[Pretardo]

Here's how I see it.
When I bought my R6 pro and R5, the box made no mention MQA support. I purchased them knowing what they both were. A few months go by and, as a complete bonus from "left field," I find that I get a full unfold on my R5 and an x2 unfold on my R6 pro. This is a win, in my opinion.
My take on this is that HiBy had no obligation to me as a customer to support something that was not promised at the time of purchase. I see this as under-promising and over-delivering, which is usually what you want in a company as a customer. From the company perspective, I'd think that if I was handing out free ice cream, I'd be a bit irked if the last person in line said, "Hey, how come that person has more than me?"

Regarding customer support, yes, in an ideal world it needs to be kept professional and there better ways to communicate with customers with criticism. However, for me, I'd much rather communicate with "real people" on this forum than navigating an unending series of customer service phone menus. Unfortunately, people, in general, are complicated and communication is often messy. It's nice that in reading this thread that there has never been a form letter, but a person working hard to help people enjoy their music. Maybe I'm a glass-half-full person.

So here's my shot at a corporate customer response letter:

Dear valued customer,

Thank you for purchasing one of our exciting products. We are deeply saddened to hear that you are not currently engaged in aural ecstasy at the moment, and have taken it upon yourself to engage in a productive dialogue with our dedicated customer fulfilment representatives. It appears that you correctly identified one of our product's unique features and are saddened that this isolated feature does not meet your expectations. We thank you for your understanding in this manner and recommend you attempt the following:

1. Ensure that the device is charged to at least 70% capacity
2. Long press the "power button" until the device turns off.
3. Long press the "power button" again until the device turns on.

 

[magicrandy]

It seems like there might be an Android hang up that can be configured and fixed.
Here’s why I think this. I was picking up my R5 from service and needed to test it. I took out the card from my R6 and stuck it directly into my R5. It mounted the drive and in Hiby music I scanned the card. All of that went fine. I played a FLAC file and so far so good. I tried a DSD at 5.6MHz and it stuttered.
i almost gave it back to the service guy right then and there. But before doing that I thought about Google Play Services and how it drains a battery if it isn’t configured correctly.
I then went into the permissions for google play services, turned them all on and also granted phone permissions for the HiBy app. I powered off the device and gave it a little wait then restarted.
when everything loaded back up again. The card and the music read fine.
When I got home and mounted its own SD card in the R5 it worked fine and had no issues.
Hope that works for you, but if not try copying a high res file to the internal storage and playing it from there. If that doesn’t work then you may have more serious issues with the device.

Thanks for the reply.

Right now I’m letting the R6 play constantly to see if a burn in helps. If it still acts up I’ll follow your checklist.
Randy

 

[KarlAgathon]

Just got done listening to Billy Joel’s “the stranger” (FLAC)

Practically felt like I was listening to this album for the first time

And I didn’t even EQ or use the MESB.

 

[jsmiller58]

Here's how I see it.
When I bought my R6 pro and R5, the box made no mention MQA support. I purchased them knowing what they both were. A few months go by and, as a complete bonus from "left field," I find that I get a full unfold on my R5 and an x2 unfold on my R6 pro. This is a win, in my opinion.
My take on this is that HiBy had no obligation to me as a customer to support something that was not promised at the time of purchase. I see this as under-promising and over-delivering, which is usually what you want in a company as a customer. From the company perspective, I'd think that if I was handing out free ice cream, I'd be a bit irked if the last person in line said, "Hey, how come that person has more than me?"

Regarding customer support, yes, in an ideal world it needs to be kept professional and there better ways to communicate with customers with criticism. However, for me, I'd much rather communicate with "real people" on this forum than navigating an unending series of customer service phone menus. Unfortunately, people, in general, are complicated and communication is often messy. It's nice that in reading this thread that there has never been a form letter, but a person working hard to help people enjoy their music. Maybe I'm a glass-half-full person.

