber reproduces them in all their glory. For those who want something that always sounds good, the CL version may be a better choice, for those that want an accurate representation of the track, the Saber does a better job of it. Cymbals are sharp wtihout becoming metallic, snare rattle is realistic, and roll-off is somewhere above the headphones and earphones I was using so didn't limit air or sparkle.

The soundstage on the saber feels a bit deeper than that of the original CL with good dimensionality and some 3d feel. Instrument separation is improved over the CL version due to the slightly more aggressive nature of the ESS. Imaging is good on both and honestly not notably different between versions in my listening.

 

[JuanLuis91]

The R3 Pro Saber is a tribute to the classic sound of a dac sabre. I clearly remember the signature of models like the Fiio X7 and Oppo HA-2, dynamic, transparent and bright with special focus on the treble. The dragonfly red I have, although it has more body, shares the same DNA as the other 2 models. The R3 Pro Saber pursues a dynamic, energetic and very revealing sound, it is actually very detailed especially in the treble region. The 3.5mm output is good, but the timbre is not very natural to me and the treble is a little sharp. Where it's really great, it's because of the balanced output, you get better control and extension, the timbre is more realistic, overall the sound becomes more refined. Really very impressed with its performance.

 

[Wiljen]

Appreciate your comparisons. I appreciate this little R3Pro a lot and what you describe in the Saber version is that icing on the cake that would put it over the top for me esp. the resolution vs smoothing differences.

Would you say for your preferences, overall the CL is 90-95% of the Saber?

I'm thinking I'll just add the Saber at some point rather than sell off the CL. CL is such a good source to feed equipment that having 2 of them isn't a bad thing.

Since you have both are holding onto each one?

Yes, I'd say 90-95% is about right although I suspect closer to 90 than 95.

 

[Eliozzi]

Hi, I got my R3 Pro a week ago, bought on Aliexpress from Hiby. I've experienced some boot problems after upgrading firmware to 1.3, when device tried to update again and again every time I power it on (version is already 1.3, checked in the "about"). Apart from time wasted to power it on, device was good sounding.
Today things gone worst: now balanced output does not work anymore, anche volume from 3.5 jack is quite low and always same level ignoring gain and volume level 0-100. I don't think this can be a software problem, however I've already tried to factory reset the device, but no luck.
Did someone had similar issues with this player? I'm contacting also seller, but they are slow to answer.
BR

 

[purplesun]

Hi, I got my R3 Pro a week ago, bought on Aliexpress from Hiby. I've experienced some boot problems after upgrading firmware to 1.3, when device tried to update again and again every time I power it on (version is already 1.3, checked in the "about"). Apart from time wasted to power it on, device was good sounding.
Today things gone worst: now balanced output does not work anymore, anche volume from 3.5 jack is quite low and always same level ignoring gain and volume level 0-100. I don't think this can be a software problem, however I've already tried to factory reset the device, but no luck.

Not something that I have encountered, but have you tried downloading a fresh copy of r3pro.upt & updating it? Beyond that, it does seem like issues that needs returning.

 

[WNBC]

Musicteck via Amazon has these Sabers in stock so I'm going to grab one. I think the Saber will be my flavor but I'll give them both an equal shot. I'm in the 40 year old age group so I crave that extended treble . 99 problems but treble ain't one of them. I will sell off the one I like less. That's my justification for not waiting as I said I would .

Yes, I'd say 90-95% is about right although I suspect closer to 90 than 95.

 

[russmarch]

Does anyone know why the r3 pro does not respect álbum covers? In the folders that i have created on my micro sd, randomly all the songs in each folder appear with the same cover. Only the correct covers appear the songs that i hace outside the folders.

I tried to find settings of MSEB that I like with the R3 Pro and iSine 20, but never found any combination that approached the quality of settings in the Tonebooster Morphit plugin (for USB Audio Player Pro). I used Joe Bloggs suggested settings for MSEB but wasn't fully pleased.

However, I tried plugging in some published iSine 20 values from this page into the HiBy 10-band fixed equalizer and they work very well:

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_in-ear_2019v2/Audeze%20iSINE%2020

Over the last few days I've made only very minor adjustments to a couple of the sliders to suit my ears, but the settings at the link above work for me. It is an attempt to fit the iSine 20 to the Harmon Curve with a fixed equalizer. A parametric equalizer would be more accurate, but I'm happy with the result of the HiBy EQ tool.

Here's the link for a similar approach with the iSine 10: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_in-ear_2019v2/Audeze%20iSINE%2010

Thank you. I used the one for isine10 but it appears the equalizer only does whole values ,but was certainly better than stock with no eq but not as good as the cipher. Is there a way to do decimal points or are you using whole #'s?
Thanks

 

[pilgrimbilly]

DEL