[o0genesis0o]

I'm reviewing the R8II at the moment, and I happen to have the R6 Pro II and R3II on hands. The R8II with Class A and turbo mode on is a treat for orchestral music. It manages to squeeze more stage and dynamic from my aging U12T and Andromeda 2020 than my iBasso DX300 could, so sonic wise, I'm impressed. The difference is particularly stark with the Andromeda 2020, though I expect that some output impedance matching shenanigan is going on here. For context, I pay a lot of attention to imaging and resolution, and I'm not happy with any dongle (including the L&P W4, though I have not tried RU7 and M15), quite happy with R3II and perfectly satisfied with DX300, before this chunk of stainless steel comes. Shouldn't have agreed to test it ...

Btw, love the giant battery inside this DAP. I have been using Class A, turbo mode with Effect Audio Gaea and the battery hasn't dropped that much since yesterday. The R6 Pro 2 would be dead once or twice by now with the same usage.

Edit: @Joe Bloggs : AFAIK, this R8II has R2R DAC inside. Shouldn't technically be RS8II. And you make me want to try a M300 with your DSP plugins.

 

[gLer]

Edit: @Joe Bloggs : AFAIK, this R8II has R2R DAC inside. Shouldn't technically be RS8II. And you make me want to try a M300 with your DSP plugins.

R8 II has a discrete PWM-based Delta Sigma DAC inside, with the Darwin MPA architecture. This is very different to the discrete R-2R DAC and Darwin II architecture inside the RS8, although the fundamentals of how Darwin works are the same. So no, R8 II is correct as it continues the R8's Delta Sigma lineage.

 

[MusicalDoc8]

The above was not entirely written to poke fun at @nioh . It does puzzle me why "proven" research results like the above (excepting some of the taller stories at the end) are never taken seriously (good thing I'm not in charge of marketing???) while opinions of buyers, reviewers, sellers, shills pretending to be buyers, spies pretending to be sellers, (not pointing at anyone owning / formerly owning the R8II, for sure) and everything in between, can always be counted on to go into the blender and come out as some authoritative consensus on how one player sounds compared to another. And if you know me, you know that I write from experience not "speculation" for some of the above technologies. I will admit that the audience reactions are pure fantasy excepting some vaguely similar reactions to one or two rubbish or not-so-rubbish sets of IEMs I played with 10 years ago...

I will say, I do believe that a DAP with a CPU more powerful than the one that took people to the moon should have more to do with how the music sounds, than "how the amplifier is voiced" (recessed mids??) or whether some synthetic lining on it is replaceable or not. And I do feel regretful that paragraphs expressing the utility of DSP sound processing for audio quality can blend in completely with the satire...

I would fully admit probably the "TOTL" segment is about twice/thrice the real "ideal" price. This in the DAP department.
In the IEM field, there's the latest "Unique Melody" that goes for 8000 bucks BEFORE taxes, and that just screams crazy. Same as the "if it's marble it's better" HE-1 and, in my humble opinion, most IEM who are in the 2k and more mark.
This hobby has really gone out of hand in the price department.

 

[elnineteenth]

I'm reviewing the R8II at the moment, and I happen to have the R6 Pro II and R3II on hands. The R8II with Class A and turbo mode on is a treat for orchestral music. It manages to squeeze more stage and dynamic from my aging U12T and Andromeda 2020 than my iBasso DX300 could, so sonic wise, I'm impressed. The difference is particularly stark with the Andromeda 2020, though I expect that some output impedance matching shenanigan is going on here. For context, I pay a lot of attention to imaging and resolution, and I'm not happy with any dongle (including the L&P W4, though I have not tried RU7 and M15), quite happy with R3II and perfectly satisfied with DX300, before this chunk of stainless steel comes. Shouldn't have agreed to test it ...

Btw, love the giant battery inside this DAP. I have been using Class A, turbo mode with Effect Audio Gaea and the battery hasn't dropped that much since yesterday. The R6 Pro 2 would be dead once or twice by now with the same usage.

Edit: @Joe Bloggs : AFAIK, this R8II has R2R DAC inside. Shouldn't technically be RS8II. And you make me want to try a M300 with your DSP plugins.

The battery life isn’t an issue for me with R6 Pro 2 since I’m always using it at home and my sessions are no longer than 3 hours. How does the R6 pro2 compare to R8ii in terms of sound, and technicality. I’m also like you I have the GAEA, Mest2, Xenns UP, Fatfreq SM, Heydey.

 

[Neweymatt]

This hobby has really gone out of hand in the price department.

In some cases it has, and in others it hasn't.

As I've said several times already, I reckon the R8ii offers very good value for money vs other TOTL DAPs, and HiBy deserves credit for driving prices lower if anything.

And despite UM's eye-watering pricing of their latest Mentor iteration, there's still plenty of good-value options available in IEM-land. While neither Noble Spartacus nor Elysian Annihilator could be considered "cheap", they both compete extremely well vs IEMs 1.5-2x their respective RRP imho, and sound fantastic with R8 II.

 

[gLer]

In some cases it has, and in others it hasn't.

As I've said several times already, I reckon the R8ii offers very good value for money vs other TOTL DAPs, and HiBy deserves credit for driving prices lower if anything.

And despite UM's eye-watering pricing of their latest Mentor iteration, there's still plenty of good-value options available in IEM-land. While neither Noble Spartacus nor Elysian Annihilator could be considered "cheap", they both compete extremely well vs IEMs 1.5-2x their respective RRP imho, and sound fantastic with R8 II.

