[111MilesToGo]

Think it needs the manufacturer to clarify, otherwise people are guessing in the dark. DSD has high frequency noise that requires a low band pass filter. This report of noise artefacts could be describing a filter defect. It could be something else entirely.

+1. Thank you for your comment regarding the manufacturer‘s obligation at this point in time.

Just a note on your post for clarification: The quoted text that now looks like quoting me actually is a quote from the cited review by Nori San on the Sandal Audio Blog. All that I wrote in italics was such quoting.

 

[littlexx26]

if hiby wants to do an experiment to find out how many 'audiophiles' have abilities that justify them being audiophiles, then it is a very interesting experiment.
my guess is at least 95% owners can't spot the problem correctly. especially there was only one dsd filter during initial launch of rs6. there was no comparison. just reply on one's abilities and experience.
and I wonder if hiby would ever release a more correct dsd filter if I haven't disclose the problem here

 

[audionewbi]

if hiby wants to do an experiment to find out how many 'audiophiles' have abilities that justify them being audiophiles, then it is a very interesting experiment.
my guess is at least 95% owners can't spot the problem correctly. especially there was only one dsd filter during initial launch of rs6. there was no comparison. just reply on one's abilities and experience.
and I wonder if hiby would ever release a more correct dsd filter if I haven't disclose the problem here

The DSD noise is well documented back in the RS6; I also wonder why Hiby did not notice this. I don't think Hiby pays much attention to head-fi. I was to guess that it is about resource allocation, and they don't see anyone using the RS8 family for DSD playback.

Hiby is not just a hardware company, they were first a software/OEM company, and my guess is their Engineers are busy working on high-return projects elsewhere, which is why the DSD noise issue is still not fully fixed.

It is a shame as one of my favourite way to use RS6 is to use HQ player and feed it upsampled DSD file.

 

[Lépine]

The DSD noise is well documented back in the RS6; I also wonder why Hiby did not notice this. I don't think Hiby pays much attention to head-fi. I was to guess that it is about resource allocation, and they don't see anyone using the RS8 family.

Hiby is not just a hardware company, they were first a software/OEM company, and my guess is their Engineers are busy working on high-return projects elsewhere, which is why the DSD noise issue is still not fully fixed.

It is a shame as one of my favourite way to use RS6 is to use HQ player and feed it upsampled DSD file.

@Joe Bloggs

Hi Joe, maybe you want to add your company's comments? Looking into the DSD filters. There are a few questions about differences in noise and how filtering affects the sound quality.

 

[LoryWiv]

The DSD noise is well documented back in the RS6; I also wonder why Hiby did not notice this. I don't think Hiby pays much attention to head-fi. I was to guess that it is about resource allocation, and they don't see anyone using the RS8 family for DSD playback.

Hiby is not just a hardware company, they were first a software/OEM company, and my guess is their Engineers are busy working on high-return projects elsewhere, which is why the DSD noise issue is still not fully fixed.

It is a shame as one of my favourite way to use RS6 is to use HQ player and feed it upsampled DSD file.

I am doing exactly that right now with HQ Player outputting DSD256 to HiBy RS6. Sound is sublime!

 

[gLer]

DSD is very difficult to get right on R2R. Needs a completely different circuit. I remember in my desktop days how so many R2R manufacturers struggled with DSD noise, clicks and pops. I think RS8 sounds great with DSD, but in truth I don't listen to that much native DSD (even though I have about 250 DSD albums).

 

[111MilesToGo]

@Joe Bloggs

Hi Joe, maybe you want to add your company's comments? Looking into the DSD filters. There are a few questions about differences in noise and how filtering affects the sound quality.

+1 !

For me as a jazz and classical music lover above all, DSD is a nice portion of my purchased music. Same as Nori San said in the Sandal Audio Blog cited above.

I had recently gotten interested in R2R for their sonic qualities, touted as being very ”musical“ and engaging. But I must say this DSD story is a fat nail in the coffin - not necessarily the final one though - for any dream of mine to consider the RS8 besides my N8ii. A TOTL DAP limited to PCM … ? Too sad and bad, HiBy!

On a positive note: This shows what value there is in researching this forum and in the experience as well as help of the community.

EDIT: And a good lesson on how to read reviews very carefully and thoroughly check what topics actually do get investigated …

 

[gLer]

+1 !

For me as a jazz and classical music lover above all, DSD is a nice portion of my purchased music. Same as Nori San said in the Sandal Audio Blog cited above.

