[FooFighter]

I
I've been thinking of using the rs8 with my zahl HM1 when it arrives and using the rs8 as my dac when I'm not using my Warwick Bravura. I'll have the final Audio d8000 collectors edition and my Aroma Jewel as my only headphones 3 total xD until I can replenish the bank account and either buy a more suitable desktop dac or another headphone xD.

Zahl HM1, man, what a dream amp, congrats!
And going balanced in the Zahl should work quite well.
Looking forward to your impressions

 

[DarginMahkum]

Anyone have any experience on using 1024dsd/1500pcm files or how to obtain them so I can try them out on the rs8 when I get mine?

There is the HQPlayer Pro but it is very expensive. Then there is this one:

https://samplerateconverter.com/educational/dsd-converter

...but. I wouldn't recommend as DSD1024 doesn't make sense, especially for an R2R DAC. The device might support it but that does not mean that you will hear any audible improvement, and it might even be worse, due to the amount of processing involved. The basic type for an R2R system is PCM, so better to stay with that. Also check here:

https://samplerateconverter.com/educational/r2r-ladder-dac-vs-sigma-delta

 

[wazzupi]

There is the HQPlayer Pro but it is very expensive. Then there is this one:

https://samplerateconverter.com/educational/dsd-converter

...but. I wouldn't recommend as DSD1024 doesn't make sense, especially for an R2R DAC. The device might support it but that does not mean that you will hear any audible improvement, and it might even be worse, due to the amount of processing involved. The basic type for an R2R system is PCM, so better to stay with that. Also check here:

https://samplerateconverter.com/educational/r2r-ladder-dac-vs-sigma-delta

Gotcha I was thinking of more pcm 15** tbh. But I still wanted to try it out if possible. Is HQ player pro $300 dollar software ?

Also thank you !

 

[DarginMahkum]

Gotcha I was thinking of more pcm 15** tbh. But I still wanted to try it out if possible. Is HQ player pro $300 dollar software ?

Also thank you !

It is much more expensive:

 

[yaps66]

Anyone have any experience on using 1024dsd/1500pcm files or how to obtain them so I can try them out on the rs8 when I get mine?

NativeDSD does have some.

 

[LoryWiv]

Something to test out. I suppose I'll get HQ player since I saved money on the dock and plug it into my PC ? Does roon arc allow this functionality ? Upsampling server aka a PC or something similar ?

I use RS6 as USB DAC on a PC running HQ Player, very enjoyable with many upsampling options mostly limited by the PC's capabilities..

 

[LoryWiv]

Gotcha I was thinking of more pcm 15** tbh. But I still wanted to try it out if possible. Is HQ player pro $300 dollar software ?

Also thank you !

Have a browse at www.signalyst.com. Standard HQ Player Desktop is $217 and change USD and worth every penny IMO.

 

[davidmolliere]

Hey guys, presenting my RS8 First Impressions…​

First and foremost, I have to thank HiBy and @Joe Bloggs for looping me in on the RS8 and its development, and for sending me one of the first retail samples so I can get to experience it firsthand. At the same time, I need to stress that I’ve been very open and honest with HiBy about my impressions being my own, and have thus been given free rein to share them with you, warts and all, without any vetting whatsoever.

Ok, with that out the way, this is going to be a first impressions post only. No in-depth track notes, no in-depth feature notes. Just a high-level ‘this is what to expect’ and ‘this is what I’m hearing’ post. My full review will follow in the next week or two, which will fill in all the blanks missing from this post.
(........)

Well well well if that's first impressions then it's a new benchmark for DAP first impressions
It reminds me of @Deezel177 "first impressions" on flagship IEMs and that's not small praise... yeah those pics are gorgeous as well and it has my mouth water really

On top of things, those impressions come at the right time where I was feeling buyer's remorse (I stretched myself quite a bit there), and also cheer me up during a personally very tough time personally...

RS8 looks like it's going to be right down my alley, I recognize the minor nagging stuff I had with RS6 and R8 and it's good that you raise that up too.

The part about class A - Class AB being hard to differentiate on RS8 has me thinking of my own experience with N8ii where you really have to deep focus on certain aspects with the right IEMs and headphones to really hear the difference (whereas Tube vs SS mode or P/P+ is quite obvious). Your experience of R8 Turbo mode matches my own, and the fact RS8 fares better without Turbo means I'd need it only for highly demanding headphones or maybe IEMs like the Ely (?) which is good because it impacted R8 battery life very much.

