[chichaphile]

My Second HiBy R5 Saber ❤ this time i get Black leather case finally

 

[393699]

Who in here has ever compared an R5 with an R6 Pro ? I find it interesting that reviews of the R6 Pro say that it is not a bright sound DAP. The SABRE ES9028Q2M is well known for being a bright DAC chip. The Muses8920 opamps in the R6 Pro are on the warm side, so pairing this with the SABRE would certainly result in a more neutral presentation.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Yeah, I actually prefer the Hiby player on my M3X although I use UAPP the most. Interestingly, the Hiby app will actually play MQA over DLNA, something the Shanling app doesn't do for some reason. Gapless isn't really an important feature for me, but I get that it matters to some.

Do you have the M3X and the R5? Could you chat about the two in comparison?

 

[rlw6534]

Do you have the M3X and the R5? Could you chat about the two in comparison?

Yes, I have both. Just received the M3X earlier this week. I was interested in the new single chip DAC/amp/MQA solution especially for improved battery life. Note that my R5 is the original version (not R5s). The M3x is a little larger and very slightly heavier but fits the hand well. The optional case is nice (much better than the R5 case). I suspect you want comments on sound quality, but quite frankly, I cannot detect differences as easily as some and I don't want to mislead. To me the IEMs are what sound different, rarely the source. If you are interested in features/compatibility and so on, please ask away. All of the streaming services are working (Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon and Spotify) and UAPP will work perfectly once the new version hits the play store (I have a test version with full 16x MQA that Davy asked me to to try).

 

[originalsnuffy]

Yes, I have both. Just received the M3X earlier this week. I was interested in the new single chip DAC/amp/MQA solution especially for improved battery life. Note that my R5 is the original version (not R5s). The M3x is a little larger and very slightly heavier but fits the hand well. The optional case is nice (much better than the R5 case). I suspect you want comments on sound quality, but quite frankly, I cannot detect differences as easily as some and I don't want to mislead. To me the IEMs are what sound different, rarely the source. If you are interested in features/compatibility and so on, please ask away. All of the streaming services are working (Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon and Spotify) and UAPP will work perfectly once the new version hits the play store (I have a test version with full 16x MQA that Davy asked me to to try).

Have you tried downloading music to the SD card on Amazon? That is my "killer app". I agree that it is easier to find differences between IEMs than DAP units. But some units can sound more relaxed or smoother than others. I like the R5 sound; but I keep a second DAP around because it has a really nice smooth sound (Cayin N5II). Actually the Cayin is en route for repair but I am presuming it will eventually get back to me.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Yes, I have both. Just received the M3X earlier this week. I was interested in the new single chip DAC/amp/MQA solution especially for improved battery life. Note that my R5 is the original version (not R5s). The M3x is a little larger and very slightly heavier but fits the hand well. The optional case is nice (much better than the R5 case). I suspect you want comments on sound quality, but quite frankly, I cannot detect differences as easily as some and I don't want to mislead. To me the IEMs are what sound different, rarely the source. If you are interested in features/compatibility and so on, please ask away. All of the streaming services are working (Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon and Spotify) and UAPP will work perfectly once the new version hits the play store (I have a test version with full 16x MQA that Davy asked me to to try).

Playing devil's advocate:

In light of the recent study/claims being made about Tidal's handling of MQA content (staying out of partisanship here), is putting stock in a device's handling of MQA at such a high regard? It seems that study brought up some very concerning data regarding the initial unfold that it seems no subsequent unfold (or hardware/software decode) would be capable of correcting.

I assume people are familiar with the video in question now and I don't want to get too off-topic, but do believe those who haven't watched it should. Please come to your own conclusions and make your own decision accordingly, but the preliminary conclusion I draw from that video is for me to stay as far away from Tidal as I possibly can until this all smooths over.

Luckily, the marketplace is competitive.

 

[rlw6534]

Have you tried downloading music to the SD card on Amazon? That is my "killer app". I agree that it is easier to find differences between IEMs than DAP units. But some units can sound more relaxed or smoother than others. I like the R5 sound; but I keep a second DAP around because it has a really nice smooth sound (Cayin N5II). Actually the Cayin is en route for repair but I am presuming it will eventually get back to me.

I haven't tried off line with Amazon, but I will and report back.