So here's my shot at a corporate customer response letter:

Dear valued customer,

Thank you for purchasing one of our exciting products. We are deeply saddened to hear that you are not currently engaged in aural ecstasy at the moment, and have taken it upon yourself to engage in a productive dialogue with our dedicated customer fulfilment representatives. It appears that you correctly identified one of our product's unique features and are saddened that this isolated feature does not meet your expectations. We thank you for your understanding in this manner and recommend you attempt the following:

1. Ensure that the device is charged to at least 70% capacity
2. Long press the "power button" until the device turns off.
3. Long press the "power button" again until the device turns on.

Well, I agree wholeheartedly with you that we bought this product without any promise or expectation of MQA support. And, again, I love my R6 Pro as is. I just wish it had more. Nothing wrong with wishing that, and asking about it. The question arises because other models in the series were provided support. This naturally gives way to the question of would R6 Pro receive support for MQA. A question I have seen asked a number of times on this thread, with no response. Again, we are not owed MQA support as it was not in the product spec, nor are we actually even owed an answer.

So when another person a couple of pages back posted the same question I posted a response that I thought it would never happen as in my opinion the R6 Pro is caught between the R5 and upcoming R8, hence not likely to receive support that might detract from sales of R8 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hib...-to-popular-dap.895449/page-194#post-15432209 Pure speculation on my part, filling the void created by the lack of any previous response. Also, it was quite an innocuous response. Yet inexplicably @Joe Bloggs lit into me for my response. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hib...-to-popular-dap.895449/page-194#post-15432381 Now that is something inexcusable for someone on this forum assigned by his employer to represent them. I know if I responded in such a way while representing my employer I would be fired.

I am not suggesting that @Joe Bloggs lose his job. Of course not. But, while I recognize that @Joe Bloggs has been a great asset to many, he also should be held to standards of professionalism and common courtesy. In any event, as he is HiBy’s rep, as far as I am concerned his actions - for good or ill - are the actions of his employer. Hence, while I really like my R6 Pro, I won’t patronize HiBy in the future.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I would have thought the line "But then I am not in marketing... I would first have to lose a quarter of my IQ... ok, come on, the shot was there... who wouldn’t take it?" was designed to make anyone representing HiBy lose his lunch and anything goes as a response to that but maybe that's just me.

Also, though I do represent them, I must be less tightly affiliated with HiBy and paid less by them than you think I am For one thing, I don't know that much about if they intend to support MQA on the R6 pro in the future and am just expanding on why they haven't do so so far.

 

[Stu Paddasso]

As the wise old saying goes "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face" Hiby makes a good product and who knows what the future holds

 

[mihaig]

I will leave this here 3 https://archimago.blogspot.com/2017/09/mqa-core-vs-hi-res-blind-test-part-ii.html

 

[Ceteru]

Can't say I've ever seen the forum equivalent of "HOW CAN HE SLAP?" before

I see this all the time working in Enterprise IT; a customer will make a biting remark that serves no purpose other than to jab at Support, and when they get a bit of a jab back, they throw their hands up and flop harder than Neymar.

Additionally, when the customer makes a complaint about "Support's behavior in this situation", they make sure to highlight that they just made a "simple statement", or an "innocuous remark"; of course, they conveniently leave out the jab that they made that started the issue in the first place.

People sure do like hiding behind the idea of "Customer is always right", but a lot of them need to learn that doesn't mean you can say whatever you want with no repercussions.

Should Joe have said something different in response (or simply have ignored the swing at him)? Probably. I know in my job I have things I would love to say to rude customers, but I can't/don't.

However, like Joe and Pretardo said, A. Joe's not that closely affiliated with HiBy, and B. everyone makes mistakes. Joe was goaded and he gave into it; we've all been there.

Also, I find it ironic that the sentence "But then I am not in marketing... I would first have to lose a quarter of my IQ... ok, come on, the shot was there... who wouldn’t take it?" is somehow "a mild attempt at humor", but the response "I'll just tell them to mark the update down another ten notches on the priority list maybe?" is somehow crossing the line.

