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Hiby R6 audio player review: velvet baritone in any format

Was virtual, became natural! The Hiby brand has long been involved in Android software development. Their player app is downloaded to your smartphone by many music lovers and they certainly wonā€™t download for nothing ! . Moreover, the developers Hiby supplies firmware to many well-known manufacturers of ā€œhardwareā€: for example, Cayin, Hidizs, FiiO, Shanling ā€¦ And now the software brand has launched its own product based on Android 6.0: Modern design, nice screen and decent sound! So, today weā€™re actually going to go from virtual to natural: today weā€™re listening and evaluating a brand new audio player.

Thanks to XChesserAudio for providing a sample for listening.

Audio players

Specifications

DAC chip: 2 x ES9028Q2M

OP-AMPS: 2 x OPA1612 LPF , 2 x TPA6120A

Processor: Snapdragon 425 SoC

RAM: 3 GB

Screen: touch screen, 4.2ā€ 768X1280

Internal memory: 32 GB

1 MicroSD card slot: up to 2TB

OS: Android 6.X

Supports most audio formats, up to 384 kHz/32 bit, DSD 256

Bluetooth: 4.0 APT-X

Wi-Fi 2.4 5G

Outputs: 3.5mm muxed headphone/linear , and 2.5mm balanced, 3.5 SPDIF coaxial

Battery: 4000 mA/h, single charge life: up to 12 hours, QuickCharge 3.0

Dimensions: 116x66x15mm

Weight: 175 grams.

Features: Bit-perfect bypassing Android SRC

While Iā€™m getting my headphones together for listening, I want to interject a few thoughts on how the current year of the dog has started. And it started with a real parade of newties: we already listened to the new model Cayin N5 mk2, and the hot audio Hiby R6 and Lotoopaw 500 mk2 are on the list. True, the paw 500 mk2 player was announced before the new year, but itā€™s only now reaching retail . To this, almost a holy trinity, I would add another hero of a recent review ā€“ Hidizs AP200, remember him? And this player fits in exactly the same way: price, design, finish, Android OS and of course the sound ā€“ it has something in common with the Hiby R6. In general, all novelties are worthy of attention, and our todayā€™s hero is no exception.

Audio equipment

Audio equipment

Appearance and package

The device comes in a black box made of ā€œoakā€ cardboard, decorated in the center of the logo ā€œHiby. Inside there is a player, a USB type-C cable for charging and syncing with PC , a very nice digital coaxial cable, even a paperclip, to extract the slot for microSD as in the kit for smartphones , there are also various papers-instructions, to which I do not really pay attention.

The device has average dimensions: 116x66x15 mm, it is quite weighty ā€“ 175 grams. The player fits firmly in your hand, causing a lot of pleasant sensations streamlined shape. Internal memory is quite decent ā€“ 32 GB, plus you can add a memory card MicroSD, and it has additional capacity can be wow-how! Made of stainless steel ā€“ strict and reliable.

The logo Hiby R6 looks fascinating, there is some magical power in it ā€“ it attracts, and wants to stroke the husky stainless steelā€¦

Almost all of the front panel is touch-screen: IPS with a diagonal of 4.2ā€, very responsive, with excellent color reproduction. Such a good screen, even in the most advanced players I have not yet seen. And did not forget to put a sticker: ā€œHi-RezAudioā€ lights in the lower left corner.

The rear panel is covered by a glossy black plastic plate, the silver logo is again in the very center.

On the left side are buttons for volume control +,- and a slot for a MicroSD memory card.

On the right side the control buttons: turn on, switch track forward, start/pause, switch track back.

On the top end you can find the outputs: 3.Combined 5 mm line/digital coaxial , 3.5mm headphone output, 2.5 mm balanced.

Audio players

Audio players

Audio equipment

Audio players

On the bottom end there is a USB type-C connector for charging and synchronization with PC .

Controls, probably ā€“ itā€™s a matter of habit. On the second day I was already without any problems surfing through the tracks, ā€œinflating-blowingā€ my jacket pocket with the volume. If youā€™ve had a modern smartphone in your hands at least once, all controls and touch navigation will not cause the slightest difficulty, because the audio player is very similar to this gadget, only it does not call.

The player menu has the usual structure: everything/folder/album/artist, swipe to the left and all settings open like in the palm of your hand!ā€.

One more thing I liked. Having connected Wi-Fi, I put this music box on the table, distracted by the phone call. How astonished I was when I saw the offer to update the software on the screen! Sure, Iā€™ll take all of them! Just like that, between my calls the player updated itself wirelessly.

Then I decided to stream music by installing the application with the apk file ā€œSomaFMā€ through the player Foobar 2000, it worked without problems. In my memory, this is the only player that does everything from a half turn, without stuttering ā€“ like a flagship smartphone.

