[tablo80]

R8ii vs N7 anyone? Sorry if this was discussed before already. I couldn’t find it

 

[Murgatroid]

R8ii vs N7 anyone? Sorry if this was discussed before already. I couldn’t find it

I"m particularly interested in this as well. I find both designs fascinating in that they are custom discrete solutions and both priced similarly. I love the engineering that went into both.

I think @twister6 covered this in his review, but the more the merrier!

 

[tablo80]

I"m particularly interested in this as well. I find both designs fascinating in that they are custom discrete solutions and both priced similarly. I love the engineering that went into both.

I think @twister6 covered this in his review, but the more the merrier!

Since I mainly use high impedance, hard to drive earbuds I am curious which one has a better amp section too.

 

[Leonarfd]

Since I mainly use high impedance, hard to drive earbuds I am curious which one has a better amp section too.

R8 II is more powerful than N7, the 300ohm VE Zen 3.0 lacked dynamics and fulness on N7 while R8 II is at a acceptable level where I enjoy it.

 

[tablo80]

R8 II is a small amount more powerful than N7, the 300ohm VE Zen 3.0 lacked dynamics and fulness on N7 while R8 II is at a acceptable level where I enjoy it.

Oh good to know. Cheers.

 

[davidmolliere]

I would say R8 II is significantly more powerful than N7, it's not such a small gap IMHO.
I can tell plugging the notoriously hard to drive DCA Stealth : N7 can't drive it no point using it with it... R8 II can do quite a decent job of it so there is that...

 

[audionewbi]

Soundstage/general first impression: R8ii is the widest sounding DAP I've tried and it has a strong bass note presence.
Out of my IER-M9, the bass note appear to be playing with slight more emphasis compared to my other DAP.
To my ears, DSD plays remarkably good on R8ii than RS8 (speaking from memory), and N8ii/RS6 (direct comparasion).

Now, the soundstage is all width, and not much depth. Well the depth is there, but the width of soundstage projection mask it. This is where RS8 masterfully is able to maintain the balance, and to my ears no other DAP do soundstage as good as RS8.


Cons: This dap is just too heavy with the case. Without the case, it feels alot less larger, but it is heavy enough to pull your pants down(better start wearing a belt). The Darwin 1 DSD filter, just like RS6 and RS8 has a constant waterfall noise. I don't know when Hiby will fix that.
It gets warm, but nothing too crazy. We are having a 41 degree celsius day in 3 days, I don't think I'll be taking R8ii out that day.

 

[elnineteenth]

Soundstage/general first impression: R8ii is the widest sounding DAP I've tried and it has a strong bass note presence.
Out of my IER-M9, the bass note appear to be playing with slight more emphasis compared to my other DAP.
To my ears, DSD plays remarkably good on R8ii than RS8 (speaking from memory), and N8ii/RS6 (direct comparasion).

Now, the soundstage is all width, and not much depth. Well the depth is there, but the width of soundstage projection mask it. This is where RS8 masterfully is able to maintain the balance, and to my ears no other DAP do soundstage as good as RS8.


Cons: This dap is just too heavy with the case. Without the case, it feels alot less larger, but it is heavy enough to pull your pants down(better start wearing a belt). The Darwin 1 DSD filter, just like RS6 and RS8 has a constant waterfall noise. I don't know when Hiby will fix that.
It gets warm, but nothing too crazy. We are having a 41 degree celsius day in 3 days, I don't think I'll be taking R8ii out that day.

Do you think the R8 could drive the Fatfreq Scarlet mini fully as the R6 pro ii ain’t cutting it for me with that iem.

 

[audionewbi]

Do you think the R8 could drive the Fatfreq Scarlet mini fully as the R6 pro ii ain’t cutting it for me with that iem.

I haven't tried either of those products, but I have no concern whatsoever about r8ii voltage and current delivery.
The question is on whether you will like the pairing. R8ii might over promote lower extensions.

