[dlayman]

From their contact info on their web pages, Hidizs and Hibyappear to be HQ'd in the same industrial complex in the same city in China, but different buildings. That probably doesn't mean very much.

 

[Hero of Time]

Hello all,

I've recently been in the hunt for a DAP, and I've been doing endless amounts of research on what's out there and what would fit me best. Really, I'm not too picky with what's out there. I want a smartphone replacement without cellular capabilities. I've been eyeballing the Pioneer XDP-300R and the HiBy R6 at this point. What would you guys recommend? To give a little information about both...

Although both DAPs have Qualcomm SoCs, the HiBy R6's processor has less graphical performance but more general workload performance, whereas the Pioneer XDP-300R's processor has less general workload performance but more graphical performance. The HiBy R6 has 3GB of RAM, and the Pioneer XDP-300R has 2GB of RAM. The HiBy's screen size is 4.2" versus the Pioneer's screen size of 4.7", which is a big factor for me. The screen resolution is pretty much the same for both. Battery life doesn't matter much to me, with the HiBy offering 12 hours of battery life versus the Pioneer's 16 hours of battery life. One thing that bothers me about the HiBy is that it has one microSD slot versus Pioneer's two microSD slot offering. The HiBy R6 is equipped with Android 6.0, but the Pioneer XDP-300R is only equipped with Android 5.1. Another thing that I've been bothered about is that even though a lot of devices out there are equipped with great internals for audio, you must use the application shipped with the device to take advantage of the hardware. I see on HiBy's advertisement that "... today for the first time, you will be sending the original signal to the DAC, to be converted into the original sound reaching your ears. From almost all Android apps, not just the one or two hi-res compatible apps bundled with the player." This is a good thing obviously, but the Pioneer XDP-300R doesn't have this feature (from what I'm aware of). Lastly, the HiBy can be purchased right now for $510, and the Pioneer can be purchased right now for $400.

I would have mentioned the actual audio internals in them, but I don't know much about it all. I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could help me decide which one I should get. The headphones I'll be using will be HD 380 Pro, EPH-100, and Samsung earphones tuned by AKG.

 

[noknok23]

You plan to use it like an "iPod touch" right? 2gb of ram with android 5.0 is a bit old imo.
Hiby R6 will be probably nice and smooth for browsing, mail, YouTube, etc although it's obviously isn't designed for it.
Cutting edge equalisers, digital filters, etc. You can fine tune the sound to your liking in ways that has never been achieved before, is, imo, what makes this DAP really intriguing to me. It could potentially sounds good with virtually any earphones
The only issue is that, as of now, only a couple of professional reviews are available with no real downside pointed out. Either you take the bet or wait for the first wave of buyers to get a broader view of what this thing has to offer.
The pioneer use sabre dac, it suppose to match better with warm earphones. I don't think it's a bad choice at all but haven't tried.

 

[lucasbrea]

hiby r6 picture from factory

 

[Yuurei]

hiby r6 picture from factory

So much nakedness, this should be flagged as NSFW

 

[Hero of Time]

You plan to use it like an "iPod touch" right? 2gb of ram with android 5.0 is a bit old imo.
Hiby R6 will be probably nice and smooth for browsing, mail, YouTube, etc although it's obviously isn't designed for it.
Cutting edge equalisers, digital filters, etc. You can fine tune the sound to your liking in ways that has never been achieved before, is, imo, what makes this DAP really intriguing to me. It could potentially sounds good with virtually any earphones
The only issue is that, as of now, only a couple of professional reviews are available with no real downside pointed out. Either you take the bet or wait for the first wave of buyers to get a broader view of what this thing has to offer.
The pioneer use sabre dac, it suppose to match better with warm earphones. I don't think it's a bad choice at all but haven't tried.

Yes! That's a good way of putting it. Actually, I was tempted to get the 6th generation iPod Touch. I have nothing against Apple, but I have a hard time navigating their OS on both mobile and desktop so that's not an option for me. I understand what you're saying though. Really, I would like to hear something from people who do have the Pioneer XDP-300R and the HiBy R6. I'm torn between these two, and I'm unsure which one to get. Another turn off is being forced to use the balanced output to take advantage of both DACs (let alone only using the integrated player to bypass SRC). I'm completely unsure if either DAPs do that though.

