[kadinh]

@OspreyAndy the DACport HD you have incoming certainly looks impressive. 1/8" SE port only (I'm guessing that will fit a 3.5mm jack?), class A amp, 4.1V RMS, 775mW output power (337mW @ 32Ω).

Too bad the PowerDAC V2 was faulty. That would be another review I would be interested in from you.....as well as the HiBy FD3

 

[Liberte]

the usb c to usb c cable that came with my s9 pro has been giving me problems. About to order a new one. Will every usb c to usb c cable work the same or are some which are 3.1 not be compatible ?

Have you tried a different USB-C cable? I tried a different USB-C cable with the S9 pro and it didn't work. It may be a charge only cable though without data.

 

[OspreyAndy]

@OspreyAndy the DACport HD you have incoming certainly looks impressive. 1/8" SE port only (I'm guessing that will fit a 3.5mm jack?), class A amp, 4.1V RMS, 775mW output power (337mW @ 32Ω).

Too bad the PowerDAC V2 was faulty. That would be another review I would be interested in from you.....as well as the HiBy FD3

Yep. I am excited waiting for the CEntrance DACportHD. The only Class A dongle in existence. bU the wait is dammm long for USPS to deliver ahaha

 

[kadinh]

If you don't mind, could you elaborate on this? Thank you.

TBH, I really just wanted to justify getting the E44 and checking out the 4V RMS.

I compared the S9 Pro to the Hiby FD3 I have, Sony IER-Z1R with 4.4mm (had to use 4.4 to 2.5mm adapter with the S9P). The S9P puts out 200mW, I think the FD3 does something like 160mW 138mW, so I was already leaning towards the S9P.

FD3 seems to have more of a musical signature, S9P is more analytical (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I was listening with the IER-Z1R which are known to have low mids. The S9P sounded like all the vocals were very low or far away; FD3 brought them closer.

That basically was my reasoning. I was really impressed what Andy had to say about the E44 and it shot up to his #1 spot. The IER-Z1R loves power, so I'm interested to see how 4V of power affects them.

Brief comparison, just how I reason on the two, what i prefer is in bold.

- S9 Pro -
- 2V RMS (not published, but ASR shows the S9 non-pro to have 2V RMS)
- 200mW* @ 32Ω
- single DAC chip
- no external controls
- 20Hz-50kHz (by comparison, FD3 supports 20Hz-90kHz, which suits the Z1R well)
- detachable cable/can use different cables
- 2.5/3.5mm ports directly on the unit (FD3 has 2.5/3.5/4.4mm outputs directly on the device)
- small form factor (so I can fit it in my headphone case)

- E44 -
- 4V RMS
- 175mW* @ 32Ω
- dual DAC chips
- only external volume controls (prefer play/pause/skip button(s) as well; FD3 has all 3 built in)
- 0Hz-40kHz
- cables attached/can't change out if either side has problems
- 4.4mm port is connected to unit by cable
- not sure about form factor since I haven't held it in my hand, but I imagine the footprint is bigger especially because of the cables connected directly to the unit

* - both of these units have enough mW to power virtually any headphone

If anything goes wrong, I ordered from Amazon and can always return it.

 

[emrelights1973]

How about hiby FC1 vs FC3 ? not interested in MQA

 

[kadinh]

How about hiby FC1 vs FC3 ? not interested in MQA

Andy's FC3 Review

 

[kadinh]

How about hiby FC1 vs FC3 ? not interested in MQA

If you're not interested in MQA the FC1 would be a good fit.

The only differences I can tell that the FC3 has different are a metal body, different DAC chip (not sure what the specific details are tho), and MQA support.

 

[dw1narso]

TBH, I really just wanted to justify getting the E44 and checking out the 4V RMS.

I compared the S9 Pro to the Hiby FD3 I have, Sony IER-Z1R with 4.4mm (had to use 4.4 to 2.5mm adapter with the S9P). The S9P puts out 200mW, I think the FD3 does something like 160mW 138mW, so I was already leaning towards the S9P.

FD3 seems to have more of a musical signature, S9P is more analytical (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I was listening with the IER-Z1R which are known to have low mids. The S9P sounded like all the vocals were very low or far away; FD3 brought them closer.