@jsmiller58, stop stirring the pot and then complaining when you catch a bit of heat.

If Joe's SINGLE response to you somehow indicates that he as a whole is unprofessional and rude (funny that considering how long he's been here and how well-respected he is) and HiBy doesn't deserve your business from now on, A. you're clearly a psychic that can read a person's entire personality from one encounter, and B. it might indeed be best for you to move on as you described (perhaps growing some thicker skin of your own in the process too?)

/rant

 

[jsmiller58]

I would have thought the line "But then I am not in marketing... I would first have to lose a quarter of my IQ... ok, come on, the shot was there... who wouldn’t take it?" was designed to make anyone representing HiBy lose his lunch and anything goes as a response to that but maybe that's just me.

Also, though I do represent them, I must be less tightly affiliated with HiBy and paid less by them than you think I am For one thing, I don't know that much about if they intend to support MQA on the R6 pro in the future and am just expanding on why they haven't do so so far.

From my first response to you... I suggested you get a little thicker skin if that was what you flipped out over. It was an attempt at humor. AND, even if it offended you, which it wasn’t intended to, consider your job and role. You represent your company. Think - was your response professional, did it show your company in its best light? Not, how did you feel about it, but what light does it shine on your employer.

Edit: now that I understand why you were upset, I apologize that the joke I made offended you. It was not an attempt at insulting you.

I have no idea what department in HiBy you are a part of. Marketing, tech support, Social Media. In most companies product features are decided in Marketing, that was what I was trying to in a good natured way make light of.

In my opinion, that I will not be shaken from, you really should simply have responded to the main part of the post and ignored the joke. Or you could have pointed out that you are in Marketing and that you thought what I said offended you. I would have apologized on the spot. No matter what, you represent your company and the nature of your interactions with others reflects on you and your company. Hence no future purchases on my part.

But, as clearly you took offense at my joke, I nonetheless apologize.

 

[jsmiller58]

Can't say I've ever seen the forum equivalent of "HOW CAN HE SLAP?" before

I see this all the time working in Enterprise IT; a customer will make a biting remark that serves no purpose other than to jab at Support, and when they get a bit of a jab back, they throw their hands up and flop harder than Neymar.

Additionally, when the customer makes a complaint about "Support's behavior in this situation", they make sure to highlight that they just made a "simple statement", or an "innocuous remark"; of course, they conveniently leave out the jab that they made that started the issue in the first place.

People sure do like hiding behind the idea of "Customer is always right", but a lot of them need to learn that doesn't mean you can say whatever you want with no repercussions.

Should Joe have said something different in response (or simply have ignored the swing at him)? Probably. I know in my job I have things I would love to say to rude customers, but I can't/don't.

However, like Joe and Pretardo said, A. Joe's not that closely affiliated with HiBy, and B. everyone makes mistakes. Joe was goaded and he gave into it; we've all been there.

Also, I find it ironic that the sentence "But then I am not in marketing... I would first have to lose a quarter of my IQ... ok, come on, the shot was there... who wouldn’t take it?" is somehow "a mild attempt at humor", but the response "I'll just tell them to mark the update down another ten notches on the priority list maybe?" is somehow crossing the line.

@jsmiller58, stop stirring the pot and then complaining when you catch a bit of heat.

If Joe's SINGLE response to you somehow indicates that he as a whole is unprofessional and rude (funny that considering how long he's been here and how well-respected he is) and HiBy doesn't deserve your business from now on, A. you're clearly a psychic that can read a person's entire personality from one encounter, and B. it might indeed be best for you to move on as you described (perhaps growing some thicker skin of your own in the process too?)

