[MAK1975]

So I was all excited to plug in my HD6XX's to the R5 with the new balanced 4.4mm cable I received yesterday. I hook up the cable, hit play, and no sound coming out of the right channel. I fiddle with the cable and still no sound. Major buzz kill!! I check to make sure that the 4.4mm output works, plug in my 2-pin balanced IEM cable with 4.4mm adapter and both channels play perfectly. Plug my HD6XX into my balanced headphone amp and no issues. Thankfully there wasn't an issue with the R5 or the HD6XX. First cable I have purchased that was defective.

Returning the bad cable and had to order a different one. Must have a loose connection in the right channel. Unfortunately, the replacement cable won't arrive until the end of September.

Oh well, life goes on!

 

[weexisttocease]

So I was all excited to plug in my HD6XX's to the R5 with the new balanced 4.4mm cable I received yesterday. I hook up the cable, hit play, and no sound coming out of the right channel. I fiddle with the cable and still no sound. Major buzz kill!! I check to make sure that the 4.4mm output works, plug in my 2-pin balanced IEM cable with 4.4mm adapter and both channels play perfectly. Plug my HD6XX into my balanced headphone amp and no issues. Thankfully there wasn't an issue with the R5 or the HD6XX. First cable I have purchased that was defective.

Returning the bad cable and had to order a different one. Must have a loose connection in the right channel. Unfortunately, the replacement cable won't arrive until the end of September.

Oh well, life goes on!

Don't worry, only a week for the of the month. By then Hiby could enabled MQA support as promised.

 

[JoeBee]

The Hiby R5 is small so it's not easy to use at a times. The R3 was easier to see & read in text and UI. You can increase OS text then have the Hiby app use system text size but it's not s uniform solution and doesn't increase text size so much.

The R5 is plenty loud and sounds good but seems just a bit better than the Fiio X3 in sound quality, presumably like the M11. There's more functionality than some old X3, but sound quality itself doesn't seem a big jump. Maybe the R6 Pro or M11 Pro would offer a more satisfying jump up in quality and usability.

 

[abitdeef]

The Hiby R5 is small so it's not easy to use at a times. The R3 was easier to see & read in text and UI. You can increase OS text then have the Hiby app use system text size but it's not s uniform solution and doesn't increase text size so much.

The R5 is plenty loud and sounds good but seems just a bit better than the Fiio X3 in sound quality, presumably like the M11. There's more functionality than some old X3, but sound quality itself doesn't seem a big jump. Maybe the R6 Pro or M11 Pro would offer a more satisfying jump up in quality and usability.

Are you using balanced out? Because it's quite a big jump between the r5 and the R3 and definitly a big step up from the x3. Single ended, no not a huge difference.

They both sound flatter- less dynamic and more congested than the r5, and it's has more detail/resolution also. Especially the spacial positioning is better.

What iems/cans are you using?

 

[JoeBee]

I gifted the R3 and balanced FH1, but was impressed with balanced power and MSEB. Been using an old X3, more recently with the decent Ikko OH10. I tried E3000, Fidelio X2, and Ostry KC09 for kicks but that's not a fair test, even for this relative neophyte. I have to unearth the 6xx, going line-out to CTH.

I can tell the difference between R5 and X3 but it's not a $400 difference, given the tiny screen with an OS and music app designed usually found on other screen sizes. For me, and some others I'd imagine, it might be worth upgrading to the next step up. That could mean waiting even longer than the Massdrop stuff in the works

I'm still not clear where M11 stands in sound quality rankings, or if it's just a next gen X3, or how others rank in quality/price comparisons.

 

[abitdeef]

I gifted the R3 and balanced FH1, but was impressed with balanced power and MSEB. Been using an old X3, more recently with the decent Ikko OH10. I tried E3000, Fidelio X2, and Ostry KC09 for kicks but that's not a fair test, even for this relative neophyte. I have to unearth the 6xx, going line-out to CTH.

I can tell the difference between R5 and X3 but it's not a $400 difference, given the tiny screen with an OS and music app designed usually found on other screen sizes. For me, and some others I'd imagine, it might be worth upgrading to the next step up. That could mean waiting even longer the Massdrop stuff in the works, and for next gen X5 or X7 or other.

How would it be a 400 dollar difference? Just curious. And those iems aren't very resolving, you'll hear a substantial difference with the 6xx, or something more resolving. I assume you are comparing se and se.

Fiio is releasing more m series, and I don't even know if they will do x series anymore. And I don't think the screen is tiny myself but if you want a bigger screen you'll obviously need a bigger dap like m11, which sounds really good also.

 

[JoeBee]

The twister6 review says that "The change in the sound going from SE to BAL is not too drastic."

I think the OH10 is plenty resolving for now, but will check the 6xx. The $400 is for the R5, which doesn't seem much better than a Fiio X3, or the lower-powered LG V30. It's a very nice thing but perhaps too incremental an upgrade for me at this time.