Agreed, and as for exorbitant IEM pricing, without starting a flame war, I'll just say that I personally don't consider those ultra expensive UM IEMs indicative of the best you can get. Nowhere near it. Keep the change

 

[o0genesis0o]

The battery life isn’t an issue for me with R6 Pro 2 since I’m always using it at home and my sessions are no longer than 3 hours. How does the R6 pro2 compare to R8ii in terms of sound, and technicality. I’m also like you I have the GAEA, Mest2, Xenns UP, Fatfreq SM, Heydey.

To my ears, the stage is a step up, especially when the turbo mode of the R8II is turned on (It is as it should be, otherwise it's an embarrassment for HiBy ) HiBy is right about the soundstage prowess of the R8II. For stage nut and orchestral music lover like myself, R8II is a treat. It's hard to explain without appearing to be shilling (which is totally understandable from your point of view since I borrow this unit from HiBy), but in some orchestral tracks, the stage has a grand feeling as if the orchestra is projected in an arch in front of me. No, it's not like when you play VR or listening to biaural recording where the instruments seem to pop in the same room. It's like the "head stage", that "room" in your head expands. These observations are from the U12T and Gaea. Now, the R6P2 with class A can do the same in some tracks, but with all bells and whistles on, the R8II can do those tracks even better.

One more thing I like about the R8II is how it is dynamic, but it also rounds off the top of the transients just a touch. The Gaea for example is a bit less edgy than, say, Topping G5.

It's easy to get carried away with the new shiny toy, so I have been starting to compare the R8II with my DX300, which is also well known for staging. The headstage is a bit more expanded, though not that big of a deal. The most noticeable difference is the sharpness of transient. DX300 with stock amp has that kind of pillowy, rounded perception of the transients that becomes very apparent next to both R6P2 and R8II. Preference would determine which one is "better" in this case.

If I have a lot of disposable income, I would love to buy the R8II and use it side by side with DX300 for different mood. Since I don't have such luxury and don't want to sell my gear, I'm not sure I would go through the trouble, even though I'm super impressed. For most "reasonable" listeners, I still think the R6P2 is an excellent deal, perhaps more so than the R8II. But I have a week or so with the R8II to finalise the review, and boy I don't want to listen to anything but this one until I send it away

 

[Deferenz]

In some cases it has, and in others it hasn't.

As I've said several times already, I reckon the R8ii offers very good value for money vs other TOTL DAPs, and HiBy deserves credit for driving prices lower if anything.

And despite UM's eye-watering pricing of their latest Mentor iteration, there's still plenty of good-value options available in IEM-land. While neither Noble Spartacus nor Elysian Annihilator could be considered "cheap", they both compete extremely well vs IEMs 1.5-2x their respective RRP imho, and sound fantastic with R8 II.

How does Annihilator 2023 pair with the R8ii ?

I’m confused with the sometimes conflicting views that a powerful amp is needed to drive the Annihilator. I currently use the SP3000 but not sure whether I need to add an amp or not. The other alternative is to change my DAP and I must admit that the R8ii seems to tick a lot of boxes.

 

[Neweymatt]

How does Annihilator 2023 pair with the R8ii ?

I’m confused with the sometimes conflicting views that a powerful amp is needed to drive the Annihilator. I currently use the SP3000 but not sure whether I need to add an amp or not. The other alternative is to change my DAP and I must admit that the R8ii seems to tick a lot of boxes.

Very well!

TBH, I haven’t yet come to a conclusion whether I prefer Anni with the “cleaner” more neutral & accurate R8 II, or the richer, more organic R2R sound from my Bifrost2/Jotunheim2 desktop rig, and I’m starting to think I never will; both are outstanding each in their own way, and it’s more synergy with the source music itself and my own mood/temperament each day as to which I might prefer.

What they do have in common is a lot of juice, and I do think that does maximise an IEM like Annihilator’s potential. I don’t want to overstate this, Anni still sounds pretty great even with “lesser” sources like the 3.5mm jack on my laptop or an Apple dongle, but the stage expansion, especially depth, and improved dynamics are noticeable with better amping.

As ever the best way to know what works for you is to demo the gear in question. I don’t know Sp3k very well, I think I heard it once with Xe6 iirc and I really liked it.

 

[juwa]

I am interested in the Hiby R8II. Since I would also like to use the Hiby R8II as a USB DAC with HQPlayer, I would like to know whether it can also process up to DSD1014 and PCM1536 /32 bit in USB DAC mode.
Maybe an R8II owner can answer me.

 

[Leonarfd]

The R8 II is a huge improvement over the R6 Pro II. I bought both.

After my time the last weeks with R8 II its hard going back to R6 Pro 2, I feel the sound is in another league. Of course its easy to exaggerate the differences, but I have never heard a DAP before R8 II liked as much as my desktop gear. And this is with IEMs and earbuds.

 

[vadinoy]

Has anyone compared R8II with cayin N8II?

 

[twister6]

Has anyone compared R8II with cayin N8II?

Scroll down to comparison.

 

[Silverlinings]

Has anyone noticed a bug that I’m experiencing that the volume on the main screen sometimes doesn’t match the actual volume? I’ve changed the volume while listening in the Hiby app and then I go back out and the volume is different by 1 or 2 ticks. I guess if this is a bug there will be a firmware update at some point.
Also, my battery drains like 3-4% when off generally. I’ve had this with every other dap I’ve had so I don’t think this is unusual.

 

[Leonarfd]

Hey folks.
I just finished my review on the new flagship DAP HIBY R8 in the beautiful Bordeaux Red, I for one love the R8 II. Feel free to read, cheers.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hiby-r8-ii.27046/review/33072/