/rant

Trust me, I can take it as well as I dish it. Read my posts - I have been very polite in my responses. But, as a customer I don’t need to have “support” “slap” at me. That is NOT acceptable (any of you think it is go ask your employers). I have said it multiple times now:

1. MQA question was asked many times in this 195 page thread and not answered.
2. I speculated because the void was there to be filled. And I still think my speculation makes sense, whether or not I am right.
3. I believe that those who represent their employers - in physical settings and on line - have to behave professionally
4. @Joe Bloggs has been an invaluable resource to this community
5. Being an invaluable resource does not give him the right to behave unprofessionally.
6. I like my R6 Pro, regardless of whether it has full MQA unfolding support. But I would like it more if it did.
7. I will not buy HiBy products in the future. Consequence of @Joe Bloggs response to me. And this is why people should behave professionally when dealing with customers.

Turns out that @Joe Bloggs admits his buttons were pushed because I made a joke about marketing when I said I was just guessing about HiBy’s reasons for not supporting MQA, but that I couldn’t know for sure as I wasn’t in marketing as I would have to lose a quarter of my IQ points first (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hib...-to-popular-dap.895449/page-194#post-15432209). First, mild attempt at humor. Second, @Joe Bloggs I am sincerely sorry if that offended, that was definitely not my intent! Third, who has NOT made a joke about Marketing? I am an engineer, and at least in my profession, pretty close to 100% have. And speaking of engineers, my whole life people have made jokes about nerdy engineers and I’ve never once lit into anyone because of it. Sometimes the jokes were very funny. Other times not so much. Good humor should get a laugh, bad humor an eye roll.

Anyway, loyalty is a marvelous trait. I am glad for @Joe Bloggs and for HiBy by extension that he has loyal fans. Speaks volumes to the value HiBy customers receive from him. However, in my eyes the great things he brings to the party does not excuse him behaving unprofessionally. I won’t give him a pass for that - he should not have, and once he did he should have simply apologized and moved on. The rest of you might give him a pass, and that is completely YOUR right and choice and I respect it. In return will you respect my right to not find it acceptable?

Now, you gave to me, and I have given back to you. It is your choice, do you want to argue with me that I am wrong? Feel free, I can keep going because I know that professionals should behave professionally and will continue to hold my ground on that point. But, I will do so reasonably and calmly - making each point clearly and unemotionally. On the other hand, I am done. Made my case. Moving on - unless you feel the need to tell me I am wrong on any of my points. I can take it, and give back.

 

[Ceteru]

Trust me, I can take it as well as I dish it. Read my posts - I have been very polite in my responses. But, as a customer I don’t need to have “support” “slap” at me. That is NOT acceptable (any of you think it is go ask your employers). I have said it multiple times now:

1. MQA question was asked many times in this 195 page thread and not answered.
2. I speculated because the void was there to be filled. And I still think my speculation makes sense, whether or not I am right.
3. I believe that those who represent their employers - in physical settings and on line - have to behave professionally
4. @Joe Bloggs has been an invaluable resource to this community
5. Being an invaluable resource does not give him the right to behave unprofessionally.
6. I like my R6 Pro, regardless of whether it has full MQA unfolding support. But I would like it more if it did.
7. I will not buy HiBy products in the future. Consequence of @Joe Bloggs response to me. And this is why people should behave professionally when dealing with customers.

Turns out that @Joe Bloggs admits his buttons were pushed because I made a joke about marketing when I said I was just guessing about HiBy’s reasons for not supporting MQA, but that I couldn’t know for sure as I wasn’t in marketing as I would have to lose a quarter of my IQ points first. First, mild attempt at humor. Second, @Joe Bloggs I am sincerely sorry if that offended, that was definitely not my intent! Third, who has NOT made a joke about Marketing? I am an engineer, and at least in my profession, pretty close to 100% have. My whole life people have made jokes about nerdy engineers and I’ve never once lit into anyone because of it. Good humor should get a laugh, bad humor an eye roll.