 

[Silverlinings]

Soundstage/general first impression: R8ii is the widest sounding DAP I've tried and it has a strong bass note presence.
Out of my IER-M9, the bass note appear to be playing with slight more emphasis compared to my other DAP.
To my ears, DSD plays remarkably good on R8ii than RS8 (speaking from memory), and N8ii/RS6 (direct comparasion).

Now, the soundstage is all width, and not much depth. Well the depth is there, but the width of soundstage projection mask it. This is where RS8 masterfully is able to maintain the balance, and to my ears no other DAP do soundstage as good as RS8.


Cons: This dap is just too heavy with the case. Without the case, it feels alot less larger, but it is heavy enough to pull your pants down(better start wearing a belt). The Darwin 1 DSD filter, just like RS6 and RS8 has a constant waterfall noise. I don't know when Hiby will fix that.
It gets warm, but nothing too crazy. We are having a 41 degree celsius day in 3 days, I don't think I'll be taking R8ii out that day.

Most flagship and more expensive daps are heavy and not considered “portable”. Yes, it is heavy but I think anyone who buys this and thinks it’s good for jogging is comical to me. As far as the “warm” thing, I think all daps I’ve had have had some heat when used for awhile. Considering the size of the R8II, it doesn’t get that warm to me. I’ve had others I’ve felt that got warmer. But again, not sure why anyone would bring it out esp in the sun. I get hanging out on the porch or in the shade though.

 

[audionewbi]

Most flagship and more expensive daps are heavy and not considered “portable”. Yes, it is heavy but I think anyone who buys this and thinks it’s good for jogging is comical to me. As far as the “warm” thing, I think all daps I’ve had have had some heat when used for awhile. Considering the size of the R8II, it doesn’t get that warm to me. I’ve had others I’ve felt that got warmer. But again, not sure why anyone would bring it out esp in the sun. I get hanging out on the porch or in the shade though.

I don't get why people would drink softdrink instead of water with their meal, but they are both made to be consumed for similar purpose.

I agree don't use r8ii for running, than again its their money, why not?

 

[elnineteenth]

So I have both done a 4 hour session last night and burned the unit in 24 hours now and things are settling down nicely.
I have been able to roll IEMs and cables and I now can post impression with confidence that things won't change drastically.
Usually bass settles down in early stages of burn in, it might get better but I think usually that's more marginal.

Anyway, as I rolled through my collection of IEMs and cables today after the all night burn in and it has been an interesting process as usual.
The underlying fundamentals from the sound ouf the box are quite apparent and things I heard upon first listen are still valid.

DAPs don't have a sound per say but usually how it influences IEMs and headphones sound is quite consistent and in that sense it does have a consistent "coloring" effect on what you plug it too. Yes some DAPs are reference tuned but even then there are usually some kind of more subtle but real effect coloring the sound not only favoring some frequencies but also very important is how attack and decay is impacted, along with imaging and stage abilities and dynamic range.

I must say the Darwin MPA architecture is just as exciting as Cayin N7 1bit implementation, as both have been unheard of in DAPs so far and this is a departure from of the shelf DACs that tend to have a significant influence on how a DAP sounds despite the amp section and components from different brands makes a significant difference as we've seen in the past (in that respect, R2R is also a nice choice to have). But what this does open is more freedom for Brands like Hiby and Cayin to really have full control over the end results. How exciting!

Anyway, R8II to me features the Hiby house sound, which means a rather fully bodied presentation with deep and powerful bass and a midrange on the fuller side along safe lower treble. I do feel however having owned the original R6, RS6, R8 and RS8 each for well over a year and hundreds of hours of listen that R8 II is a significant evolution and maturation of the house sound. R8 II further refines things, capitalizing on the heights reached by RS8.

RS8 furthered interesting unique things that RS6 started to bring to the house sound. RS8 notably brought more upper mids bite and both RS6 and RS8 shined in terms of how rich and detailed textures are portrayed which such fine nuances that it brings a realism to the table that resolution alone can not provide (RS8 being well above it's younger brother). This is the unique Hiby touch to me, textures are really providing a "tactile" feel to notes that make everything so euphonic.