That basically was my reasoning. I was really impressed what Andy had to say about the E44 and it shot up to his #1 spot. The IER-Z1R loves power, so I'm interested to see how 4V of power affects them.

Brief comparison, just how I reason on the two, what i prefer is in bold.

- S9 Pro -
- 2V RMS (not published, but ASR shows the S9 non-pro to have 2V RMS)
- 200mW* @ 32Ω
- single DAC chip
- no external controls
- 20Hz-50kHz (by comparison, FD3 supports 20Hz-90kHz, which suits the Z1R well)
- detachable cable/can use different cables
- 2.5/3.5mm ports directly on the unit (FD3 has 2.5/3.5/4.4mm outputs directly on the device)
- small form factor (so I can fit it in my headphone case)

- E44 -
- 4V RMS
- 175mW* @ 32Ω
- dual DAC chips
- only external volume controls (prefer play/pause/skip button(s) as well; FD3 has all 3 built in)
- 0Hz-40kHz
- cables attached/can't change out if either side has problems
- 4.4mm port is connected to unit by cable
- not sure about form factor since I haven't held it in my hand, but I imagine the footprint is bigger especially because of the cables connected directly to the unit

* - both of these units have enough mW to power virtually any headphone

If anything goes wrong, I ordered from Amazon and can always return it.

Don't take the FR range seriously.. We human mostly hear 20Hz to 20KHz. And mostly only at teenage we could hear the 15KHz-20KHz, then degrade by age. Then, notice also that most IEMs/phones start rolling down from 10KHz above.

0Hz tell nothing but that there's no coupling capacitor along the line, usually means that the dual rail power supply is in use and thus avoiding DC offset. It does not relate with our hearing nor transducer coverage.

 

[renekok]

Don't take the FR range seriously.. We human mostly hear 20Hz to 20KHz. And mostly only at teenage we could hear the 15KHz-20KHz, then degrade by age. Then, notice also that most IEMs/phones start rolling down from 10KHz above.

0Hz tell nothing but that there's no coupling capacitor along the line, usually means that the dual rail power supply is in use and thus avoiding DC offset. It does not relate with our hearing nor transducer coverage.

We have a frequency range of individual frequencies that we can perceive, that declines over time.
However hearing you do with your brain.
It is a learned behaviour.
When you start using better audio equipment, you provide yourself with the tools to sharpen your audiophilic analytic skills.
So the ability to listen to music can improve over time, despite you are getting older.

 

[dw1narso]

We have a frequency range of individual frequencies that we can perceive, that declines over time.
However hearing you do with your brain.
It is a learned behaviour.
When you start using better audio equipment, you provide yourself with the tools to sharpen your audiophilic analytic skills.
So the ability to listen to music can improve over time, despite you are getting older.

Agree..

But my point about 0Hz is still valid..

 

[eloelo]

TBH, I really just wanted to justify getting the E44 and checking out the 4V RMS.

I compared the S9 Pro to the Hiby FD3 I have, Sony IER-Z1R with 4.4mm (had to use 4.4 to 2.5mm adapter with the S9P). The S9P puts out 200mW, I think the FD3 does something like 160mW 138mW, so I was already leaning towards the S9P.

FD3 seems to have more of a musical signature, S9P is more analytical (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I was listening with the IER-Z1R which are known to have low mids. The S9P sounded like all the vocals were very low or far away; FD3 brought them closer.

That basically was my reasoning. I was really impressed what Andy had to say about the E44 and it shot up to his #1 spot. The IER-Z1R loves power, so I'm interested to see how 4V of power affects them.

Brief comparison, just how I reason on the two, what i prefer is in bold.

