[baronfi]

I'm a bit late for party, but anyway, here is my review of R3

Thank you, great review. I am new here, but have actually watched many of your online reviews over the past few years!

As you say, this is a fantastic looking & compact DAP with a superb form factor.

My criticism of the R3 from a design point of view is the physical buttons.
I wish they had kept to the same button style as on the R6 (individual circular buttons). The smaller the device, the easier it gets to use spaced out round buttons (as per 2nd gen Shanling DAPS).

And even then, it is a shame that HiBy changed these buttons from the original kickstarter design. Originally the reverse-skip / play / forward skip buttons were 3 separate buttons - compared to the final retail production that merged the 2 reverse-skip/play buttons into a (cheaper) rocker button.

Also, all the buttons are way too shallow. From a tactile experience, with its rounded corners and recessed button profile, it makes the R3 too sleek that it easily slips out of the hand. I find it it easier to grip and gently hold onto when its in the plastic case ..... which unfortunately makes the depressing of the buttons even more difficult to identify and use.

It may sound harsh, but the overall design and size is so good - its the only thing [software issues aside] that stops it getting a perfect '10'

 

[Palash]

Thank you, great review. I am new here, but have actually watched many of your online reviews over the past few years!

As you say, this is a fantastic looking & compact DAP with a superb form factor.

My criticism of the R3 from a design point of view is the physical buttons.
I wish they had kept to the same button style as on the R6 (individual circular buttons). The smaller the device, the easier it gets to use spaced out round buttons (as per 2nd gen Shanling DAPS).

And even then, it is a shame that HiBy changed these buttons from the original kickstarter design. Originally the reverse-skip / play / forward skip buttons were 3 separate buttons - compared to the final retail production that merged the 2 reverse-skip/play buttons into a (cheaper) rocker button.

Also, all the buttons are way too shallow. From a tactile experience, with its rounded corners and recessed button profile, it makes the R3 too sleek that it easily slips out of the hand. I find it it easier to grip and gently hold onto when its in the plastic case ..... which unfortunately makes the depressing of the buttons even more difficult to identify and use.

It may sound harsh, but the overall design and size is so good - its the only thing [software issues aside] that stops it getting a perfect '10'

Another design flaw i have noticed, the power button, and volume up/down button placed same place on both side. When you hold the R3 and want to press the volume up/down button the power button may press if you are not careful. I agree with you, rounded buttons are good when the device is small. In that case Hidizs Ap80 designed perfectly.

 

[baronfi]

In that case Hidizs Ap80 designed perfectly.

Thats down to preference over the use of a dial, but yes - the style of buttons on the AP80 are best for human* fingers on a small DAP.
I would have chosen the AP80 over the R3 if I had known the R3 didn't have full DLNA capability.

*(as opposed to alien fingers)

 

[TomandNemo]

My R3 won't let me connect to 3.5mm jack anymore. It's stuck on "BAL" and will only play either on bluetooth or balanced out and the "Output Selection" on play settings is greyed out. I've already tried restoring to factory settings, downgrading the firmware, but nothing works. Anyone else having this problem or has solution on how to fix it?

 

[mschir]

My R3 won't let me connect to 3.5mm jack anymore. It's stuck on "BAL" and will only play either on bluetooth or balanced out and the "Output Selection" on play settings is greyed out. I've already tried restoring to factory settings, downgrading the firmware, but nothing works. Anyone else having this problem or has solution on how to fix it?

no but seriously - I've had some strange behavior (like not being able to connect to wifi or bluetooth, or despite refreshing the music db, not having all my files or having the metadata screwed up etc). And the only thing that fixed it in some cases was to do a full factory reset and basically start from scratch.

 

[Vimtoman]

My R3 won't let me connect to 3.5mm jack anymore. It's stuck on "BAL" and will only play either on bluetooth or balanced out and the "Output Selection" on play settings is greyed out. I've already tried restoring to factory settings, downgrading the firmware, but nothing works. Anyone else having this problem or has solution on how to fix it?

Check there is no fluff down the socket.
Dont push anything in like a stick as you could damage the connector.
Try blowing into the hole without spitt

 

[crashtest33]

Hi all.

Just received my R3! Also been using a Tarkan mod iPod 7G and Fostex Hpp1 for 7yrs!! Lol

What do I do?! I need Hiby music and Tidal but am a complete Android noob!
Cheers
Nick

 

[mschir]

Hi all.

Just received my R3! Also been using a Tarkan mod iPod 7G and Fostex Hpp1 for 7yrs!! Lol

What do I do?! I need Hiby music and Tidal but am a complete Android noob!
Cheers
Nick

AFAIK, the R3, unlike the R6, does not run on Android. Instead, it runs on Hiby’s own HibyOS, which i believe is linux based.

As for Tidal, functionality is currently broken. Hiby claims to be working on a fix, but for now you are out of luck - like me

 

[wondroushippo]

Is there any button combination to forcibly reset the internal memory? I keep getting errors like having to select my language at boot, and the restore factory settings doesn't actually do much.

 

[Vimtoman]

Is there any button combination to forcibly reset the internal memory? I keep getting errors like having to select my language at boot, and the restore factory settings doesn't actually do much.

Why not try Hiby direct? they make it

 

[Focux]

V tempted to buy the R3 especially now it’s been released in red on their web and not just on Taobao for China.

Anyone felt that the output was a tad low at 56mW?

Im using the DX120 & Opus 1S as comparison. Thanks all!

 

[goody]

i got a red R3 in the sales section if anyone is interested

 

[wensan]

Firmware 1.14 for R3 is out.

Message get from HiBy Facebook page :

Firmware 1.14 on R3:
1. Added theme style in system setting: NIGHT theme.
2. Fixed the problem that playback does not pause when unplugging the headphone after enabling the option "Crossfade".
3. Fixed the problem of sound delay when Bluetooth output.
4. Fixed accidental disconnect failure when Bluetooth input to the mobile phone.

The OTA update available right now

 

[pierezque]

I like the new theme, glad to see even marginal improvements.
The big feature missing, for me, is the possibility to cue a bunch of songs to be played one after the other. The feature is present in the full android Hiby app. I just don't understand if it is impossible to implement it on the R3 because of hardware or software limitations or it is in development. About Tidal, the bugs are still there, some songs will never play for whatever reason but I understand this might be harder to solve because it involves a third party service.
I'd like to hear from Hiby but do they even have someone reading this thread? Their web presence is rather disappointing. I see they are advertising a lot their products on the social media but they don't seem to care a lot for customers who backed their products since the beginning.

 

[smallcaps]

Anyone have a direct link to the current firmware? OTA has never worked for me. thanks!