R8 II is another branch of evolution on the house sound, retaining some of the characteristics of RS8 and R8 but with interesting differences.

R8 II is to me the first Hiby player that retains the house sound while aiming for a more balanced presentation.

It has a less prominent mid bass presence than R8 and RS8 alike, although don't mistake this for neither a bass shy presentation nor one that would be drier and less textured. It's powerful and you get plenty of slam but less prominent in the overall presentation. Textures are still a strong item and percussions are a treat on this baby. Subs as usual with Hiby reach deep. Mid bass is well controlled.

As for the midrange, I find R8 II to be very balanced and probably the most open presentation of mids that I have heard from any Hiby player. This is still a full bodied midrange but less so than both R8 and RS8. Interestingly I didn't find the mids featuring as much bite as the RS8 and depending on your pairings, music genre and what your taste is this might be a deciding factor between R8 II and RS8. R8 II mids are accurate with appropriate bite when called for but it won't add anything there where RS8 was sometimes surprisingly energetic (I am thinking when paired to the Elysium for example). On top of this, midrange benefits from the upper treble presence in terms of separation and resolution which makes them the most articulate mids from Hiby.

And that's one very important item with R8 II, it's a clear evolution as there is less lower treble excitement but significantly more upper treble presence (not that RS8 extension was lesser but the overall balance made it less apparent). R8 II is more resolving and open sounding thanks to this, but also the balance between lower and upper treble helps a more balanced presentation. Yes, you loose a bit of treble energy that attracted a bit more attention but you gain a sense of refinement that RS8 was the only one to feature but in an overall more energetic presentation (both upper mids and lower treble wise) that left the finer details less prominent. This matters a lot in terms of perception, as people will tend to think R8 II is more resolving than RS8.

Last but not least, I find R8 II to feature significantly faster transient speed making it cleaner and more responsive accross the range.

So what does this mean in terms of pairing and overall synergy ?

Well R8 II being balanced it can accomodate pretty much anything I threw at it and let me also tell you it can drive even a headphone like DCA Stealth in high gain turbo mode quite well! Yes using line out with a desktop amp will further the experience, R8 II doesn't go all the way like M9 Plus, the Max series or the FiiO M17 but then again it's a more compact form factor.

The amp section on R8 II, like R8 and RS8 is superb. I expect things to even get better as the unit fully burns in. The DAC to me is clearly impressive and it's refreshing to discover a new architecture, like Cayin N7 it's a very refined, organic yet resolving DAP. There is really a stunning value for money that those 2 DAPs provide that stands out against the competition.

R8 II is fuller bodied than N7 with more slam mid bass wise and thicker lower mids. On the flipside N7 brings more air and separation and more precise imaging : as usual, tradeoffs, you can't get it all. It's great to have choices and although those share a similar philosophy they are two different implementation of the organic, refined and resolving.

I actually found R8 II a bit too powerful bass wise on some pairings like JH Sharona or RN6 but initially I was running PWA Orpheus and - synergy, synergy - this brought too much power to the bass section for my taste. I switched to RN6 SPC stock cable and the silver Cleo Octa II with Sharona and there you go, perfect synergy! I expect the incoming Brise Shirogane will fit like a glove with R8 II... where the Orpheus sits right at home with N7 and N30LE. All about synergy.

Anyway, when picking up the right cable any IEM sounds superb out of R8 II and I am pretty sure despite owning N30LE this one will get equal air time
I must say R8 II is portable and comfy to hold as well :



I have always been a fan of the Hiby house sound, but it reaches new heights IMHO and we're lucky with DAPs like R8 II and N7 to be able to get top notch performance at a decent price although it's still a flagship featuring top components that do cost more. On top of this many things I haven't mentioned that are key : snappy performance as with any Android 12 / 665 DAP with excellent RAM and this is important to me : 256GB onboard memory. Yes, I have purchased high speed high perf SD card but it's no match for local storage for streaming sync. Really it's a huge perf gap that is so very convenient. Build is top notch as well and as mentioned earlier buttons are very nice to operate. Screen is superb but that's a given on all recent Hiby releases.