- S9 Pro -
- 2V RMS (not published, but ASR shows the S9 non-pro to have 2V RMS)
- 200mW* @ 32Ω
- single DAC chip
- no external controls
- 20Hz-50kHz (by comparison, FD3 supports 20Hz-90kHz, which suits the Z1R well)
- detachable cable/can use different cables
- 2.5/3.5mm ports directly on the unit (FD3 has 2.5/3.5/4.4mm outputs directly on the device)
- small form factor (so I can fit it in my headphone case)

- E44 -
- 4V RMS
- 175mW* @ 32Ω
- dual DAC chips
- only external volume controls (prefer play/pause/skip button(s) as well; FD3 has all 3 built in)
- 0Hz-40kHz
- cables attached/can't change out if either side has problems
- 4.4mm port is connected to unit by cable
- not sure about form factor since I haven't held it in my hand, but I imagine the footprint is bigger especially because of the cables connected directly to the unit

* - both of these units have enough mW to power virtually any headphone

If anything goes wrong, I ordered from Amazon and can always return it.

Does FD3 have hiss with sensitive iems?

 

[Liberte]

I've recently been using an S9 Pro at home and a Soditer dongle for on the go mostly. After using the Soditer for around an hour at home I switched to the S9 Pro and straight away the layers in the music sounded clearer and more spacious, I had the sensation the sound was coming from around me, outside of the headphones. I even took the headphones off to check it was so surreal.

Today I tried the HiBy FC3 and found it sounding even nicer than the S9 Pro. I feel I can hear a clearer taper on decays and vocal enunciation, with more bass presence. The FC3 is tiny, not much wider than a USB-C connector. The next track function when holding down - and restarting/previous track when holding + work well. The FC3 is also much less of a drain on the phone's battery, only getting slightly warm and the sample rate indicator light is easy on the eye. With the S9 Pro I also had to disconnect the USB-C cable from the DAC when connecting to the phone, then reconnect the DAC, with the FC3 I can leave it all connected and plug straight in.

The only negatives for me are aesthetics - The brushed silver is very nice but for stealth would have preferred the FC3 in black, along with a black USB-C cable. The USB-C cable provided with the Hidizs unit with metal connector sleeves looks and feels much higher quality. The volume controls on the FC3 will be welcome for HiBy app users and the steps are reasonable, although there may not be not enough middle ground for some.

With this many positives for the FC3 it will be an easy call to keep the FC3 and let the S9 Pro go. I hope my review helps someone who is on the fence between these two DACs.

 

[renekok]

Agree..

But my point about 0Hz is still valid..

Don't worry, I am not denying what you are saying.
I am now 64 years old, I am very much aware that the frequency range of what I can hear is much less then it was when I was 20. Also there is the inevitable (cumulative) damage in the 3khz-4khz range.
Despite that, for the last few years using better quality audio equipment, to listen to higher quality music (HiRes music), I learned that the experience is much better than what I got 10, 20 years ago with mediocre equipment.

 

[dw1narso]

Don't worry, I am not denying what you are saying.
I am now 64 years old, I am very much aware that the frequency range of what I can hear is much less then it was when I was 20. Also there is the inevitable (cumulative) damage in the 3khz-4khz range.
Despite that, for the last few years using better quality audio equipment, to listen to higher quality music (HiRes music), I learned that the experience is much better than what I got 10, 20 years ago with mediocre equipment.

No worry, Sir... I'm 52 this year..
I fully agree and understand your points. I'm still learning everything until today. I'm engineer by profession and by heart. If Istop learning, younger lads would soon replace me and I'll be starving.

The reason I insist on 0Hz is nothing to do with audio FR range, is because it could be dangerously misleading. While 1Hz and above signal is sinusoidal thus AC (Alternating Current), 0Hz sifnal is actually equal to DC (Direct Current). We should never sent DC voltage to our precious transducer (IEM, phones, speaker, etc.) cause it would potentially destroy it.

 

[crizzle]

I just got the s9 pro about a week ago. I was really thinking about the E44 but decided on the s9. It sounds great, but after seeing andys review i had to try the e44. I had to shred the packaging to get it open, and after taking it out,i immediately thought "how in the **** are these attached cables going to last more than a month?". they look and feel like a strong wind could rip them out.

is the 3.5mm adapter balanced? I was using a normal cable on hd600's and the adapter kept disconnecting/ not working properly. And when it was connected something was off. Im ordering a balanced 4.4mm right now and im hoping the problem will dissipate.