[DarginMahkum]

When using the LX in balanced output with turbo mode enabled and high gain, if I listen for hiss I can hear it but it's not something I usually notice when listening to music. As has been said before you will not hear it with most music but it becomes more apparent with classical. Many recordings already contain hiss though so mostly what I'm hearing is part of the recording and not some extra hiss.

Balanced output, turbo mode and high gain is what I use to drive my D8000 Pro planar full sized HPs, and I can turn up the volume up to about 48% before it becomes too loud. Are you sure you are using your player the way it is supposed to be used with a 14 ohm 102 dB IEM?

 

[gLer]

Balanced output, turbo mode and high gain is what I use to drive my D8000 Pro planar full sized HPs, and I can turn up the volume up to about 48% before it becomes too loud. Are you sure you are using your player the way it is supposed to be used with a 14 ohm 102 dB IEM?

There should be absolutely no hissing issues using balanced vs unbalanced. If there are, it's ether a design flaw in the player, the IEM or the synergy is just off. Turbo is a different matter, as I can imagine that was intended to drive less sensitive headphones. Almost everyone I know uses their IEMs with balanced cables.

 

[KevP]

I’m going deviate a bit from the hisscussion and ask some very naive questions about R8 and MQA through Tidal Masters. Someone (sorry, can’t remember who) tried to answer but my non-technical brain couldn’t compress I’m afraid.

I just want to know what I’m actually hearing when I play an MQA track through Tidal.

I downloaded a couple of MQA tracks from 2L and A-B’d them through Hiby Music against the same tracks as Tidal Masters. The 2L tracks sounded infinitely better and it said they were playing at 384k. Tidal showed them as 768k and they sounded far worse. Is the R8 not actually unfolding these track further on Tidal?

Apologies for the naivity but I’m very confused. A simple answer would be great. Thanks.

 

[DarginMahkum]

There should be absolutely no hissing issues using balanced vs unbalanced. If there are, it's ether a design flaw in the player, the IEM or the synergy is just off. Turbo is a different matter, as I can imagine that was intended to drive less sensitive headphones. Almost everyone I know uses their IEMs with balanced cables.

R8 is probably, after MAX, the most powerful DAP out there. Besides, as stated several times SE and balanced outputs have no sound quality difference for IEMs. So you don't have to push it to the limits to drive a highly sensitive IEM. How does it work for MAX? Because it has separated the digital and analog supplies, which is why it is huge and requires two power supplies. If you want a small package DAP with high power output, very fast CPU, and in R8's case cellular communication functionality, you don't have the space to do that. The other player that does this separation other than MAX is DTR1 (which I have not tried) and it is a much simpler device.

You cannot compare a 500mW balanced output with less voltage swing to a 1088mW balanced output with much higher voltage swing, (I am guessing) especially if the latter has high frequency digital components running inside from the same power supply. This is not really a design flaw, this is just the nature of the things.

So if you don't need that power, you can go with a less powerful device and use a balanced output. If you want R8 kind of a package, the way to go is doing the math and using what makes sense.

 

[gLer]

R8 is probably, after MAX, the most powerful DAP out there. Besides, as stated several times SE and balanced outputs have no sound quality difference for IEMs. So you don't have to push it to the limits to drive a highly sensitive IEM. How does it work for MAX? Because it has separated the digital and analog supplies, which is why it is huge and requires two power supplies. If you want a small package DAP with high power output, very fast CPU, and in R8's case cellular communication functionality, you don't have the space to do that. The other player that does this separation other than MAX is DTR1 (which I have not tried) and it is a much simpler device.

You cannot compare a 500mW balanced output with less voltage swing to a 1088mW balanced output with much higher voltage swing, (I am guessing) especially if the latter has high frequency digital components running inside from the same power supply. This is not really a design flaw, this is just the nature of the things.

So if you don't need that power, you can go with a less powerful device and use a balanced output. If you want R8 kind of a package, the way to go is doing the math and using what makes sense.

I'm with you here in the sense that the R8 seems to be one of the few DAPs where SE and balanced have all but equivalent sound quality. This is not often the case, for sure isn't the case with my R6 Pro for example. So it could very well be an exception to a rule I've long held to be true.

 

[gLer]

Here we go!!! Hopefully, I will be able to answer many questions in my detailed review of Hiby R8 I just posted here. Enjoy the read!

Alex thank you for one of the most comprehensive and articulate reviews you've written yet. Very much appreciate the R6 Pro comparison - that's exactly what I needed to know, and I now know my upgrade path is clear as and when the time comes. Also appreciate the comparisons with the current flagships, which reinforce my opinion that the R8 is now right up there with the very best, and in terms of features, blows the rest away. With features, functionality and speed being just as important to me as sound quality, there is nothing that comes close to the R8 for me in terms of "the whole package" right now. Thanks again, and keep posting! Waiting patiently for that Nio review now........