I had recently gotten interested in R2R for their sonic qualities, touted as being very ”musical“ and engaging. But I must say this DSD story is a fat nail in the coffin - not necessarily the final one though - for any dream of mine to consider the RS8 besides my N8ii. A TOTL DAP limited to PCM … ? Too sad and bad, HiBy!

On a positive note: This shows what value there is in researching this forum and in the experience as well as help of the community.

EDIT: And a good lesson on how to read reviews very carefully and thoroughly check what topics actually do get investigated …

I repeat, RS8 is exemplary with DSD. It has no 'issues'. But if you look hard enough for some, I'm sure you'll find them.

 

[111MilesToGo]

I repeat, RS8 is exemplary with DSD. It has no 'issues'. But if you look hard enough for some, I'm sure you'll find them.

So the only way to find out what‘s happening with DSD - if one cares for that format - is to audition oneself, which is not an easy task.

I would be in luck since the German HiBy importer is some 30 km away … IF they get RS8 units, set one aside for demoing, and ideally get it burnt in (which wouldn‘t be needed for DSD investigation).

 

[littlexx26]

no matter what. my rs8 sounds better than n8ii. enough for me

 

[kwilkins]

I am greatly enjoying the SQ of the RS8, it is not yet burned in and I don't have a lot of listing hours yet but I can already tell it is special and the tuning appeals to me. There are however some quirks with this unit that keep appearing.

The previous, play/pause, next hardware buttons stop working and require a reboot. Are there any work arounds for this or are we waiting for a firmware update to fix?

I don't like having to swipe to unlock the unit so I changed the systems settings to "none" for security. If I'm playing Tidal or Quobuz everything works fine and a double tap or power button push is all that is required. However, when using the Hiby Music app it always requires me to swipe to unlock the screen. Am I missing a setting somewhere?

 

[Homrsimson]

Hey all, I posted this in the R8 thread but I know that one doesn’t get as much traffic anymore.

Has anyone had their back cover of their r8 pop? I was about to buy one and the seller cancelled saying when he charged the unit and a muller (apparently the battery swelled up) and the back of the unit popped off a bit. Was just curious if others have had this issue and if it men’s the hiby is basically ruined. He offered to sell it to me very cheap but I’m obviously leery.

 

[LFC_SL]

That needs an immediate battery replacement, do not buy. It is not even a debate with the safety risk. A forum member also has a swollen battery in the Fiio M17 thread

 

[Homrsimson]

That needs an immediate battery replacement, do not buy. It is not even a debate with the safety risk. A forum member also has a swollen battery in the Fiio M17 thread

Thanks! I’m staying away

 

[SpeleoFool]

Been busy with holidays, but finally got the CR08 hooked up tonight....

I managed to get Roon working, but it's resampling everything to 24/48, so I switched to Qobuz for now. I haven't managed to get local files onto my RS8 yet.

Still just gathering first impressions for now, but liking this setup. Noticed immediately that RS8 is quieter than May (specs say 4Vrms vs, I think, 5.8 for May?). Independent pots are such a nice feature....

After adjusting for volume imbalance and letting RS8 warm up some it's certainly holding its own. I think May is a tier above in terms of fine resolution, but that's early impression and the gap shrank a lot letting RS8 come up to speed (temp) with a few tracks.

Listening on D8000 Pro LE, fwiw. More impressions to follow after I've had more time with everything.

As for the cradle, I received mine as part of the Hiby / MusicTeck promo for sharing impressions. Personally, I like it. I have an older cradle for Astell&Kern AK380, and the CR08 is quite a lot nicer.

I don't disagree with some of the criticisms levied earlier (e.g., single cable solution is more optimal, sideways lock screen is annoying). However, I think my use case for this may be as a dock for my employer's ill conceived "return to office" initiative. For listening while working, I can accept some minor tradeoffs for a convenient place to park my DAP that I can plug into a desktop amp (or two--maybe I'll bring back the one-two punch of V280 + Pendant, haha).

In any case, for me the weight is a plus, and the aesthetics a big plus. I like the little storage compartment for connectors, and also like that I can very easily disconnect those little cables and go straight IEM from RS8 or maybe use a direct line out if I need it for whatever reason.

I do wish I had a better remote control option for music playback--I'm permanently spoiled by Roon on SP2000 and otherA&K players. I haven't tried HibyCast yet. In any case, those options might be somewhat limited at work where I'll likely be limited to using my phone as a tether, so not like I can have a tablet on the same "LAN" like I do at home. First world problems....

Alright, back to listening.....