[jeffhawke]

I hope you are correct, that would be great news!

But still think that most potential buyers would like to see this Output Impedance actually measured with 32 ohm load; and reported officially before placing an order...

@Joe Bloggs This should be easy for one of the HiBy Tech Folks to do, and quickly get verified ?

+1

 

[goodvibes]

You could bypass the resistor ala the RWA AK100.

I don't think removing the resistor is a great idea unless otherwise compensated. Besides protection, it may not like reactance without that load. Hard to know without some experimentation. It also doesn't mean that the output impedance will be low either but probably does drop a lot. I'm not looking it up now but I believe the open loop output impedance is already 13 ohms. Once feedback is applied, it will significantly lower but we don't know how much. Measuring frequency response on a higher impedance device isn't the key hear. You need to measure it on a device that has a variable impedance curve with crossovers etc. A single DD of any impedance should look fine.

 

[reginalb]

I don't think removing the resistor is a great idea. Besides protection, it may not like reactance without that load. Hard to know without some experimentation. It also doesn't mean that the output impedance will be low either. I'm not looking it up now but I believe the open loop output impedance is already 13 ohms.

I don't disagree that it could be risky, but it's something that might work, I didn't think from what I read that the open loop impedance was that high, but I didn't spend a ton of time reading the docs, if I'm being honest, so I could be way off.

Measuring frequency response on a higher impedance device isn't the key hear. You need to measure it on a device that has a variable impedance curve with crossovers etc. A single DD of any impedance should look fine.

Again, no arguments here, If I had one in hand, then I'd run a test with my 12 ohm merlins the moment they were back from repair. If you're referring to the 32 ohm reference test I mentioned, that is because I'm not even sure the OI is low enough for that level of load, and since the documentation provided by TI specifically highlights it as "transparent in to a 32 ohm load" when you use a 10 ohm resistor, it would be useful to test that claim in my opinion.

And since my 32 ohm (rated) load is the Grado PS1000, which has an interesting little impedance spike, it would be about as challenging a 32 ohm load as you could measure.

 

[goodvibes]

That impedance bump represents about a 1db change at it's peak with a 10 ohm load. Audible but without knowing the character of the player, difficult to identify. The Merlins, on the other hand...

 

[reginalb]

That impedance bump represents about a 1db change at it's peak with a 10 ohm load. Audible but without knowing the character of the player, difficult to identify. The Merlins, on the other hand...

Well, you're about right, might be closer to 1.5 db.

But I'd like to see how this guy handles it because TI claims transparency.

 

[headwhacker]

So sad the likes of iBasso of Fiio can deliver the hardware. But falls short on software. It's just about the perfect player we are all waiting for. The high Z is a downer. At least there is time and Hiby can do a last minute change to fix the High Z.

 

[dlayman]

So sad the likes of iBasso of Fiio can deliver the hardware. But falls short on software. It's just about the perfect player we are all waiting for. The high Z is a downer. At least there is time and Hiby can do a last minute change to fix the High Z.

This player may be a great solution for some people who have IEM's without impedance swings but not at all for those who use hybrid with crossover transducers. We need more concrete info from Hiby, including measurements, or this promising device may face a huge hurdle.

 

[headwhacker]

This player may be a great solution for some people who have IEM's without impedance swings but not at all for those who use hybrid with crossover transducers. We need more concrete info from Hiby, including measurements, or this promising device may face a huge hurdle.

Well, we have so many DAPs out there already. Each has problems or lacking something. That is why we keep looking. We are all at head-fi and I belive majority if not all has a collection of headphones/iems. The holy grail is to have a single player that has at least no audible impact regardless of load and a platform that support modern features. The R6 is looking to be that player sans the the Z.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

I smell fruity rainbows!!

 

[xryptic]

Now I am worried if my Westone W80 will work well its a low impedance IEM (5ohm). From the specs on the 3.5mm output, this might not work well right? Still considering to back it.

 

[headwhacker]

Now I am worried if my Westone W80 will work well its a low impedance IEM (5ohm). From the specs on the 3.5mm output, this might not work well right? Still considering to back it.

Still waiting updates from @Joe Bloggs. But if the early reports that OI is 10Ohms then only iems/headphones around 80Ohms and above wont have audible impact.

 

[Nerdybeng]

Saw a deal for Cayin i5 at USD330 just before I saw this monster. Besides the balanced output, more recent Android, balanced output, any other major differences? Worth the additional USD150 and 5-month wait? Thanks!

 

[Joe Bloggs]

The output impedance of the R6 is still reported to be 10 ohm by the engineering department. Looking at schematics there's a fixed resistor in the signal path of that value so the logic from which output impedance is derived seems pretty fixed and straightforward.

The output impedance is what it is. Low-Z earphones with impedance swings will have their FR "shaped" to some extent according to voltage division rules. The upshot of that could be beneficial or bad for any given pair of earphones depending on the earphones' tuning at 0 ohm OI (e.g. we could have a BA set sounding dull / dark at 0 ohms yet with an impedance upswing in the treble range; the 10 ohm OI would then brighten up the earphones nicely. The opposite can hold true of course).

As far as driving ability is concerned, the 10 ohms are there precisely so that the TPA6120A may drive the lowest-Z earphones without distortion or instability. So theoretically low-Z earphones work "well". Damping factor is a term to be reserved for damping of driver resonances; low-Z IEMs have no such thing but have ear canal resonances which are not treatable via damping factor. The technical issue that remains then is the frequency response change noted above. Consult your earphones' impedance response curve and frequency response curve. Do frequency response peaks meet with impedance response dips or vice versa? Therein lies the answer to whether the R6 can complement your low-Z earphones. No impedance response data? Take a roll of the dice--or take advantage of the advanced tone shaping functions (the MageSound 8-ball) to be added to the R6 exclusive version of HiBy Music.

Finally, one indisputable benefit of a bit of output impedance is that they make low-Z earphones less sensitive to the amplifier, which reduces amp noise. When an amp has 300mW on tap even at 32 ohms and the multi-BA low-Z IEM in question has like 120dB / mW sensitivity, this is no trivial matter. For example I was testing a FiiO E17K headphone amp (0 OI, 200-odd mW into 32 ohms) against the R6 with one such pair of IEMs. The R6 sounded brighter with said IEMs, I was ambivalent about the merit of this for said IEMs. But the E17K hissed. Not just a little bit, but quite noticeably even at minimum gain.

Well, that is all I have to say on the subject for now. Whatever you decide, I'll be here waiting, listening to some happy tunes on my R6

With early seasons' greetings,
Joe

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

 

[reginalb]

No Play Store? Are you planning to try to sideload the Play Services? I'd definitely need at minimum the Google Cast API.