 

[Detectit]

Well i have decided to wait until it's released.
A feature which must be working well for me is the wifi reception. And as it's a full metal body i have my doubts a bit. (Hidisz Ap200 in my mind too)
In the smartphone industry you see full metal bodys with cutouts for wifi and Bluetooth antenna's like the HTC 10.

I rather pay that little extra money more when I read positive notes here. And have an awesome sounding all in one device.

Maybe i am a bit too anxious... But for me it's a investment i want to spend well.

Although i trust the bad guy good audio reviews observations...

 

[Tinnitus Man]

I recall seeing photos somewhere (I forget where now) of the metal chassis for this player. The metal part is only around the sides and the lower part of the front. The back is open - I assume that the WiFi signal will be unaffected. The reviews I've seen don't mention that streaming services are awful on this device.

Yeah, it's shown in the official product video.

 

[Detectit]

I recall seeing photos somewhere (I forget where now) of the metal chassis for this player. The metal part is only around the sides and the lower part of the front. The back is open - I assume that the WiFi signal will be unaffected. The reviews I've seen don't mention that streaming services are awful on this device.

Yeah, it's shown in the official product video.

Okay that's nice to know. I thought it was an all metal body construction.

 

[Yuurei]

I think someone asked Joe about streaming (probably because many DAPs have a problem with streaming services - that's my main problem with X5-3) and he answered that there were some problems but they were able to fix them by changing buffer size (if I remember this right). So I hope that's true as Tidal is my main source of music right now.

 

[Detectit]

It's pretty strange indeed that more DAP's face this issue.
Isn't this one of the main things to get an Android DAP? To stream audio? Next to sound signature that has to be the main focus.
I can stream wifi DSD512 from my NAS on a 50 dollar Tinker board. Without a glitch.

 

[Yuurei]

I suppose this could be an issue caused by lack of processing power of CPUs in DAPs. To quote from Darko's article (full article is here https://darko.audio/2016/09/global-feedback-the-battle-for-gapless-playback-vol-2/):

For proper gapless playback of digital files, the music playback software must read ahead and buffer the incoming track before the currently playing track comes to a close. This often requires two CPU threads: one to handle playback now and the other to pre-fetch file data that will soon require playback.

So maybe that's true. In my case, in Fiio X5-3 the Rockchip CPU can handle both Android OS and proper streaming and that is a cause of stuttering during playback from Tidal. But these are just my assumptions as I'm not a technician

 

[Tinnitus Man]

I'm buying the HiBy because I'm slightly annoyed by the sluggish UI on my AK Jr. My previous Sony ZX2 was also sluggish in this respect. In this age of smartphones having slick/snappy user interfaces, I don't know why modern DAPs can't also be slick.

So I'm hoping the HiBy will be a joy to use in comparison.

 

[Currawong]

Hiby, as I understand it, was the OEM for other DAP manufacturers, either providing software, or hardware and software.

It's pretty strange indeed that more DAP's face this issue.
Isn't this one of the main things to get an Android DAP? To stream audio? Next to sound signature that has to be the main focus.
I can stream wifi DSD512 from my NAS on a 50 dollar Tinker board. Without a glitch.

My wireless router is 3m from me, and yet only my Apple devices get a good signal. Every Android-based DAP I've owned has been rubbish when it comes to wireless. With the R6, holding it up in the air, I can get a good signal, but that signal plummets when I put it on my desk. So for streaming, it would ideally sit in some kind of dock that allows the back of the device better wireless reception.

I imagine much of the problem is that cell phone makers have a lot of money which they can use to build testing facilities and develop excellent signal reception in their devices. DAP manufacturers don't have as much.

 

[Detectit]

Hiby, as I understand it, was the OEM for other DAP manufacturers, either providing software, or hardware and software.



My wireless router is 3m from me, and yet only my Apple devices get a good signal. Every Android-based DAP I've owned has been rubbish when it comes to wireless. With the R6, holding it up in the air, I can get a good signal, but that signal plummets when I put it on my desk. So for streaming, it would ideally sit in some kind of dock that allows the back of the device better wireless reception.

I imagine much of the problem is that cell phone makers have a lot of money which they can use to build testing facilities and develop excellent signal reception in their devices. DAP manufacturers don't have as much.

Yes maybe...or do they use better wifi components?
Or give us some SMA screw connectors so you can mount a wifi antenna.
Did you also test Android DAP's from the main brands like Pioneer for instance?