For those who would miss it : you have to enable douple tap to wake, it's there just not activated by default.

Also to wrap up : it think R8 II is the DAP that will bring people to the brand because of its balanced presentation and exceptional value for money

Greetings,

Nice write up sir. I just have a question I have the Fatfreq Scarlet mini which is a V shaped sensitive iem that require a lot of power to drive I tried it with Hiby R6 pro ii and it want cutting,

For this type of iem would you say the Cayin N7 or the R8ii would fit better for a bassy iem ?

I really need to decide between the two specially MusicTech has N7 priced at 1600 right now. Or wait for the R8ii.

 

[Silverlinings]

New firmware just released. PEQ and a couple other things. Keep the updates coming.

 

[Zerstorer_GOhren]

First initial impressions on HIBY R8 II

TOTL DAPs are truly awesome devices that will surely satisfy the ears of some audio enthusiasts who continue to pursue high fidelity audio. And now, by the grace of Gods of Audiophilia, I'll present the latest Flagship DAP from HiBy, The HiBy R8II.

I'm not quite a stranger on TOTL flagship DAPs as I actually did tested some of the best TOTL DAPs in the market from an old Sony WM1Z, A&Ks SP1000, Kann Cube and Kann Max and my favourite flagship DAP out there, Lotoo Paw Gold Touch.

HIBY R8II is a DAP which is quite uncommon when it compares to most flagship DAPs out there when it comes to internal components as this DAP didn't use a typical Delta-sigma **DACs like ESS, AKM and Cirrus Logic, instead it uses its proprietary DARWIN R2R DSP architecture in which HIBY claims it offers more dynamic performance and better fidelity due to better voltage modulation on its high performance resistors arrayed with a dozen fast responsive switches to deliver more organic, expressive, tonal accuracy and transparent sound.

On the physical aspect, the R8II is quite a chunky device but there are some good reasons regarding this matter as HIBY put a 12000mAh Li-Po in which increases the power longevity of this one so that we can use it for a whole day. Another reason why this device is quite humongous is due its some components that were implemented like copper battery case that was encased to the battery for heat dissipation, the R2R DAC on its board circuitry, headphone amplifiers and audio capacitors. At the left side panel, there's a volume rocker while at the right part there is a play/pause and previous/next buttons along with LED indicator and micro-SD slot. At the bottom part, there are the audio port interfaces which have four headphone jacks, two 3.5mm and two 4.4mm balanced for PO and LO modes. And also, it has a Type-C port for charging and file transfer. At the back part, there is an Alcantra wrap which exudes premium and luxury due to its velvety and suede-like texture. Alcantara fabrics are usually implemented on interior parts of a car, mostly luxury ones. The overall metal chassis of R8II is made of surgical steel which makes this device more durable and has a resistance against corrosion. It has 5.9 inches 1080p HD LCD screen that is also protected by Gorilla Glass.

This device has a heavily modified Android 12 OS that is tailored specifically for HiBy specification on other audio improvements just like the R6 Pro II. On its internals, aside from R2R DACs, battery and other supporting audio components, it also has a snapdragon midrange processor, an 8GB RAM and 256 GB of internal storage.

Darwin has a customisable low pass filter setting in which makes it more appealing and I'm actually setting it on NOS mode with turbo on mode as it gives a more dynamic range

As for tonality, to my surprise, as I expected a more warmer, analogue-ish sound as I am quite familiar with some vintage preamps and amplifiers with R2R architecture. Instead, it has a warmish-neutral sound while maintaining a natural tone with a good transparency. Bass response seems to be more precise and punchy while a tad warmer, more articulate and pretty resolving midrange with some balanced texture on vocals and instruments to sound more natural and then a lucid treble response with sufficient sparkle and capable of projecting more airy extension. On technical performances, this device can give a quite roomy sound/speaker stage in a natural yet atmospheric stereo imaging in which I was able to pan out an exact position of instruments and singers.