Anyway, loyalty is a marvelous trait. I am glad for @Joe Bloggs and for HiBy by extension that he has loyal fans. Speaks volumes to the value HiBy customers receive from him. However, in my eyes the great things he brings to the party does not excuse him behaving unprofessionally. I won’t give him a pass for that - he should not have, and once he did he should have simply apologized and moved on. The rest of you might give him a pass, and that is completely YOUR right and choice and I respect it.

Now, you gave to me, and I have given back to you. It is your choice, do you want to argue with me that I am wrong? Feel free, I can keep going because I know that professionals should behave professionally and will continue to hold my ground on that point. But, I will do so reasonably and calmly - making each point clearly and unemotionally. On the other hand, I am done. Made my case. Moving on - unless you feel the need to tell me I am wrong on any of my points. I can take it, and give back.

Hey jsmiller58,

We're in agreement that professionals should act professionally, but I'll have to disagree with you that you're approaching this calmly/reasonably.

You seem to hold the belief that making statements about IQ, people needing thicker skin, obviously needing time off because they seem like they need it, etc. falls into "being very polite in my responses". Not quite.

Joe made a statement out of frustration (likely partly due to that exact continuous question being asked, and partly due to your jab at him).

While it definitely could have been worded better/not made at all, it's nowhere near the level of rude and unprofessional you're making it out to be; hence, my point towards you about thicker skin on your part. For someone with the experience that you obviously possess, I would think that you've seen what actually constitutes "lighting into" someone. This is not it.

Believe me, if Joe had gone off the rails and started tearing into everyone left and right, I would be right there beside you taking my business elsewhere.

I actually have done that with the Venture Electronics brand; when it came out that the guy who had control over everything was insulting people who didn't like his products, banning anyone who didn't leave him 5 star reviews from being able to buy his products, etc., that, along with his initial responses when he was called out on this behavior, completely crossed the line of no return for me. I haven't bought a VE product since, and I don't plan to for the foreseeable future.

Joe didn't do anything near that heinous, let's be real.

All things considered, I think you should just admit that you shouldn't have said what you said, and Joe shouldn't have either, and we can all move on (I mean everyone will move on in their own way regardless, but what's the point in holding grudges, eh?)

This didn't just happen in a vacuum, the responsibility lies on both sides.

I get the frustration from your point of view with the MQA situation. And I get something of your affront to the response you received.

But if anyone is overreacting a bit here, I would say it's you; boycotting HiBy as a company because you had one (partially self-inflicted) less-than-favorable (but not especially heinous) interaction with one of their affiliates is perhaps just a little extreme?

It is your choice if you want to do that, but nobody here wants you to; we'd all rather continue having good conversations about good audio

Either way, have a good one, and enjoy your R6.

 

[Pretardo]

Hey jsmiller58,

We're in agreement that professionals should act professionally, but I'll have to disagree with you that you're approaching this calmly/reasonably.

You seem to hold the belief that making statements about IQ, people needing thicker skin, obviously needing time off because they seem like they need it, etc. falls into "being very polite in my responses". Not quite.

Joe made a statement out of frustration (likely partly due to that exact continuous question being asked, and partly due to your jab at him).

While it definitely could have been worded better/not made at all, it's nowhere near the level of rude and unprofessional you're making it out to be; hence, my point towards you about thicker skin on your part. For someone with the experience that you obviously possess, I would think that you've seen what actually constitutes "lighting into" someone. This is not it.

Believe me, if Joe had gone off the rails and started tearing into everyone left and right, I would be right there beside you taking my business elsewhere.

I actually have done that with the Venture Electronics brand; when it came out that the guy who had control over everything was insulting people who didn't like his products, banning anyone who didn't leave him 5 star reviews from being able to buy his products, etc., that, along with his initial responses when he was called out on this behavior, completely crossed the line of no return for me. I haven't bought a VE product since, and I don't plan to for the foreseeable future.

Joe didn't do anything near that heinous, let's be real.