On RS6 I kept NOS mode always on for the same reason you do, and I do the same on my Pegasus DAC too but I suspect spending more time with OS mode could reap some benefits in some pairings. We'll see.

I am a big sucker for vocals and I regret selling RS6 for this reason, I expected that it would be event greater on RS8 so that's great to hear especially if upper midrange is less forward than RS6 which was one of the minor gripes I had with it.

Layering was something I loved with R8 and I have been looking for since, so that and expansive holographic qualities has me mouth watering indeed...
Now the wait begins.... and buyer's remorse is gone, this is going a nice 50th birthday present

Again I think 256GB onboard memory is going to be so great for syncing and overall streaming apps speed with a smartphone like experience, fond memories of Shanling M9 there and something I didn't expect I'd want then.

 

[gLer]

Well well well if that's first impressions then it's a new benchmark for DAP first impressions
It reminds me of @Deezel177 "first impressions" on flagship IEMs and that's not small praise... yeah those pics are gorgeous as well and it has my mouth water really

On top of things, those impressions come at the right time where I was feeling buyer's remorse (I stretched myself quite a bit there), and also cheer me up during a personally very tough time personally...

RS8 looks like it's going to be right down my alley, I recognize the minor nagging stuff I had with RS6 and R8 and it's good that you raise that up too.

The part about class A - Class AB being hard to differentiate on RS8 has me thinking of my own experience with N8ii where you really have to deep focus on certain aspects with the right IEMs and headphones to really hear the difference (whereas Tube vs SS mode or P/P+ is quite obvious). Your experience of R8 Turbo mode matches my own, and the fact RS8 fares better without Turbo means I'd need it only for highly demanding headphones or maybe IEMs like the Ely (?) which is good because it impacted R8 battery life very much.

On RS6 I kept NOS mode always on for the same reason you do, and I do the same on my Pegasus DAC too but I suspect spending more time with OS mode could reap some benefits in some pairings. We'll see.

I am a big sucker for vocals and I regret selling RS6 for this reason, I expected that it would be event greater on RS8 so that's great to hear especially if upper midrange is less forward than RS6 which was one of the minor gripes I had with it.

Layering was something I loved with R8 and I have been looking for since, so that and expansive holographic qualities has me mouth watering indeed...
Now the wait begins.... and buyer's remorse is gone, this is going a nice 50th birthday present

Again I think 256GB onboard memory is going to be so great for syncing and overall streaming apps speed with a smartphone like experience, fond memories of Shanling M9 there and something I didn't expect I'd want then.

Thank you David, glad I could add a little light at a tough time. RS8 is the real deal, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. And yes, better get some coffee and snacks ready for the main review!

Keep well and wishing all the hard times start to fade away for you from today.

 

[Alexzander]

Well well well if that's first impressions then it's a new benchmark for DAP first impressions
It reminds me of @Deezel177 "first impressions" on flagship IEMs and that's not small praise... yeah those pics are gorgeous as well and it has my mouth water really

On top of things, those impressions come at the right time where I was feeling buyer's remorse (I stretched myself quite a bit there), and also cheer me up during a personally very tough time personally...

RS8 looks like it's going to be right down my alley, I recognize the minor nagging stuff I had with RS6 and R8 and it's good that you raise that up too.

The part about class A - Class AB being hard to differentiate on RS8 has me thinking of my own experience with N8ii where you really have to deep focus on certain aspects with the right IEMs and headphones to really hear the difference (whereas Tube vs SS mode or P/P+ is quite obvious). Your experience of R8 Turbo mode matches my own, and the fact RS8 fares better without Turbo means I'd need it only for highly demanding headphones or maybe IEMs like the Ely (?) which is good because it impacted R8 battery life very much.

On RS6 I kept NOS mode always on for the same reason you do, and I do the same on my Pegasus DAC too but I suspect spending more time with OS mode could reap some benefits in some pairings. We'll see.

I am a big sucker for vocals and I regret selling RS6 for this reason, I expected that it would be event greater on RS8 so that's great to hear especially if upper midrange is less forward than RS6 which was one of the minor gripes I had with it.