 

[arijitroy2]

Can the Hiby Music app in R8 stream Tidal online and offline? If yes, what about other streaming platforms?

 

[DarginMahkum]

@DarginMahkum So I think i have made up my mind in getting the D9200 whenever the R8 lands hopefully next week! This headphone is a bit of an underdog, not a lot of people use or know it!
Can you tell me how does jazz and indie/acoustical based songs sound on this combo? Thanks!

I personally like d9200 with every kind of music. It is a very versatile HP. Very transparent, the midrange is not in your face and feels very balanced, low end is detailed and (especially in turbo mode) punchy. For a closed HP it has good stage. But depends on also what you like. I like D9200 >> Stellia, and my wife prefers Stellia due to the more balanced sound and more upfront mids. For me Stellia sounds alone OK, but when I compare it to D9200, I feel it is muffled and lifeless in comparison. Fusion sounds great with it, especially I love listening to Allan Holdsworth recordings. Other than that, I don't really listen to indie or rock, and directly jump to death metal, like Nile, it sounds a lot of fun!

My reference album is this with great layering, excellent production, super fun, and most importantly audible and amazing bass lines, and although closed with D9200 you can easily spot the complex arranged layers of instruments.



EDIT: https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/3/18527803/denon-d9200-review-best-portable-headphones

 

[gLer]

I’m going deviate a bit from the hisscussion and ask some very naive questions about R8 and MQA through Tidal Masters. Someone (sorry, can’t remember who) tried to answer but my non-technical brain couldn’t compress I’m afraid.

I just want to know what I’m actually hearing when I play an MQA track through Tidal.

I downloaded a couple of MQA tracks from 2L and A-B’d them through Hiby Music against the same tracks as Tidal Masters. The 2L tracks sounded infinitely better and it said they were playing at 384k. Tidal showed them as 768k and they sounded far worse. Is the R8 not actually unfolding these track further on Tidal?

Apologies for the naivity but I’m very confused. A simple answer would be great. Thanks.

You're probably hearing the differences between playing local hi-res files and streaming via the Tidal app. I don't have the R8, but in the R6 Pro the quality difference between playing a local file and Tidal streaming is very obvious. Switching to playing Tidal via UAPP improves things alot, so you should try that too. The display up top is not indicative of the resolution of the file by the way, just the maximum supported unfold level.

 

[Doctortre2481]

When using the LX in balanced output with turbo mode enabled and high gain, if I listen for hiss I can hear it but it's not something I usually notice when listening to music. As has been said before you will not hear it with most music but it becomes more apparent with classical. Many recordings already contain hiss though so mostly what I'm hearing is part of the recording and not some extra hiss.

Seems like Alex used med gain turbo mode on .While you had turbo mode on high gain. Maybe that will get rid of your hiss ?

 

[KevP]

You're probably hearing the differences between playing local hi-res files and streaming via the Tidal app. I don't have the R8, but in the R6 Pro the quality difference between playing a local file and Tidal streaming is very obvious. Switching to playing Tidal via UAPP improves things alot, so you should try that too. The display up top is not indicative of the resolution of the file by the way, just the maximum supported unfold level.

Thanks for this. Yes UAPP does sound better. It’s showing an accurate bit rate, but I’m wondering if I’m hearing just a better-sounding rendition of eg a bit rate of 384k or whether UAPP is playing it at 384/24 and Tidal is only playing it at,say, 48/24.

 

[KevP]

Thanks for this. Yes UAPP does sound better. It’s showing an accurate bit rate, but I’m wondering if I’m hearing just a better-sounding rendition of eg a bit rate of 384k or whether UAPP is playing it at 384/24 and Tidal is only playing it at,say, 48/24.

Is there a bit perfect mode I’m missing on the R8?

 

[gLer]

Is there a bit perfect mode I’m missing on the R8?

The R8 should theoretically allow any app to bypass Android's hamstrung audio layer that resamples everything to 16/48 regardless of bitrate. I was under the impression Tidal bypasses this restriction but I could be wrong. UAPP and HiBy Music definitely do. Wherever possible I listen to Tidal via UAPP, though you don't have access to Tidal offline content through UAPP.

 

[rlw6534]

The R8 should theoretically allow any app to bypass Android's hamstrung audio layer that resamples everything to 16/48 regardless of bitrate. I was under the impression Tidal bypasses this restriction but I could be wrong. UAPP and HiBy Music definitely do. Wherever possible I listen to Tidal via UAPP, though you don't have access to Tidal offline content through UAPP.

I like the concept of MQA. The problem is that I'm never sure if I'm getting the maximum quality or not. It's almost as if the playback details are intentionally obfuscated by the MQA gods. Why in the world would UAPP and the Tidal app report different bit rates for the same track...

 

[KevP]

It's a pain you can't access off-line content in UAPP. If I want to listen to some of my 9000 off-line tracks on a train journey...well forget it. And, yes, why can't Tidal show you what you're actually hearing. It's not a lot to ask really.