All things considered, I think you should just admit that you shouldn't have said what you said, and Joe shouldn't have either, and we can all move on (I mean everyone will move on in their own way regardless, but what's the point in holding grudges, eh?)

This didn't just happen in a vacuum, the responsibility lies on both sides.

I get the frustration from your point of view with the MQA situation. And I get something of your affront to the response you received.

But if anyone is overreacting a bit here, I would say it's you; boycotting HiBy as a company because you had one (partially self-inflicted) less-than-favorable (but not especially heinous) interaction with one of their affiliates is perhaps just a little extreme?

It is your choice if you want to do that, but nobody here wants you to; we'd all rather continue having good conversations about good audio

Either way, have a good one, and enjoy your R6.

Thank you!

 

[jsmiller58]

Hey jsmiller58,

We're in agreement that professionals should act professionally, but I'll have to disagree with you that you're approaching this calmly/reasonably.

You seem to hold the belief that making statements about IQ, people needing thicker skin, obviously needing time off because they seem like they need it, etc. falls into "being very polite in my responses". Not quite.

Joe made a statement out of frustration (likely partly due to that exact continuous question being asked, and partly due to your jab at him).

While it definitely could have been worded better/not made at all, it's nowhere near the level of rude and unprofessional you're making it out to be; hence, my point towards you about thicker skin on your part. For someone with the experience that you obviously possess, I would think that you've seen what actually constitutes "lighting into" someone. This is not it.

Believe me, if Joe had gone off the rails and started tearing into everyone left and right, I would be right there beside you taking my business elsewhere.

I actually have done that with the Venture Electronics brand; when it came out that the guy who had control over everything was insulting people who didn't like his products, banning anyone who didn't leave him 5 star reviews from being able to buy his products, etc., that, along with his initial responses when he was called out on this behavior, completely crossed the line of no return for me. I haven't bought a VE product since, and I don't plan to for the foreseeable future.

Joe didn't do anything near that heinous, let's be real.

All things considered, I think you should just admit that you shouldn't have said what you said, and Joe shouldn't have either, and we can all move on (I mean everyone will move on in their own way regardless, but what's the point in holding grudges, eh?)

This didn't just happen in a vacuum, the responsibility lies on both sides.

I get the frustration from your point of view with the MQA situation. And I get something of your affront to the response you received.

But if anyone is overreacting a bit here, I would say it's you; boycotting HiBy as a company because you had one (partially self-inflicted) less-than-favorable (but not especially heinous) interaction with one of their affiliates is perhaps just a little extreme?

It is your choice if you want to do that, but nobody here wants you to; we'd all rather continue having good conversations about good audio

Either way, have a good one, and enjoy your R6.

Well I have no issue with you having your opinion. I have mine and what you have stated above does not change it. What I see as an overreaction you don’t. Just as what I said as purely a joke clearly you and @Joe Bloggs don't see it the same way.

Like I mentioned already, I have said my piece. Will only respond if responded to. Moving this thread right along, let’s view it this way, just as two people will read things differently, two people will hear audio differently! Maybe audio is the best continuation here.

 

[Pretardo]

I will leave this here 3 https://archimago.blogspot.com/2017/09/mqa-core-vs-hi-res-blind-test-part-ii.html

That’s an awesome analysis. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[jsmiller58]

That’s an awesome analysis. Thanks for sharing that.

People want support or features all the time that might not make sense... have you seen what is in a mansion, private jet, or high end sports car? Or the family that drives a Range Rover or other high end SUV when the most challenging terrain they encounter is a pothole on the way to the supermarket?

I agree that MQA is likely useless, and possibly detrimental. Doesn’t stop me from wanting it Companies should identify and fill market needs. Remember the old adage “The customer is always right.” It is important to help educate customers so they can make smarter buying decisions, so making public analysis like the one you linked to is a great public service. But the demand is still there for now. May as well fill it