[doowap]

Not on the receiving side unfortunately. But it can do DLNA or Airplay rendering via WiFi, which is arguably better than any Bluetooth protocol in quality.

ahh, well thats too bad. It would have been a nice plus. Could this be resolved by a firmware update or is it more of a hardware or licensing issue?
I'll probably still buy one! Wifi/Tidal is such a killer feature Now there's no reason for me to go android. Thanks.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Not on the receiving side unfortunately. But it can do DLNA or Airplay rendering via WiFi, which is arguably better than any Bluetooth protocol in quality.

@ Joe Bloggs:

Thx for the heads up to clarify.

Cheers...

 

[FridgeMagnet]

ahh, well thats too bad. It would have been a nice plus. Could this be resolved by a firmware update or is it more of a hardware or licensing issue?
I'll probably still buy one! Wifi/Tidal is such a killer feature Now there's no reason for me to go android. Thanks.

@doowap:

Not sure Tidal will be such a killer feature in the future or at least as it currently is as they’ve got more ongoing negative bad news/press recently past few weeks than they know what to do with & I for one dont plan on giving them any of my hard earned $
all these v negative & v disconcerting news pieces & revaluations are 100% dealt with.
Ymmv of course, along with Spotify possibly being added, I’m hoping Hiby can add PLEX, others have suggested Roon etc.
Again I’m mainly buying this device to add HiRes music files from micro sd cards for listening.

Cheers...

 

[turkayguner]

Tidal is the killer feature of R3.

 

[Aevum]

Then you might as well bury it, Tidal is trash.

 

[turkayguner]

I would not call CD quality music trash.

 

[khyaris]

Not on the receiving side unfortunately. But it can do DLNA or Airplay rendering via WiFi, which is arguably better than any Bluetooth protocol in quality.

@Joe Bloggs Are you kidding me ? You state on the product description “bi-directional Bluetooth connectivity” What ?

https://imgur.com/a/Tnn133u

edit : it has even been said by Hiby, in the kickstarter comment section, that BT works as a receiver.
Could you clarify @Joe Bloggs , thanks.

https://imgur.com/a/fHFYDnP

 

[Jayden16]

@Joe Bloggs Are you kidding me ? You state on the product description “bi-directional Bluetooth connectivity” What ?

https://imgur.com/a/Tnn133u

Yeah, that's very misleading as the heading for that states 'Bi-directional Bluetooth connectivity' and then proceeds to mention APT-X. Very frustrating to read that it doesn't apply to bi-directional after all.

 

[khyaris]

Yeah, that's very misleading as the heading for that states 'Bi-directional Bluetooth connectivity' and then proceeds to mention APT-X. Very frustrating to read that it doesn't apply to bi-directional after all.

Joe Bloggs is probably wrong, since Hiby stated in the kickstarter comments that BT works as a receiver.
If it doesn't work as expected, they lied at one point ...

https://imgur.com/a/fHFYDnP

 

[doowap]

Joe Bloggs is probably wrong, since Hiby stated in the kickstarter comments that BT works as a receiver.
If it doesn't work as expected, they lied at one point ...

https://imgur.com/a/fHFYDnP

What I had asked Joe is whether or not the receiver is aptX or just standard bluetooth audio. The R3 definitely works as a receiver, but only standard BTA, no aptX. As a transmitter, it does aptX as advertised. The product overview is not as specific about this as it should be, in my opinion. I hope that when they publish more detailed specs/info this is more clear. Cayin did the same thing with the N3, and I didn't find out until after I bought it. I wonder if there is a technical or licensing reason why the BT is implemented this way?

 

[dc655321]

I wonder if there is a technical or licensing reason why the BT is implemented this way?

AptX requires specific hardware and presumably licensing too.
Double the expense for transmit _and_ receive...

 

[dc655321]

Joe Bloggs is probably wrong, since Hiby stated in the kickstarter comments that BT works as a receiver.

It does work as receiver - just not via aptx.
Welcome to marketing...

 

[khyaris]

It does work as receiver - just not via aptx.
Welcome to marketing...

Wow, it's just ****ing useless then.
They said it can work as a wireless DAC through BT, this statement has no sense if the codec used to transmit the signal is trash.

Apt-x requires a specific chipset from Qualcomm to work, so they have it.
I guess Hiby doesn't have the technical skill to make apt-x work in a receiving mode like FiiO did on the Q5.

I'm very disappointed.

 

[Franatic]

Look like use as a wireless DAC is dead.

LDAC is the most promising CODEC offered, from what I can see.
https://www.soundguys.com/understanding-bluetooth-codecs-15352/

The problem with LDAC is its proprietary nature. I just ordered a Sony headset to try and get the best HD wireless experience with the R3. This headphone gets very good reviews and the refurbished deal at Newegg looks like a good deal on them:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-
They can also be used wired, which is a nice feature.

When I get the R3 and hook up my MDR-1000X/Cs, I'll post impressions here. I'm #97, so I hope to get shipping confirmation in the next few days.

 

[doowap]

Look like use as a wireless DAC is dead.

LDAC is the most promising CODEC offered, from what I can see.
https://www.soundguys.com/understanding-bluetooth-codecs-15352/

The problem with LDAC is its proprietary nature. I just ordered a Sony headset to try and get the best HD wireless experience with the R3. This headphone gets very good reviews and the refurbished deal at Newegg looks like a good deal on them:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-
They can also be used wired, which is a nice feature.

When I get the R3 and hook up my MDR-1000X/Cs, I'll post impressions here. I'm #97, so I hope to get shipping confirmation in the next few days.

I think that article is somewhat misleading. From my understanding, the main issue with standard bluetooth audio is that it was never intended to carry music. When creating a lossy codec, designers consider psychoacoustics to determine what information can be discarded during the compression without causing a noticeable drop in audio quality. The SBC codec was designed around making human voices intelligible, because it was initially intended only for phone calls, so it is badly designed to carry deep bass shimmering highs. At least, thats where I notice the most distortion.
By contrast, AAC, AptX and LDAC are designed to be as transparent as possible at a given bitrate for the whole frequency range. I don't know about AptX or LDAC, but AAC 256kbps is generally considered as good as MP3 320kbps. Bitrate is not the whole story. Codec design matters a lot.
I would reckon that AAC, AptX or LDAC if implemented well will be transparent enough for portable. Dac/amp quality in your bluetooth headphones is probably a bigger factor at that point. I wouldn't get too zoomed in on LDAC, AptX and AAC are pretty good and much more widely supported.