Noting that this a an R5 thread, I still think the R5 is an outstanding DAP. It has more power and a later version of Android which matters to some. My R5 is fairly old and the battery life is suffering, so I decided to try something different. I have several Hiby DAPs and have never owned a Shanling.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

I haven't tried off line with Amazon, but I will and report back.

Noting that this a an R5 thread, I still think the R5 is an outstanding DAP. It has more power and a later version of Android which matters to some. My R5 is fairly old and the battery life is suffering, so I decided to try something different. I have several Hiby DAPs and have never owned a Shanling.

That M0 is a cute little bugger. Touch interface worked surprisingly well for being a first-time product and it has a pretty grand sound for the size. Had a really sweet quality to the sound, too. My son loves that thing.

I think UIs became their weak point once they started bringing the screen size up and incorporating Android. They do choose some really good hardware, though.

 

[rlw6534]

Playing devil's advocate:

In light of the recent study/claims being made about Tidal's handling of MQA content (staying out of partisanship here), is putting stock in a device's handling of MQA at such a high regard? It seems that study brought up some very concerning data regarding the initial unfold that it seems no subsequent unfold (or hardware/software decode) would be capable of correcting.

I assume people are familiar with the video in question now and I don't want to get too off-topic, but do believe those who haven't watched it should. Please come to your own conclusions and make your own decision accordingly, but the preliminary conclusion I draw from that video is for me to stay as far away from Tidal as I possibly can until this all smooths over.

Luckily, the marketplace is competitive.

I'm not qualified to judge MQA merits, but I have spent some time on the various threads trying to understand all of the controversy (rather unsuccessfully, I might add). MQA is popular enough for for it to be a feature that I like to have and can use if I wish. Thankfully, most mainstream DAPs have it included, if for no other reason than marketing hype...

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

I'm not qualified to judge MQA merits, but I have spent some time on the various threads trying to understand all of the controversy (rather unsuccessfully, I might add). MQA is popular enough for for it to be a feature that I like to have and can use if I wish. Thankfully, most mainstream DAPs have it included, if for no other reason than marketing hype...

I think this would be worth your time. Unfortunately, I can't support the format in good faith with these findings:


This unfortunately goes a little beyond hype

 

[rlw6534]

I think this would be worth your time. Unfortunately, I can't support the format in good faith with these findings:


This unfortunately goes a little beyond hype

Yeah, I watched it a few days back and also spent some time on the ASR thread (reading). Lots of very strong opinions to say the least... Made my head hurt.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

Yeah, I watched it a few days back and also spent some time on the ASR thread (reading). Lots of very strong opinions to say the least... Made my head hurt.

Reading ASR at any length can make one's head hurt!

For what it's worth, I still find the idea of paying a subscription fee to listen to music rather silly. We made radio a free platform; I see streaming as functionally equivalent. Don't know what happened where we turned everything convenient in our lives into a subscription model, but I'm absolutely not a fan.

I'm trying to avoid the opinions and just focus on the data; this MQA "war" has been a thing since inception, but I would agree that we as consumers should probably stop asking manufacturers to support proprietary products in any form as it's having really damaging effects in other corners of the market, specifically with user-repairability. There are so many free and open-source alternatives, yet we consumers keep asking for experiences that involve closed ecosystems.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

I think this would be worth your time. Unfortunately, I can't support the format in good faith with these findings:


This unfortunately goes a little beyond hype

To me @Dannemand ’s well-argued and considered rebuttal makes this video and its author’s motives look as suspicious as MQA itself.

 

[miserybeforethemusic]

To me @Dannemand ’s well-argued and considered rebuttal makes this video and its author’s motives look as suspicious as MQA itself.

I read his rebuttal and notice he takes issue with the test, but still has concerns that mirror mine. Not knowing the source quality of your track is a big problem for me. Not having much of a choice in the matter is even more concerning. It's very Apple-like to me.

You're free to listen to whatever service you want; I'm still of the camp that believe all of them provide a tremendous disservice to the artist themselves and try to buy wherever I can. It also means someone can't take away my ability to listen to the song in the first place.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Normally I try to be polite, but I really think MQA is a scam. It is a lossy compression scheme pretending to be a highly efficient hi res codec.

It may be the very best lossy format ever, but it is lossy.

This does not mean that MQA does not sound good. I would argue Apple's AAC is quite good; but it is lossy also. So happens that I listen to AAC via Apple Airpod Pros more than just about anything else....but it is lossy.