I'm using the LETSHOUER EJ09 as a testing unit for this device.

Check out my full review about this device that I will publish in a few days.

Note** - I was corrected on this one by @o0genesis0o as it also uses a Delta-Sigma DAC but in a discete components architecture.

 

[YanaMJ]

First initial impressions on HIBY R8 II

TOTL DAPs are truly awesome devices that will surely satisfy the ears of some audio enthusiasts who continue to pursue high fidelity audio. And now, by the grace of Gods of Audiophilia, I'll present the latest Flagship DAP from HiBy, The HiBy R8II.

I'm not quite a stranger on TOTL flagship DAPs as I actually did tested some of the best TOTL DAPs in the market from an old Sony WM1Z, A&Ks SP1000, Kann Cube and Kann Max and my favourite flagship DAP out there, Lotoo Paw Gold Touch.

HIBY R8II is a DAP which is quite uncommon when it compares to most flagship DAPs out there when it comes to internal components as this DAP didn't use a typical Delta-sigma **DACs like ESS, AKM and Cirrus Logic, instead it uses its proprietary DARWIN R2R DSP architecture in which HIBY claims it offers more dynamic performance and better fidelity due to better voltage modulation on its high performance resistors arrayed with a dozen fast responsive switches to deliver more organic, expressive, tonal accuracy and transparent sound.

On the physical aspect, the R8II is quite a chunky device but there are some good reasons regarding this matter as HIBY put a 12000mAh Li-Po in which increases the power longevity of this day so that we can use it for a whole day. Another reason why this device is quite humongous is due its some components that were implemented like copper battery case that was encased to the battery for heat dissipation, the R2R DAC on its board circuitry, headphone amplifiers and audio capacitors. At the left side panel, there's a volume rocker while at the right part there is a play/pause and previous/next buttons along with LED indicator and micro-SD slot. At the bottom part, there are the audio port interfaces which have four headphone jacks, two 3.5mm and two 4.4mm balanced for PO and LO modes. And also, it has a Type-C port for charging and file transfer. At the back part, there is an Alcantra wrap which exudes premium and luxury due to its velvety and suede-like texture. Alcantara fabrics are usually implemented on interior parts of a car, mostly luxury ones. The overall metal chassis of R8II is made of surgical steel which makes this device more durable and has a resistance against corrosion. It has 5.9 inches 1080p HD LCD screen that is also protected by Gorilla Glass.

This device has a heavily modified Android 12 OS that is tailored specifically for HiBy specification on other audio improvements just like the R6 Pro II. On its internals, aside from R2R DACs, battery and other supporting audio components, it also has a snapdragon midrange processor, an 8GB RAM and 256 GB of internal storage.

Darwin has a customisable low pass filter setting in which makes it more appealing and I'm actually setting it on NOS mode with turbo on mode as it gives a more dynamic range

As for tonality, to my surprise, as I expected a more warmer, analogue-ish sound as I ambquite familiar with some vintage preamps and amplifiers with R2R architecture. Instead, it has a warmish-neutral sound while maintaining a natural tone with a good transparency. Bass response seems to be more precise and punchy while a tad warmer, more articulate and pretty resolving midrange with some balanced texture on vocals and instruments to sound more natural and then a lucid treble response with sufficient sparkle and capable of projecting more airy extension. On technical performances, this device can give a quite roomy sound/speaker in a natural yet atmospheric stereo imaging in which I was able to pan out an exact position of instruments and singers.

I'm using the LETSHOUER EJ09 as a testing unit for this device.

Check out my full review about this device that I will publish in a few days.

Note** - I was corrected on this one by @o0genesis0o as it also uses a Delta-Sigma DAC but in a discete components architecture.

Could you tell me which support it is and where to find it ?