Layering was something I loved with R8 and I have been looking for since, so that and expansive holographic qualities has me mouth watering indeed...
Now the wait begins.... and buyer's remorse is gone, this is going a nice 50th birthday present

Again I think 256GB onboard memory is going to be so great for syncing and overall streaming apps speed with a smartphone like experience, fond memories of Shanling M9 there and something I didn't expect I'd want then.

I can clearly discern A vs AB on N8ii using Traillii - very obvious sound changes.

 

[tone.texture.soul]

Well well well if that's first impressions then it's a new benchmark for DAP first impressions
It reminds me of @Deezel177 "first impressions" on flagship IEMs and that's not small praise... yeah those pics are gorgeous as well and it has my mouth water really

On top of things, those impressions come at the right time where I was feeling buyer's remorse (I stretched myself quite a bit there), and also cheer me up during a personally very tough time personally...

RS8 looks like it's going to be right down my alley, I recognize the minor nagging stuff I had with RS6 and R8 and it's good that you raise that up too.

The part about class A - Class AB being hard to differentiate on RS8 has me thinking of my own experience with N8ii where you really have to deep focus on certain aspects with the right IEMs and headphones to really hear the difference (whereas Tube vs SS mode or P/P+ is quite obvious). Your experience of R8 Turbo mode matches my own, and the fact RS8 fares better without Turbo means I'd need it only for highly demanding headphones or maybe IEMs like the Ely (?) which is good because it impacted R8 battery life very much.

On RS6 I kept NOS mode always on for the same reason you do, and I do the same on my Pegasus DAC too but I suspect spending more time with OS mode could reap some benefits in some pairings. We'll see.

I am a big sucker for vocals and I regret selling RS6 for this reason, I expected that it would be event greater on RS8 so that's great to hear especially if upper midrange is less forward than RS6 which was one of the minor gripes I had with it.

Layering was something I loved with R8 and I have been looking for since, so that and expansive holographic qualities has me mouth watering indeed...
Now the wait begins.... and buyer's remorse is gone, this is going a nice 50th birthday present

Again I think 256GB onboard memory is going to be so great for syncing and overall streaming apps speed with a smartphone like experience, fond memories of Shanling M9 there and something I didn't expect I'd want then.

I spoke with @twister6 about the RS8 and he told me that HiBy is in the process of new firmware that could "unlock" the true sound of the Class A. So there's that, perhaps the current firmware is pre-production and there will be a more noticeable difference with AB vs A in the future. I for one hope so, as Class A is one of the main reasons I ordered mine.

 

[gLer]

I spoke with @twister6 about the RS8 and he told me that HiBy is in the process of new firmware that could "unlock" the true sound of the Class A. So there's that, perhaps the current firmware is pre-production and there will be a more noticeable difference with AB vs A in the future. I for one hope so, as Class A is one of the main reasons I ordered mine.

I can confirm there are numerous firmware tweaks in production, though I don't know what will come our first, or when. Since getting mine I've already had two fw updates, and I'm constantly giving HiBy engineers my feedback, so it seems they're focusing on refining the product over time.

 

[twister6]

I spoke with @twister6 about the RS8 and he told me that HiBy is in the process of new firmware that could "unlock" the true sound of the Class A. So there's that, perhaps the current firmware is pre-production and there will be a more noticeable difference with AB vs A in the future. I for one hope so, as Class A is one of the main reasons I ordered mine.

That part was my wishful thinking, based on my previous experience with RS6 and other Hiby products. So, I have no idea if they are or not working on it, and, btw, Hiby already released a new fw update and I'm sure working on more. But one thing is for sure, as Guy mentioned in his awesome first look, if you can't hear the difference between A and AB, use AB for an improved battery performance

 

[audionewbi]

I asked an LP6/P6 Pro owner to do a quick test with the RS8, he said sonically he does not want to share anything as the unit is not "broken in" but in terms of UI it feels like comparing a caveman painting against a renaissance painting. One gives you an idea of an object, and the other lets you feel the actual object as if you are there.

 

[wazzupi]

I asked an LP6/P6 Pro owner to do a quick test with the RS8, he said sonically he does not want to share anything as the unit is not "broken in" but in terms of UI it feels like comparing a caveman painting against a renaissance painting. One gives you an idea of an object, and the lets you feel the actual object as if you are there.

I had spoken with a LP6 founders edition owner at canjam socal and he told me he preferred the RS8 which is how I came to hear about it in the first place.