davidmolliere
Headphoneus Supremus
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
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
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I can speak to the IER-Z1R pairing as I don't have one handy.