Then I checked Google web browser and went to YouTube, everything was ok, no complaints.

For myself I would note the following subtlety: R6 model, unlike other Android players has an improved architecture Direct Transport Audio DTA , which bypasses the conversion of Android sampling rate SRC of all applications. So, this feature allows you to enjoy streaming music from any app ā€“ local or streaming.

In general, this time I got a super modern device. And thatā€™s not its only virtue: it also loves good music and is great at playing it!

Audio players

Audio Players

Sound

For listening used the following headphones: 64 AUDIO U18 Tzar, AmbientAcoustics AM5 LAM, Etymotic ER-4S, Etymotic ER-4SR, Westone UM PRO 30/50, Custom ARTFIBAE 2, Beyerdynamicdt 250/250 Ohm, Beyerdynamicdt 1350, Phonon SMB-02, and Audio-Technica ATH-SX1a.

With all headphones the device played properly, I have not noticed any genre deviations. Depending on the plugged headphones the sound character varied a little in one direction or another, getting its coloring, but in general the musical presentation was at a very high quality level.

R6 audio player is built on the DAC chips from ESS, namely two ES9028Q2M, and uses operational amplifiers 2xOPA1612 and 2xTPA1602A. In general, as I promised, the sound is a little similar to the one produced by its ā€œaudio colleagueā€ Hidizs AP200, but there is still some difference: R6 has smoother, wider sound, with a touch of analog, so it somehow goes more seriously, with fewer cracks.

Output impedance is 10 ohm, which is often a problem with multidriver IEMs. However I have not noticed any critical deviations in this respect. The player plays well with all the headphones I have, both in-canal and over-the-ear, although the nature of the sound material in different headphones, of course, varies.

For example, with 64 audio A18 player produces a dense, massive, maximally smooth sound, with good detail, a little warm, as they say, ā€œlampā€ touch and good punch, immersion not only in the finest details, but also in natural expression with a fairly balanced sound.

Paired with the ER4S his voice becomes a bit cool, very detailed and crystal clear. Although some tinge of ā€œwarm bed tonesā€ still remains.

I really liked the pairing of the R6 and the Custom ART FIBAE 2. The overall picture is clear, detailed, with a wide stereo panorama and a very nice touch to the strings and vocals. The sound of this pair captivates, enveloping the listener with musical charm.Perhaps in this tandem Iā€™d call the R6ā€™s delivery rather neutral with a darkened backdrop.

In cooperation with Phonon SMB-02 R6 player also amazes with its neutral pitch, musicality and genre flexibility.

The Beyerdynamic dt 250/250 Ohm is also a good match. The sound came out in the warm and monitor-like manner inherent in these excellent ears. I donā€™t know about the others, but for me the volume is enough for my ears and my eyes, although the impedance of the ears is 250 ohms.

If we speak about the musical picture of R6 on the whole, it can be described by the following colors: solid bass impact, smooth, very musical and tonally stable middle and accurate high-frequency range without any noise. All of this makes the overall sound palette warm, dense, timbre-rich, and well textured. The tonal balance of Hiby R6 is quite even, without any peaks, dips and irritants.

Virtual scene is fairly well built both in width and depth. It is a one musical layer with good separation of instruments, a balance of micro and macro nuances. Although it is worth noting that the large macro images occupy more of the foreground, and the micro nuances as if to complete the overall picture. All in all, everything turns out very decent and harmonious.

Audio players

Bottom line

The tweeters are clear, a little smoothed, without obvious simplification and excessive brightness.

The midrange is smooth, detailed and at the same time not losing its integrity. The vocals sound smooth, very musical and with a velvety touch.

The woofers are dense, with good control and a solid punch. They do not penetrate into other frequency ranges, but create darkened background for the whole picture, filling it with some kind of corporeal base.

Conclusion

This audio player is very modern and enjoyable in every way. Hiby R6 has a nice design, a good screen, a decent build, and it has no problems getting audio content over wireless networks, streaming various services. And, most importantly, the novelty radiates quality sound. And what else does an audiophile need at all times?

The retail price will be in the region of 39 000 Dollars. The price tag is not small, but the indisputable advantages of the headset justify the price.

Sound, design, build.

Not if finances allow.

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John Techno

Greetings, everyone! I am John Techno, and my expedition in the realm of household appliances has been a thrilling adventure spanning over 30 years. What began as a curiosity about the mechanics of these everyday marvels transformed into a fulfilling career journey.

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Comments: 1
  1. Noah Moore

    How does the Hiby R6 audio player perform across different audio formats? Does its velvet baritone sound quality truly stand out regardless of the audio file type?

    Reply
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