I'm curious why others are so hot on this, or the M11 if it has similar sound quality (assuming I can hear).

BTW, I've never had an Android smaller than 4.5" from 2011. I increased the text size for the system and set the app to use that, but I guess I'm just not excited over small text and small UI touch areas. The time control circle, for example, just doesn't offer precise control. If you have big or clumsy fingers, or less than great eyesight, you might try this out before you buy.

 

[abitdeef]

I think the OH10 is plenty resolving for now, but will check the 6xx. The $400 is for the R5, which doesn't seem much better than a Fiio X3, or a lower powered LG V30. I'm curious why others are so hot on this and the M11 if it has similar sound quality, assuming I can hear.

BTW, I've never had an Android smaller than 4.5" from 2011. I increased the text size for the system and set the app to use that, but I guess I'm just not excited over small text and small UI touch areas.

You said 400 dollars more as if the x3 costed nothing, so that's why I asked- like you expect a certain monetary value sound increase over one or the other. Others are hot on it because it powers full sized cans nicely and sounds excellent. I'm still confused on if your using balanced or not, the singled ended is ok - still better than x3, but the balanced is much better.

If you think this doesn't sound that great out of balanced then you mise well stick with your phone. Because m11 and even m11 pro or any of the others aren't going to be a huge difference unless you're driving full size cans off the balanced or using highly resolving iems.

I mean I couldn't listen to an x3 personally, it just wouldn't sound good to me. Not that it sounds horrible, but on my stuff it and the R3 come off sounding compressed and flat compared to r5.

Of course like I said before, we all hear things differently and ymmv and all that jazz.

 

[JoeBee]

I said twister6 said this about balanced -- you can link to his review by going to the Head-Fi homepage.

As he claimed, agreeing with you, the R5 sounds like it drives high end headphones surprisingly well. So (again), I'll have to wait for Massdrop to deliver the goods.

 

[abitdeef]

I said twister6 said this about balanced -- you can link to his review by going to the Head-Fi homepage.

Lol said what? And I thought you were using the fiio iems, I miss read that.

 

[JoeBee]

Huh? You are responding to something I posted just a few minutes ago.

I said:
'The twister6 review says that "The change in the sound going from SE to BAL is not too drastic."'

 

[JoeBee]

If you think this doesn't sound that great out of balanced then you mise well stick with your phone. Because m11 and even m11 pro or any of the others aren't going to be a huge difference unless you're driving full size cans off the balanced or using highly resolving iems.

I mean I couldn't listen to an x3 personally, it just wouldn't sound good to me. Not that it sounds horrible, but on my stuff it and the R3 come off sounding compressed and flat compared to r5.

Of course like I said before, we all hear things differently and ymmv and all that jazz.

What highly resolving IEMs, or other, are you using?

 

[DJ Core]

The twister6 review says that "The change in the sound going from SE to BAL is not too drastic."

I think the OH10 is plenty resolving for now but will check the 6xx. The $400 is for the R5, which doesn't seem much better than a Fiio X3, or the lower-powered LG V30. It's a very nice thing but perhaps too incremental an upgrade for me at this time.

I'm curious why others are so hot on this, or the M11 if it has similar sound quality (assuming I can hear).

BTW, I've never had an Android smaller than 4.5" from 2011. I increased the text size for the system and set the app to use that, but I guess I'm just not excited over small text and small UI touch areas. The time control circle, for example, just doesn't offer precise control. If you have big or clumsy fingers or less than great eyesight, you might try this out before you buy.

I can assure you. The R5 is more than worth the upgrade. They key is IEM or headphone pairing. I own LG V35, LG G7, Hiby R3, Sony ZX300, NW-A55 and the R5 paired with my latest IEM's, Modded Audiosense T800 (with 330 ohm Knowles filters) is in a different league vs the rest.

The pairing is beautiful

I'm falling in love with my collection all over again.

 

[abitdeef]

Huh? You are responding to something I posted just a few minutes ago.

I said:
'The twister6 review says that "The change in the sound going from SE to BAL is not too drastic."'

I didn't read that, anything about twister. and he also said the treble on the r6pro sounded like the r5, I don't agree with either statement. But like I said, ymmv. And we all hear things differently. I found the treble a bit rolled off on the r6pro, and I'm not fond of the SE out of the r5.

Hey at least you can return it.

Oh, and yes I read your post before you edited the twister part in so that's why I was confused.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I didn't read that, anything about twister. and he also said the treble on the r6pro sounded like the r5, I don't agree with either statement. But like I said, ymmv. And we all hear things differently. I found the treble a bit rolled off on the r6pro, and I'm not fond of the SE out of the r5.

Hey at least you can return it.

I think he said he was gifted the R5